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A BODY OF* ' • • 

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PRACTICAL DIVINITY 

IN A SERIES OF SERMONS 

ON THE 

SHORTER CATECHISM 

COMPOSED BY THE REVEREND 

ASSEMBLY OF DIVINES AT WESTMINSTER. 

TO WHICH ARE APPENDED, 

SELECT SERMONS 

ON VARIOUS SUBJECTS; 

INCLUDING 

THE ART OF DIVINE CONTENTMENT; 

AND 

CHRIST'S VARIOUS FULNESS. 
BY THOMAS WATSON, 

i t 

FORMERLY MINISTER AT ST STEPHEN^, WALBROOK, LONDON, 

He being dead, yet speaketh, — Heb, xii 4 

PHILADELPHIA: 
THOMAS WARDLE, 13 MINOR STREET. 

JOHN WILEY, LAW BUILDINGS, CORNER OF NASSAU AND CEDAR STREETS, 

NEW YORK. 



Exchange 
Western Ont. Univ. Library 

FEB 4 1941 



Philadelphia : 
Printed by James Kay, Jun. & Co. 
Race above 4th Street. 



/ * M9 

TO THE READER. 



^ 3 



These Catechetical Lectures of the late Reverend Mr Thomas Watson — 
all but one written with his own hand — I have read over, together with 
some Sermons annexed to them; and, since my testimony is desired concern- 
ing them, I do hereby declare, that — though I will not undertake to justify 
every expression or sentence in them, or in any human writing — I find them, 
in the main, agreeable to the doctrinal articles of this church, and unto the 
Westminster Assembly's Confession of Faith and Catechisms ; and I believe 
that, through the blessing of God, they may be profitable unto the edification 
of all that read them with an honest desire to know and do the will of God; 
for certainly there are many excellent things in them, which, if they meet 
with a well disposed serious mind, are very apt to have a good effect upon 
it; and if it prove otherwise with any that happen to read this book, it will 
be their own fault more than the book's. Most writers have different styles : 
and it is well known that Mr Watson had one peculiar to himself, which 
yet hath found good acceptance with, and has been useful unto serious peo- 
ple; and I hope this — by reason of the great variety of excellent matter — 
may be more generally useful than any other thing he ever wrote. I little 
doubt but every sober Christian will be of this mind, after he has read his 
Lectures on God's attributes, the Ten commandments, Lord's prayer, &c. 
I sincerely profess, I have no other end in giving this testimony of this book, 
but thereby to serve the common good of Christ's church, and not the private 
interest of any person or party in the world ; if my conscience did not bear 
me witness that this book may be useful to that excellent end, no man should 
ever have prevailed with me, thus to prefix my testimony and name to it. 
That it may answer the main end for which it was at first written by the 
author — whom I always took to be a grave, serious, modest, good man — and 
for which, I hope, it is now published, to wit, the edification of the church 
of Christ in faith, holiness and comfort, is the hearty desire of one of the 
meanest servants of our most blessed Lord Jesus. 

William Lorimer. 

We whose names are subscribed, having seen the testimony of our worthy brother, 
Mr William Lorimer, after his perusal of this book, doubt not but it may be of use to many, 
— as the former writings of Mr Thomas Watson have been ; and, with that desire and hope, 
we recommend it to masters of families and others. 



William Bates, 
Matthew Barker, 
John Howie, 
Matthew Mead, 
Edward Lawrence, 
Samuel Slater, 
Richard Mayo, 
Matthew Sylvester, 
Daniel Burgess, 



Joseph Cawthorne, 
Daniel Williams, 
Richard Wavel, 
Timothy Cruso, 
Timothy Rogers, 
Nathaniel Oldfield, 
Richard Adams, 
Richard Steel, 
Samuel Stancliff, 



John Raynolds, 
Nathaniel Vincent, 
John Hughes, 
Joseph Read, 
Abraham Hume, 
Richard Stretton, 
John Shower, 
Francis Glascock, 
Daniel Williams. 



A SHORT ACCOUNT 



OF 

THE AUTHOR. 



It is sufficiently known to all that have any acquaintance with the histories 
of the Church, that many valuable and useful ministers were ejected for 
non-conformity, by the Act of Uniformity in the reign of king Charles II. 
which took place, August 24th, 1662. Among others, the Reverend Mr 
THOMAS WATSON was ejected from his charge, at St Stephen's, Wal- 
brook, London ; whose character is given by the Reverend Dr Edmund 
Calamy, in his Abridgements, Vol. II. p. 37 ; and is as follows : 

"From St Stephen's, Walbrook. Mr Thomas Watson; he was of Ema- 
nuel College in Cambridge, where he was noted for being a hard student, 
one so well known in the city, viz. London, for his piety and usefulness, that 
though he was singled out by the Friendly Debate, he yet carried a general 
respect for all sober persons along with him to his grave. A memorable 
passage, which I have from good hands, must not be passed by: When Mr. 
Watson was in the pulpit, on a lecture day, before the Bartholomew act 
took place, among other hearers there came in that Reverend and learned 
prelate, Bishop Richardson, who was so well pleased with his sermon, but 
especially with his prayer after it, that he followed him home, to give him 
thanks, and earnestly desired a copy of his prayer, £ Alas !' said Mr Wat- 
son, ' that is what I cannot give, for I do not use to pen my prayers ; it was 
no studied thing, but uttered as God enabled me from the abundance of my 
heart and affections, — pro re nata." Upon which the good Bishop went 
away, wondering that any man could pray in that manner, ex tempore. 
After his ejectment, he continued in the exercise of the ministry in the city, 
as Providence gave opportunity, for many years : but his strength wearing 
away, he retired into Essex, and there died suddenly, in his closet, at 
prayer." 



A PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE 

TO 

CATECHISING. 



If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, Col. i. 23. 



Intending the next Lord's day to enter 
upon the work of catechising, it will not be 
amiss to give you this preliminary discourse, 
as preparatory to it ; showing you how need- 
ful it is for Christians to be well instructed 
in the grounds of religion. 

" If ye continue in the faith grounded and 
settled," — Two propositions : 

First, It is the duty of Christians to be 
settled in the doctrine of faith. 

Second, The best way for Christians to be 
settled, is to be well grounded. 

Doct. I. That it is the duty of Christians 
to be settled in the doctrine of faith. It 
is the apostle's prayer, 1 Pet. v. 10. " The 
God of all grace, stablish, strengthen, settle 
you." That they might not be meteors in 
the air, but fixed stars. The apostle Jude 
speaks of ' wandering stars,' v. 13. They 
are called wandering stars, because, as Aris- 
totle saith, " They do leap up and down, 
and wander into several parts of the heaven ; 
and being but, dry exhalations, not made of 
that pure celestial matter — as the fixed stars 
are — they often fall to the earth." Now, 
such as are not settled in religion, will, at 
one time or other, prove wandering stars ; 
they will lose their former strictness, and 
wander from one opinion to another. Such 
as are unsettled are of the tribe of Reuben, 
1 unstable as water,' Gen. xlix. 4. ; like 
a ship without ballast overturned with 
every wind of doctrine. Beza writes of 
one Belfectius, whose religion changed as 
the moon. The Arians had every year 
a new faith. These are not 'pillars' in 
the temple of God, but 'reeds' shaken 
every way. The apostle calls them ' damn- 



able heresies,' 2 Pet. ii. 1. A man may 
go to hell as well for heresy as adultery. 
To be unsettled in religion, argues want of 
judgment ; if their heads were not giddy, 
they would not reel so fast from one opin- 
ion to another. It argues lightness : feathers 
will be blown every way,— so will feathery 
Christians, — Triticum non rapit ventus, 
inanes pala jactantur, Cypr. Therefore 
such are compared to children, Eph. iv. 
14. " That we be no more children tossed 
to and fro." Children are fickle,— some- 
times of one mind, sometimes of another ; 
nothing pleases them long; so unsettled 
Christians are childish ; those truths they 
embrace at one time, they reject at another ; 
sometimes they like the Protestant religion, 
and soon after they have a good mind to 
turn Papists. Now, that you may labour to 
be settled (as Ignatius) in the faith, in un- 
settled times of settled judgments : 

1st. It is the great end of the word 
preached, to bring us to a settlement in re- 
ligion. Eph. iv. 11, 13. 44 And he gave 
some, evangelists ; and some, pastors and 
teachers ; for the edifying of' the body of 
Christ; that we henceforth be no more 
children." The word is called 4 an ham- 
mer,' Jer. xxiii. 29. Every blow of the 
hammer is to fasten the nails of the build- 
ing ; the preacher's words are but to fasten 
you the more to Christ,— they weaken 
themselves to strengthen and settle you. 
This is the grand design of preaching,— 
not only for the enlightening, but for the 
establishing of souls,— not only to guide 
them in the right way, but to keep them 
in it. Now, if you be not. settled, you do 



6 



A PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE 



not answer God's end in giving you the 
ministry. 

2d. To be settled in religion is both a 
Christian's excellency and honour. It is 
his excellency ; when the milk is settled it 
turns to cream ; now he will be something 
zealous for the truth, walk in close com- 
munion with God ; and his honour, Prov. 
xvi. 31. " The hoary head is a crown of 
glory, if it be found in the way of righteous- 
ness." It is one of the best sights, to see 
an old disciple, — to see silver hairs adorned 
wrfeh golden virtues. 

3d. Such as are not settled in the faith 
can never suffer for it ; sceptics in religion 
will hardly ever prove martyrs ; they that 
are not settled do hang in suspense, — when 
they think of the joys of heaven, then they 
will espouse the gospel, — but when they 
think of persecution, then they desert it. 
Unsettled Christians do not consult what 
is best, but what is safest : " The apostate 
(saith Tertullian) seems to put God and 
Satan in balance, and having weighed both 
their services, prefers the devil's service, 
and proclaims him to be the best master ; 
and in this sense, may be said to ' put Christ 
to open shame,' " Heb. vi. 6. They will 
never suffer for the truth, but be as a soldier 
that leaves his colours, and runs over to the 
enemy's side ; he will fight on the devil's 
side for pay. 

4th. Not to be settled in the faith, is 
highly provoking to God. To espouse the 
truth, and then to fall away, brings an ill re- 
port upon the gospel, which will not go un- 
punished : Ps. lxxviii. 57, 59. " They turn- 
ed back, and dealt unfaithfully ; when God 
heard this, he was wroth, and greatly abhor- 
red Israel." The apostate drops as a wind- 
fall into the devil's mouth. 

5th. If ye are not settled in religion, you 
will never grow. We are commanded ' to 
grow up into the head, even Christ,' Eph. 
iv. 15. But if we are unsettled, no grow- 
ing : "the plant which is continually re- 
moving never thrives." He can no more 
grow in godliness, who is unsettled, than a 
bone can grow in the body that is out of joint. 

6th. What great need is there to be set- 
tled ; because there are so many things to 
unsettle us, and make us fall away from 



the truth. Seducers are abroad, whose 
work is to draw away people from the 
principles of religion: 1 John ii. 26, 
"These things have I written unto you 
concerning them that seduce you." Se- 
ducers are the devil's factors ; they are of 
all others the greatest felons, that would 
rob you of the truth ; seducers have silver 
tongues ; a fair tongue can put off bad 
wares ; they have a slight to deceive, Eph. 
iv. 14. The Greek word there is taken 
from those that can cog a dye, and cast it 
for the best advantage ; so seducers are 
impostors, — they can cog a dye, — they can 
so dissemble and sophisticate the truth, that 
they can deceive others. Now, the style by 
which seducers use to deceive, is : 

1. By wisdom of words : Rom. xvi. 18, 
" By good words and fair speeches they de- 
ceive the hearts of the simple." They have 
fine elegant phrases, flattering language, 
whereby they work on the weaker sort, as 
being christed with Christ, and the light 
within them. 

2. Another slight is a pretence of extra- 
ordinary piety, that so people may admire 
them and suck in their doctrine. They 
seem to be men of zeal and sanctity, and to 
be divinely inspired ; they pretend revela- 
tions, as Munster, Michael Servetus, and 
others of the Anabaptists in Germany, 
though they were tainted with pride, lust and 
avarice. 

3. A third slight or cheat seducers have 
is a labouring to vilify and nullify sound or- 
thodox teachers ; they would eclipse those 
that bring the truth, like unto the black va- 
pours that darken the light of heaven ; they 
would defame others, that themselves may 
be more admired. Thus the false teachers 
cried down Paul, that they might be received, 
Gal. iv. 17. 

4. The fourth slight or cheat of seducers 
is by " preaching doctrine of liberty :" as 
the Antinomian preacheth that men are 
freed from the moral law, — the rule as well 
as the curse. He preacheth that Christ hath 
done all for them, and they need to do no- 
thing. So he makes the doctrine of free 
grace a key to open the door to all licen- 
tiousness. 

5. Another thing to unsettle Christians 



TO CATECHISING, 



7 



is persecutors, 2 Tim. ii. 12. The gospel 
is a rose; it cannot be plucked without 
prickles. The legacy Christ hath bequeath- 
: ed is the Cross. While there is a devil 
and a wicked man in the world, never ex- 
pect a charter of exemption from trouble ; 
and how many fall away in an hour of per- 
secution 1 Rev. xii. 3, 4, " There appeared 
a great red dragon, having seven heads and 
ten horns : and his tail drew the third part 
of the stars of heaven :" the red dragon, the 
heathenish empire, — and his tail, viz. his 
power and subtlety, drew away stars, viz. 
eminent professors that seemed to shine as 
stars in the firmament of the church. There- 
fore we see what need there is to be settled 
in the truth, for fear the tail of the dragon 
cast us to the earth. 

6. To be unsettled in good is the sin of 
the devils, Jude 6. They are called 4 morn- 
ing stars,' Job. xxxviii. 7, but ' falling stars ;' 
they were holy, but mutable. As the ves- 
sel is overturned with the sail, so their sails, 
being swelled with pride, were overturned, 
1 Tim. iii. 6. By unsettledness, who dost 
thou imitate but lapsed angels ? . The devil 
was the first apostate. So much for the first 
proposition, that it is a great duty of Chris- 
tians to be settled ; the sons of Sion should be 
like mount Sion, which cannot be removed. 

Doct. II. The second proposition is, 
that the way for Christians to be settled, is 
to be well grounded: "if ye continue 
grounded and settled.' The Greek word 
for grounded, a metaphor; it alludes to a 
building that hath the foundation well laid ; 
so Christians should be grounded in the es- 
sential points of religion, and have their 
foundation well laid. 

Here let me speak to two things : 1. That 
we should be grounded in the knowledge of 
fundamentals. 2. That this grounding is 
the best way to settling. 

1st. That we should be grounded in the 
knowledge of fundamentals. The apostle 
speaks of the 4 first principles of the oracles 
of God,' Heb. v. 13. In all arts and scien- 
ces, logic, physic, mathematics, there are 
some prcecognita, — some rules and principles 
that must necessarily be known to the prac- 
tice of those arts : so, in divinity, there 
must be the first principles laid down. The 



knowledge of the grounds and principles of 
religion is exceeding useful: 

1. Else we cannot serve God aright ; we 
can never worship God acceptably, unless 
we worship him regularly ; and how can 
we do that, if we are ignorant of the rules 
and elements of religion ? We are bid to 
give God a * reasonable service,' Rom. xii. 
1. If we understand not the grounds of 
religion, how can it be a reasonable ser- 
vice ? 

2. Knowledge of the grounds of religion 
much enricheth the mind; it is a lamp to 
our feet ; it directs us in the whole course 
of Christianity, as the eye directs the body. 
Knowledge of fundamentals is the golden 
key that opens the chief mysteries of reli- 
gion ; it gives us a whole system and body 
of divinity exactly drawn in all its linea- 
ments and lively colours ; it helps us to un- 
derstand many of those difficult things 
which do occur in the reading of the word ; 
it helps to untie many scripture-knots. 

3. Armour of proof ; it doth furnish us 
with weapons to fight against the adversa- 
ries of the truth. 

4. It is the holy seed of which grace is 
formed ; It is semen jidei, * the seed of 
faith,' Ps. ix. 10. It is radix amoris, * the 
root of love,' Eph. iii. 17, " Being rooted 
and grounded in love." The knowledge 
of principles conduceth to the making of a 
complete Christian. 

2d. That this grounding is the best way 
to settling : ' grounded and settled.' A tree, 
that may be well settled, must be well 
rooted ; so, if you be well settled in religion, 
you must be rooted in the principles of it. 
He, in Plutarch, set up a dead man, and 
he would not stand ; " O," saith he, " there 
must be something within ;" so, that we may 
stand in shaking times, there must be a prin- 
ciple of knowledge within, — first ground- 
ed, and then settled. That the ship may 
be kept from overturning, it must have its 
anchor fastened ; knowledge of principles is 
to the soul as the anchor to the ship, that 
holds it steady in the midst of all the roll- 
ing waves of error, or the violent winds of 
persecution. First grounded and then settled. 

Use I. See the reason why so many peo- 
ple are unsettled, ready to embrace every 



s 



MAN'S CHIEF END IS TO GLORIFY GOD. 



novel opinion, and dress themselves in as 
many religions as they do fashions ; it is be- 
cause they are ungrounded. See how the 
apostle joins these two together, 4 unlearned 
and unstable,' 2 Pet. iii. 16. Such as are 
unlearned in the main points of divinity, will 
be unstable. As the body cannot be strong 
that hath the sinews shrunk ; so neither can 
that Christian be strong in religion who 
wants the grounds of knowledge, which are 
the sinews to strengthen and establish him. 

Use II. See then what great necessity 
there is of laying down all the main grounds 
of religion in a catechetical form, that the 
weakest judgment may be instructed in the 
knowledge of the truth, and strengthened in 
the love of it. Catechising is the best expe- 
dient for the grounding and settling of peo- 
ple. I fear, one reason why there hath been 
no more good done by preaching, hath been 
because the chief heads and articles in reli- 
gion have not been explained in a catechisti- 
cal way. Catechising is the laying the foun- 
dation, Heb. vi. 1. To preach and not to 
catechise, is to build without a foundation. 
This way of catechising is not novel, it is 
apostolical. The primitive church had their 



forms of catechism : so much those phrases 
imply, a 4 form of sound words,' 2 Tim. i. 13. 
and 4 the first principles of the oracles of 
God,' Heb. v. 12 ; and since the church had 
their catechumenoi, as Grotius and Erasmus 
observe, many of the ancient fathers have 
written for it, Fulgentius, Austin, Theodoret, 
Lactantius, and others. God hath given 
great success to it. By this laying down of 
grounds of religion catechistically, Christians 
have been clearly instructed and wondrously 
built up in the Christian faith ; insomuch,, 
that Julian the apostate, seeing the great 
success of catechising, did put down all 
schools and places of public literature, and 
instructing of youth. It is my design there- 
fore (with the blessing of God) to begin this 
work of catechising the next sabbath-day ; 
and I intend every other sabbath, in the af- 
ternoon, to make it my whole work to lay 
down the grounds and fundamentals of reli- 
gion in a catechistical way. If I am hin- 
dered in this work by men, or taken away by 
death, I hope God will raise up some other 
labourer in the vineyard among you, that 
may perfect this work which I am now be- 
ginning. 



MAN'S CHIEF END IS TO GLORIFY GOD. 



Quest. 1. WHAT is the chief end of 
man ? 

Ans. Man's chief end is to glorify God, 
and to enjoy Him for ever. 

Here are two ends of life specified : 1st. 
The glorifying of God. 2d. The enjoying of 
God. 

I. I begin with the first, the glorifying of 
God, 1 Pet. iv. 11, "That God in all 
things may be glorified." The glory of God 
is a silver thread which must run through alJ 
our actions ; 1 Cor. x. 31, " Whether, 
therefore, ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye 
do, do all to the glory of God." Every thing 
works to some end in things natural and ar- 
tificial ; now man being a rational creature, 
must propose some end to himself, and that 
is, that he may lift up God in the world ; and 
better lose his life than lose the end of his 
living ; so then, the great truth asserted is 
this, that the end of every man's living is, to 



glorify God ; this is the yearly rent that is 
paid to the crown of heaven. Glorifying of 
God hath respect to all the persons in the 
Trinity ; it respects God the Father, who 
gave us our life ; it respects God the Son, 
who lost his life for us ; it respects God the 
Holy Ghost, who produceth a new life in us ; 
we must bring glory to the whole Trinity. 

When we speak of God's glory, the ques- 
tion will be moved, 

Q,. What we are to understand by God's 
glory ? 

Ans. There is a twofold glory : 1. The 
glory that God hath in himself, his intrinsical 
glory. Glory is essential to the Godhead, as 
light is to the sun ; he is called the 4 God of 
glory,' Acts vii. 2. Glory is the sparkling of 
the Deity ; glory is so co-natural to the God- 
head, that God cannot be God without it. 
The creature's honour is not essential to his 
being ; a king is a man without his regal or- 



MAN'S CHIEF END IS TO GLORIFY GOD. 



9 



! naments, when his crown and royal robe are 
i taken away, but God's glory is such an es- 
sential part of his being, that he cannot be 
God without it ; God's very life lies in his 
glory. This glory can receive no addition, 
i because it is infinite ; this glory is that which 
\ God is most tender of, and which he will not 
part with, Isa. xlviii. 11, " My glory I will 
not give to another." God will give tem- 
poral blessings to his children, such as wis- 
dom, riches, honour ; he will give them spi- 
ritual blessings, — he will give them grace, 
— he will give them his love, — he will give 
them heaven, — but his essential glory he 
will not give to another. King Pharaoh 
parted with a ring off his finger to Joseph, 
and a gold chain, but he would not part 
with his throne, Gen. xli. 40, ' Only in 
the throne will I be greater than thou.' 
So God will do much for his people ; he 
will give them the inheritance ; he will put 
some of Christ's glory, as mediator, upon 
them ; but his essential glory he will not 
part with ; ' in the throne he will be 
greater.' 

2. The glory which is ascribed to God, 
or which his creatures labour to bring to 
him : 1 Chron. xvi. 29, " Give unto the 
Lord the glory due unto his name," and, 
1 Cor. vi. 20, " Glorify God in your body 
and in your spirit." The glory we give 
God, is nothing else but our lifting up his 
name in the world, and magnifying him in 
the eyes of others: Phil. i. 20, "Christ 
shall be magnified in my body." 

Q. What is it to glorify God, or wherein 
doth it consist ? 

A. Glorifying of God consists in four 
things : 1st. Appreciation, 2d. Adoration, 
3d. Affection, 4th. Subjection. This is the 
yearly rent we pay to the crown of heaven. 

1. Appreciation. To glorify God, is to set 
God highest in our thoughts, — to have a ve- 
nerable esteem of him : Ps. xcii. 8, " Thou, 
Lord, art most high for evermore ;" Ps. 
xcvii. 9, " Thou art exalted far above all 
gods." There is in God all that may draw 
forth both wonder and delight ; there is in 
him a constellation of all beauties ; he is pri- 
ma causa, — the original and spring-head 
of being, who sheds a glory upon the crea- 
B 



ture. This is to glorify God, when we are 
God-admirers ; we admire God in his at- 
tributes, which are the glistering beams by 
which the divine nature shines forth ; we 
admire him in his promises, which are the 
charter of free grace, and the spiritual cabi- 
net where the pearl of price is hid ; we ad- 
mire God in the noble effects of his power, 
and wisdom, viz. the making of the world, 
this is called the 1 work of his fingers,' Ps. 
viii. 3, such curious needle-work it was, 
that none but a God could work. This 
is to glorify God, to have God-admiring 
thoughts ; we esteem him most excellent, 
and search for diamonds only in this rock. 

2. Glorifying of God consists in adora- 
tion, or worship : Ps. xxix. 2, " Give un- 
to the Lord the glory due unto his name ; 
worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness." 
There is a twofold worship : 1st. A civil 
reverence we give to persons of honour : 
Gen. xxiii. 7, " Abraham stood up and bow- 
ed himself to the children of Heth," — * 
Piety is no enemy to Courtesy. 2d. A di- 
vine worship which we give to God, is his 
prerogative royal : Neh. viii. 6, " They 
bowed their heads, and worshipped the 
Lord with their faces towards the ground." 
This divine worship God is very jealous 
of ; this is the apple of his eye, this is the 
pearl of his crown, which he guards, as he 
did the tree of life, with cherubims and a 
flaming sword, that no man may come near 
it to violate it ; divine worship must be 
such as God himself hath appointed, else 
it is offering strange fire, Lev. x. 2. The 
Lord would have Moses make the taberna- 
cle, "according to the pattern in the 
Mount," Exod. xxv. 40 ; he must not leave 
out any thing in the pattern, nor add to it. 
If God was so exact and curious about the 
place of worship, how exact will he be 
about the matter of his worship] Surely 
here every thing must be according to the 
pattern prescribed in his word. 

3. Affection. This is a part of the glory 
we give to God. God counts himself glo- 
rified when he is loved : Deut. vi. 5, " Thou 
shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy 
heart, and with all thy soul." There is a 
twofold love : 1st. Amor concupiscentiee, a 



10 



MAN'S CHIEF END IS TO GLORIFY GOD. 



love of concupiscence, which is self-love, 
as when we love another, because he doth 
us a good turn : thus a wicked man may 
be said to love God, because he hath given 
him a good crop, or filled his cup with 
wine, and, to speak properly, this is rather 
to love God's blessing than to love God. 
2d. Amor amicitice, a love of delight, as a 
man takes delight in a friend ; this is indeed 
to love God ; the heart is set upon God, as a 
man's heart is set upon his treasure. And 
this love is, 1st. Exuberant, not a few drops 
but a stream; 2d. It is superlative; we give 
God the best of our love, the cream of it, 
Cant. viii. 2, " I would cause thee to drink 
of spiced wine, of the juice of my pome- 
granate." If the spouse had a cup more 
juicy and spiced, Christ must drink of it. 
3d. It is intense and ardent ; true saints are 
seraphims, burning in holy love to God. 
The spouse was amove perculsa, — in faint- 
ing fits, ' sick of love,' Cant. ii. 5. Thus 
to love God is to glorify him ; he who is the 
chief of our happiness, hath the chief of our 
affections. 

4. Subjection. When we dedicate our- 
selves to God, and stand ready dressed for 
his service. Thus the angels in heaven glo- 
rify hinv ; they wait on his throne, and are 
ready to take a commission from him ; there- 
fore they are represented by the cherubims 
with their wings displayed, to show how 
swift the angels are in their obedience. 
This is to glorify God, when we are devoted 
to his service, — our head studies for God, — 
our tongue pleads for him, — our hands re- 
lieve his members. The wise men that came 
to Christ did not only bow the knee to him, 
but presented him with gold and myrrh, 
Matth. ii. 11 ; so we must not only bow the 
knee, give God worship, but bring presents, 
golden obedience. This is to glorify God, 
when we stick at no service, — when we fight 
under the banner of his gospel against regi- 
ments, and say to him as David to king Saul, 
1 Sam. xvii, 32, " Thy servant will go and 
fight with this Philistine." Thus you see 
wherein the glorifying of God doth consist : in 
appreciation, adoration, affection, subjection. 

A good Christian is like the sun, which 
doth not only send forth heat, but goes his 
circuit round the world. Thus, he who glo- 



rifies God, hath not only his affections heated 
with love to God, but he goes his circuit too ; 
he moves vigorously in the sphere of obedi- 
ence. 

Q,. Why must we glorify God 1 
A. 1. Because he gives us our being, Ps. 
c. 3, " It is he that made us." We think it 
a great kindness in a man to spare our life, 
but what kindness is it in God to give us our 
life 1 We draw our breath from him ; and as 
life, so all the comforts of life are from God ; 
he gives us health, which is the sauce to 
sweeten our life ; he gives us food, which is 
the oil that nourisheth the lamp of life ; now, 
if all we receive is from the hand of his 
bounty, is it not good reason we should glo- 
rify him, and live to him, seeing we live by 
him'? Rom. xi. 36, "For of him, and 
through him are all things." Of him are 
all, — all we have are of his fulness ; through 
him are all,— all we have is through his 
free grace ; and therefore to him should be 
all ; so it follows, " To him be glory for 
ever." God is not only our benefactor, but our 
founder ; the rivers come from the sea, and 
they empty their silver streams into the sea 
again. 

A. 2. Because God hath made all things 
for his own glory : Prov. xvi. 4, " The Lord 
hath made all things for himself," — that is, 
* for his glory.' As a king hath excise out 
of commodities, God will have his glory out 
of every thing ; he will have glory out of 
the wicked, the glory of his justice ; they 
will not give him glory, but he will get his 
glory upon them : Exod. xiv. 17, " I will 
get me honour upon Pharaoh." But especi- 
ally he hath made the godly for his glory ; 
they are the lively organs of his praise, Isa. 
xliii. 21, " This people have I formed for 
myself, and they shall show forth my praise." 
It is true, they cannot add to his glory, but 
they may exalt it ; they cannot raise him in 
heaven, but they may raise him in the es- 
teem of others. God hath adopted the 
saints into his family, and made them a royal 
priesthood, that they should show forth the 
praises of him who hath called them, 1 Pet. 
ii. 9. 

A. 3. Because the glory of God hath 
such intrinsic value and excellency in it ; 
it transcends the thoughts of men and the 



MAN'S CHIEF END IS TO GLORIFY GOD. 



11 



tongues of angels ; God's glory is his trea- 
sure, all his riches lie here ; as Micah said, 
Judges xviii. 24, " What have I more V 3 
So of God, what hath God more ? God's 
glory is more worth than heaven, more worth 
than the salvation of all men's souls ; better 
kingdoms be thrown down, better men and 
angels be annihilated, than God should lose 
one jewel of his crown, one beam of his 
glory. 

A. 4. Creatures below us, and above us, 
bring glory to God ; and do we think to 
sit rent free'? Shall every thing glorify 
God, but man 1 It is a pity then that ever 
man was made. 1. Creatures below us glo- 
rify God, — the inanimate creatures, — the 
heavens glorify God, Ps. xix. 1, " The hea- 
vens declare the glory of God." The cu- 
rious workmanship of heaven sets forth the 
glory of its maker ; the firmament is beauti- 
fied and penciled out in blue and azure co- 
lours, where the power and wisdom of God 
may be clearly seen. " The heavens de- 
clare his glory ;" we may see the glory of 
God blazing in the sun, twinkling in the 
stars. 2. Look into the air ; the birds, with 
their chirping music, sing hymns of praise 
to God, saith Anselm. Every beast doth in 
its kind glorify God, Isa. xliii. 20, " The 
beasts of the field shall honour me." 3. 
Creatures above us glorify God ; "the an- 
gels are ministering spirits," Heb. i. 14. 
They are still waiting on God's throne, and 
bring some revenues of glory into the ex- 
chequer of heaven. Then surely man should 
be much more studious of God's glory than 
the angels ; for God hath honoured him more 
than the angels, in that Christ took man's 
nature upon him, and not the angels' : al- 
though, in regard of creation, God hath 
made man " a little lower than the angels," 
Heb. ii. 7, yet, in regard of redemption, 
God hath set him higher than the angels ; 
he hath married mankind to himself ; the 
angels are Christ's friends, but not his 
spouse ; he hath covered us with the purple 
robe of righteousness, which is a better 
righteousness than the angels have, 2 Cor. 
v. 21. So that if the angels bring glory to 
God, much more should we, being dignified 
with honour above the angelical spirits. 

A. 5. We must bring glory to God, be- 



cause all our hopes hang upon him, Ps. 
xxxix. 7, " My hope is in thee." And Ps. 
lxii. 5, " My expectation is from him;" I 
expect a kingdom from him. A child that is 
good-natured will honour his parent, as ex- 
pecting all that ever he is like to be worth 
from him, Ps. Ixxxvii. 7, " All my springs 
are in thee," — the silver springs of grace, 
the golden springs of glory. 

Q,. How many ways may we glorify 
God? 

A. 1 . It is a glorifying God, when we aim 
purely at God's glory ; it is one thing to ad- 
vance God's glory, another thing to aim at 
it. God must be the terminus ad quern, the 
ultimate end of all actions. Thus Christ, 
John viii. 50, " I seek not mine own glory, 
but the glory of him that sent me." It is 
the note of a hypocrite, he hath a squint 
eye, he looks more to his own glory than 
God's glory. Our Saviour decyphers such, 
and gives a caveat against them, Matth. vi. 
2, " When thou givest alms, do not sound 
a trumpet." A stranger would ask, 4 What 
means the noise of this trumpet V Then it 
was answered, ' they are going to give to 
the poor.' And so they did not give alms, 
but sell them for honour and applause, that 
they might have glory of men ; the breath of 
men was the wind that blew the sails of 
their charity, — " verily they have their re- 
ward." The hypocrite may make his ac- 
quittance and write, 'received in full pay- 
ment.' Chrysostom calls vain-glory one of 
the devil's great nets to catch men. And 
Cyprian says, " whom Satan cannot prevail 
against by intemperance, those he prevails 
against by pride and vain-glory." Oh let us 
take heed of self- worshipping ! aim purely 
at God's glory. 

Q. How shall we know we aim at God's 
glory ? 

1. When we prefer God's glory above all 
other things ; above credit, estate, relations ; 
when the glory of God coming in competi- 
tion with them, we prefer his glory before 
them. If relations lie in our way to heaven, 
we must either leap over them, or tread upon 
them ; a child must unchild himself, and for- 
get he is a child ; he must know neither fa- 
ther nor mother in God's cause, Deut. xxxiii. 
9, " Who said unto his father and mother, 



12 



MAN'S CHIEF END IS TO GLORIFY GOD. 



I have not seen him ; neither did he acknow- 
ledge his brethren." This is to aim at God's 
glory. 

2. Then we aim at God's glory, when we 
can be content that God's will should take 
place, though it cross ours. Lord, I am 
content to be a loser, if thou be a gainer ; to 
have less health, if I have more grace, and 
thou more glory ; whether it be food or bitter 
physic thou givest me, Lord, I desire that 
which may be most for thy glory. Thus our 
blessed Saviour, " not as I will, but as thou 
wilt," Matth. xxvi. 39. So God might have 
more glory by his sufferings, he was content 
to suffer, John xii. 28, " Father, glorify thy 
name." 

3. Then we aim at God's glory, when we 
can be content to be out-shined by others in 
gifts and esteem, so God's glory may be in- 
creased. A man that hath God in his heart, 
and God's glory in his eye, desires that God 
should be exalted ; and if this be effected, 
let who will be the instrument, he rejoiceth, 
Phil. i. 15, " Some preach Christ of envy : 
notwithstanding Christ is preached, and I 
therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice." 
They preached Christ of envy, they envied 
Paul that concourse of people, and they 
preached that they might outshine him in 
gifts, and get away some of his hearers : 
well, saith Paul, Christ is preached, and 
God is like to have glory, therefore I rejoice ; 
let my candle go out, if the Sun of Right- 
eousness may but shine. 

A. 2. We glorify God by an ingenuous 
confession of sin. The thief on the cross 
had dishonoured God in his life, but at his 
death he brings glory to God by confession 
of sin, Luke xxiii. 41, "We indeed suffer 
justly." He acknowledged he deserved not 
only crucifixion, but damnation. Josh. vii. 
19, "My son, give, I pray thee, glory to 
God, and make confession unto him." An 
humble confession exalts God. How is God's 
free grace magnified in crowning those who 
deserve to be condemned ; as the excusing 
and mincing of sin doth cast a reproach upon 
God ! Adam denies not he did taste the for- 
bidden fruit, but, instead of a full confession, 
he taxes God, Gen. iii. 12, "The woman 
whom thou gavest me, she gave me of the 
tree, and I did eat." If thou hadst not given 



me the woman to be a tempter, I had not 
sinned. So confession glorifies God ; it 
clears him, it acknowledged he is holy and 
righteous whatever he doth. Nehemiah vin- 
dicates God's righteousness, chap. ix. 33, 
" Thou art just in all that is brought upon 
us." A confession then is ingenuous, when 
it is free, not forced, Luke xv. 18, " 1 have 
sinned against heaven, and before thee." 
He chargeth himself with sin, before ever 
his Father charged him with it. 

A. 3. We glorify God by believing, Rom. 
iv. 20, " Abraham was strong in faith, giv- 
ing glory to God." Unbelief affronts God, 
it gives him the lie ; " he that believeth not, 
maketh God a liar," 1 John v. 10. So faith 
brings glory to God, it sets to its seal that 
God is true, John iii. 23. He that believes, 
flies to God's mercy and truth, as to an altar 
of refuge ; he doth ingarrison himself in the 
promises ; he trusts all he hath with God, 
Ps. xxxi. 5, " Into thy hands I commit my 
spirit." This is a great way of bringing 
glory to God, therefore God honours faith, 
because faith honours God. It is a great 
honour we do to a man, when we trust him 
with all we have, — we put our lives and es- 
tates into his hand, — a sign we have a good 
opinion of him. The three children glori- 
fied God by believing, " The God whom we 
serve is able to deliver us, and will deliver 
us," Dan. iii. 17. Faith knows there are no 
impossibilities with God, and will trust him 
where it cannot trace him. 

A. 4. We glorify God, by being tender of 
God's glory. God's glory is dear to him as 
the apple of his eye. Now, when we are 
tender of his glory, by laying to heart his 
dishonours, this is a glorifying of him. An 
ingenuous child weeps to see a disgrace done 
to his father, Ps. Ixix. 9, " The reproaches 
of them that reproach thee are fallen upon 
me." When we hear God reproached, it is 
as if we were reproached ; when God's glory 
suffers, it is as if we suffered. This is to be 
tender of God's glory. 

A. 5. We glorify God by fruitfulness, 
John xv. 8, " Hereby is my Father glorified, 
if ye bring forth much fruit. As it is a dis- 
honour to God to be barren, so fruitfulness 
doth honour him, Phil. i. 11, ¥ Filled with 
the fruits of righteousness, which are to the 



praise of his giory." We must not be like 
the fig-tree in the gospel, which had nothing 
but leaves, but like the pome-citron, that is 
continually either mellowing or blossoming ; 
it is never without fruit. It is not profession, 
but fruit glorifies God ; God expects to have 
his glory from us this way, 1 Cor. ix. 7, 
f Who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not 
of the fruit of it?" Trees in the forest may 
be barren, but trees in the garden are fruit- 
ful ; we must bring forth the fruits of love 
and good works, Matth. v. 16, " Let your 
light so shine before men, that they may see 
your good works, and glorify your Father 
which is in heaven." Faith doth sanctify 
our works, and works do testify our faith ; 
to be doing good to others, — to be eyes to 
the blind, feet to the lame, — doth much glo- 
rify God. And thus Christ did glorify his 
Father ; " he went about doing good," Acts 
x. 38. By being fruitful we are fair in God's 
eyes, Jer. xi. 16, "The Lord called thy 
name a green olive-tree, fair and of goodly 
fruit." And we must bear much fruit ; it is 
muchness of fruit glorifies God ; " if ye bear 
much fruit." The spouse's breasts are com- 
pared to clusters of grapes, Cant. vii. 7, to 
show how fertile she was. Though the 
lowest degree of grace may bring salvation 
to you, yet not so much glory to God ; it 
was not a spark of love Christ commended 
in Mary, but much love ; " she loved much," 
Luke vii. 47. 

A. 6. We glorify God, by being content- 
ed in that state where his providence hath 
set us. We give God the glory of his wis- 
dom, in that we rest satisfied with what he- 
carves out to us. Thus did holy Paul glorify 
God ; the Lord did cast him into as great va- 
riety of conditions as any man, "in prisons 
more frequent, in deaths oft," 2 Cor. xi. 23, 
yet he had learned to be content. St Paul 
could sail either in a storm or a calm ; he 
could be anything that God would have him : 
he could either want or abound, Phil. iv. 13. 
A good Christian argues thus : It is God that 
hath put me in this condition ; he could have 
raised me higher, if he pleased, but that 
might have been a snare to me ; God hath 
done it in wisdom and love ; therefore I will 
sit down satisfied with my condition. Surely 
this doth much glorify God ! God counts 



13 

himself much honoured with such a Chris- 
tian : saith God, here is one after my own 
heart ; let me do what I will with him, I hear 
no murmuring, he is content : this shows 
abundance of grace. When grace is crown- 
ing, it is not so much to be content, — but 
when grace is conflicting with inconvenien- 
ces, then to be content, is a glorious thing, 
indeed ; for one to be content when he is in 
Heaven, is no wonder, — but to be content un- 
der the cross, is like a Christian. This man 
must needs bring glory to God, for he shows 
to all the world, that though he hath little 
meal in his barrel, yet he hath enough in 
God to make him content ; he saith, as Da- 
vid, Ps. xvi. 5, " The Lord is the portion of 
mine inheritance ; the lines are fallen to me 
in pleasant places." 

A. 7. We glorify God in working out our 
own salvation. God hath twisted these two 
together, his glory, and our good. We glori- 
fy him, by promoting our own salvation. It 
is a glory to God to have multitudes of con- 
verts ; now, his design of free grace takes, 
and God hath the glory of his mercy ; so 
that, while we are endeavouring our salva- 
tion, we are honouring God. What an en- 
couragement is this to the service of God, to 
think, while I am hearing and praying, I am 
glorifying God ; while I am furthering my 
own glory in heaven, I am increasing God's 
glory ! Would it not be an encouragement 
to a subject, to hear his prince say to him, 
" You will honour and please me very much, 
if you will go to yonder mine of gold, and dig 
as much gold for yourself as you can carry 
away ]" So, for God to say, " Go to the or- 
dinances, get as much grace as you can, dig 
out as much salvation as you can ; and the 
more happiness you have, the more I shall 
count myself glorified." 

A. 8. We glorify God, by living to God, 
2 Cor. v. 15, " that they which live, should 
not live to themselves, but unto him who died 
for them." Rom. xiv. 8, " Whether we 
live, we live unto the Lord." The Mammon- 
ist lives to his money, the Epicure lives to 
his belly, the design of a sinner's life is to 
gratify lust. But then we glorify God, when 
we live to God. 

Q. What is it to live to God ? 

A. When we live to his service, and lay 



MAN'S CHIEF END IS TO GLORIFY GOD. 



MAN'S CHIEF END IS TO GLORIFY GOD. 



14 

out ourselves wholly for God. The Lord 
hath sent us into the world, as a merchant 
sends his factor beyond the seas to trade for 
him ; then we live to God, when we trade 
for his interest, and propagate his gospel. 
God hath given every man a talent. Now, 
when he doth not hide it in a napkin, but im- 
proves it for God, this is to live to God. 
When a master in a family, by counsel and 
good example, labours to bring his servants 
to Christ, — when a minister doth exhaust 
himself in the labours of his holy calling, 
when he spends himself, and is spent, that he 
may win souls to Christ, and make the 
crown flourish upon Christ's head, — when 
the magistrate doth not wear the sword in 
vain, but labours to cut down sin, and sup- 
press vice, — this is to live to God, and this 
is a glorifying of God : Phil. i. 20, " That 
Christ might be magnified, whether by life or 
by death." Three wishes St Paul had, and 
they were all about Christ, that he may be 
found in Christ, be with Christ, and that he 
might magnify Christ. 

A. 9. We glorify God by walking cheer- 
fully. It is a glory to God, when the world 
sees a Christian hath that within him that 
can make him cheerful in the worst times ; 
he can, with the nightingale, sing with a 
thorn at his breast. The people of God 
hath ground of cheerfulness ; they are justi- 
fied, and instated into adoption ; and this cre- 
ates inward peace ; it makes music within, 
whatever storms are without, 2 Cor. i. 4 ; 1 
Thes. i. 6. If we consider what Christ hath 
wrought for us by his blood, and wrought in 
us by his Spirit, it is a ground of great cheer- 
fulness, and this cheerfulness glorifies God. 
It reflects upon a master when the servant is 
always drooping and sad, sure he is kept to 
hard commons, his master doth not give him 
what is fitting ; so when God's people hang 
their heads, it looks as if they did not serve 
a good master, or repented of their choice ; 
this reflects dishonour on God. As the gross 
sins of the wicked bring a scandal on the 
gospel, so do the uncheerful lives of the god- 
ly, Ps. c. 2, " Serve the Lord with glad- 
ness." Your serving him doth not glorify 
him unless it be with gladness. A Christian's 
cheerful looks glorify God ; religion doth not 
take away our joy, but refine and clarify it ; 



it doth not break our viol, but tunes it, and 
makes the music sweeter. 

A. 10. We glorify God by standing up for 
his truths. Much of God's glory lies in his 
truth. God hath intrusted us with his truth, 
as a master intrusts his servant with his 
purse to keep. We have not a richer jewel 
to trust God with, than our souls ; nor God 
hath not a richer jewel to trust us with, than 
his truth. Truth is a beam that shines from 
God, much of his glory lies in his truth ; now 
when we are advocates for truth, this is to 
glorify God ; so Athanasius, the bulwark for 
truth. Jude v. 3, " That ye should con- 
tend earnestly for the faith," viz. the doctrine 
of faith. The Greek word to contend, signi- 
fies a great contending, as one would con- 
tend for his land and not suffer his right to be 
taken from him ; so we should contend for 
the truth. Were there more of this holy 
contention, God would have more glory. 
Some can contend earnestly for trifles and 
ceremonies, but not for the truth ; we should 
count him indiscreet, that would contend 
more for a picture, than for his land of inher- 
itance, — for a box of counters, than for his 
box of evidences. 

A. 11. We glorify God, by praising him. 
Doxology, or praise, is a God-exalting work : 
Ps. 1. 23, " Whoso offereth praise glorifieth 
me." The Hebrew word bara, to create, 
and barak, to praise, are little different, be- 
cause the end of creation is to praise God. 
David was called « the sweet singer of Israel,' 
and his praising God, was called a glorifying 
of God, Ps. lxxxvi. 12, " I will praise thee, 
O Lord my God, and I will glorify thy 
name." Though nothing can add to God's 
essential glory, yet praise exalts him in the 
eyes of others. When we praise God, we 
spread his fame and renown, we display the 
trophies of his excellency. In this manner 
the angels glorify God, and they are the 
choristers of heaven, and do trumpet forth 
God's praise. And praising of God is one of 
the highest and purest acts of religion ; in 
prayer we act like men ; in praise we act like 
angels ; this is a high degree of glorifying 
God. Believers are called ' temples of God,' 
1. Cor. iii. 16. When our tongues praise, 
then the organs in God's spiritual temple 
are going. How sad is it that God hath no 



MAN'S CHiEF END IS TO GLORIFY GOD. 



15 



more of his glory from us this way ! Many 
are full of murmurings and discontents, but 
seldom do they bring glory to God, by 
giving him the praise due to his name. We 
read of the saints having harps in their 
hands, Rev. v. 8, the emblems of praise : 
many have tears in their eyes, and complaints 
[ in their mouths, but few have harps in 
| their hand, blessing and glorifying of God. 
Let us honour God this way. Praise is the 
quit-rent we pay to God ; while God renews 
our lease, we must renew our rent. 

A. 12. We glorify God, by being zealous 
for his name : Numb. xxv. 11, " Phinehas 
hath turned my wrath away, while he was 
zealous for my sake." Zeal is a mixed af- 
fection, a compound of love and anger ; it 
i carries forth our love to God, and anger 
against sin in a most intense manner. Zeal 
is impatient of God's dishonour : a Christian 
fired with zeal, takes a dishonour done to 
God worse that an injury done to himself, 
Rev. ii. 2, " Thou canst not bear them that 
are evil." Our Saviour Christ did thus glo- 
rify his Father : he, being baptized with a 
spirit of zeal, drove the money-changers out 
of the temple, John ii. 14, 17, " The zeal of 
thine house hath eaten me up." 

A. 13. We glorify God, when we have an 
eye at God, both in our natural and in our 
civil actions : 1. In our natural actions. In 
eating and drinking, 1 Cor. x. 31, "Whe- 
ther therefore ye eat or drink, do all to the 
glory of God." A gracious person holds the 
golden bridle of temperance ; he takes his 
meat as a medicine to heal the decays of 
nature, and that he may be the fitter, by the 
strength he receives, for the service of God ; 
he makes his food, not fuel for lust, but help 
to duty. 2. In buying and selling, we do all 
to the glory of God. The wicked live upon 
unjust gain, either by falsifying the balances, 
Hos. xii. 7, " The balances of deceit are in 
his hands." While men make their weights 
lighter they make their sins heavier ; or, by 
exacting more than the commodity is worth, 
they do not for fourscore write down fifty, 
but for fifty, fourscore ; they exact double the 
price that a thing is worth. But when we 
buy and sell to the glory of God, when in 
our buying and selling, we observe that gold- 



en maxim, " To do to others, as we would 
have them to do to us," Matth. vii. 12. When 
we do sell our commodities, that we do not 
sell our conscience, Acts xxiv. 16, " Here- 
in do I exercise myself, to have always a 
conscience void of offence toward God and 
toward men." This is to glorify God, when 
we have an eye at God in our civil and na- 
tural actions, and will do nothing that may 
reflect any blemish on religion. 

A. 14. We glorify God, by labouring to 
draw others to God. We convert others, 
and so make them instruments of glorifying 
God. We should be both diamonds and 
loadstones ; diamonds for the lustre of grace, 
and loadstones for our attractive virtue in 
drawing others to Christ : Gal. iv. 19, " My 
little children, of whom I travail," &c. This 
is a great way of glorifying God, when we 
break the devil's prison, and turn men from 
the power of Satan to God. 

A. 15. We glorify God in an high man- 
ner, when we suffer for God, and seal the 
gospel with our blood : John xxi. 18, 19, 
" When thou shalt be old, another shall gird 
thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldst 
not : this spake he, signifying by what death 
he should glorify God." God's glory shines 
in the ashes of his martyrs, Isa. xxiv. 15, 
" Wherefore glorify the Lord in the fires." 
Micaiah was in the prison, — Isaiah was 
sawn asunder, — Paul beheaded, — Luke hang- 
ed on an olive-tree, — thus did they by their 
death glorify God. The sufferings of the 
primitive saints did honour God, and make 
the gospel famous in the world. What 
would others say 1 See what a good master 
they serve, and how they love him, that they 
will venture the loss of all in his service. 
The glory of Christ's kingdom doth not 
stand in worldly pomp and grandeur, as other 
kings ; but it is seen in the cheerful suffer- 
ings of his people. The saints of old " loved 
not their lives to the death," Rev. xii. 11. 
They snatched up torments as so many 
crowns. God grant we may thus glorify him, 
if he calls us to it. Many pray, " Let this 
cup pass away," but few, " thy will be done." 

A. 16. We glorify God, when we give 
God the glory of all we do. Herod when he 
had made an oration, and the people gave a 



16 



MAN'S CHIEF END IS TO GLORIFY GOD. 



shout, saying, " It is the voice of a god, and 
not of a man ;" he took this glory to himself, 
the text saith, " And immediately the angel 
of the Lord smote him, because he gave not 
God the glory, and he was eaten of worms," 
Acts xii. 23. Then we glorify God, when 
we sacrifice the praise and glory of all to 
God, 1 Cor. xv. 10, " I laboured more abun- 
dantly than they all," — a speech one would 
think, savoured of pride, but the apostle pulls 
the crown from his own head, and sets it 
upon the head of free grace, " yet not I, but 
the grace of God which was with me." As 
Joab, when he fought against Rabbah, sent for 
king David, that he might carry away the 
crown of the victory, 2 Sam. xii. 28, so a 
Christian when he hath gotten power over 
any corruption or temptation, sends for 
Christ, that he may carry away the crown of 
the victory. As the silk-worm, when she 
weaves her curious work, she hides herself 
under the silk, and is not seen ; so when we 
have done any thing praise-worthy, we must 
hide ourselves under the veil of humility, 
and transfer the glory of all we have done to 
God. Constantine did use to write the name 
of Christ over his door, so should we write 
the name of Christ over our duties ; let him 
wear the garland of praise. 

A. 17. We glorify God by an holy life ; 
as a bad life doth dishonour God : 1 Pet. ii. 
9, " Ye are an holy nation, that ye should 
show forth the praises of him that hath call- 
ed you ;" Rom. ii. 24, " The name of God 
is blasphemed among the Gentiles through 
you." Epiphanius saith, " That the loose- 
ness of some Christians, in his time, 
made many of the heathens shun the com- 
pany of the Christians, and would not be 
drawn to hear their sermons." So, by our 
exact Bible-conversation we glorify God. 
Though the main work of religion lies in the 
heart, yet our light must so shine that others 
may behold it ; the chief of a building is the 
foundation, yet the glory of it is in the fron- 
tispiece ; so beauty in the conversation : when 
the saints, who are called jewels, cast a 
sparkling lustre of holiness in the eyes of 
the world, then they " walk as Christ walk- 
ed," 1 John ii. 6. When they live as if they 
had seen the Lord with bodily eyes, and 



been with him upon the mount, then they 
adorn religion, and bring revenues of glory 
to the crown of heaven. 

Use 1. It shows us what should not be 
our chief end : not to get great estates, — not 
to lay up treasures upon earth, — this is a 
degeneracy of mankind since the fall ; their 
great design is to compass the earth and 
grow rich, and this they make their chief 
end ; those never think of glorifying God, — 
they trade for the world, but are not factors 
for heaven : Eccles. ix. 3, " Madness is in 
their heart while they live." Sometimes 
they never arrive at an estate, — they do not 
get the venison they hunt for, — or, though 
they do, what have they 1 that which will not 
fill the heart, no more than the mariner's 
breath will fill the sails of a ship, — a picture 
drawn on the ice ! So they spend their time, 
as Israel, in 'gathering straw, but remem- 
ber not the end of living to glorify God : 
Eccles. v. 16, " What profit hath he that 
laboureth for the wiifd'?" And these things 
are soon gone. 

Use 2. It reproves such — 1. As bring no 
glory to God. They do not answer the end 
of their creation, their time is not time lived, 
but time lost ; they are like the wood of the 
vine, Ezek. xv. 2 ; their lives are, as St 
Bernard speaks, " either sinfulness or bar- 
renness. An useless burden on the earth." 
God will one day ask such a question as king 
Ahasuerus did, Esth. vi. 3, " What honour 
and dignity hath been done to Mordecai?" So 
will the Lord say, "What honour hath been 
done to me 1 What revenues of glory have 
you brought into my exchequer V 9 There is 
none here present but God hath put you in 
some capacity of glorifying him ; the health 
he hath given you, — the parts, estate, sea- 
sons of grace, — these all are opportunities 
put into your hand to glorify him ; and, be 
assured, God will call you to account, to 
know what you have done with the mercies 
he hath intrusted you with, what glory you 
have brought to him. The parable of the 
talents, Mat. xxv. 15, where the men with 
the five talents, and the two talents, are 
brought to a reckoning, doth evidently show 
that God will call you to a strict account, to 
know how you have traded with your talents, 



MAN'S CHIEF END IS TO GLORIFY GOD. 



17 



f ind what glory you have brought to him. 
?|:Nbw, how sad will it be with them who hide 
l$j@ir talents in a napkin, that bring God no 
! ^lory at all 1 V. 30, " Cast ye the unprofita- 
ble servant into outer darkness." It is not 
'Enough for you to say, that you have not 
Y dishonoured God, — you have not lived in 
it gross sin ; but what good have you done ] 
jswhat glory have you brought to God 1 It is 
[ not enough for the servant of the vineyard, 
? that he do no hurt in the vineyard, — that he 
J3o not break the trees, or destroy the 
B hedges, — if he doth not do service in the 
[vineyard, he loseth his pay ; if you do not 
■good in your place, do not glorify God, 
■you will lose your pay, miss of salvation. 
|Oh think of this, all you that live unservice- 
lably ! Christ cursed the barren fig-tree. 2. 
lilt reproves such as are so far from bringing 
glory to God, that they rob God of his glory, 
[Mai. iii. 8, " Will a man rob God 1 yet he 
[have robbed me." They rob God, who take 
i the glory due to God to themselves : 1. If 
1 they have gotten an estate, they ascribe all 
to their own wit and industry, they set the 
(crown upon their own head, not considering 
: that, Deut. viii. 18, " Thou shalt remember 
the Lord thy God, for it is he that giveth 
thee power to get wealth." 2. If they do 
any duty of religion, they look squint to their 
own glory, Matth. vi. 5, " That they may be 
I seen of men," — that they may be set upon 
a theatre that others may admire and can- 
onize them. The oil of vain glory feeds 
their lamp. How many hath the wind of 
popular breath blown to hell ! Whom the 
devil could not destroy by intemperance, he 
hath by vain glory. 3. It reproves them 
who fight against God's glory : Acts v. 39, 
1 Lest ye be found to fight against God." 

Q,. But who do fight against God's 
glory? 

A. Such as do oppose that, whereby God's 
glory is promoted. God's glory is much pro- 
moted in the preaching of the word, because 
it is his engine whereby he converts souls. 
Now, such as would hinder the preaching 
of the word, these fight against God's glory, 
1 Thess. ii. 16, " Forbidding us to speak to 
the Gentiles, that they might be saved." 
Dioclesian, who raised the 10th persecution 
C 



against the Christians, did prohibit church- 
meetings, and would have the temples of the 
Christians to be razed down. Such as hin- 
der preaching do as the Philistines that stop- 
ped the wells, — they stop the well of the 
water of life, — they take away the physi- 
cians that should heal sin-sick souls. Minis- 
ters are lights, Matth. v. 14, and who but 
thieves hate the light 1 these persons do di- 
rectly strike at God's glory ; and what an 
account will they have to give to God, when 
he shall charge the blood of men's souls 
upon them 1 Luke xi. 52, " Ye have taken 
away the key of knowledge ; ye entered not 
in yourselves, and them that were entering 
in ye hindered." If there be either justice 
in heaven, or fire in hell, they shalL not go 
unpunished. 

Use 3. Exhortation. Let us every one, 
in our place, make this our chief end and 
design, to glorify God : 1. Let me speak to 
magistrates ; God hath put much glory upon 
them, Ps. lxxxii. 6, " I have said ye are 
gods ;" and will they not glorify him whom 
he hath put so much glory upon 1 Magis- 
trates should be zealous for God's worship 
and day ; they should not let the sword rust 
in the scabbard, but draw it out for the cut- 
ting down of sin. 2. Ministers, how should 
they study to promote God's glory ! God 
hath intrusted them with two of the most 
precious things, his truths, and the souls of 
his people. Ministers are, by virtue of their 
office, to glorify God : 1. They must glorify 
God by labouring in the word and doctrine : 
2 Tim. iv. 1, "I charge thee before God and 
the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the 
quick and the dead : preach the word, be in- 
stant in season, out of season," &c. It 
was Augustine's wish, " that Christ, at his 
coming, might find him either praying or 
preaching." 2. Ministers must glorify God 
by their zeal and sanctity. The priests under 
the law, before they served at the altar, did 
wash in the laver ; such as serve in the Lord's 
house, must first be washed from gross sin 
in the laver of repentance. It is matter of 
grief and shame, to think how many, who 
call themselves ministers, do, instead of ap- 
parently bringing glory to God, dishonour 
God, 2 Chron. xi. 15. Their lives, as well 



18 



MAN'S CHIEF END IS TO GLORIFY GOD. 



as doctrines, are heterodox, they are not 
free from the sins which they reprove in 
others. Plutarch's servant upbraided him, 
" It is not as my master Plutarch saith ; he 
hath written a book against wrath, anger, et 
ipse mihi irascitur, — yet he falls into a pass- 
ion of anger with me." So this minister 
preacheth against drunkenness, — yet he will 
be drunk ; he preacheth against swearing, — 
yet he will swear; this reproacheth God, and 
makes the offering of the Lord to be abhor- 
red. 3. Masters of families, do ye glorify 
God, season your children and servants with 
the knowledge of the Lord ; your houses 
should be little churches : Gen. xviii. 19, 
" I know that Abraham will command his 
children that they may keep the way of the 
Lord." You that are masters, know you 
have a charge of souls under you ; for want 
of the bridle of family-discipline, youth runs 
wild. Well, let me lay down some motives 
to glorify God. 

1. Mot. It will be a great comfort in a 
dying hour to think we have glorified God in 
our lives. It was Christ's comfort before his 
death : John xvii. 4, "I have glorified thee 
on the earth." At the hour of death, all 
your earthly comforts will vanish. If you 
think how rich you have been, — what plea- 
sures you have had on earth,— this will be 
so far from comforting you, that it will but 
torment you the more. What is one the 
better for an estate that is spent 1 But now, 
to have conscience telling you that you have 
glorified God on earth, what sweet comfort 
and peace will this let in to your soul ! How 
will this make you long for death ! The ser- 
vant that hath been all day working in the 
vineyard, longs till evening comes when he 
shall receive his pay. They who have lived, 
and brought no glory to God, how can they 
think of dying with comfort } They cannot 
expect an harvest,— they never sowed any 
seed. How can they expect glory from 
God, that never brought any glory to him ? 
O in what horror will they be at death ! the 
worm of conscience will gnaw their souls, 
before the worms are gnawing their bo- 
dies. 

2. Mot. If we glorify God, he will glorify 
our souls for ever ; by raising God's glory, 
we increase our own ; by glorifying God, we 



; come at last to the blessed enjoying of him^ 
And that brings me to the 2d, 4 The enjoy, 
ing of God.' ] 
II. Man's chief end is to enjoy God foi 
ever, Ps. lxxiii. 25, " Whom have I in hea- j 
ven but thee?" that is, What is there in 
heaven I desire to enjoy but thee? There 
is twofold fruition or enjoying of God ; the 
one is in this life, the other in the life to) 
come. ; j 

1st. An enjoying of God here in this life : j 
The enjoying of God's presence ; it is a great ' 
matter to enjoy God's ordinances (a mercy 
that some do envy us), but to enjoy God's; 
presence in the ordinances, is that which a ! 
gracious heart aspires after, Ps. Ixiii. 2, 
" To see thy glory so as I have seen thee in 
the sanctuary." This sweet enjoying of 
God, is, when we feel his Spirit co-operat- 
ing with the ordinance, and distilling grace 
upon our hearts : 1. When in the word the 
Spirit doth quicken and raise the affections, 
Luke xxiv. 32, < Did not our hearts burn 
within us V 2. When the Spirit doth trans- 
form the heart, leaving an impress of holi- 
ness upon it, 2 Cor. iii. 18, "We are 
changed into the same image, from glory to 
glory." When the spirit doth revive the 
heart with comfort, it comes not only with 
its anointing, but its seal ; it sheds God's 
love abroad in the heart, Rom. v. 5. This 
is to enjoy God in an ordinance, 1 John i. 3, ! 
" Our fellowship is with the Father, and. with 
his Son Jesus Christ." In the word, we 
hear God's voice, and in the sacrament we 
have his kiss ; this is enjoying of God, and 
what infinite content doth a gracious soul 
find in this ! The heart being warmed and 
inflamed in a duty, this is God's answering 
by fire. When a Christian hath the sweet 
illapses of God's Spirit, these are the first- 
fruits of glory, when God comes down to 
the soul in an ordinance; now, Christ hath 
pulled off his veil, and showed his smiling 
face ; now, he hath led a believer into the 
banqueting-house, and given him of the 
'spiced wine' of his love to drink; he hath 
put in his finger at the hole of the door ; he 
hath touched the heart, and made it leap for 
joy. O how sweet is it thus to enjoy God ! 
The godly have, in the use of the ordinances, 
had such divine raptures of joy, and soul- 



MAN'S CHIEF END IS TO GLORIFY GOD. 



19 



transfigurations, that they have been carried 
above the world, and have despised all things 
here below. 

Use 1. Is the enjoying of God in this life 
so sweet? How prodigiously wicked are 
they that prefer the enjoying of their lusts, 
before the enjoying of God ! 1 John ii. 16, 
« The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, 
the pride of life," is the Trinity they wor- 
ship. Lust is an inordinate desire or im- 
pulse, provoking the soul to that which is 
evil. There is the revengeful lust, and the 
wanton lust. Lust is like a feverish heat, it 
puts the soul into a flame. Aristotle calls 
sensual lusts brutish, because, when any 
lust is violent, reason or conscience cannot 
be heard, the beast rides the man. These 
lusts, when they are enjoyed, do besot and 
dispirit persons, Hos. iv. it, " Whoredom 
and wine taketh away the heart,"— they 
have no heart for any thing that is good. 
How many make it their chief end not to en- 
joy God, but to enjoy their lusts ! As that 
cardinal said, " Let him but keep his cardi- 
nalship of Paris, and he was content to lose 
his part in Paradise." Lust first bewitcheth 
with pleasure, and then comes the fatal dart, 
Prov. vii. 23, " Till a dart strike through his 
liver." This should be as a flaming sword to 
stop men in the way of their carnal delights. 
Who would for a drop of pleasure drink a sea 
of wrath 1 

Use 2. Let it be our great care to enjoy 
God's sweet presence here, which is the 
beauty and comfort of the ordinances. En- 
joying spiritual communion with God, is a 
riddle and mystery to most people ; every 
one that hangs about the court doth not 
speak with the king. We may approach to 
God in ordinances, and, as it were, hang 
about the court of heaven, yet not enjoy 
communion with God ; we may have the let- 
ter without the Spirit, the visible sign with- 
out the invisible grace ; it is the enjoying of 
God in a duty we should chiefly look at, Ps. 
xlii. 2, "My soul thirsteth for God, for the 
living God." Alas ! what are all our worldly 
enjoyments without the enjoying of God 1 
What is it to enjoy a great deal of health, a 
brave estate, and not to enjoy God? Job 
xxx. 28, " I went mourning without the 
sun." So mayest thou say in the enjoyment 



of all creatures without God, "I went 
mourning without the sun." I have the 
star-light of outward enjoyments, but I can- 
not enjoy God, I want the Sun of Righteous- 
ness. I went mourning without the sun." 
This should be our great design, not only to 
have the ordinances of God, but the God of 
the ordinances. The enjoying of God's sweet 
presence with us here, is the most contented 
life : he is a hive of sweetness, a magazine 
of riches, a fountain of delight, Ps. xxxvi. 
8, 9. The higher the lark flies, the sweeter 
it sings ; and the higher we fly by the wing 
of faith, the more of God we enjoy, the sweet- 
er delight we feel in our souls. How is the 
heart inflamed in prayer and meditation ! 
What joy and peace in believing ! Is it not 
comfortable being in heaven ? He that en- 
joys much of God in this life, carries heaven 
about him. O let this be the thing we are 
chiefly ambitious of, the enjoying of God in 
his ordinances ; remember the enjoying of 
God's sweet presence here is an earnest of 
our enjoying him in heaven. 

And that brings us to the second thing, 
viz. 

2d. The enjoying of God in the life to 
come : Man's chief end is to enjoy God for 
ever. Before this plenary fruition of God in 
heaven there must be something previous 
and antecedent ; and that is, our being in a 
state of grace. We must have conformity 
to him in grace, before we can have commu- 
nion with him in glory ; grace and glory are 
linked and chained together ; grace precedes 
glory, as the morning-star ushers in the sun. 
God will have us qualified and fitted for a 
state of blessedness. Drunkards and swear- 
ers are not fit to enjoy God in glory ; the 
Lord will not lay such vipers in his bosom ; 
only " the pure in heart shall see God ;" we 
must first be, as the king's daughter, glorious 
within, before we are clothed with the robes 
of glory. As King Ahasuerus first caused the 
virgins to be purified and anointed, and they 
had their sweet odours to perfume them, and 
then they went to stand before the king, 
Esth. ii. 12, so must we ; we must have the 
anointing of God, and be perfumed with the 
graces of the Spirit, those sweet odours, and 
then we shall stand before the King of hea- 
ven. Now, being thus divinely qualified by 



20 



MAN'S CHIEF END IS TO GLORIFY GOD. 



grace, we shall be taken up to the mount of 
vision and enjoy God for ever. This enjoying 
God for ever, is nothing else but to be put in 
a state of happiness. As the body cannot 
have life but by having communion with the 
soul, so the soul cannot have blessedness, 
but by having immediate communion with 
God. God is the summum bonum, the chief 
good ; therefore the enjoying of him is the 
highest felicity. He is, I say, the chief good. 

1. He is an universal good, bonum in quo 
omnia bona, " a good, in which are all goods." 
The excellencies of the creatures are limit- 
ed. A man may have health, not beauty ; 
learning, not parentage ; riches, not wisdom ; 
but in God are eminently contained all ex- 
cellencies. He is a good, commensurate fully 
to the soul ; he is a sun, a portion, an horn of 
salvation ; in him dwells " all fulness," Col. 
i. 19. — 2. God is an unmixed good. No 
condition in this life but hath its mixture ; 
for every drop of honey there is a drop of 
gall. Solomon, who gave himself to find out 
this philosopher's stone — to search out for 
a happiness here below, — he found vanity 
and vexation, Eccl. i. 2. But God is a per- 
fect quintessential good. He is sweetness 
in the flower. — 3. God is a satisfying good ; 
The soul cries out I have enough, Ps. xvii. 
15, " I shall be satisfied with thy likeness." 
A man that is thirsty, bring him to the ocean, 
and he hath enough. If there be enough in 
God to satisfy the angels, then sure, enough 
to satisfy us. The soul is but finite, but God 
is an uncreated infinite good. And yet 
though God be such a good as doth satisfy ; 
yet not surfeit. Fresh joys spring continu- 
ally from God's face ; and God is as much to 
be desired after millions of years by glorified 
souls, as at the first moment. There is so 
much fulness in God as satisfies yet so much 
sweetness that the soul still desires ; it is 
satisfaction without surfeit. — 4. God is a 
delicious good. That which is the chief 
good must ravish the soul with pleasure; 
there must be in it spirits of delight and quin- 
tessence of joy, and this is to be enjoyed only 
in God, In Deo quadam dulcedine delecta- 
tur animo, immo rapitur : The love of God 
drops such infinite suavity into the soul as is 
unspeakable and full of glory. If there be so 



much delight in God, when we see him only , 
by faith, 1 Peter i. 8, what will the joy of 
vision be when we shall see him face to face 1 \ 
If the saints have found so much delight in 
God while they were suffering, O then what j 
joy and delight will they have when they are J 
crowning ! If flames are beds of roses, O 
then what will it be to lean on the bosom of ] 
Jesus ! What a bed of roses will that be ! — j 
5. God is a superlative good. He is better 
than any thing you can put in competition j 
with him ; he is better than health, riches, 
honour. Other things maintain life, — he 
gives life. But who would go to put any 
thing in balance with the Deity ] Who would 
weigh a feather 'with a mountain of gold] 
God excels all other things more infinitely 
than the sun the light of a taper. — 6. God 
is an eternal good. He is " the ancient of 
days," Dan. vii. 9, yet never decays, nor i 
waxes old. The joy he gives is eternal, the 
crown fadeth not away, 1 Peter v. 4. The 
glorified soul shall be ever solacing itself in 
God ; it shall be feasting on his love, and sun- 
ning itself in the light of his countenance, j 
We read of " the river of pleasure at God's 
right hand;" but will not this in time be 
dried up 1 No, there is a fountain at the 
bottom which feeds it, Ps. xxxvi. 9, " With 
the Lord is the fountain of life." Thus God is 
the chief good, and the enjoying God for ever 
is the supremest felicity the soul is capable of. 

1. Use of Exhortation. Let it be the 
chief end of our living to enjoy this chiel 
good hereafter ; this is that which will crown 
us with happiness. Austin reckons up 288 
opinions among philosophers about happi- 
ness, but all did shoot short of the mark. 
The highest elevation of a reasonable soul is 
to enjoy God for ever. It is the enjoying 
God that makes heaven, 1. Thess. iv. 17, 
" Then shall we ever be with the Lord." 
The soul trembles, as the needle in the com- 
pass, and is never at rest till it comes to God. 

To set out this excellent state of a glori- 
fied soul's enjoying God: 1. This enjoying 
of God must not be understood in a sensua 
manner ; we must not conceive any carna 
pleasures in heaven. The Turks, in their 
Alcoran, speak of a paradise of pleasure, 
where they have riches in abundance, anc 



MAN'S CHIEF END IS TO GLORIFY GOD. 



21 



red wine served in golden chalices. Here is 
a heaven, consisting of pleasures for the 
body; the epicures of this age would like 
such an heaven when they die. Though in- 
deed the state of glory be compared to a feast, 
and is set out by pearls and precious stones, 
yet these metaphors are only to be helps to 
our faith, and to show us that there is super- 
abundant joy and felicity in the empyrean 
heaven ; but those are not carnal, but sacred 
delights, — as our employment shall be spirit- 
ual, it will consist in adoring and praising 
of God ; so our enjoyment shall be spiritual, 
— it shall consist in having the perfection of 
holiness, in seeing the pure face of Christ, 
in feeling the love of God, in conversing 
with heavenly spirits. These delights will 
be more adequate and proper for the soul, 
and infinitely exceed all carnal voluptuous 
delights. — 2. We shall have a lively sense of 
this glorious estate. A man in a lethargy, 
though he be alive, yet he is as good as dead, 
because he is not sensible, nor doth he take 
any pleasure in his life : we shall have a 
quick and lively sense of the infinite pleasure 
which ariseth from enjoyment of God, — we 
shall know ourselves to be happy, — we shall 
reflect with joy upon our dignity and felicity, 
— we shall taste every crumb of that sweet- 
ness, every drop of that pleasure which flows 
from God. 3. We shall be made able to 
bear a sight of that glory. We could not 
now bear that glory, — it would overwhelm 
us, as a weak eye cannot behold the sun ; 
but God will capacitate us for glory ; our 
souls shall be so heavenly and perfected with 
holiness, that they may be able to enjoy the 
blessed vision of God. Moses in a cleft of 
the rock saw the glory of God passing by, 
Exod. xxxiii. 21. Through our blessed rock, 
Christ, we shall behold the beatifical sight 
of God. — 4. This enjoyment of God shall be 
more than a bare contemplation of him. 
Some of the learned move the question, 
Whether the enjoyment of God shall be only 
by way of contemplation? Ans. That is 
something, but it is but one half of heaven ; 
there shall be a loving of God, — an acquies- 
cence in him, — a tasting his sweetness, — 
not only inspection but possession : John 
xvii. 24, " That they may behold my glory," 



— there is inspection ; V. 22, " And the 
glory thou hast given me, I have given them," 
— there is possession. " Glory shall be re- 
vealed in us," Rom. viii. 18 ; not only re- 
vealed to us, but in us. To behold God's 
glory, there is glory revealed to us; but to 
partake of his glory, there is glory revealed in 
us. As the sponge sucks in the wine, so shall 
we suck in glory .—5. There is no intermission 
in this state of glory. We shall not only 
have God's glorious presence at certain spe- 
cial seasons, but we shall be continually in his 
presence, continually under divine raptures 
of joy. There shall not be one minute in 
heaven wherein a glorified soul may say, I 
do not enjoy happiness. The streams of 
glory are not like the water of a conduit, 
often stopped, that we cannot have one drop 
of water ; but those heavenly streams of 
joy are continually running. O how should 
we despise this valley of tears, where we 
now are, for the mount of transfiguration ! 
How should we long for the full enjoyment 
of God in paradise ! Had we a sight of that 
land of promise, we should need patience to 
be content to live here any longer. 

2d. Let this be a spur to duty. How dili- 
gent and zealous should we be in glorifying 
God, that we may come at last to enjoy him] 
If Tully, Demosthenes and Plato, who had 
but the dim watch-light of reason to see by, 
and did fancy an elysium and happiness after 
this life, did take such Herculean pains to 
enjoy it, O then how should Christians, 'who 
have the light of scripture to see by, bestir 
themselves that they may attend at the eter- 
nal fruition of God and glory ! If any thing 
can make us rise off our bed of sloth, and 
serve God with all our might, it should be 
this, — the hope of our near enjoyment of 
God for ever. What made Paul so active in 
the sphere of religion'? 1 Cor. xv. 10, "I 
laboured more abundantly than they all." 
His obedience did not move slow as the sun 
on the dial, but swift, as the sun in the fir- 
mament. Why was he so zealous in glori- 
fying God, but that he might at last centre 
and terminate in him 1 1 Thess. iv. 17, 
" Then shall we be ever with the Lord." 

3d. Use of Consolation. Let this comfort 
the godly in all the present miseries they 



22 



OF THE SCRIPTURES. 



feel. Thou complainest, Christian, thou 
dost not enjoy thyself, — fears disquiet thee, 
— wants perplex thee, — in the day thou canst 
not enjoy ease, in the night thou canst not 
enjoy sleep, — thou dost not enjoy the com- 
forts of thy life. Let this revive thee, that 



shortly thou shalt enjoy God, and then shalt 
have more than thou canst ask or think ; thou 1 
shalt have angel's joy, — glory without in- 
termission or expiration. We shall never 
enjoy ourselves fully till we enjoy God eter- 
nally. 



OF THE SCRIPTURES. 



Quest. II. WHAT rule hath God given 
to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy 
him ? 

Ans. The word of God (which is contain- 
ed in the Scriptures of the Old and New 
Testament) is the only rule to direct us how 
we may glorify and enjoy him. 

2 Tim. iii. 16, " All scripture is given by 
inspiration of God," &c. By scripture is 
understood the sacred book of God. It is 
given by divine inspiration, that is, the scrip- 
ture is not the contrivance of man's brain, 
but of a divine original. The image of Diana 
was had in veneration by the Ephesians, 
because they did suppose it fell from Jupiter, 
Acts xix. 35. This book then of the holy 
scripture is to be highly reverenced and es- 
teemed, because we are sure it came from 
heaven, 2 Pet. i. 21. The two Testaments 
are the two lips by which God hath spoken 
to us. 

Q,. How doth it appear that the scriptures 
have a jus divinum, 4 a divine authority* 
stamped upon them ? 

A. Because the Old and New Testament 
are the foundation of all religion. If their 
divinity cannot be proved, the foundation is 
gone on which we build our faith. I shall 
therefore endeavour to evince this great 
truth, that the scriptures are the very word 
of God. I wonder whence the scripture 
should come, if not from God ! — 1. Bad men 
could not be the authors of scripture. Would 
their minds be employed in indicting such 
holy lines 1 Would they declare so fiercely 
against sin 1 — 2. Good men could not be the 
authors of scripture. Could they write in 
such a strain ] or could it stand with their 
grace to counterfeit God's name, and put, 
" Thus saith the Lord," to a book of their 
own devising 1 — 3. Nor could any angel in 



heaven be the author of scripture : Because, ; 
1. The angels pry and search into the abyss , 
of gospel-mysteries, 1 Pet. i. 12, which im- 
plies their nescience of some parts of scrip- , 
ture ; and sure they cannot be authors of 
that book which themselves do not fully un- 
derstand. Besides, 2. What angel in heaven , 
durst be so arrogant as to personate God, 
and say, " I create," Isa. lxv. 17, and " 1 1 
the Lord have said it," Numb. xiv. 35 1 So ( 
that it is evident, the pedigree of scripture , 
is sacred, and it could come from none but j 
God himself. 

Not to speak of the harmonious consent 
of all the parts of scripture, there are seven | 
cogent arguments which may evince it to be 
the word of God. , 

1. By its antiquity. It is of ancient stand- 
ing. The gray hairs of scripture make it j 
venerable. No human histories extant reach 
farther than since Noah's flood ; but the 
holy scripture relates matters of fact that 
have been from the beginning of the world ; 
it writes of things before time. Now, that 
is a sure rule of Tertnllian, " That which is 
of the greatest antiquity, — id verum quod i 
primum, — is to be received as most sacred 
and authentic." 

2. We may know the scripture to be the 
word of God, by the miraculous preserva- 
tion of it in all ages. The holy scriptures 
are the richest jewel that Christ hath left ; 
and the church of God hath kept these public 
records of heaven that they have not been 
lost. The word of God hath never wanted 
enemies to oppose, and, if possible, to ex- 
tirpate it. They have given out a law, con- 
cerning scripture, as Pharaoh did the mid- 
wives concerning the Hebrew women's 
children, to strangle it in the birth ; yet God 
hath preserved this blessed book inviolable 



OF THE SCRIPTURES. 



23 



to this day. The devil and his agents have 
'been blowing at scripture light, but could 
never prevail to blow it out, — a clear sign 
that it was lighted from heaven. Nor hath 
the church of God, in all revolutions and 
changes, only kept the scripture that it 
should not be lost, but that it should not be 
depraved. The letter of scripture hath been 
preserved, without any corruption, in the 
original tongues. The scriptures were not 
corrupted before Christ's time, for then 
Christ would never have sent the Jews to 
the scriptures; but he sends them to the 
scriptures, John v. 39, " Search the scrip- 
tures." Christ knew these sacred springs 
were not muddied with human fancies. 

3. The scripture appears to be the word 
of God, by the matter contained in it. — 1. 
By its profundity. The mystery of scrip- 
ture is so abstruse and profound, that no 
man or angel could have known it had it 
not been divinely revealed. That eternity 
should be born; that He who thunders in 
the heavens should cry in the cradle ; that 
He who rules the stars should suck the 
breasts ; that the Prince of life should die ; 
that the Lord of glory should be put to 
shame ; that sin should be punished to the 
full, yet pardoned to the full ; who could 
ever have conceived of such a mystery, had 
not the scripture been the oracle to reveal 
it to us ] So, for the doctrine of the resur- 
rection : that the same body which is crum- 
bled into a thousand pieces, should rise idem 
numero, the same individual body (for else 
it were a creation not a resurrection), — how 
could such a sacred riddle, above all human 
disquisition, be known, had not the scripture 
made a discovery of it 1 — 2. By its purity. 
It is, for the matter of it, so full of goodness, 
justice and sanctity, that it could be breath- 
ed from none but from God ; the holiness of 
it shows it to be of God, it bears his very 
image. The scripture is compared to silver 
refined seven times, Ps. xii. 6. This book 
of God hath no errata in it ; it is a beam of 
the Sun of Righteousness, — a crystal stream 
flowing from the fountain of life. All laws 
and edicts of men have had their corruptions, 
but the word of God hath not the least tinc- 
ture, it is of a meridian splendour, Ps. cxix, 
140, " Thy word is very pure," like wine 



that comes from the grape, which is not 
mixed nor adulterated. It is so pure, that it 
purifies every thing else, John xvii. 17. 
" Sanctify them through thy truth." The 
scripture presseth holiness, so as never any 
book did ; it bids us live " soberly, righteous- 
ly, godly," Tit. ii. 12. Soberly, in acts of 
temperance ; righteously, in acts of justice ; 
godly, in the acts of zeal and devotion. It 
commends to us whatever is just, lovely, 
and of good report, Phil. iv. 8. This sword 
of the Spirit. Eph. vi. 17, cuts down vice. 
Out of this tower of scripture is thrown 
down a millstone upon the head of sin. The 
scripture is the royal law, which commands 
not only the actions, but affections ; it binds 
the heart to its good behaviour. Where is 
there such holiness to be found, as is digged 
out of this sacred mine 1 who could be the 
author of such a book, as God himself? 

4. That the scripture is the word of God, 
is evident by its predictions ; it prophesieth 
of things to come. This shows the voice 
of God speaking in it. It was foretold by 
the prophet, " A virgin shall conceive," Isa. 
vii. 14; and, the "Messiah shall be cut 
off," Dan. ix. 26. The scripture foretells 
things that should fall out many ages and 
centuries after ; as how long Israel should 
serve in the iron furnace, and the very day 
of their deliverance, Exod. xii. 41, " At the 
end of the four hundred and thirty years, 
even the self-same day, it came to pass, that 
the host of the Lord went out of Egypt." 
This prediction of future things, merely con- 
tingent, and not depending upon natural 
causes, is a clear demonstration of its divine 
original. 

5. The impartiality of those men of God, 
who wrote the scriptures. They do not 
spare to set down their own failings. What 
man that writes an history would black his 
own face, viz., record those things of him- 
self that might stain his reputation 1 Moses 
records his own impatience when he struck 
the rock, and tells us, therefore he could 
not enter into the land of promise ; David 
writes of his own adultery and bloodshed, 
which stands as a blot in his scutcheon to 
succeeding ages ; Peter relates his own pu- 
sillanimity in denying Christ ; Jonah sets 
down his own passions, " I do well to be 



24 



OF THE SCRIPTURES. 



angry to the death." Surely had not their 
pen been guided by God's own hand, they 
would never have written that which did re- 
flect dishonour upon themselves ! Men do 
usually rather hide their blemishes than pub- 
lish them to the world : but these penmen of 
holy scripture eclipse their own name, — they 
take away all the glory from themselves, and 
give the glory to God. 

6. The mighty power and efficacy the 
word hath had upon the souls and con- 
sciences of men. — 1. It hath changed their 
hearts. Some by reading of scripture have 
been turned into other men, they have been 
made holy and gracious. By reading other 
books the heart may be warmed, but by read- 
ing this book it is transformed, 2 Cor. iii. 3, 
" Ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle 
Christ, written not with ink, but with the 
Spirit of the living God." The word was 
copied out into their hearts, and they were 
become Christ's epistle, so that others might 
read Christ in them. If you should set a 
seal upon marble, and it should make an im- 
pression upon the marble, and leave a print 
behind, there were a strange virtue in that 
seal : so, when the seal of the word leaves a 
heavenly print of grace upon the heart, 
there must needs be a power going along 
with that word no less than divine. — 2. It 
hath comforted their hearts. When Chris- 
tians have sitten by the rivers weeping, the 
word hath dropped as honey and sweetly re- 
vived them. A Christian's chief comfort is 
drawn out of these wells of salvation : Rom. 
xv. 4, " That we through comfort of the 
Scriptures might have hope." When a poor 
soul hath been ready to faint, he hath had 
nothing to comfort him but a scripture-cor- 
dial. When he hath been sick, the word 
hath revived him : 2 Cor. iv. 17, " Our 
light affliction, which is but for a moment, 
worketh for us a far more exceeding and 
eternal weight of glory." When he hath 
been deserted, the word hath dropped in the 
golden oil of joy into his heart : Lam. iii. 
31, " The Lord will not cast off for ever." 
He may change his providence, not his pur- 
pose ; he may have the look of an enemy, 
but the heart of a father. Thus the word 
hath a power in it to comfort the heart : Ps. 
cxix. 50, "This is my comfort in mine afflic- 



tion ; for thy word hath quickened me." As 
the spirits are conveyed through the arteries 
of the body ; so divine comforts are convey- j 
ed through the promises of the word. Now 
the scriptures having such an exhilarating, ( 
heart-comforting power in them, it shows J 
clearly that they are of God, and it is he J 
that hath put this milk of consolation into | 
these breasts. 

7. The great miracles wherewith the Lord (i 
hath confirmed scripture. Miracles were | 
used by Moses, Elijah, Christ, and continued 
many years after by the apostles, to confirm 
the verity of the holy scriptures. As props I 
are set under weak vines, so these miracles 
were set under the weak faith of men, that 
if they would not believe the writings of the j 
word, yet they might believe the miracles. - 
We read of God's dividing the waters, — 
making a causeway in the sea for his people 
to go over, — the iron swimming, — the oil in- 
creasing by pouring out, — Christ's making 
wine of water, — his curing the blind, — and 
raising the dead : thus God hath set a seal 
to the truth and divinity of the scriptures by 
miracles. 

Object. The papists indeed cannot deny 
but that the scripture is divine and sacred ; j 
but they affirm that quoad nos, ' with respect \ 
to us,' it receives its divine authority from 
the church; and they bring that scripture, ! 
1 Tim. iii. 15, where the church is said to 
be ' the ground and pillar of truth.' 

Ans. It is true, the church is the pillar of 
truth ; but it does not therefore follow, that 
the scripture hath its authority from the 
church. The king's proclamation is fixed 
on the pillar, the pillar holds it out, that all 
may read, but the proclamation doth not 
receive its authority from the pillar, but 
from the king; so the church holds forth 
the scriptures, but they do not receive their 
authority from the church, but from God. If 
the word of God be divine, merely because 
the church holds it forth, then it will follow, 
that our faith is to be built upon the church 
and not upon the word ; contrary to that, 
Eph. ii. 20, " Built upon the foundation 
(that is the doctrine) of the apostles, and 
prophets." 

Q,. Are all the books in the Bible of the 
same divine authority ? 



OF THE SCRIPTURES. 



2o 



^ A. Those which we call canonical. 

ei ! Q. Why are the scriptures called canoni- 

• cat? 

1 A. Because the word is a rule of faith, — a 
'i canon to direct our lives. The word is the 
1 judge of controversies, the rock of infalli- 
s bility ; that only is to be received for truth, 
s which is consonant to, and agrees with scrip- 
ture, as the transcript with the original. All 
j maxims in divinity are to be brought to the 
! S touchstone of scripture, as all measures are 

brought to the standard. 
'I Q. Are the scriptures a complete rule 1 
l A. The scripture is a full and perfect ca- 
Inon, containing in it all things necessary to 
J salvation : 2 Tim. iii. 15, " From a child 
■thou hast known the holy scriptures, which 
jure able to make thee wise unto salvation." 
|[t shows the credenda, — what we are to be- 
llieve ; and agenda, — what we are to practise, 
lit gives us an exact model of religion, and 
perfectly instructs us in the deep things of 
God. The papists therefore make themselves 
guilty, who go to eke out scripture with their 
traditions, to which they equalize it. The 
council of Trent saith, that the traditions of 
the church of Rome are to be received pari 
pietatis affectu, — with the same devotion 
that scripture is to be received with ; so 
bringing themselves under the curse, Rev. 
xxii. 18, " If any man shall add unto these 
things, God shall add unto him the plagues 
that are written in this book." 

Q,. What is the main scope and end of 
scripture'} 

A. To chalk out a way to salvation. It 
makes a clear discovery of Christ : John xx. 
31, "These things are written, that ye might 
believe that Jesus is the Christ, and that be- 
lieving ye might have life through his name." 
The design of the word is to be an examen 
whereby our grace is to be tried ; a sea-mark 
to show us what rocks we are to avoid. The 
word is to sublimate and quicken our affec- 
tions ; it is to be our directory and conso- 
latory ; it is to waft us over to the land of 
promise. 

Q. Who shall have the power of inter- 
preting scriptures ? 

The Papists do assert that it is in the 
power of the church. If you ask who they 
mean by the church, they say, the Pope who 
D 



is head of it, and he is infallible ; so Bellar- 
mine. But that assertion is false, because 
many of the Popes have been ignorant and 
vicious, as Platina affirms, who writes of 
the lives of Popes. Pope Liberius was an 
Arian ; and Pope John XII. denied the im- 
mortality of the soul ; therefore Popes are 
not fit interpreters of scripture. Who 
then? 

A. The scripture is to be its own inter- 
preter, or rather the Spirit speaking in it ; 
nothing can cut the diamond but the dia- 
mond; nothing can interpret scripture but 
scripture; the sun best discovers itself by its 
own beams; the scripture interprets itself 
in easy places to the understanding. But 
the question is concerning hard places of 
scripture where the weak Christian is ready 
to wade beyond his depth. Who shall in- 
terpret here I 

A. In the church, God hath appointed 
some to expound and interpret scripture ; 
therefore he hath given gifts to men ; the 
several pastors of churches, like bright con- 
stellations, give light to dark scriptures : 
Mai. ii. 7, " The priest's lips should keep 
knowledge, and they should seek the law at 
his mouth." 

Q,. But this is to pin our faith upon men 1 

A. We are to receive nothing for current 
but what is agreeable to the word. As God 
hath given to his ministers gifts for the in- 
terpreting obscure places, so he hath given 
to his people so much of the spirit of dis- 
cerning, that they can tell (at least in things 
necessary to salvation) what is consonant to 
scripture, and what is not : 1 Cor. xii. 10, 
" To one is given a spirit of prophecy, to 
another discerning of spirits." God hath 
endued his people with such a measure of 
wisdom and discretion, that they can discern 
between truth and error, and judge what is 
sound and what is spurious : Acts xvii. 11, 
" The Bereans searched the scriptures daily, 
whether those things were so." They weigh- 
ed the doctrine they heard, whether it was 
agreeable to scripture, though Paul and Silas 
were their teachers, 2 Tim. iii. 16* 

Use 1. See the wonderful goodness of 
God, who, besides the light of nature, hath 
committed to us the sacred scriptures. The 
heathens are enveloped with ignorance, Ps. 



26 



OF THE SCRIPTURES. 



cxlvii. 20, " As for his judgments they have 
not known them." They have the oracles 
of the sybils, but not the writings of Moses 
and the apostles. How many live in the 
region of death where this bright star of 
scripture never appeared! We have this 
blessed book of God to resolve all our cases, 
to chalk out a way of life to us. John xiv. 22, 
" Lord, how is it thou wilt manifest thyself 
unto us, and not unto the world!" Seeing 
God hath given us his written word to be 
our directory, this takes away all excuses 
from men. No man can say, " I went wrong 
for want of light." No, God hath given thee 
his word, as a lamp to thy feet ; therefore 
now, if thou goest wrong, thou dost it wil- 
fully. No man can say, " If I had known 
the will of God, I would have obeyed." No, 
thou art inexcusable, O man ! God hath 
given thee a rule to go by, he hath written 
his law with his own finger, therefore now, 
if thou obeyest not, thou hast no apology 
left. If a master leaves his mind in writing 
with his servant, and tells him what work 
he will have done, yet the servant neglects 
the work, that servant is left without excuse, 
John xv. 22, "Now you have no cloak for 
your sins." 

Use 2. Is all scripture of divine inspira- 
tion ! Is it a book made by God himself! 
Then this reproves : 1. The Papists, who 
take away part of scripture, and so clip the 
king of heaven's coin ; they expunge the se- 
cond commandment out of their catechisms, 
because it makes against images ; it is usual 
with them, if they meet with any thing in 
scripture which they dislike, either they put 
a false gloss upon it, or, if that will not do, 
pretend it is corrupted. These are like 
Ananias, who kept back part of the money, 
Acts v. 2. So they keep back part of the 
scripture from the people. This is an high 
affront to God, to deface and obliterate any 
part of his word ; by this they bring them- 
selves under that premunire, Rev. xxii. 19, 
" If any man shall take away from the words 
of the book of this prophecy, God shall take 
away his part out of the book of life." — Is 
all scripture of divine inspiration! — 2. It 
condemns the Antimonians, that lay aside 
the Old Testament as useless, and out of 
date ; they call them Old Testament Chris- 



tians. God hath stamped a divine majesty 
upon both Testaments ; and till they can 
show me where God hath given a repeal to 
the Old, it stands in force. The two Testa- 1 
ments are the two wells of salvation : the 
Antinomians would stop up one of these : 
wells, — they would dry up one of the breasts 
of scripture. There is much gospel in the 
Old Testament ; the comforts of the gospel 
in the New Testament have their rise from 
the Old. The great promise of the Messiah 
is in the Old Testament, " A virgin shall con- 
ceive and bear a son." Nay, I say more, 
the moral law, in some parts of it, speaks 
gospel, " I am the Lord thy God :" here is ! 
the pure wine of the gospel. The saint's j 
great charter, where God promiseth to 
"sprinkle clean water upon them, and put; 
his Spirit within them," is to be found pri- 
marily in the Old Testament, Ezek. xxxvi. 
25, 26. So that they who take away the 
Old Testament, do, as Samson, pull down 
the pillars, they would take away the pillars 
of a Christian's comfort.— 3. It condemns 
the enthusiast, who, pretending the Spirit, 
lay aside the whole Bible : they say the scrip- 
ture is a dead letter, and they live above it. 
What imprudence is this ! Till we are above 
sin, we shall not be above scripture. Let 
men not talk of a revelation from the Spirit ; 
suspect it to be an imposture. The Spirit of 
God acts regularly, it works in and by the 
word ; and he that pretends to a new light 
which is either above the word, or contrary 
to it, abuseth both himself and the Spirit, — 
his light is borrowed from him who transforms 
himself into an angel of light. — 4. It con 
demns the slighters of scripture : such are 
they, who can go whole weeks and months 
and never read the word. They lay it aside 
as rusty armour ; they prefer a play or ro 
mance before scripture, the magnolia legis 
are to them rninulta. O how many can be 
looking their faces in a glass all the morning 
but their eyes begin to be sore, when they 
look upon a Bible ! Heathens die in the want 
of scripture, and these in the contempt of 
it. They surely must needs go wrong who 
slight their guide ; such as lay the reins upon 
the neck of their lusts, and never use the 
curbing bit of scripture to check them, are 
carried to hell, and never stop. — 5. It con- 



OF THE SCRIPTURES. 



27 



demns the abusers of scripture: (1.) Who 
an do mud and poison this pure crystal fountain 
Idj with their corrupt glosses ; who wrest scrip- 

* ture, 2 Pet. iii. 16. The Greek word is, they 
1)« set it upon the rack ; they give wrong in- 
sf terpretations of it, not comparing scripture 
>j with scripture : as the Antinomians pervert 
is that scripture, Num. xxiii. 21, " He hath 
el not beheld iniquity in Jacob," — hence they 
a infer, God's people may take liberty in sin, 
I because God sees no sin in them. It is true, 
]• God sees no sin in his people with an eye of 
!, revenge, but he sees it with an eye of ob- 
i| servation. He sees not sin in them, so as 
if to damn them ; but he sees it, so as to be 

i angry, and severely to punish them. Did 
r'not David find it so, when he cried out of 
! his broken bones ? In like manner the Ar- 

• minians wrest scripture, John v. 40, " Ye 
will not come to me ;" here they bring in 

: free-will. This text shows, 1. How willing 
God is that we should have life ; 2. That 
sinners may do more than they do, — they 
may improve the talents God hath given 
them : but it doth not prove the power of 
free-will, for it is contrary to that scripture, 
John vi. 44, " No man can come to me, ex- 
cept the Father which hath sent me draw 
him." These therefore wring the text so 
hard, as they make the blood come ; they do 
not compare scripture with scripture. (2.) 
Who do jest with scripture ; when they are 
sad, they take the scripture as their lute or 
minstrel, to play with, and to drive away 
the sad spirit, as that drunkard I have read 
of, who having drunk off his cups, called to 
some of his fellows, " Give us of your oil, 
for our lamps are gone out." In the fear of 
God, take heed of this. Eusebius tells us of 
one, who took a piece of scripture to make 
a jest of, but was presently struck with a 
frenzy and ran mad. And, it is a saying 
of Luther, Quos Deus vult perdere, &c. 
"Whom God intends to destroy, he gives 
them leave to play with scripture." 

Use 3. Of exhortation. If the scripture 
be of divine inspiration, then be exorted, 
1. To study the scripture. It is a copy of 
God's will ; be scripture men, bible Chris- 
tians. " I adore the fulness of scripture," 
saith Tertullian. In the book of God are 
scattered many truths as so many pearls : 



John v. 39, ** Search the scriptures," — 
search as for a vein of silver : this blessed 
book will fill your head with knowledge, 
and your heart with grace. God wrote the 
two tables with his own fingers ; and if God 
took pains to write, well may we take pains 
to read. Apollos was mighty in the scrip- 
tures, Acts, xviii. 24. The word is our 
magna charta for heaven ; shall we be ig- 
norant of our charter ? Col. iii. 16, " Let 
the word of God dwell in you richly." The 
memory must be a table-book where the 
word is written. To make us read the word, 
consider, 1. There is majesty sparkling in 
every line of scripture. Take but one in- 
stance, Isa. lxiii. 1, " Who is this that 
cometh from Edom, with dyed garments 
from Bozrah 1 This that is glorious in his 
apparel, travelling in the greatness of his 
strength? I that speak in righteousness, 
mighty to save." Behold here a lofty mag- 
nificent style ! What angel could speak 
after this manner"? Junius was converted 
by reading one verse of John ; he beheld a 
majesty in it beyond all human rhetoric. — 
2. There is a melody in scripture. This is 
that blessed harp, which drives away sad- 
ness of spirit : hear the sounding of this 
harp a little, 1 Tim. i. 15, " This is a faith- 
ful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, 
that Christ Jesus came into the world to 
save sinners ;" he took not only our flesh 
upon him, but our sins. And Matt. xi. 28, 
" Come unto me, all ye that are heavy la- 
den, and I will give you rest." How sweet- 
ly doth this harp of scripture sound, what 
heavenly music doth it make in the ears of 
a distressed sinner, especially when the fin- 
ger of God's Spirit toucheth upon this in- 
strument ! — 3. There is divinity in scrip- 
ture. It contains the marrow and quintes- 
sence of religion. The scripture is a rock 
of diamonds, a mystery of piety ; the lips 
of scripture have grace poured into them. 
The scripture speaks of faith, self-denial, 
and all the graces which, as a chain of pearl 
adorn a Christian. The scripture excites to 
holiness ; it treats of another world, it gives 
a prospect of eternity. Oh then search 
the scripture; make the word familiar to 
you ! Had I the tongue of angels, I could 
not sufficiently set forth the excellency of 



28 



OF THE SCRIPTURES. 



scripture ; it is a spiritual optic-glass, in 
which we behold God's glory ; it is the tree 
of life, — the oracle of wisdom, — the rule of 
manners, —the heavenly seed of which the 
new creature is formed, James i. 18. " The 
two Testaments (saith Austin) are the two 
breasts which every Christian must suck, 
that he may get spiritual nourishment." The 
leaves of the tree of life were for healing, 
Rev. xxii. 2 : so these holy leaves of scrip- 
ture, like those leaves, are for the healing 
of our souls. The scripture is profitable 
for all things : if we are. deserted, here is 
spiced wine that cheers the heavy heart ; 
if we are pursued by Satan, here is the 
sword of the Spirit to resist him ; if we are 
diseased with sin's leprosy, here are the wa- 
ters of the sanctuary, both to cleanse and 
cure. Oh, then, search the scriptures ! 
There 's no danger in tasting this tree of 
knowledge ; there was a penalty laid at first, 
that we might not taste of the tree of know- 
ledge, Gen. ii. 17, " In the day that thou 
eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die ;" but 
there is no danger of plucking this tree of 
holy scriptures ; if we do not eat of this 
tree of knowledge, we shall surely die. 
Oh, then, read the scriptures ! Time may 
come, when the scriptures may be kept from 
us. 

Q,. How shouldwe so search the scriptures 
as to find life ? 

A. 1. Read the Bible with reverence. 
Think, every line you read, God is speaking 
to you. The ark wherein the law was put 
was overlaid with pure gold, and was car- 
ried on bars, that the Levites might not 
touch it, Exod. xxv. 14. And why was 
this, but to breed in the people reverence 
to the law 1 — 2. Read with seriousness. It 
is matter of life and death ; by this word 
you must be tried ; conscience and scrip- 
ture are the jury God will proceed by, in 
judging of you. — 3. Read the word with 
affection. Get your hearts quickened with 
the word ; go to it to fetch fire, Luke xxiv. 
32, " Did not our hearts burn within us V* 
Labour that the word may not only be a 
lamp to direct, but a fire to warm. Read 
the scripture, not only as an history, but as 
a love-letter sent to you from God which 
may affect your hearts.— 4. Pray that the 



same Spirit that wrote the word, may assist] 
you in the reading of it ; that God's Spirit 
would show you the wonderful things ol 
his law. " Go near, saith God to Philip, 
join thyself to this chariot," Acts viii. 29.! 
So when God's Spirit joins himself with his 
chariot of the word, then it becomes effectual. 

A. 2. Be exhorted to prize the word] 
written, Job xxiii. 12. David valued the 
word more precious than gold. Whatj 
would the Martyrs have given for a leaf of^ 
the Bible ! The word is the field wheret 
Christ the pearl of price is hid. In this , 
sacred mine we dig, not for a wedge oC.fi 
gold, but a weight of glory. — 1. The scrip-; 
ture is a sacred colly rium, or eye-salve, toll 
illuminate us: Prov. vi. 23, "The com-s! 
mandment is a lamp, and the law is light." 
The scripture is the chart and compass by 
which we sail to the new Jerusalem. — 2. 
The scripture is a sovereign cordial in all 
distresses. What are the promises but the 
water of life to renew fainting spirits 1 Is 
it sin troubles! There is a scripture-cor-; 
dial, Ps. lxv. 3, " Iniquities prevail against 
me ; as for our transgressions, thou shalt 
purge them away ;" or as it is in the He- 
brew, 4 Thou shalt cover them.' Is it out-} 
ward afflictions disquiet thee 1 There is a 
scripture-cordial, Ps. xci. 15, "I will be! 
with him in trouble," — not only to behold, 
but to uphold. Thus, as in the ark was 
laid up manna, promises are laid up as man- 
na in the ark of scripture. — 3. The scrip- 
ture will make us wise : wisdom is above 
rubies ; Ps. cxix. 104, " By thy precepts 

1 get understanding." What made Eve so 
desire the tree of knowledge ? Gen. iii. 6, 
" It was a tree to make one wise." The 
scriptures teach a man to know himself; 
they discover Satan's snares and stratagems, 

2 Cor. ii. 11, " They make one wise to 
salvation," 2 Tim. iii. 15. O then highly 
prize the scriptures ! I read of Queen Eli- 
zabeth, that at her coronation, she received 
the Bible presented to her, with both her 
hands, and kissing it, laid it to her breast, 
saying, that that book had ever been her 
chiefest delight. 

A. 3. If the scripture is of divine inspi- 
ration, believe the word. The Romans, 
that they might gain credit to their laws, 



OF THE SCRIPTURES. 



29 



i-eported that they were inspired by the gods 
nt Rome. O give credence to the word ! 
j[t is breathed from God's own mouth. 
s Hence ariseth all the profaneness of men, 
:hey do not believe the scripture, Is. liii. 1, 
" Who hath believed our report VJ Did you 
believe the glorious rewards the scripture 
ispeaks of, would you not give diligence to 
make your election sure ? Did you believe 
the infernal torments the scriptures speaks 
bf, would not this put you into a cold sweat, 
and cause a trembling at heart for sin 1 But 
jpeople are in part atheists ; they give but 
little credit to the word, therefore they are 
[so impious, and draw such dark shadows 
'in their lives. Learn to realize scripture; 
;get your hearts wrought to a firm belief 
'of it. Some think, if God should send 
an angel from heaven, and declare his 
mind, then they should rather believe him, 
* — or if he should send one from the damn- 
ed, and preach the torments of hell all in 
flames, then they would believe, — but Luke 
;xvi. 31, "If they believe not Moses and 
the prophets, neither will they be persuaded 
though one rose from the dead." God is 
wise, and he thinks this way fittest to make 
his mind known to us by writing ; and such 
as shall not be convinced by the word, shall 
. be judged by the word. The belief of the 
scripture is of high importance ; it is the 
belief of scripture that will enable us to re- 
; sist temptation, 1 John ii. 14, " The word 
of God abideth in you, and ye have over- 
come the wicked one." It is the belief of 
scripture conduceth much to our sanctifica- 
1 tion ; therefore these two are put together, 
sanctification of the Spirit, and belief of 
i the truth, 2 Thess. ii. 13. If the word 
written be not believed, it is like writing 
' on the water which takes no impression. 

A. 4. Love the word written : Ps. cxix. 
' 97, " O how love I thy law t" " Lord (saith 
Augustine) let the holy scriptures be my 
chaste delight." Chrysostom compares the 
scripture to a garden ; every truth is a fra- 
grant flower, which we should wear, not on 
our bosom, but our heart. David counted 
the word " sweeter than honey and the 
honey-comb," Ps. xix. 10. There is that in 
scripture may breed delight : it shows us the 
way to riches, Deut. xxviii. 5, Prov. iii. 10 ; 



to long life, Ps. xxxiv. 12 ; to a kingdom, 
Heb. xii. 28. Well then may we count 
those the sweetest hours which are spent in 
reading the holy scriptures ! Well may we 
say with the prophet, Jer. xv. 16, "Thy 
words were found, and I did eat them ; and 
they were the joy and rejoicing of my 
heart !" 

A. 5. Conform to scripture, let us lead 
scripture lives. O that the Bible might be 
seen printed in our lives ! Do what the 
word commands. Obedience is an excellent 
way of commenting upon the Bible, Ps. 
lxxxvi. 11, "I will walk in thy truth." Let 
the word be the sun-dial by which you set 
your life. What are we the better for hav- 
ing the scripture, if we do not direct all our 
speeches and actions according to it % What 
is a carpenter the better to have his rule 
about him, if he sticks it at his back, and 
never makes use of it for the measuring and 
squaring of his work 1 So, what are we the 
better for the rule of the word, if we do not 
make use of it, and regulate our lives by it 1 
How many swerve and deviate from the rule ! 
The word teacheth to be sober and temperate, 
— but they are drunk ; to be chaste and holy, 
— but they are profane ; they go quite from 
the rule. What a dishonour is this to reli- 
gion, for men to live in contradiction to 
scripture ! The word is called " a light to 
our feet," Ps. cxix. 105. It is not only a 
light to our eyes to mend our sight, but to 
our feet to mend our walk. O let us lead 
Bible conversations! 

A. 6. Contend for scripture. Though we 
should not be of contentious spirits, yet we 
ought to contend for the word of God ; this 
jewel is too precious to be parted with, 
Prov. iv. 13, " Keep her, for she is thy 
life." The scripture is beset with enemies, 
heretics fight against it : we must therefore 
" contend for the faith once delivered to the 
saints," Jude 3. The scripture is our book 
of evidences for heaven : shall we part with 
our evidences 1 The saints of old were both 
advocates and martyrs for truth ; they would 
hold fast scripture, though it were with the 
loss of their lives. 

A. 7. Be thankful to God for the scrip- 
tures. What a mercy is it that God hath 
not only acquainted us what his will is, but 



THAT THERE IS A GOD. 



30 

that he hath made it known by writing ! In 
the old times God did reveal his mind by 
revelations, but the word written is a surer 
way of knowing God's mind than by revela- 
tion, 2 Pet. i. 18. This voice which came 
from heaven we heard ; we have also a more 
sure word of prophecy. The devil is God's 
ape, and he can transform himself into an 
angel of light ; he can deceive with false 
revelations : as I have heard of one who 
had, as he thought, a revelation from God 
to sacrifice his child, as Abraham had, 
whereupon he, following this impulsion -of 
the devil, did kill his child. Thus Satan oft 
deceives people with delusions, instead of 
divine revelations, therefore we are to be 
thankful to God for revealing his mind to us 
by writing. We have a more sure word of 
prophecy. We are not left under a doubt- 
ful suspense that we should not know what 
to believe, but we have an infallible rule to go 
by. The scripture is our pole-star to direct 



us to heaven : it shows us every step we are 
to take ; when we go wrong, it instructs us ; 
when we go right, it comforts us ; and it is 
matter of thankfulness, that the scriptures 
are made intelligible, by being translated. 

A. 8. Adore God's distinguishing grace, if 
you have felt the power and authority of the 
word upon your conscience ; if you can say 
as David, Ps. cxix. 50, " Thy word hath J 
quickened me." Christian, bless God that 
he hath not only given thee his word to be 
a rule of holiness, but his grace to be a prin- 
ciple of holiness ! Bless God that he hath 
not only written his word, but sealed it upon i 
thy heart, and made it effectual ! Canst I 
thou say it is of divine inspiration, because 
thou hast felt it to be of lively operation 1 : 
O free grace ! that God should send out his 
word, and heal thee ; that he should heal thee, 
and not others ; that the same scripture, 
which is to them a dead letter, should be to 
thee a savour of life. 



THAT THERE IS A GOD. 



Quest. IIT. WHAT do the scriptures 
principally teach? 

Ans. The scriptures principally teach 
what man is to believe concerning God, and 
what duty God requires of man. 

Q. What is God ? 

A. God is a spirit, infinite, eternal, and 
unchangeable, in his being, wisdom, power, 
holiness, justice, goodness and truth. 

Here is, 1st. Something implied, — that 
there is a God; 2d. Expressed, — that He 
is a spirit. — 3d. What kind of spirit. 

1st. Implied,— That there is a God. The 
question, What is God % takes it for granted 
that there is a God ; the belief of God's es- 
sence is the foundation of all religious wor- 
ship, Heb. xi. 6, "He that comes to God, 
must believe that he is." There must be a 
first cause which gives a being and existence 
to all things besides. 

We come to know that there is a God : 1. 
By the book of nature ; the notion of a Deity 
is engraven on man's heart, — it is demon- 
strable by the light of nature. I think it 
hard for a man to be a natural atheist. He 



may wish there were no God, — he may dis- 
pute against a Deity, — but he cannot in his 
judgment believe there is no God, unless 
by accumulated sin his conscience be seared, 
and he hath such a lethargy upon him, that 
he hath sinned away his very sense and rea- 
son. 

2. We come to know that there is a God 
by his works ; and this is so evident a de- 
monstration of Godhead, that the most athe- 
istical spirits, when they have considered 
these works of God, have been forced to ac- 
knowledge some wise and supreme power, 
the maker of these things ; as it is reported 
of Galen and others. 

(1). We will begin with the greater world : 
1. The creation of the glorious fabric of 
heaven and earth ; sure there must be some 
architect or first cause, the world could not 
make itself. Who could hang the earth on 
nothing, but the great God? Who could 
provide such rich furniture for the heavens, — 
the glorious constellations, — the firmament 
bespangled with such glittering lights 1 All 
this speaks a Deity. We may see God's 



THAT THERE IS A GOD. 



31 



[glory blazing in the sun, twinkling in the 
[stars. Who could give the earth its clothing, 
— cover it with grass and corn, — adorn it 
with flowers,— enrich it with gold? Only- 
God, Job xxviii. 4. Who but God could 
jmake the sweet music in the heavens, — 
cause the angels to join in concert and sound 
forth the praises of their Maker, Job xxxviii. 
7, " When the morning stars sang together, 
and all the sons of God shouted for joy?" 
If a man should go into a far country, and 
see stately edifices there, he would never 
imagine that these could build themselves, 
but that some greater power built them ; 
to imagine that the work of the creation was 
not framed by God, is as if we should con- 
ceive a curious landscape to be drawn by a 
pencil without the hand of a limner : Acts 
xvii. 24, " God that made the world, and 
all things therein." To create, is proper to 
the Deity. — 2. The wise government of all 
things evinces there is a God. God is the 
great superintendent of the world ; he holds 
the golden reins of government in his hand, 
guiding all things most regularly and harmo- 
niously to their proper end. Who that eyes 
providence, but must be forced to acknow- 
ledge there is a God 1 Providence is the 
queen and governess of the world ; it is the 
hand that turns the wheel of the whole crea- 
tion ; providence sets the sun its race, the 
sea its bounds. If God should not guide the 
world, things would run into disorder and 
confusion. When one looks on a clock, and 
sees the motion of the wheels, the striking 
of the hammer, the hanging of the plum- 
mets, he would say, there were some arti- 
ficer did make it, and put it into that order : 
so when we see the excellent order and har- 
mony in the universe, — the sun, that great 
luminary, dispensing its light and heat to 
the world, without which the world were 
but a grave or a prison, — the rivers sending 
forth their silver streams to refresh the bo- 
dies of men, and prevent a drought, — and 
every creature acting within its sphere, and 
keeping its due bounds, — we must needs ac- 
knowledge there is a God, who wisely orders 
and governs all these things. Who could 
set this great army of the creatures in their 
several ranks and squadrons, and keep them 
in their constant march, but He, whose name 



is The Lord of Hosts 1 And as God doth 
wisely dispose all things in the whole regi- 
ment of the creatures, so, by his power, he 
doth support them; did God suspend and 
withdraw his influence ever so little, the 
wheels of the creation would unpin, and the 
axle-tree break asunder. — 3. The motion of 
the creatures. All motion, as the philoso- 
phers say, is from something that is un- 
movable : as for example, the elements are 
moved by the influence and motion of the 
heavenly bodies, the sun and moon, and 
these planets are moved by the highest orb, 
called Primum Mobile : now, if one should 
ask, Who moves that highest orb, or the 
first mover of the planets ] Sure it can be 
no other hand but God himself ! 

(2). Let us speak of man, who is a micro- 
cosm, or lesser world. The excellent con- 
texture and frame of his body, which is 
wrought curiously as with needle- work, Ps. 
cxxxix. 15, "I was curiously wrought in the 
lowest parts of the earth ;" and the endow- 
ment of this body with a noble soul ; who 
but God could make such an union of differ- 
ent substances, flesh and spirit ] " In him 
we live, and move, and have our being." 
The quick acute motion of every part of the 
body shows that there is a God. We may 
see something of him in the sparkling of the 
eye. And if the cabinet of the body be so 
curiously wrought, what is the jewel 1 The 
soul hath a celestial brightness in it ; as Da- 
mascene saith, " It is a diamond set in a ring 
of clay." What noble faculties is the soul 
endowed with ? Understanding, — Will, — 
Affections,; — which are a glass of the Trinity, 
as Plato speaks. The matter of the soul is 
spiritual ; it is a divine spark lighted from 
heaven ; and being spiritual, is immortal, as 
Scaliger notes ; anima non senescit, — the 
soul doth not wax old, it lives for ever. 
And who could create a soul ennobled with 
such rare angelical properties, but God 1 We 
must needs say as the Psalmist, " It is he that 
hath made us, and not we ourselves," Ps. c.3„ 

3. We may prove a Deity by our con- 
science. Conscience is God's deputy or vice- 
gerent. Conscience is a witness of a Deity; 
if there were no Bible to tell us there is a 
God, yet conscience might. Conscience, as 
the apostle saith, ' either accuseth,' or « ex- 



1 

THAT THERE IS A GOD. 



32 

cuseth,' Rom. ii. 15. Conscience acts in 
order to a higher judicatory. — 1. Natural 
conscience being kept free from gross sin, 
excuseth. When a man doth virtuous ac- 
tions, — lives soberly and righteously, — ob- 
serves the golden maxim, doing to others as 
he would have them to do to him, — then con- 
science approves, andsaith, " Well done !" 
Conscience, like a bee, gives honey. — 2. 
Natural conscience in the wicked doth ac- 
cuse. When men go against the light of 
conscience, then they feel the worm of con- 
science. Eheu, quis intus scorpio ! Sen. 
Conscience, being sinned against, spits fire 
in men's faces, fills them with shame and 
horror ; when the sinner sees a handwriting 
on the wall of conscience, his countenance 
is changed. Many have hanged themselves 
to quiet their conscience. Tiberius the em- 
peror, a bloody man, felt the lashes of his 
conscience ; he was so haunted with that 
fury, that he told the senate, he suffered 
death daily. And what is it should put a 
man's conscience into such an agony, but 
the impression of a Deity, and the thought 
of coming before God's tribunal 1 Those who 
are above all human laws, yet are subject to 
the checks of their own conscience. And it 
is observable, the nearer the wicked approach 
to death, the more they are terrified, and 
conscience gives a louder alarm to them : 
and whence is this, but from the apprehen- 
sion of judgment approaching ] The soul, 
being sensible of its immortal nature, trem- 
bles at him, who never ceaseth to live, and 
therefore will never cease to punish. 

4. That there is a God, appears by the 
consent of nations, by the universal vote 
and suffrage of all. Nulla gens tarn barbara 
cui non insideat hcec persuasio, Deum esse, 
— "No nation so barbarous," saith Tully, 
"as not to believe there is a God." Though 
the heathen did mistake in their devotion, 
and did not worship the true God, yet they 
worshipped a God. They set up an altar, 
' To the unknown God,' Acts xvii. 22. 
They knew a God should be worshipped, 
though they knew not the God whom they 
worshipped. Some did worship Jupiter, 
some Neptune, some Mars ; rather than not 
to worship something, they would worship 
any thing. 



5. That there is a God, appears by his j 
prediction of future things. He who can 1 
foretell things which shall surely come to : 
pass, is the true God. God foretold, that a 
virgin should conceive ; he prefixed the time 
when the Messiah should be cut off, Dan. ix. 
26; he foretold the captivity of the Jews in 
Babylon, and who should be their deliverer, j 
Isa. xlv. 1. This is such a strong argument 
to prove a Deity, as God himself useth it to 1 
prove he is the true God, and that all the! 
gods of the heathens were fictions and nul- J 
lities, Isa. xli. 29. Testimonium divinitatis] 
est Veritas divinationis, Tertul. To fore- 'j 
tel things contingent, and which depend! 
upon no natural causes, is proper to a Deity. '> 

6. That there is a God, appears by God's I 
unlimited power and sovereignty. He who \ 
can work, and none hinder him, is the true I 
God; but God can do so, Isa. xliii. 13, "If 
will work, and who shall let it." Nothing ] 
can hinder action but some superior power ; I 
but there is no power above God, — all power 
that is, is by him, — therefore all power is 
under him ; he hath a ' mighty arm,' Ps. 
Ixxxix. 13. He sees the designs men drive 
on against him, and plucks off their chariot- 
wheels ; he maketh the diviners mad; Isa. j 
xliv. 25 ; he cutteth off the spirit of princes ; j 
he bridleth the sea, gives check to the*levi^ j 
athan, binds the devil in chains ; he acts | 
according to his pleasure ; he doth what he 
will : " I will work, and who shall let it V 

7. There are devils, therefore there is a ; 
God. Atheists cannot deny but there are 
devils, and then they must grant there is a 
God. We read of divers possessed of the 
devil. The devils are called in scripture, 3 
' Hairy Ones,' because they often appeared 
in the form of goats or satyrs. Gerson, in 
his book De probatione spirituum, tells us 1 
how Satan on a time appeared to an holy 1 
man in a most glorious manner, professing 1 
himself to be Christ : the old man answered, : 
" I desire not to see my Saviour here in this 
desert, it shall suffice me to see him in hea- | 
ven." Now, if there be a devil, then there i 
is a God. Socrates, an heathen, when he 1 
was accused at his death, confessed, that, 1 
as he thought there was a malus genius, an 1 
evil spirit, so he thought there was a good, j 

Use 1. Seeing there is a God, this re-il 



THAT THERE IS A GOD. 



83 



: I proves such atheistical fools as deny it. 
Epicurus denied there was a providence, 
saying, that all things fell out by chance. 
He that saith there is no God, is the wick- 

•edest creature that is ; he is worse than a 
I thief, who doth but take away our goods 
from us, but the atheist would take away 

lour God from us, John xx. 13, " They have 

(taken away my Lord." So we may say of 
atheists, they would take away our God from 

I us, in whom all our hope and comfort is laid 

■up. Ps. xiv. 1, " The fool hath said in his 
heart there is no God." He durst not speak 
it with his tongue, but said it in his heart ; 
he wished it. Sure none can be speculative 

* atheists ! " The devils believe and tremble," 
James ii. 19. I have read of one Arthur, a 
professed atheist, who, when he came to die, 

: cried out he was damned ; but though there 
are few found who say, " There is no God," 
yet many deny him in their practices, Tit. i. 

1 16, "In works they deny him." Cicero 
said of Epicurus, verbis reliquit, deos resus- 
tulit. The world is full of practical atheism ; 
most people live as if they did not believe 
there was a God. Durst they lie, defraud, 
be unclean, if they believed there were a God 
who would call them to an account ? If an 
Indian, who never heard of a God, should 
come among us, and have no other means 
to convince him of a Deity, but the lives of 
men in our age, surely he would be of Pro- 
tagoras's mind, who did hang in a doubtful 
suspense, and did question whether there 
were a God, — utrum Dii sint, non ausim 
affirmare ! 

Use 2. Seeing there is a God, he will deal 
righteously, and give just rewards to men. 
Things seem to be carried in the world very 
unequally ; the wicked flourish, Ps. lxxiii ; 
they who tempt God are delivered, Mai. iii. 
15, the ripe clusters of grapes are squeezed 
into their cup, and, in the mean while, the 
godly, who wept for sin and served God, are 
afflicted, Ps. cii. 9, " I have eaten ashes like 
bread, and mingled my drink with weeping." 
Evil men enjoy all the good, and good men 
endure all the evil. But seeing there is a 
God, he will deal righteously with men, Gen. 
xvii. 25, " Shall not the Judge of all the 
earth do right?" Offenders must come to 



punishment. The sinner's deathday and 
doomsday is a coming ; Ps. xxxvii. 13, 
" The Lord seeth that his day is coming." 
While there is a hell, the wicked shall be 
scourged enough ; and while there is eterni- 
ty, they shall lie there long enough ; and God 
will abundantly compensate the faithful ser- 
vice of his people. They shall have their 
white robes and crowns : Ps. lviii. 11, 
"Verily there is a reward for the righteous ! 
Verily he is a God that judgeth in the 
earth !" Because God is God, therefore he 
will give forth glorious rewards to his peo- 
ple. 

Use 3. Seeing there is a God, wo to all 
such as engage this God against them ! He 
lives for ever to be avenged upon them, 
Ezek. xxii. 14, " Can thine heart endure, 
or can thine hands be strong in the day that 
I shall deal with thee? Such as pollute 
God's sabbath, — oppose his saints, trampling 
these jewels in the dust, — such as live in a 
contradiction to God's word, — these do en- 
gage the Infinite Majesty of heaven against 
them; and how dismal will their case be'? 
Deut. xxxii. 41, " If I whet my glittering 
sword, and mine hand take hold of judgment; 
I will render vengeance to mine enemies ; 
I will make mine arrows drunk with blood," 
&c. If it be so terrible to hear the lion roar, 
what is it when he begins to tear his prey ? 
Ps. 1. 22, " Consider this, ye that forget 
God, lest I tear you in pieces !" O that 
men would think of this, who go on in sin ! 
Shall we engage the great God against us ? 
God strikes slow but heavy : Job. xl. 9, 
" Hast thou an arm like God?" Canst thou 
strike such a blow ? God is the best friend, 
but the worst enemy. If he can look men 
into their grave, how far can he throw them % 
" Who knows the power of his wrath V* 
Ps. xc. 11. What fools are they, who, for a 
drop of pleasure, drink a sea of wrath ? Para- 
celsus speaks of a frenzy some have, which 
will make them die dancing : sinners go 
dancing to hell. 

Use 4. Seeing there is a God, let us firm- 
ly believe this great article of our creed. 
What religion can there be in men, if they 
do not believe a Deity ? " He that cometh 
to God, must believe that he is." To wor- 



34 



GOD IS A SPIRIT. 



ship God, and pray to him, and not believe 
there is a God, is to put a high scorn and 
contempt upon God. Believe that God is the 
only true God ; such a God as he hath re- 
vealed himself in his word, " A lover of 
righteousness, and hater of wickedness," 
Ps. xlv. 7. The real belief of a Deity gives 
life to all religious worship ; the more we be- 
lieve the truth and inflniteness of God, the 
more holy and angelical we are in our lives. 
Whether we are alone, or in company, God 
sees us ; he is the heart-searcher ; the belief 
of this would make us live always under 
God's eye, Ps. xvi. 8, " I have set the Lord 
always before me." The belief of a Deity 
would be a bridle to sin, a spur to duty ; it 
would add wings to prayer, and oil to the 
lamp of our devotion. The belief of a Deity 
would cause dependence upon God in all our 
straits and exigencies. Gen. xvii. 1, "I 
am God all-sufficient," — a God that can sup- 
ply all your wants, scatter all your fears, re- 
solve all your doubts, conquer all your temp- 
tations ; the arm of God's power can never 
be shrunk ; he can create mercy for us, and 
therefore can help and not be beholden to the 
creature. Did we believe there is a God, we 
should so depend on his providence as not to 
use any indirect means ; we should not run 
ourselves into sin to rid ourselves out of trou- 
ble : 2 Kings i. 3, " Is it not because there 
is not a God in Israel, that ye go to inquire of 
Beelzebub the god of Ekron]" When men 
run to sinful shifts, is it not because they do 
not believe there is a God, or that he is all- 
sufficient ] 

Use 5. Seeing there is a God, let us la- 
bour to get an interest in him, Ps. xlviii. 14, 
" This God is our God." Two things will 
comfort us, — Deity and property. Since the 
fall we have lost likeness to God, and com- 



munion with God ; let us labour to recover 
this lost interest, and pronounce this Shibbo- 
leth, < My God,' Ps. xliii. 5. It is little com- 
fort to know there is a God, unless he be 
ours ; God offers himself to be our God, Jer. 
xxxi. 33, "I will be their God." And faiths 
catcheth hold of the offer ; it appropriates 
God, and makes all that is in him over to us 
to be ours, — his wisdom to be ours, to teach us, 
— his holiness ours, to sanctify us, — his Spirit 
ours, to comfort us, — his mercy ours, to save 
us. To be able to say, God is mine, is more 
than to have all the mines of gold and silver. 

Use 6. Seeing there is a God, let us serve 
and worship him as God. It was an indict- 
ment brought in against them, Rom. i. 21, 
"They glorified him not as God." 1. Let 
us pray to him as to God. Pray with ferven- 
cy, James v. 16, " An effectual fervent 
prayer availeth much." This is both the fire 
and the incense ; without fervency it is no 
prayer. — 2. Love him as God. Deut. vi. 5, 
" Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all 
thy heart." To love him with all thy heart, 
is to give him a precedency in our love : de- 
sire to let him have the cream of our affec- 
tions, — to love him not only appreciatively, 
but intensively, as much as we can. As the 
sunbeams united in a burning glass, burn the 
hotter, so all our affections should be united, 
that our love to God may be more ardent. — 
3. Obey him as God. All creatures obey 
him : the stars fight his battles, — the wind 
and sea obey him, Mark iv. 41, — much more 
should man whom God hath endued with a 
principle of reason. He is God, and hath a 
sovereignty over us ; therefore, as we receiv- 
ed life from him, so we must receive a law 
from him, and submit to his will in all things. 
This is to kiss him with a kiss of loyalty, and 
it is to glorify him as God. 



GOD IS A SPIRIT. 



Quest. IV. WHAT is God? 

Ans. God is a Spirit. 

2d. The thing expressed, John iv. 24, 
" God is a spirit." God is essentia spiritual- 
issima. Zanch. 



Q,. What do you mean when you say, 
God is a Spirit ? 

A. By a spirit I mean, God is an immate- 
rial substance, of a pure, subtile, unmixed 
essence, not compounded of body and soul, 



GOD IS A SPIRIT. 



35 



without all extension of parts. The body is 
a dreggish thing : the more spiritual God's 
essence is, the more noble and excellent. The 
spirits are the more refined part of the wine. 

Q. Wherein doth God differ from other 
spirits ? 

1. The angels are spirits. 

A. We must distinguish of spirits. 1. 
The angels are created, God is a spirit un- 
created. — 2. The angels are spirits, but 
they are finite, and capable of being anni- 
hilated ; the same power which made them, 
is able to reduce them to their first no- 
thing ; but God is an infinite spirit. — 3. 
The angels are confined spirits ; they can- 
not be duobus locis simul, they are confined 
to a place ; but God is an immense spirit, 
and cannot be confined, being in all places 
at once. — 4. The angels, though they are 
spirits, yet they are but ministering spirits, 
Heb. i. 14. Though they are spirits, yet are 
they servants. God is a super-excellent 
spirit, " the Father of spirits," Heb. xii. 9. 

2. The soul is a spirit : Eccles. xii. 7, 
" The spirit shall return unto God that gave 
it." 

Q. How doth God, being a spirit, differ 
from the soul ? 

Servetus and Osiander thought, that the 
soul being infused did convey into man the 
very spirit and substance of God ; an absurd 
opinion, for the essence of God is incommu- 
nicable. 

A. Therefore, when it is said, the soul 
is a spirit, it is meant God hath made it in- 
telligent, and hath stamped upon it his like- 
ness, not his essence. 

Q,. But is it not said, that we are made 
partakers of the divine nature? 

A. By divine nature there, is meant di- 
vine qualities, 2 Pet. i. 4. We are made 
partakers of the divine nature, not by iden- 
tity or union with the divine essence, but 
by a transformation into the divine like- 
ness. Thus you see how God differs from 
other spirits, angels and souls of men. He 
is a spirit of transcendent excellency, " the 
Father of spirits." 

Obj. Against this Vorstius and the An- 
thropomorphites object, that, in scripture, 
a human shape and figure is given to 
God; he is said to have eyes and hands. 



A. It is contrary to the nature of a spirit 
to have a corporeal substance : Luke xxiv. 
39, " Handle me, and see me : for a spirit 
hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me 
have." Bodily members are ascribed to 
God, not properly, but metaphorically, and 
in a borrowed sense ; he is only set out to 
our capacity ; by the right hand of the 
Lord is meant his power ; by the eyes of 
the Lord is meant his wisdom. Now that 
God is^ a spirit, and is not capable of bodily 
shape or substance, is clear. 1. A body is 
visible, but God is invisible ; therefore he is 
a spirit, 1 Tim. vi. 16, " whom no man 
hath seen, nor can see ;" not by an eye of 
sense. — 2. A body is terminated; can be 
but in one place at once ; but God is every 
where, in all places at once ; therefore he 
is a spirit, Ps. cxxxix. 7, 8. " God's centre 
is every where, and his circumference is 
nowhere. — 3. A body being compounded of 
integral parts may be dissolved, — quicquid 
divisible est corruptibile ; but the Godhead 
is not capable of dissolution ; he can have 
no end, from whom all things have their be- 
ginning. So that it clearly appears that God 
is a spirit, which adds to the perfection of 
his nature. 

Use 1. If God be a spirit, then he is im- 
passible, — he is not capable of being hurt. 
Wicked men set up their banners, and 
bend their forces against God ; they are 
said to fight against God, Acts v. 39. But 
what will this fighting avail? What hurt 
can they do to the Deity 1 God is a spirit, 
and therefore cannot receive any hurtful 
impression ; wicked men may imagine evil 
against the Lord, Nahum. i. 9, " What do 
ye imagine against the Lord I" But God, 
being a spirit, is impenetrable. The wicked 
may eclipse his glory, but cannot touch 
his essence. God can hurt his enemies, 
but they cannot hurt him. Julian might 
throw up his dagger into the air against 
heaven, but could not touch the Deity. 
God is a spirit, invisible. How can the 
wicked with all their forces hurt him, when 
they cannot see him % Hence all the at- 
tempts of the wicked against God are fool- 
ish, and prove abortive : Ps. ii. 2, 4, " The 
kings of the earth set themselves against 
the Lord and against his anointed. He 



3G 



GOD IS A SPIRIT. 



that sits in the heaven shall laugh." He is 
a spirit, he can wound them, but they cannot 
touch him. 

Use 2. If God be a spirit, then it shows 
the folly of the papists, who worship him 
by pictures and images. Being a spirit, 
we cannot make any image to represent 
him by : Deut. iv. 12, " The Lord spake 
to you out of the midst of the fire, ye heard 
the voice of the words, but saw no simili- 
tude.' , 

1. God being a spirit is imperceptible, 
cannot be discerned; how then can there 
be any resemblance made of him 1 ? Isa. xl. 
18, «« To whom then will ye liken God, 
or what likeness will ye compare unto 
him]" How can you paint the Deity] 
Can we make an image of that which we 
never saw ] " Ye saw no similitude." God 
is a spirit. It were a folly to go to make the 
picture of the soul, because it is a spiritual 
thing ; or to paint the angels, because they 
are spirits. 

Obj. Are not the angels in scripture re- 
presented by the cherubims ? 

A. There is imago persona et officii, — 
there is the image of the person, and the 
image that represents the office. The cheru- 
bims did not represent the persons of the 
angels, but their office. The cherubims were 
made with wings, to show the swiftness of 
the angels, in discharge of their office ; and 
if we cannot picture the soul, nor the per- 
sons of angels, because they are spirits, 
much less can we make an image or picture of 
God, who is infinite and the Father of spirits. 

2. God is also an omnipresent spirit ; he 
is present in all places, Jer. xxiii. 24, " Do 
not I fill heaven and earth] saith the Lord." 
Therefore, being every where present, it is 
absurd to worship him by an image. Were 
it not a foolish thing to bow down to the 
king's picture, when the king is present] 
So it is to worship God's image, when God 
himself is present. 

Q. But hom then shall we conceive of 
God, being a spirit, if we may make no 
image or resemblance of him ? 

A. We must conceive of him spiritually : 
viz. (1). In his attributes, — his holiness; 
justice, goodness, which are the beams by 
which his divine nature shines forth. (2). 



We must conceive of him as he is in Christ, 
Christ " is the image of the invisible God," 
Col. i. 15. Set the eyes of your faith on 
Christ, God-man. In Christ we see some 
sparklings of the divine glory ; in him there 
is the exact resemblance of all his Father's 
excellencies. The wisdom, love, and holi- 
ness of God the Father shine forth in Christ ; 
John xiv. 9, "He that hath seen me, hath 
seen the Father." 

Use 3. If God be a spirit, it shows us, 
that the more spiritual we grow, the more 
we grow like to God. How do earth and 
spirit agree ] Phil. iii. 9. Earthly ones may 
give for their crest, the mole or tortoise that 
live in the earth. What resemblance is there 
between an earthly heart, and him who is a 
spirit ] The more spiritual any one is, the 
more like God. 

Q,. What is it to be spiritual 7 

A. To be refined and sublimated, to have 
the heart still in heaven, to be thinking of 
God and glory, and to be carried up in a 
fiery chariot of love to God, — this is to be 
spiritual : Ps. lxxiii. 25, " Whom have I in 
heaven but thee :" on which Beza paraphrased 
thus, Apaga terra, utinam tecum in ccelo 
essem ! " O that I were in heaven with 
thee !" A Christian, who is taken off these 
earthly things, as the spirits are taken off 
from the lees, hath a noble spiritual soul, 
and doth most resemble him who is a spirit. 

Use 4. It shows what that worship is God 
requires of us, and is most acceptable to him, 
viz. such a worship as is suitable to his na- 
ture, 1 spiritual worship.' John iv. 24, 
" They which worship him, must worship him 
in spirit and in truth." Spiritual worship is 
the virgin worship. Though God will have 
the service of our bodies, — our eyes and 
hands lifted up, to testify to others what 
reverence we have of God's glory and majes- 
ty, — yet chiefly he will have the worship of 
the soul, 1 Cor. vi. 20, " Glorify God in 
your body and in your spirit." Spirit wor- 
ship God prizeth, because it comes so near 
to his own nature who is a spirit. 

Q. What is it to worship God in spirit ? 

A. 1. To worship him without ceremo- 
nies. The ceremonies of the law, which 
God himself ordained, are now abrogated, 
and out of date ; Christ the substance being 



GOD IS A SPIRIT. 



37 



come, the shadows fly away ; and therefore 
the apostle calls the legal ceremonies * car- 
nal rites,' Heb. x. 10 ; and if we may not 
use those Jewish ceremonies which God did 
once appoint, then not those which he did 
never appoint. 

A. 2. To worship God in spirit, is to wor- 
ship him, 1. With faith in the blood of the 
Messiah, Heb. xi. 9 ; and, 2. To worship 
him with the utmost zeal and intenseness of 
soul, Acts xxvi. 7, " Our twelve tribes in- 
stantly serving God day and night," — with 
intenseness of spirit, — not only constantly, 
but instantly. This is to worship God in 
spirit. The more spiritual any service is, 
the nearer it comes to God, who is a spirit, 
and the more excellent it is ; the spiritual 
part of duty is the fat of the sacrifice, — it is 
the soul and quintessence of religion. The 
richest cordials are made of spirits, and the 
best duties are such as are of a spiritual na- 
ture. God is a spirit, and will be worship- 
ped in spirit ; it is not pomp of worship, but 
purity, which God accepts. Repentance is 
not in the outward severities used to the 
body, penance, fasting and chastising the 
body, but it consists in the sacrifice of a 
broken heart ; thanksgiving doth not stand 
in church music, the melody of an organ, 
but rather in making melody in the heart to 
the Lord, Eph. v. 19. Prayer is not the 
tuning the voice into a heartless confession, 
or telling over a few beads, but it consists in 
sighs and groans, Rom. viii. 26. When the 
fire of fervency is put to the incense of 
prayer, then it ascends as a sweet odour ; 
that is the true holy water, not that which 
the pope sprinkles, but what is distilled from 
the limbeck of a penitent eye. Spirit-wor- 
ship best pleaseth that God who is a spirit : 
John iv. 23, " The Father seeketh such to 
worship him ;" to show the great acceptance 
of such, and how God is delighted with spirit- 
ual worship. This is the savoury meat God 
loves. How few mind this ! Worshipping 
him who is a spirit, in the spirit, they give 
him more dregs than spirits ; they think it 
enough to bring their duties, but not their 
hearts, which hath made God disclaim these 
very services he himself appointed, Isa. i. 
12, Ezek. xxxiii. 31. Let us then give God 
spirit-worship, this best suits with his nature ; | 



a sovereign elixir full of virtue may be given 
in a few drops ; a little prayer, if it be with 
the heart and spirit, may have much virtue 
and efficacy in it. The publican made but 
a short prayer, " God be merciful to me a 
sinner," Luke xviii. 13, but it was full of 
life and spirit; it came from the heart, 
therefore it was accepted. 

Use 5. Of Exhortation. Pray to God, 
that as he is a spirit ; so he will give us of 
his Spirit. The essence of God is incom- 
municable ; but not the motions, the pre- 
sence, and influences of his Spirit. When 
the sun shines in a room, not the body of 
the sun is there, but the light, heat and in- 
fluence of the sun. God hath made a pro- 
mise of his Spirit, Ezek. xxxvi. 27, "I will 
put my Spirit within you." Turn promises 
into prayers. " O Lord, thou who art a 
spirit, give me of thy Spirit ; I flesh, beg thy 
Spirit, thy enlightening, sanctifying, quicken- 
ing Spirit !" Melancthon prayed, " Lord, in- 
flame my soul with thy holy Spirit !" How 
needful is his Spirit 1 We cannot do any 
duty without it, in a lively manner ; when 
this wind blows upon our sails, then we move 
swiftly towards heaven. Pray therefore, that 
God would give us of ' the residue of his 
Spirit,' Mai. ii. 15, that we may move more 
vigorously in the sphere of religion. 

Use 6. Of Comfort. As God is a spirit, 
so the reward that he gives is spiritual ; that 
is the excellency of it. As the chief bless- 
ings he gives us in this life are spiritual bless- 
ings, Eph. i. 3, not gold and silver, — he 
gives Christ, his love, — he fills us with grace, 
— so the main rewards he gives us after this 
life are spiritual, " a crown of glory that fad- 
eth not away," 1 Pet. v. 4. Earthly crowns 
fade, but the believer's crown, being spiritu- 
al, is immortal, a never-fading crown. " It 
is impossible (saith Joseph Scaliger) for that 
which is spiritual to be subject to change or 
corruption." This may comfort a Christian 
in all his labours and sufferings ; he lays out 
himself for God, and hath little or no re- 
ward here; but remember, God, who is a 
spirit, will give spiritual rewards, — a sight of 
his face in heaven, — white robes, — a weight 
of glory. Be not then weary of God's ser- 
vice ; think of the spiritual reward, a crown 
of glory which fadeth not away ! 



3h 



GOD IS INFINITE. 



GOD IS INFINITE. 



3d. Quest. WHAT kind of Spirit is 
God ? 

Ans. He is infinite ; so he differs from all 
created beings, which are finite. Though 
infinite may be applied to all God's attri- 
butes, — he is infinitely merciful, infinitely 
wise, infinitely holy, — yet, if we take infi- 
niteness properly so, it implies : 

1. God's omnipresence. The Greek word 
for infinite signifies ' without bounds or li- 
mits :' God is not confined to any place, he 
is infinite, and so is present in all places at 
once. His centre is every where, — Divina 
essentia nusquam inclusa aut exclusa, 
Aug. 1 Kings viii. 27, " Behold, the heaven, 
and the heaven of heavens cannot contain 
thee !" This the Turks have a notion of: 
they build their temples open at the top, 
to show that God cannot be confined to their 
temples, or circumscribed, but is in all places 
by his presence. God's essence is not limit- 
ed either to the regions above, or to the 
terrestrial globe, but his whole essence is 
every where ; this is to be infinite. As phi- 
losophers say of the soul, it is, tota in tota, 
et tota in qualibet parte* — the soul is in 
every part of the body, in the eye, heart, foot : 
so we may say of God, he is ubique, — his 
essence is every where, — his circuit is in 
heaven, and in earth, and sea, and he is in 
all places of his circuit at once. ' This is to 
be infinite.' God, who bounds every thing 
e^se, is himself without bounds; he sets 
bounds to the sea, hue usque, — 'Hitherto 
shalt thou come, and no further.' He sets 
bounds to the angels ; they, like the cherub- 
ims, move and stand at his appointment, 
Ezek. x. 16, but he is infinite, without bounds. 
He who can span the heavens, and weigh 
the earth in a pair of scales, must needs be 
infinite, Isa. xl. 22. 

Obj. Vorstius, That God is in all places 
at once but not in regard of his essence, but, 
virtute et potentia, by his virtue and influ- 
ence : as the body of the sun is in heaven, it 
only sends forth its beams and influences to 
the earth,— or as a king, who is in all places 



of his kingdom authoritatively, by his power 
and authority, but he is personally on his 
throne. 

A. But to answer : God, who is infinite, is 
in all places at once, not only by his influ- 
ence, but by his essence ; for, if his essence 
fills all places, then he must needs be there 
in person. But, Ergo, minor in, Jer. xxiii. 
24, « Do not I fill heaven and earth V 

Obj. But doth not God say, heaven is his 
throne ? Isa. lxvi. 1. 

A. It is also said, that an humble heart is 
his throne, Isa. Ivii. 15. The humble heart 
is his throne, in regard of his gracious pre- 
sence ; and heaven is his throne, in regard of 
his glorious presence ; and yet neither of 
these thrones will hold him, for the heaven 
of heavens cannot contain him. 

Obj. But if God be infinite in all places, 
then he is in places impure, and mingles with 
that impurity ? 

A. Though God be in all places, — in the 
heart of a sinner by his inspection, — and in 
hell by his justice, — yet he doth not mingle 
with that impurity, or receive the least tinc- 
ture of evil. Divina natura non est immista 
rebus aut sordibus inquinata, Aug. No 
more than the sun shining on a dunghill is 
defiled, or its beauty spotted, or than Christ 
going among sinners was defiled ; his God- 
head was a sufficient antidote against infec- 
tion. — Reason why God must needs be in- 
finite in all places at once, not only in regard 
of the simplicity and purity of his nature, but 
in regard of his power, which being so glori- 
ous, who can set him bounds, or prescribe 
him a circuit to walk in ] It is as if the drop 
should go to limit the ocean, or the star to 
set the sun its bounds. 

Use 1. It condemns the papists, who would 
make more things infinite than the Godhead. 
They hold that Christ's body is in many 
places at once, — that it is in heaven, and in 
the bread and wine in the sacrament. Though 
Christ, as he is God, is infinite and in all 
places at once, yet, as man, he is not. Christ 
when he was on earth, his manhood was not 



\ 



GOD IS INFINITE. 



39 



in heaven, though his Godhead was ; and now 
he is in heaven, his manhood is not on earth 
though his Godhead be. Heb. x. 5, it is 
spoken of Christ, " A body thou hast pre- 
pared me." This body cannot be in all places 
'' at once ; for then it is no more a body, but a 
spirit ; Christ's body in heaven, though it be 
glorified, it is not deified ; it is not infinite, 
| for so it must ^e, if it be both in heaven, and 
: in the bread and wine by transubstantiation. 
If God be infinite, present in all places at 
once, then it is certain he governs all things 
in his own person ; he needs no proxies or 
deputies to help him to carry on his govern- 
i ment. He is in all places at an instant, and 
' manageth all affairs both in the earth and 
heaven. A king cannot be in all places of 
his kingdom in his own person, therefore he 
I is fain to govern by deputies, and vicege- 
rents, and they often pervert justice ; but 
God, being infinite, needs no deputies, he 
is present in all places, he sees all with his 
own eyes, and hears all with his own ears ; 
li he is every where in his own person, there- 
fore is fit to be the judge of the world ; he 
• will do every one right. 

If God be infinite by his omnipresence, 
then see the greatness and immenseness of 
I the divine majesty. What a great God do 
we serve ! 1 Chron. xxix. 11, " Thine, O 
Lord, is the greatness, and the glory, and 
the majesty, and thou art exalted as head 
above all." Well may the scripture display 
the greatness of his glory who is infinite in 
all places. He transcends our weak con- 
ceptions ; how can our finite understanding 
comprehend him who is infinite ? He is 
infinitely above all our praises, Neh. ix. 5, 
" Blessed be thy glorious name, which is 
exalted above all blessing and praise." O 
what a poor nothing is man, when we think 
of God's infiniteness % As the stars disap- 
pear at the rising of the sun, O how doth 
a man shrink into nothing when Infinite 
Majesty shines forth in his glory ! Isa. xl. 
15, " The nations are as a drop of the 
bucket, or the small dust of the balance." 
O what a little of that drop are we ! The 
heathens thought they had sufficiently prais- 
ed Jupiter, when they called him Great Ju- 
piter. Of what immense majesty is God, 



who fills all places at once ! " His excellent 
greatness," Ps. cl. 2. If God be infinite, 
filling heaven and earth, see what a full por- 
tion the saints have ; they have him for their 
portion who is infinite. His fulness is an 
infinite fulness ; and he is infinitely sweet, 
as well as infinitely full ; if a conduit be fill- 
ed with wine here is a sweet fulness, but 
still it is finite ; but God is a sweet fulness, 
and it is also infinite. He is infinitely full 
of beauty,— of love ; his riches are called 
' unsearchable,' Eph. iii. 8, because they 
are infinite. Stretch your thoughts as much 
as you can, there 's that in God exceeds ; it 
is an infinite fulness. He is said "to do 
abundantly for us, above all that we can 
ask," Eph. iii. 20. What can an ambitious 
spirit ask 1 He can ask crowns and king- 
doms, — millions of worlds ; but God can give 
more than we can ask, nay, or think, because 
he is infinite. We can think, what if all the 
dust were turned to silver, if every flower 
were a ruby, every sand in the sea a dia- 
mond : yet God can give more than we can 
think, because he is infinite ! O how rich 
are they who have the infinite God for their 
portion ! Well might David say, " The Lord 
is the portion of mine inheritance," " the 
lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places? 
and I have a goodly heritage !" Ps. xvi. 5, 6. 
We may go with the bee from flower to 
flower, but we shall never have full satis- 
faction till we come to the infinite God. 
Jacob said, " 1 have enough" — in the He- 
brew, " I have all," Gen. xxxiii. 11, — be- 
cause he had the infinite God for his portion. 
God being an infinite fulness, there is no fear 
of want for any of the heirs of heaven; 
though there be millions of saints and angels 
which hath a share in God's riches, yet he 
hath enough for them all, because he is in- 
finite. Though a thousand men behold the 
sun, there is light enough in the sun for 
them all ; put ever so many buckets into the 
sea, there is water enough in the sea to fill 
them. Though an innumerable company of 
saints and angels are to be filled out of God's 
fulness, yet God, being infinite, he hath 
abundantly enough to satisfy them. God hath 
land enough to give to all his heirs, there 
can be no want in that which is infinite, 



40 



GOD IS INFINITE. 



If God be infinite, he fills all places, is 
every where present : this is sad to the wick- 
ed, God is their enemy, and they cannot es- 
cape him, nor flee from him, for he is every 
where present : they are never out of his 
eye, nor out of his reach : Ps. xxi. 8, " Thy 
hand shall find out all thy enemies." What 
caves or thickets can men hide in, that God 
cannot find them 1 Go where they will, he 
is present, Ps. cxxxix. 7, " Whither shall I 
flee from thy presence?" If a man owes a 
debt to another he may make his escape, and 
flee into another land, where the creditor 
cannot find him. " But whither shall I flee 
from thy presence ?" God is infinite ? he is 
in all places : so that he will find out his 
enemies and punish them. 

Obj. But is it not said, 1 Cain went out 
from the 'presence of the LordV Gen. iv. 16. 

A. The meaning is, he went out from the 
church of God, where were the visible signs 
of God's presence, and where God did in a 
special manner manifest his sweet presence 
to his people : but Cain could not go out of 
God's sight, for God being infinite, is every 
where present. Sinners can neither go from 
an accusing conscience, nor a revenging God. 

If God be every where present, then for 
a Christian to walk with God is not imposs- 
ible. God is not only in heaven, but he 
is in earth too, Isa. lxvi. 1. Heaven is his 
throne, there he sits ; the earth is his foot- 
stool, there he stands. He is every where 
present, therefore we may come to walk 
with God : " Enoch walked with God," 
Gen. v. 22. If God was confined to heaven, 
a trembling soul might think, " How can I 
converse with God, — how can I walk with 
him who lives in excelsis, above the upper 
region V' but God is not confined to heaven, 
he is omnipresent ; he is above us, yet he is 
about us, he is near to us, Acts xvii. 27. 
Though he be not far from the assembly of 
the saints. He stands in the congregation 
of the mighty, Ps. Ixxxii. 1. He is present 
with us, God is in every one of us ; so that 
here on earth we may walk with God. In 
heaven the saints rest with him, — on earth 
they walk with him. To walk with God, is 
to walk by faith ; we are said ' to draw nigh' 
to God, Heb. x. 22 ; and to see him, Heb. 



xi. 27, " As seeing him who is invisible 
and to have fellowship with him, 1 John i. 3, 
" Our fellowship is with the Father." Thus 
we may take a turn with him every day by 
faith. It is a slighting of God not to walk 
with him : if a king be in presence, it is a 
slighting him, to neglect him and walk with 
the page. There is no walk in the world so 
sweet as to walk with God : Ps. lxxxix. 15, 
" They shall walk in the light of thy coun- 
tenance ;" Ps. cxxxviii. 5, " Yea, they shall 
sing in the ways of the Lord;" it is like 
walking among beds of spices, which send 
forth a fragrant perfume. 

Use 2. If God be infinite in his glorious 
essence, learn to admire where you cannot 
fathom. The angels wear a veil ; they cover 
their faces, as adoring this infinite majesty, 
Isa. vi. 3. Elias wrapped himself in a man- 
tle when God's glory passed by. Admire 
where you cannot fathom, Job xi. 7, " Canst 
thou by searching find out God ?" Here we 
see some beams of his glory, — we see him in 
the glass of the creation, — we see him in his 
picture, his image shines in the saints, — but 
who can search out all his essential glory? 
What angel can measure these pyramids'? 
" Canst thou by searching find out God V 
He is infinite. We can no more search out 
his infinite perfections, than a man upon the 
top of the highest mountain can reach the 
firmament, or take a star in his hand. O 
have God-admiring thoughts ! Adore where 
you cannot fathom ; there are many myste- 
ries in nature which we cannot fathom, — 
why the sea should be higher than the earth, 
yet not drown it, — why the Nile should over- 
flow in summer, when, by the course of na- 
ture, the waters are lowest, — how the bones 
grow in the womb, Eccl. xi. 5. If these 
things pose us, how may the infinite myste- 
ry of the Deity transcend our most raised 
intellectuals ! Ask the geometrician, if he 
can, with a pair of compasses, measure the 
breadth of the earth : so unable are we to 
measure the infinite perfections of God. In 
heaven we shall see God clearly, but not 
fully, for he is infinite ; he will communicate 
himself to us, according to the bigness of our 
vessel, but not the immenseness of his na- 
ture. Adore then where you cannot fathom. 



OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD. 



41 



If God be infinite in all places, then let us 
not go to limit God, Ps. Ixxviii. 41, "They 
limited the Holy One of Israel." It is a limit- 
ing God to confine him within the narrow 
compass of our reason. Reason thinks God 
must go such a way to work, or the business 
will never be effected. This is to limit God 
to our reason ; whereas he is infinite, " and 
his ways are past finding out," Rom. xi. 33. 
In the deliverance of the church, it is a limit- 
ing God, either to set him a time, or prescribe 



him a method for deliverance. God will de- 
liver Sion, but he will be left to his own 
liberty ; he will not be tied to a place, to a 
time, to an instrument, this were to limit 
him, and then he should not be infinite. God 
will go his own way, — he will pose and 
nonplus reason, — he will work by impro- 
babilities, — he will save in such a way as 
we think he will destroy ; now he acts like 
himself, like an infinite, wonder-working 
God. 



OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD. 



" For the Lord is a God of knowledge, 
and by him actions are weighed," 1 Sam. ii. 
3. Glorious things are spoken of God ; he 
transcends our thoughts, and the angels' 
praises. God's glory lies chiefly in his at- 
tributes, which are the several beams by 
which the divine nature shines forth. Among 
other of his orient excellencies, this is not the 
least, " The Lord is a God of knowledge 
or, as the Hebrew word is, * A God of 
knowledges.' Through the bright mirror of 
his own essence, he hath a full idea and cog- 
nizance of all things. The world is to him 
a transparent body. He makes a heart ana- 
tomy ; Rev. ii. 23, " I am he which search- 
eth the reins and the heart." The clouds 
are no canopy, the night is no curtain to 
draw between us and his sight, Ps. cxxxix. 
12, " The darkness hideth not from thee." 
There is not a word we whisper, but God 
hears it, Ps. cxxxix. 4, " There is not a 
word in my tongue, but lo, O Lord, thou 
knowest it altogether!" There is not the 
most subtle thought comes into our mind, 
but God perceives it, Isa. lxvi. 18, " I know 
their thoughts." Thoughts speak as loud in 
God's ears, as words do in ours. All our ac- 
tions, though ever so subtilely contrived, and 
secretly conveyed, are visible to the eye of 
omnisciency, Isa. lxvi. 18, " I know their 
works." Achan hid the Babylonish gar- 
ment in the earth, but God brought it to 
light, Josh. vii. 21. Minerva was drawn in 
such curious colours, and so lively penciled, 
that which way soever one turned, Minerva's 
F 



eyes were upon him : so, which way soever 
we turn ourselves, still God's eye is upon us, 
Job xxxvii. 16, " Dost thou know the balanc- 
ing of the clouds ! the wondrous works of him 
that is perfect in knowledge ]" God knows 
whatever is knowable ; he knows future 
contingencies. He foretold Israel's coming 
out of Babylon, and the virgin's conceiving. 
By this the Lord proves the truth of his 
Godhead against idol gods : Isa. xli. 23, 
" Show the things that are to come hereaf- 
ter, that we may know ye are gods." The 
perfection of God's knowledge is primary. 
He is the original, the pattern and prototype 
of all knowledge ; others borrow their know- 
ledge of him ; the angels light their lamps at 
this glorious sun. 

2. God's knowledge is pure. It is not con- 
taminated with the object. Divina natura 
non est immista rebus aut sordibus inqui- 
nata, Aug. Though God knows sin, yet it 
is to hate and punish it. No evil can mix or 
incorporate with his knowledge, no more 
than the sun can be defiled with the vapours 
which arise from the earth. 

3. God's knowledge is facile ; it is without 
any difficulty. We study and search for 
knowledge : Prov. ii. 4, * If thou seekest 
for her as for silver." But the lamp of God's 
knowledge is so infinitely bright, that all 
things are intelligible to him. 

4. God's knowledge is infallible ; there is 
no mistake in his knowledge. Human know- 
ledge is subject to error and misprision. A 
physician may mistake the cause of a disease ; 



42 



OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD. 



but God's knowledge is unerring ; he can 
neither deceive, nor be deceived ; he cannot 
deceive, because he is truth ; nor be deceived, 
because he is wisdom. 

5. God's knowledge is instantaneous ; our 
knowledge is successive, one thing after 
another. We argue from the effect to the 
cause : God knows things past, present and 
to come, uno intuito, at once : they are all 
before him in one entire prospect. 

(1). God's knowledge is retentive ; he 
never loscth any of his knowledge; he hath 
reminiscentia, as well as intelligentia, — he 
remembers as well as understands. Many 
tilings elapse out of our minds, but God's 
knowledge is eternized. Things transacted 
a thousand years ago, are as fresh to him, 
as they were done but the last minute. Thus 
he is perfect in knowledge. 

Obj. But is it not said, Gen. xviii. 21, 'I 
will go down and see whether they have 
done according to the cry which is come up 
unto me, and I will know V 

A. It could not be a nesciency, or that 
God was ignorant ; because there is mention 
made of a cry ; but the Lord speaks there 
after the manner of a judge, who will first ex- 
amine the cause before he passeth the sen- 
tence. God, when he is upon a work of jus- 
tice, is not in a riot, as if he did not care 
where he hits ; but he goes in a way of circuit 
against offenders. He "lays judgment to 
the line, and righteousness to the plummet," 
Isa. xxviii. 17. 

Obj. Hos. xiii. 12. The iniquity of Ephra- 
im is bound up, their sin is hid? 

A. Not that his sin was hid from God, but 
his sin is hid, that is, it is recorded, it is laid 
up against a day of reckoning. That this is 
the meaning, is clear by the foregoing words, 
his iniquity is bound up : as the clerk of the 
assizes binds up the indictments of malefac- 
tors in a bundle, and at the assizes, brings 
out the indictments and reads them in court, 
so God binds up men's sins in a bundle, and, 
at the day of judgment, this bundle shall be 
opened, and all their sins brought to light be- 
fore men and angels. 

That God is thus infinite in his know- 
ledge. 1. It cannot but be so ; for he, who is 
the original cause, and gives a being to 
things, must needs have a clear inspection 



into them, Ps. xciv. 9, " He that planted 
the ear, shall he not hear ? He that formed 
the eye, shall he not see?" He who makes 
a watch or engine, knows all the workman- 
ship in it. God, that made the heart, knows 
all the motions and fallacies of it : He is like 
EzekiePs wheels, full of eyes, and, as Austin 
saith, " totus oculus" — 'All eye.' 2. It 
ought to be so ; for he - is to be " Judge of all 
the world," Gen. xviii. 25. There are so 
many causes to be brought before him, and 
so many persons to be tried, that he must 
have a most exquisite perfect knowledge, or 
he could not do justice. An ordinary judge 
cannot proceed without a jury, — the jury 
must search the cause, and give in the ver- 
dict, — but God can judge without a jury. 
He knows all things in and of himself, and 
needs no witnesses to inform him. A judge 
judgeth only matters of fact, but God judgeth 
the heart. He not only judgeth- wicked ac- 
tions, but wicked designs. He sees the 
treason of the heart, and punisheth it. 

Use 1. Is God infinite in knowledge, 1 
John i. 5, "He is light, and in him is no 
darkness ;" then how unlike are they to God, 
who are darkness, and in whom is no light, 
— who are destitute of knowledge, such as 
the Indians who never heard of God 1 And 
are there not many among us who are no 
better than baptized heathens 1 Who are to 
seek in the first principles of the oracles of 
God 1 It is sad that after the sun of the gos- 
pel hath shined so long in our horizon, yet to 
this day the veil should be upon their heart. 
Such as are enveloped with ignorance cannot 
give God a " reasonable service," Rom. xii. 
1. Ignorance is the nurse of impiety ; the 
schoolmen say, " Omne peccatur fundatur 
in ignorantia." Jer. ix. 3, " < They proceed 
from evil to evil ; and they know not me,' saith 
the Lord." Where ignorance reigns in the 
understanding, lust rageth in the affections : 
Prov. xix. 2, « That the mind be without 
knowledge, it is not good ;" such have neither 
faith nor fear. No faith, for Knowledge car- 
ries the torch before Faith : Ps. ix. 10, 
" They that know thy name shall put their 
trust in thee." A man can no more belreve 
without knowledge, than the eye can see with- 
out light. Nor fear of God. How can they 
fear him whom they do not know ? The 



OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD. 



43 



covering- of Haman's face was a sad presage 
of death. When people's minds are covered 
'with ignorance, this covering of the face is a 
fatal forerunner of destruction. 

2. If God be a God of knowledge, then see 
the folly of hypocrisy. Hypocrites do not 
"virtutum facere" but fingere, Melcant. 
They carry it fair with men, but care not how 
bad their hearts are; they live in secret sin: Ps. 
lxxiii. 11, " They say how doth God know V 
Ps. x. 11, " God hath forgotten, he nideth his 
face, he will never see it." But, Ps. cxlvii. 
5, " His understanding" is infinite." He 
hath a grate [crates] that looks into men's 
breasts ; he hath a key for the heart ; he be- 
holds all the sinful workings of men's spirits, 
as in a glass-hive we can see the bees working 
in their combs. Matt. vi. 4, "He sees in 
secret ;" in impious habet, Rivet. As a 
merchant enters down debts in his book, so 
God hath his diary or day-book, and he en- 
ters down every sin into the book ; he makes 
a critical descant upon men's actions. Jero- 
boam's wife disguised herself that the prophet 
should not know her, but he discerned her : 1 
Kings xiv. 6, " Why feignest thou thyself to 
be* another V The hypocrite thinks to preva- 
ricate and juggle with God, but God will un- 
mask him: Ecc. xii. 14, "God shall bring 
every work into judgment, with every secret 
thing ;" Jer. xxix. 23, " They have com- 
mitted villany in Israel," " even I know, and 
am a witness saith the Lord." Ay, but the 
hypocrite hopes he shall colour over his sin, 
and make it look very specious ! Absalom 
masks over his treason with the pretence of 
a religious vow ; Judas dissembles his envy at 
Christ, and covetousness, with the pretence of 
charity to the poor, John xii. 5 ; Jehu makes 
religion a stirrup to his ambitious design, 2 
Kings x. 16 ; but God sees through these fig- 
leaves. You may see a jade under his gilt 
trappings : Jer. xvi. 17, " Their iniquities 
are not hid from mine eyes." And he that 
hath an eye to see will find a hand to punish. 

Use 2. Of Exhortation. Is God so infi- 
nite in his knowledge 1 Then we should al- 
ways set ourselves as under his omniscient 
eye. " Sic vivendum est tanquam in con- 
spectu" Seneca. Let us set David's pros- 
pect before our eye, Ps. xvi. 8, " I have 



set the Lord always before me." Seneca 
counselled Lucillius that whatever he was 
doing he should imagine some of the Roman 
worthies stood before him, and then he would 
do nothing dishonourable. The considera- 
tion of God's omnisciency would, 1. Be pre- 
ventive of much sin. The eye of man will re- 
strain from sin ; and will not God's eyes much 
more 1 Est. vii. 8, " Then said the king, 
Will he force the queen also before me V* 
Will we sin when our judge looks on 1 
Would men speak so vainly, if they consi- 
dered God overheard them 1 Latimer took 
heed to every word in his examination, when 
he heard the pen go behind the hangings : 
so, what care would persons have of their 
words, if they remembered God heard, and 
the pen is going in heaven 1 W ould men 
go after strange flesh, if they believed God 
was a spectator of their wickedness, and 
would make them do penance in hell for it 1 
Would they defraud in their dealings, and 
use false weights, if they thought God saw 
them, and for making their weights lighter 
would make their damnation heavier ? 2. 
The setting ourselves as under the eye of 
God's omnisciency, would cause reverence 
in the worship of God. God sees the frame 
and carriage of our hearts when we come 
before him ! How would this call in our 
straggling thoughts 1 how would this ani- 
mate and spirit duty 1 It would make us put 
fire to the incense, Acts xxvi. 7, " The 
tribes instantly served God day and night," 
— omnibus venibus, — with the utmost zeal 
and intenseness of spirit. To think God is in 
this place, he beholds us, would add wings' 
to prayer, and oil to the flame of our devo- 
tion. 

2. Is God's knowledge infinite'? Study 
sincerity, be what you seem, 1 Sam. xvi. 
7, ' The Lord looketh upon the heart.' 
Men judge of the heart by the actions, God 
judgeth of the actions by the heart ; if the 
heart be sincere, God will see the faith and 
wink at the failing. Asa had his blemishes, 
but his heart was right with God, 2 Chron. 
xv. 17. God saw his sincerity, and pardon- 
ed his infirmity. Sincerity in a Christian, is 
like chastity in a wife, which doth excuse 
many failings. Sincerity makes our duties 



OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD. 



acceptable, like musk among linen, that per- 
fumes it. As Jehu said to Jehonadab, 2 
Kings x. 15, " Is thine heart right ?" And 
he said, " it is."—" [f it be," said he, "give 
me thy hand ;" and he took him up into the 
chariot. So, if God see our heart is right,— 
that we love him, and design his glory, — 
" now," saith he, " give me your prayers and 
tears ; now you shall come up with me into 
the triumphant chariot of glory." Sincerity 
makes our services to be golden, and God 
will not cast away this gold though it may 
want some weight. Is God omniscient, and 
his eye chiefly upon the heart ? wear this gir- 
dle of truth about you and never leave it off. 

Use 3. Of Comfort. Is God a God of in- 
finite knowledge 1 Then there is comfort, 
L To the saints in particular, 2. To the 
church in general, in three respects : 

X. In case of private devotion. Christian, 
thou settest hours apart for God, thy thoughts 
run upon him as thy treasure : God takes no- 
tice of every good thought, Mai. iii. 16, " He 
had a book of remembrance written for them 
that thought upon his name." Thou enterest 
into thy closet, and prayest to thy Father in 
secret : he hears every sigh and groan, Ps. 
xxxviii. 9, " My groaning is not hid from 
thee." Thou waterest the seed of thy prayer 
with tears : God bottles every tear, Ps. lvi. 8, 
u Put thou my tears into thy bottle." When 
the secrets of all hearts shall be opened, God 
will make an honourable mention of the zeal 
and devotion of his people, and he himself 
will be the herald of their praises : 1 Cor. iv.5, 
" Then shall every man have praise of 
God." 

2. The infiniteness of God's knowledge is 
a comfort, in case the saints have not so clear 
a knowledge of themselves. They find so 
much corruption, that they judge they have 
no grace, Gen. xxv. 22, " If it be so, why am 
I thus ]" If I have grace, why is my heart in 
so dead and earthly a frame 1 O remember, 
God is of infinite knowledge, he can spy 
grace where thou canst not ; he can see grace 
hid under corruption, as the stars may be hid 
under a cloud. God can see that holiness in 
thee which thou canst not discern in thyself; 
he can spy the flower of grace in thee, though 



overtopped with weeds, 1 Kings xiv. 13, " Be- 
cause there is in him some good thing." God 
sees some good thing in his people when they 
can see no good in themselves ; and though 
they judge themselves, he will give them an 
absolution. 

3. It is comfort in respect of personal in- 
juries. It is the saint's lot to suffer; the 
head being crowned with thorns, the feet 
must not tread upon roses. If saints find a 
real purgatory, it is in this life ; but this is 
their comfort, God sees what wrong is done 
to thern ; the apple of his eye is touched, and 
is not he sensible 1 St Paul was scourged by 
cruel hands, 1 Cor. xi. 35, " Thrice was I 
beaten with rods ;" as if you should see a 
scullion whip the king's son. God beholds 
it, Exod. iii. 9, " I know their sorrows." The 
wicked make wounds in the backs of the 
saints, and then pour in vinegar ; but God 
writes down their cruelty. Believers are 
part of Christ's mystical body ; and for every 
drop of a saint's blood spilt, God puts a drop 
of wrath in his vial. 

4. Comfort to the church of God in gene- 
ral. If God be a God of knowledge, he sees 
all the plots of the enemies against Zion, and 
can make them prove abortive. The wicked 
are subtle, having borrowed their skill of the 
old serpent ; they dig deep to hide their coun- 
sels from God, but he sees them, and can 
easily counterwork them. The dragon is 
described with seven heads, Rev. xii. 3, to 
show how he plots against the church : but 
God is described with seven eyes, Zech. ii. 
9, to show that he sees all the blots and 
stratagems of the enemies ; and when they 
deal proudly, he can be above them. Come, 
saith Pharaoh, "let us deal wisely," Exod. 
i. 10 ; and he never played the fool more than 
when he thought to deal wisely, Exod. xiv. 
23, " In the rnorning-watch the Lord looked 
to the host of the Egyptians, by the pillar of 
fire, and troubled the host." How may this 
be as sap in the vine, and may comfort the 
church of God in her militant state ! The 
Lord hath an eye in all the councils and com- 
binations of the enemy ; he sees them in their 
train, and can blow them up in their own 
mine. 



OF THE ETERNITY OF GOD. 



45 



OF THE ETERNITY OF GOD. 



The next attribute is, " God is eternal:" 
Ps. xc. 2, " From everlasting to everlasting 
thou art God." The schoolmen distinguish 
between cevum et eternum, to explain the no- 
tion of eternity. There is a threefold being : 
1st, Such a being as had a beginning, and 
shall have an end : so all sensitive creatures, 
the beasts, fowls, fishes, — these at death are 
destroyed and return to dust, — their being 
ends with their life. 2d, Such a being as 
had a beginning, but shall have no end, as 
the angels and souls of men ; they are eternal 
a 'parte post, — they abide for ever. 3d, Such 
a being as is without beginning, and without 
ending, and that is proper only to God. He 
is semper existens, viz. from everlasting to 
everlasting ; it is God's title, a jewel of his 
crown: (1). He is called " the king eternal," 
1 Tim. i. 17. (2). Jehovah, — a word that 
properly sets out God's eternity, — a word so 
dreadful, that the Jews trembled to name or 
read it, therefore used another word, Adonai, 
"Lord." Jehovah contains in it time past, 
present, and to come, Rev. i. 8, " Which is, 
and which was, and which is to come ;" it 
interprets the word Jehovah, — which is, He 
subsists of himself, having a pure and inde- 
pendent being, — which was, God only was 
before time, there is no searching into the 
records of eternity, — which is to come, his 
kingdom hath no end, his crown hath no suc- 
cessors, Heb. i. 8, " Thy throne, O God, is 
for ever and ever." The doubling of the word 
ratifies the certainty of it, as the doubling of 
Pharaoh's dream did. I shall prove that God 
only could be eternal, without beginning. 
Angels could not; they are but creatures, 
though spirits ; they were made, and there- 
fore their beginning may be known, their 
antiquity may be searched into. If you ask, 
when they were created 1 Some think before 
the world was ; but not so, for what was be- 
fore time was eternal, — the angels' first rise 
and original reacheth no higher than the be- 
ginning of the world. It is thought by the 
learned that the angels were made that day 
on which the heavens were made, Job xxxviii. 



7, " When the morning stars sang together, 
and all the sons of God shouted for joy." St 
Hierom, Gregory, and venerable Bede, un- 
derstand it of the angels, when God laid the 
foundation-stone of the world, the angels 
being then created, did sing the anthems of 
joy and praise ; the angels could not be before 
time, for what was before time was eternal. 
It is only proper to God to be eternal, — with- 
out beginning. He is Alpha and Omega, — 
the first and the last, Rev. i. 8. No creature 
can write itself Alpha, that is only a flower 
of the crown of heaven, Exod. iii. 14, " I am 
that I am," viz. He who exists from and to 
eternity. 

Use 1. Here is thunder and lightning to 
the wicked. God is eternal, therefore the 
torments of the wicked are eternal. God 
lives for ever ; and as long as God lives he 
will be punishing the damned. This, me- 
thinks, should be as the handwriting upon 
the wall, Dan. v. 6, it should make their joints 
to be loosed, &c. The sinner takes liberty 
to sin ; he breaks God's laws, like a wild 
beast that breaks over the hedge, and leaps 
into forbidden pasture ; he sins with greedi- 
ness, Eph. iv. 19, as if he thought he could 
not sin fast enough. But remember, this is 
one of God's names, Eternal; and as long as 
God is eternal, he hath time enough to reckon 
with all his enemies. To make sinners trem- 
ble, let them think of these three things : the 
torments of the damned are without inter- 
mission, — without mixture, — and eternal. 

1. Without intermission. Their pains shall 
be acute and sharp, and no relaxation ; the 
fire shall not be slackened or abated, Rev. 
xiv. 11, " They have no rest day nor night;" 
like one that hath his joints stretched con- 
tinually on the rack, and hath no ease ; there- 
fore the wrath of God is compared to a stream 
of brimstone, Isa. xxx. 33. Why to a stream ] 
Because a stream runs without intermission ; 
it runs, and doth not stop ; so God's wrath 
runs like a stream, and pours out without any 
intermission. In the pains of this life, there 
is some abatement and intermission ; the 



46 



OF THE ETERNITY OF GOD. 



fever abates,— after a fit of the stone, the 
patient hath some ease,— but the pains of hell 
are intense and violent, in summo gradu; 
the damned soul never saith, "I am now 
more at ease." 

2. Without mixture. Hell is a place of 
pure justice. In this life, God in anger re- 
members mercy; he mixeth compassion with 
suffering, Deut. xxxiii. 25. Asher's shoe was 
of iron, but his foot was dipt in oil. Afflic- 
tion is the iron shoe, but mercy is mixed with 
it ; here is the foot dint in oil. But the tor- 
ments of the damned have no mixture : Rev. 
xiv. 10, " The same shall drink of the wine 
of the wrath of God, which is poured out 
without mixture." No mixture of mercy. 
How is the cup of wrath said to be full of 
mixture, Ps. lxxv. 8, " For in the hand of the 
Lord there is a cup, and the wine is red ; it 
is full of mixture, and he poureth out of the 
same; but the dregs thereof all the wicked 
of the earth shall wring them out and drink 
them." Yet in the Revelation it is said to 
be without mixture. It is full of mixture, 
that is, it is full of all the ingredients that 
may make it bitter; the worm, — the fire, — 
the curse of God, — all these are bitter in- 
gredients. It is a cup mixed, yet it is with- 
out mixture, viz. there shall be nothing to 
afford the least comfort, — no mixture of 
mercy ; so it is a cup without mixture. In 
the sacrifice of jealousy, Numb. v. 15, there 
was no oil put to it ; so, in the torments of 
the damned, there is no oil of mercy to abate 
their sufferings. 

3. Without cessation, eternal. The plea- 
sures of sin are but for a season, but the tor- 
ments of the wicked are for ever. Sinners 
have a short feast, but a long reckoning. 
Origen erroneously thought that after a thou- 
sand years the damned should be released 
out of their misery : but the worm, — the fire, 
— the prison, — are all eternal, Rev. xiv. 11, 
" The smoke of their torment ascendeth for 
ever and ever." Pazncc gehennales punint, 
non finunt, Prosper. Eternity is a sea 
without bottom and banks. After millions 
of years, there is not one minute in eternity 
wasted ; and the damned must be ever burn- 
ing, but never consuming, — always dying, but 
never dead : Rev. ix. 6, « They shall seek 



death, but shall not find it." The fire of hell 
is such as multitudes of tears will not quench 
it —length of time will not finish it,— the vial 
of God's wrath will be always dropping upon 
a sinner. As long as God is eternal, he 
lives for ever to be avenged upon the wicked. 
O Eternity ! Eternity ! who can fathom 
it 1 Mariners have their plummets to measure 
the depths of the sea; but what line or plum- 
met shall we use to fathom the depth of eter- 
nity 1 The breath of the Lord kindles the in- 
fernal lake, Isa. xxx. 33 ; and where shall we 
have engines or buckets to quench that fire 1 
O Eternity ! If all the body of the earth 
and sea were turned to sand, and all the air 
up to the starry heaven were nothing but 
sand, and a little bird should come every 
thousand years and fetch away in her bill but 
the tenth part of a grain of all that heap of 
sand, what a numberless number of years 
would be spent before that vast heap of sand 
would be fetched away 1 Yet, if at the end 
of all that time, the sinner might come out 
of hell (though long), yet there would be 
some hope : but this word Ever, breaks the 
heart ! " The smoke of their torment as- 
cendeth up for ever and ever." What a ter- 
ror is this to the wicked, enough to put them 
into a cold sweat, to think, as long as God 
is eternal, he lives for ever to be avenged 
upon sinners ! 

Quest. Here a question may be moved, 
Why sin that is committed in a short time 
should be punished eternally ? 

Ans. We must hold with St Augustine, 
"that God's judgments on the wicked, — 
occultu esse possunt, injusta esse non pos- 
sunt, — may be secret, but never unjust." 
The reason why sin committed in a short 
time is eternally punished, is, because every 
sin is committed against an infinite essence, 
and no less than eternity of punishment can 
satisfy. Why is treason punished with con- 
fiscation and death, but because it is against 
the king's person, which is sacred: much 
more that offence which is against God's 
crown and dignity is of a heinous and infinite 
nature, and cannot be satisfied with less than 
eternal punishment. 

Use 2. Of comfort to the godly. God is 
eternal, therefore lives for ever to reward the 



OF THE ETERNITY OF GOD. 



4? 



godly, Rom. ii. 7, " To them who seek for 
glory and honour, eternal life." The people 
of God here are in a suffering condition: 
Acts xx. 23, " Bonds and afflictions abide 
me." The head being crowned with thorns, 
the feet must not tread upon roses. The 
wicked are clad in purple and fare deliciously, 
while the godly suffer. Goats climb upon 
high mountains, while Christ's sheep are in 
the valley of slaughter. But here is the 
comfort : God is eternal, and he hath ap- 
pointed eternal recompenses for the saints, — 
in heaven are fresh delights, sweetness with- 
out surfeit, and that which is the crown and 
zenith of heaven's happiness, is, it is ' eter- 
nal,' 1 John ii. 25. Were there but the least 
suspicion that this glory must cease, it would 
much eclipse, yea embitter it ; but it is eter- 
nal. What angel can span eternity 1 2 Cor. 
iv. 17, "An eternal weight of glory." The 
saints shall bathe themselves in the rivers of 
divine pleasure ; and these rivers can never 
be dried up, Ps. xvi. 11, " At thy right hand 
are pleasures for evermore." This is the 
Elali, the highest strain in the apostle's 
rhetoric, 1 Thess. iv. 17, " Ever with the 
Lord." There is peace without trouble, — 
ease without pain, — glory without end, — 
" ever with the Lord." Let this comfort the 
saints in all their troubles ; their sufferings 
are but short, but their reward is eternal. 
Eternity makes heaven to be heaven ; 'tis 
the diamond in the ring. O blessed day that 
shall have no night ! The sun-light of glory 
shall rise upon the soul, and never set ! O 
blessed spring, that shall have no autumn, or 
fall of the leaf ! The Roman emperors have 
three crowns set upon their heads, the first 
of iron, the second of silver, the third of gold : 
so the Lord sets three crowns on his chil- 
dren, — grace, — comfort, — and glory. And 
this crown is eternal, 1 Pet. v. 4, " Ye shall 
receive a crown of glory that fadeth not 
away." The wicked have a never-dying 
worm, and the godly a never-fading crown. 
O how should this be a spur to virtue ! How 
willing should we be to work for God ! 
Though we had nothing here, God hath time 
enough to reward his people ; the crown of 
eternity shall be set upon their head. 

Use 3. Of exhortation. 1. In general, 



study eternity. Our thoughts should chiefly 
run upon eternity. We all wish for the pre- 
sent, something that may delight the senses. 
If we could have lived, as Augustine saith, a 
cvnabuli mundi, — from the infancy of the 
world to the world's old age, — what were 
this ? What is time measured with eternity] 
As the earth is but a small point to the hea- 
ven, so time is but, nay scarce a minute to 
eternity! And then, what is this poor life 
which crumbles away so fast ? O think of 
eternity ! Annos ceternos in mente habe ! 
Brethren, we are every day travelling to 
eternity; and whether we wake or sleep, we 
are going our journey; some of us are upon 
the borders of eternity, O study the short- 
ness of life and length of eternity ! 

2. More particularly; think of God's eter- 
nity, and the soul's eternity. (1). Think of 
God's eternity. He is "the Ancient of days," 
who was before all time. There is a figura- 
tive description of God, Dan. vii. 9, " The 
Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was 
white as snow, and the hair of his head like 
the pure wool." His white garment, where- 
with he was clothed, signified his majesty; 
his hair, like the pure wool, his holiness ; 
and 4 the ancient of days,' his eternity. The 
thought of God's eternity should make us 
have high adoring thoughts of God. We are 
apt to have mean, irreverent thoughts of him : 
Ps. 1. 21, " Thou thoughtest I was altogether 
such an one as thyself ;" weak and mortal, 
but if we would think of God's eternity, — 
when all power ceaseth, he is King eternal, 
— his crown flourisheth for ever, — who can 
make us happy or miserable for ever, — this 
would make us have adoring thoughts of God. 
Rev. iv. 10, " The four-and-twenty elders fall 
down before him that sat upon the throne, 
and worship him that liveth for ever and ever ; 
and cast their crowns before the throne." 
The saints fall down, to signify by that hum- 
ble posture, that they are not worthy to sit 
in God's presence. They fall down and they 
worship him that liveth for ever and ever ; 
they do as it were kiss his feet. And they 
cast their crowns before the throne ; they lay 
all their honour at his feet ; thus they show 
humble adoration to the eternal essence. 
Study God's eternity, it will make us adore 



■I s 



GOD'S UNCHANGEABLENESS. 



where vvc cannot fathom. (2). Think of the 
soul's eternity. As God is eternal, so he 
hath made us eternal. We are never-dying- 
creatures ; we are shortly entering upon an 
eternal state, either of happiness or misery. 
Have serious thoughts of this : say, O my 
soul, which of these two eternities is like to 
be thy portion ? I must shortly depart hence, 
and whither then shall I go, — to which of 
these eternities, either of glory or misery? 
The serious meditation of the eternal state 
we are to pass into, would work strongly 
with us. — h Thoughts of eternal torments 
are a good antidote against sin ; sin tempts 
with its pleasure ; but, when we think of 
eternity, it may cool the intemperate heat of 
lust. Shall I, for the pleasure of sin for a 
season, endure eternal pain ? Sin, like those 
locusts, Rev. ix. 7, seems to have on its head 
a crown like gold, but it hath in it a tail like 
a scorpion, v. 10, and a sting in its tail, and 
this sting can never be plucked out. Shall I 
venture eternal wrath ] Is sin committed so 
sweet, as lying in hell for ever is bitter? 
This would make us flee from sin, as Moses 
from the serpent.— 2. The serious thoughts 
of eternal happiness would very much take 
us off from these worldly things ; we should 



not esteem much of them. What are these 
sublunary things to eternity? they are quickly 
gone, they salute us, and take their farewell. 
But I am to enter upon an everlasting estate ; 
— I hope to live with him who is eternal, — 
what is the world to me ? They who stand 
upon the top of the Alps, the great cities of 
Campania seem as small things in their eyes ; 
so he who hath his thoughts fixed on his 
eternal state after this life, all these things 
seem as nothing in his eye. What is the 
glory of this world? How poor and con- 
temptible, compared with an eternal weight 
of glory.— 3. To conclude: The serious 
thoughts of an eternal state, either of happi- 
ness or misery, should have a powerful in- 
fluence upon whatsoever we take in hand ; 
every work we do, promotes either a blessed 
or cursed eternity; every good action sets us 
a step nearer to an eternity of happiness ; 
every bad action sets us a step nearer to an 
eternity of misery. O what influence would 
the thoughts of eternity have upon our re- 
ligious duties ! It would make us do them 
with all our might : a duty well performed, 
lifts a Christian higher towards heaven, and 
sets a Christian a step nearer to a blessed 
eternity. 



GOD'S UNCHANGEABLENESS. 



The next attribute is God's unchangeable- 
ness : Mai. iii. 6, " I am Jehovah, I change 
not." 1. God is unchangeable in his nature. 
2. In his decree. 

L Unchangeable in his nature : 1. There 
is no eclipse of his brightness. 2. No period 
put to his being. 

1. No eclipse of his brightness : his es- 
sence shines with a fixed lustre, James i. 17, 
"With whom is no variableness, neither 
shadow of turning;" P s . cii. 27, "Thou art 
the same." All created things are full of 
vicissitudes: 1. Princes and emperors are 
subject to mutation. Sesostris, an Egyptian 
prince, having subdued divers kings in war, 
made them draw like horses in his chariot,' 
as if he intended to turn them to eat grass, as 
God did king Nebuchadnezzar. The crown 
hath many successors.— 2. Kingdoms have 



their eclipses and convulsions : What is be- 
come of the glory of Athens ? The pomp of 
Troy? JamsegesestubiTrojafuit! King- 
doms, though they have a head of gold, yet 
feet of clay.-3. The heavens change, Ps. cii. 
26, "As a vesture shalt thou change them, 
and they shall be changed." The matter of 
the elements, as it is more pure, so more firm 
and solid ; the heavens are the most ancient 
records, where God hath written his glory 
with a sunbeam, yet these shall change; 
though I do not think they shall be destroyed 
as to their substance, yet they shall be 
changed as to their qualities ; they shall melt 
with fervent heat, 2 Pet. iii. 12, and so be 
more refined and purified. Thus the heavens 
shall be changed, but not he who dwells in 
heaven : « With him there is no variableness, 
nor shadow of turning."^. The best saints 



GOD'S UNCHANGEABLENESS. 



49 



have their eclipses and changes. Look upon 
a Christian in his spiritual estate, and he is 
full of variation. Though the seed of grace 
doth not die, yet the beauty and activity of it 
doth often wither. A Christian hath his 
aguish fits in religion ; sometimes his faith 
is at a high tide, sometimes low ebb ; some- 
times his love flames, and at another time 
like fire in the embers, and he hath lost his 
first love. How strong was David's grace 
at one time, 2 Sam. xxii. 3, " The God of my 
rock, in him will I trust !" And at another 
time, " I shall one day perish by the hand of 
Saul." What Christian can say he doth not 
find a change in his graces ; that the bow of 
his faith doth never unbend, the strings of 
his viol do never slacken! Sure we shall 
never meet with such Christians till we meet 
with them in heaven ! But God is without 
any shadow of turning. — 5. The angels were 
subject to change ; they were created holy, 
but mutable, Jude 6, " The angels which kept 
not their first estate. " These morning-stars 
of heaven were falling stars. But God's 
glory shines with a fixed brightness. In God 
there is nothing looks like a change, — no 
better or worse ; no better in him, because 
then he were not perfect ; nor worse in him, 
for then he should cease to be perfect. He 
is immutably holy, immutably good, there is 
no shadow of change in him. 

Obj. Christ, who is God, assumed the 
human nature, here was a change. 

Ans. If indeed the divine nature had been 
converted into the human, — or the human 
into the divine, — here had been a change, 
but not so. The human nature was distinct 
from the divine, therefore there was no 
change. As suppose a cloud over the sun, 
this makes no change in the body of the sun ; 
so, though the divine nature be covered with 
the human, this makes no change in the 
divine nature. 

II. There is no period put to his being : 
1 Tim. vi. 16, " Who only hath immortality." 
The Godhead cannot die : 1. An infinite es- 
sence cannot be changed into finite ; but God 
is infinite. 2. He is eternal, ergo he is not 
mortal ; to be eternal, and mortal, is a con- 
tradiction. 

Use 1. See here the excellency of the 
G 



divine nature in its immutability : this is the 
glory of the Godhead. Mutableness denotes 
weakness ; it is not so in God, he is " the 
same, yesterday, and to-day, and for ever," 
Heb. xiii. 8. Men are fickle and mutable, 
like Reuben, " unstable as water," Gen. xlix. 
4. They go in changeable colours. 

1. They are changeable in their principles, 
— sometimes protestant, sometimes papist; 
if their faces altered as fast as their opinions, 
we should not know them. 

2. Changeable in their resolutions ; as the 
wind that blows in the east, presently turns 
about to the west. They resolve to be vir- 
tuous, but quickly repent of their resolutions ; 
their minds are like a sick man's pulse, alter 
every half hour ; these the apostle compares 
to ' waves of the sea,' and 1 wandering stars,' 
Jude 13 ; they are not pillars in God's temple, 
but reeds. 

3. Others are changeable in their friend- 
ship,— quickly love, and quickly hate ; some- 
times will put you in their bosom, then ex- 
communicate you out of their favour ; thus 
they change as the cameleon into several 
colours. But God is immutable. 

Use 2. See the vanity of the creature ; 
there are changes in every thing but in God ; 
Ps. lxii. 9, " Men of low degree are vanity, 
and men of high degree are a lie." We look 
for more from the creature than God hath put 
into it. The world brings changes ; the crea- 
ture hath two evils in it, — it promiseth more 
than we find, — and it fails us when we most 
need it ; there is a failure in omni. A man 
desires to have his corn grinded, the water 
fails, and then his mill cannot go ; the mari- 
ner is for a voyage, the wind either doth not 
blow, or it is contrary, and he cannot sail ; 
one depends upon another for the payment 
of a promise, and he fails, and is like a foot 
out of joint. Who would look for a fixed 
stability in the vain creature ! As if one 
should build houses on the sand, where the 
sea comes in and overflows. The creature 
is true to nothing but deceit, and is constant 
only in its disappointments. It is no more 
wonder to see changes fall out here below, 
than to see the moon dressing itself in a new 
shape and figure ; look to meet with changes 
in every thing but God. 



GOD'S UNCHANGEABLENESS. 



50 

Use 3. Comfort to the godly s 1. In case 
of losses ; if an estate be almost boiled away 
to nothing,— if you lose dear friends by death, 
—here is a double eclipse; but this is the 
comfort, God is unchangeable ; I may lose 
these things, but I cannot lose my God, he 
never dies. When the fig-tree, and olive-tree 
failed, yet God did not fail, Hab. iii. 18, " I 
will joy in the God of my salvation." The 
flowers in the garden die, but a man's portion 
remains ; so outward things die and change, 
but, Ps. lxxiii. 26, " God is the strength of 
my heart, and my portion for ever." — 2. In 
case of sadness of spirit, when God seems to 
cast off the soul in desertion, Cant. v. 6, " My 
Beloved had withdrawn himself ;" yet God is 
unchangeable. He is immutable in his love ; 
he may change his countenance, but not his 
heart, Jer. xxxi. 3, " I have loved thee with 
an everlasting love," — in Hebrew, gnolam, 
'a love of eternity.' If once God's electing 
love riseth upon the soul, it never sets : Isa. 
liv. 10, "The mountains shall be removed, 
but my loving-kindness shall not depart from 
thee, neither the covenant of my peace be 
removed." God's love stands faster than the 
mountains ; God's love to Christ is unchange- 
able, and he will no more cease loving be- 
lievers, than he will cease loving Christ. 

Use 4. Of exhortation. Get an interest 
in this unchangeable God, then thou art as a 
rock in the sea, immovable in midst of all 
changes. 

Q,\ i:st. How shall I get a part in this 
unchangeable God? 

Ans. By having a change wrought in thee : 
1 Cor. vi. 11, " But ye are washed, but ye 
arc sanctified." Whence we are changed, a 
lenebris ad lucem, — so changed, as if an- 
other soul did live in the same body ; by this 
change we are interested in the unchange- 
able God. Trust to this God only, who is un- 
changeable, Isa. ii. 22, " Cease ye from men;" 
leave trusting to the reed, but trust to < the 
Rock of ages.' He that is by faith engar- 
risoned in God, is safe in all changes ; he is 
like a boat that is tied to an immovable rock. 
He that trusts in God, trusts in that which 
QUUiOt fail him; he is unchangeable, Heb. 
xiii. 0, « I will never leave thee nor forsake 
thee." Health may leave us,~-riches, friends 



may leave us,— but, saith God, ' I '11 not leave 
thee ; my power shall support thee ; my Spirit 
shall sanctify thee ; my mercy shall save thee : 
I will never leave thee.' O trust in this un- 
changeable God! God is jealous of t wo things, 
of our love, and of our trust : He is jealous 
of our love, lest we love the creature more 
than him, therefore he makes it prove bitter ; 
and of our trust, lest we should place more 
confidence in it than in him, therefore he 
makes it prove unfaithful. Outward com- 
forts are given us as baits by the way to re- 
fresh us, but not as crutches to lean on ; if 
we make the creature an idol, what we make 
our trust God makes our shame. O trust in 
the immortal God ! We, like Noah's dove, 
have no footing for our souls, till we get into 
the ark of God's unchangeableness, Ps. exxv. 
1, " They that trust in the Lord, shall be as 
mount Sion, which cannot be removed." — 
God is unchangeable in his decree ; what he 
hath decreed from eternity is unalterable, Isa. 
xlvi. 10, " My counsel shall stand." Argu- 
ment, That God's eternal counsel or decree 
is immutable : if God changed his decree, it 
must be from some defect of wisdom or fore- 
sight in God, for that is the reason why men 
do change their purposes ; through a want of 
foresight, they see something after, which 
they did not see before ; but this cannot be 
the cause why God should alter his decree, 
because his knowledge is perfect, he sees all 
things in one entire prospect before him. 

Obj. But is not God said to repent? 
There seems to be a change in his decree, 
Jonah iii. 10, " The Lord repented of the 
evil that he said he would do unto them." 

Ans. Repentance is attributed to God 
figuratively and improperly : Num. xxiii. 19, 
He is not "a man that he should repent." 
There may be a change in God's work, but 
not in his will ; God may will a change, but 
not change his will; "God may change his 
sentence, but not his decree." As suppose a 
king shall cause a sentence to be passed upon 
a malefactor whom he intends to save : not- 
withstanding this sentence, the king doth not 
alter his decree, so God threatened destruc- 
tion to Nineveh, Jonah iii. 4, but the people of 
Nineveh repenting, God spared them. Here 
God changed his sentence, but not his de- 



GOD'S UNCHANGEABLENESS. 



51 



cree ; it was what had lain in the womb of 
his purpose from eternity. 

Obj. But if God's decree be unchange- 
able, and cannot be reversed, then to what 
purpose should we use the means ? Our en- 
deavours towards salvation cannot alter his 
decree. 

Ans. This decree of God doth not take off 
my endeavour ; for he that hath decreed my 
salvation, hath decreed it in the use of means: 
and if I neglect the means, I go about to re- 
probate myself. No man argues thus : " God 
hath decreed how long I shall live, therefore 
I will not use means to preserve my life, not 
eat and drink." God hath decreed the time 
of my life in the use of means ; so God hath 
decreed my salvation in the use of word, 
prayer, sacraments ; and as a man that re- 
fuseth his food murders himself, so he that 
refuseth to work out his salvation doth de- 
stroy himself. The vessels of mercy are said 
to be 'prepared unto glory,' Rom. ix. 23. 
How are they prepared but by being sancti- 
fied 7 And that cannot be but in the use of 
means ; therefore let not God's decree take 
thee off from holy endeavours. A good say- 
ing of Dr Preston, "Hast thou an heart to 
pray to God? it is a sign no decree of wrath 
hath passed against thee." 

Use 1. If God's decree be eternal and 
unchangeable, then God doth not elect our 
faith foreseen, as the Arminians, Rom. ix. 
11 — 13, " The children being not yet born, 
that the purpose of God according to election 
might stand, it was said, Jacob have I loved, 
Esau have I hated." We are not elected 
for holiness, but to holiness, Eph. i. 4. If 
we are not justified for our faith, much less 
elected for our faith ; but we are not justified 
for it ; we are said to be justified through faith 
as an instrument, Eph. ii. 8, but not for faith 
as a cause ; and, if not justified for faith, then 
much less elected. God's decree of election 
is eternal and unchangeable, therefore de- 
pends not upon faith foreseen, Acts xiii. 48, 
" As many as were ordained to eternal life, 
believed." They were not elected because 
they believed, but they believed because they 
were elected. 

Use 2. If God's decree be unchangeable, 
it is comfort in two cases : L Concerning 



God's providence towards his church. We 
are ready to quarrel with providence if every 
thing doth not jump with our desire : remem- 
ber God's work goes on, and nothing falls 
out but what he hath decreed from eternity. — 
2. God hath decreed troubles for the church's 
good ; the troubling of God's church is like 
the angel's troubling the water, John v. 4, 
which made way for healing his people. He 
hath decreed troubles in the church : " whose 
fire is in Sion, and his furnace in Jerusalem," 
Isa. xxxi. 9. The wheels in a watch move 
cross one to another, but they all carry on 
the motion of the watch : so the wheels of 
providence often move cross to our desires, 
but still they carry on God's unchangeable 
decree, Dan. xii. 10, " Many shall be made 
white." God lets the waters of affliction be 
poured on his people, he doth but lay them a 
whitening. Therefore murmur not at God's 
dealings ; his work goes on, nothing falls out 
but what he hath wisely decreed from eter- 
nity; every thing shall promote God's design, 
and fulfil his decree. — 2. Comfort to the godly 
in regard of their salvation, 2 Tim. ii. 19, 
" The foundation of God standeth sure, hav- 
ing this seal, the Lord knoweth them that 
are his." God's counsel of election is un- 
changeable : once elected, and for ever elect- 
ed, Rev. iii. 5, " I will not blot his name out 
of the book of life." The book of God's de- 
cree hath no errata in it, — no blottings out, — 
once justified never unjustified, Hos. xiii. 14, 
" Repentance shall be hid from mine eyes." 
God never repents of his electing love, John 
xiii. 1, " He loved them to the end." There- 
fore, if thou art a believer, comfort thyself 
with this, the immutability of God's decree. 

Use 3. To conclude : a word to the wick- 
ed, who march furiously against God and his 
people — Let them know, God's decree is un- 
changeable ; God will not alter it, nor can 
they break it ; and while they resist God's 
will, they fulfil it. There is a twofold will of 
God, voluntas prcecepti et decreti, — the will 
of God's precept, and of his decree. While 
the wicked resist the will of God's precept, 
they fulfil the will of his permissive decree. 
Judas betrays Christ, — Pilate condemns him, 
— the soldiers crucify him, — while they re- 
sisted the will of God's precepts, they ful- 



OF THE WISDOM OF GOD. 



filled the will of his permissive decree, Acts 'broken, not the iron: God s commands are 
iv 28 Such as are wicked, God commands the silken net. While men break the silken 
one thing, they do the quite contrary; to keep net of God's command, they are taken in the 
the sabbath, they profane it ; while they dis- iron net of his decree ; while they sit back- 
obey bus command, they fulfil his permissive j ward to God's precepts, they row forward to 
decree. If a man sets up two nets, one of his decree; his decree to permit their sin, 
silk, the other of iron, the silken net may be | and to punish them for their sin permitted. 



OF THE WISDOM OF GOD. 



The next attribute is God's wisdom ; which 
is one of the brightest beams of the Godhead, 
Job ix. 4, " lie is wise in heart." The heart 
is the scat of wisdom ; Cor in Hebrao sumi- 
tur pro judicio, Pineda. Among the He- 
brews, the heart is put for wisdom, Job xxxiv. 
34, " Let men of understanding tell me," — 
in the Hebrew, " Let men of heart tell me." 
God is wise in heart, that is, he is most wise: 
1. God is only wise ; he doth solely and 
wholly possess all wisdom ; therefore he is 
called, " the only wise God," 1 Tim. i. 17. 
All the treasures of wisdom are locked up in 
him, and no creature can have any wisdom 
but as God is pleased to give it out of his 
treasury. — 2. God is perfectly wise ; there is 
no defect in his wisdom. Men may be wise 
in some things, but in other things may be- 
tray imprudence and weakness. But God is 
the exemplar and pattern of wisdom, and the 
pattern must be perfect, Matth. v. 48. God's 
wisdom appears in two things : 1st, His in- 
finite intelligence. 2dly, His exact working. 

1st. His infinite intelligence. He knows 
the most profound, abstruse secrets, Dan. ii. 
28. He knows the thoughts, which are the 
most intricate subtle things, Amos iv. 13, 
" He declareth to man what is his thought." 
Let sin be contrived ever so politically, God 
will pull off all masks and disguises, and 
make a heart-anatomy. He knows all future 
contingencies, et ante intuita, all things are 
before him in one clear prospect. 

2d. His exact curious working. He is wise 
in heart ; his wisdom lies in his works. These 
works of God arc bound up in three great 
volumes, where we may read his wisdom. 

1. The work of creation. The creation, 
as it i9 a monument of God's power, so a 
looking-glass in which we may see his wis- 



dom. None but a wise God could so curi- 
ously contrive the world. Behold the earth 
decked with variety of flowers which are both 
for beauty and fragrancy, — the heaven be- 
spangled with lights ; we may see the glori- 
ous wisdom of God blazing in the sun, twink- 
ling in the stars. His wisdom is seen in the 
marshalling and ordering every thing in its 
proper place, and sphere ; if the sun had been 
set lower, it would have burnt us ; if higher, 
it would not have warmed us with its beams. 
God's wisdom is seen in appointing the sea- 
sons of the year, Ps. lxxiv. 17, " Thou hast 
made summer and winter." If it had been 
all summer, the heat would have scorched us ; 
if all winter, the cold would have killed us. 
The wisdom of God is seen in chequering 
the dark and the light ; if it had been all 
night, there had been no labour, — if all day, 
there had been no rest. Wisdom is seen in 
mixing the elements, the earth with the sea ; 
if it had been all sea, then we had wanted 
bread ; if it had been all earth, then we had 
wanted water. The wisdom of God is seen 
in preparing and ripening the fruits of the 
earth ; the wind and frost prepare the fruits, 
the sun and rain ripen the fruits. God's wis- 
dom is ?een in setting bounds to the sea, and 
so wisely contriving it, that though the sea 
be higher than the earth, yet it should not 
overflow the earth ; so that we may cry out 
with the Psalmist, Ps. civ. 24, " O Lord, how 
manifold are thy works ! in wisdom hast thou 
made them all." There is nothing to be seen 
but miracles of wisdom. God's wisdom is 
seen in ordering things in the body politic, 
that one shall have need of another ; the poor 
need the rich man's money, and the rich need 
the poor man's labour. God makes one trade 
depend upon another, that one may be help- 



OF THE WISDOM OF GOD. 



53 



fill to another, and that mutual love may be 
preserved. 

2. The second work wherein God's wis- 
dom shines forth, is the work of redemption : 
1. Here was the master-piece of divine wis- 
dom, to contrive a way to happiness, between 
the sin of man, and the justice of God. We 
may cry out with the apostle, Rom. xi. 33, 
" O the depth of the riches both of the wis- 
dom and knowledge of God !" This posed 
men and angels. If God had put us to find 
out a way of salvation when we were lost ; 
we could neither have had an head to devise, 
nor a heart to desire, what God's infinite 
wisdom had found out for us. Mercy had a 
mind to save sinners, yet loath that the jus- 
tice of God should be wronged; " it is a pity," 
saith Mercy, " that such a noble creature as 
man should be made to be undone ; and yet 
no reason that God's justice should be a loser. 
What way then shall be found out ] Angels 
cannot satisfy for the wrong done to God's 
justice, nor is it fit that one nature should 
sin, and another nature suffer : what then 1 
Shall man be for ever lost V Now, while 
Mercy was thus debating with itself, what to 
do for the recovery of fallen man, here the 
Wisdom of God stepped in, and thus the ora- 
cle spake, " Let God become man ; let the 
second person in the Trinity be incarnate, 
and suffer ; and so for fitness he shall be man, 
and for ability he shall be God ; thus justice 
may be satisfied, and man saved." O the 
depth of the riches of the wisdom of God, 
thus to make justice and mercy to kiss each 
other ! Great is this mystery, " God mani- 
fested in the flesh," 1 Tim. iii. 16. What 
wisdom was this, that Christ should be made 
sin, yet know no sin ; that God should con- 
demn the sin, yet save the sinner 1 Here was 
wisdom, to find out the way of salvation. — 

2. The means by which salvation is applied, 
set forth God's wisdom ; that salvation 
should be by faith, not by works. Faith is a 
humble grace, it gives all to Christ ; it is an 
adorer of free grace, and free grace being 
advanced here, God hath his glory, and it is 
his highest wisdom to exalt his own glory. — 

3. The way of working faith declares God's 
wisdom ; it is wrought by the word preached, 
Rome x. 17, "Faith cometh by hearing." 



What is the weak breath of a man to convert 
■a soul 1 It is like whispering in the ears of a 
dead man ; this is foolishness in the eye of 
the world ; but the Lord loves to show his 
wisdom, by that which seems folly, 1 Cor. i. 
27, " He hath chosen the foolish things of 
the world to confound the wise." Why so ? 
v. 29, " That no flesh should glory in his 
presence." Should God convert by the mi- 
nistry of angels, then we should have been 
ready to have gloried in angels, and have 
given that honour to them which is due to 
God : but when God works by weak tools, 
makes use of men who are of like passions 
with ourselves, and by them converts, now 
the power is plainly seen to be of God, 2 Cor. 
iv. 7, " We have this treasure in earthen 
vessels, that the excellency of the power may 
be of God, and not of us." Herein is God's 
wisdom seen, that no flesh may glory in his 
presence. 

3. The wisdom of God wonderfully ap- 
pears in the works of his providence. Every 
providence hath either a mercy or a wonder 
wrapt up in it. The wisdom of God, in his 
works of providence, appears : 1. By effect- 
ing great things by small contemptible means. 
He cured the stung Israelites, by a brazen 
serpent. If some sovereign antidote had been 
used, if the balm of Gilead had been brought, 
there had been some likelihood that this 
should have healed ; but what was there in a 
brazen serpent 1 It was a mere image, and 
not applied to him that was wounded, only 
he was to look upon it, yet this wrought a 
cure. The less probability in the instrument, 
the more is God's wisdom seen. — 2. The 
wisdom of God is seen in doing his work by 
that which to the eye of flesh seems quite 
contrary: God intended to advance Joseph, 
and make all his brethren's sheaves bow to 
his sheaf : now what way doth he take? first 
Joseph is thrown into the pit, then sold into 
Egypt: then after that put in prison, Gen. 
xxxix. 20. And by his imprisonment, God 
made way for his advancement. For God to 
save in an ordinary wa)^ wisdom would not 
be so much taken notice of. But when he 
goes strangely to work, and saves in that 
very way in which we think he will destroy; 
now, his wisdom shines forth in a most glori- 



OF THE WISDOM OF GOD. 



54 

ous, conspicuous manner. God would make 
Israel victorious, and what way doth he go 
in ? He lessens Gideon's army, Judg. vii. 2, 
"The people that are with thee are too 
many;" he reduceth the ar.ny of two-and- 
thirty thousand to three hundred, and by 
taking away the means of victory, makes Is- 
rael victorious. God had a design to bring 
his people out of Egypt, and a strange course 
he takes to effect it : he stirred up the hearts 
of the Egyptians to hate them, Ps. cv. 25, 
" He turned their heart to hate his people." 
The more they hated and oppressed Israel, 
the more God plagued the Egyptians, and 
the more glad they were to let Israel go, 
Exod. xii. 3.'3. The Egyptians were urgent 
upon Israel, that they might send them out 
of the land in haste. God had a mind to save 
Jonah when he was cast into the sea, and he 
lets the fish swallow him up, and so bring 
him to the shore. God would save Paul, and 
all that were in the ship with him, and there 
was no way to save them, but the ship must 
break, and they all came safe to land upon 
the broken pieces of the ship, Acts xxvii. 44. 
In reference to the church, God oft goes by 
contrary means, — makes the enemy do his 
work ; he can strike a straight stroke by 
crooked sticks, God hath oft made his church 
grow and flourish by persecution. "The 
showers of blood have made her more fruit- 
ful," Julian. Exod. i. 10, " Come, let us 
deal wisely with them, lest they multiply;" 
and that way they took to suppress them, 
made them multiply; v. 12, " The more they 
afflicted them, the more they multiplied;" 
like ground, the more it is harrowed, it bears 
the better crop. The apostles were scattered 
by reason of persecution, and their scatter- 
ing was like the scattering of seed; they 
went up and down, and preached the gospel, 
and brought daily converts. Paul was put in 
prison, and his bonds were a means to en- 
large the gospel, Phil. i. 12.— 3. The wisdom 
of God is seen in making the most desperate 
evils turn to the good of his children. As 
several poisonable ingredients, wisely tem- 
pered by the skill of the artist, make a so- 
vereign medicine, so God makes the most 
deadly afflictions co-operate for the good of 
his children. He purifies them, and prepares 



them for heaven, 2 Cor. iv. 17. These hard 
frosts hasten the spring-flowers of glory. 
The wise God, by a divine chemistry* turns 
afflictions into cordials. God makes his peo- 
ple gainers by losses, and turns their crosses 
into blessings. — 4. The wisdom of God is 
seen in this, that the sins of men shall carry 
on God's work ; yet that he should have no 
hand in their sin. The Lord permits sin, 
but doth not approve it. He hath a hand 
in the action in which sin is, but not in the 
sin of the action. As in the crucifying of 
Christ, so far as it was a natural action, God 
did concur ; if he had not given the Jews life 
and breath, they could not have done it ; but, 
as it was a sinful action, so God abhorred it. 
A musician plays upon a viol out of tune ; 
the musician is the cause of the sound, but 
the jarring and discord is from the viol itself ; 
so men's natural motion is from God, but 
their sinful motion is from themselves. A 
man that rides on a lame horse, his riding is 
the cause why the horse goes, but the lame- 
ness is from the horse itself. Herein is God's 
wisdom, the sins of men shall carry on his 
work, yet he hath no hand in them. — 5. The 
wisdom of God is seen in helping in desperate 
cases. God loves to show his wisdom when 
human help and wisdom fail. Exquisite law- 
yers love to wrestle with niceties and diffi- 
culties in the law, to show their skill the 
more. God's wisdom is never at a loss ; but 
when providences are darkest, now appears 
the morning-star of deliverance : Ps. cxxxvi. 
23, " Who remembered us in our low con- 
dition." Sometimes God melts away the 
spirits of his enemies, Josh. ii. 24. Some- 
times he finds them other work to do, and 
sounds a retreat to them, as he did to Saul 
when he was pursuing David ; " The Philis- 
tines are in the land." " In the mount will 
God be seen." When the church seems to 
be upon the altar,— her peace and liberty 
ready to be sacrificed, — now comes the an- 
gel. — 6. God's wisdom is seen in befooling 
wise men, and making their wisdom a means 
of their overthrow. Ahithophel had deep 
policy, 2 Sam. xvi. 23, " The counsel of 
Ahithophel, which he counselled, in those 
days was as if a man had inquired at the ora- 
cle of God ;" but he consulted his own shame. 



OF THE WISDOM OF GOD. 



55 



The Lord turned his counsel into foolishness, 
2 Sam. xvii. 23 ; Job v. 13, " He taketh the 
wise in their own craftiness ;" that is, when 
they think to deal wisely, he not only dis- 
appoints them, but ensnares them. The 
snares they lay for others catch themselves, 
Ps. ix. 15, " In the net which they hid, is 
their own foot taken " God loves to counter- 
plot politicians ; he makes use of their own 
wit to undo them, and hangs Haman upon 
his own gallows. 

Use 1. Adore the wisdom of God; it is 
an infinite deep the angels cannot search 
into, Rom. xi. 33, "His ways are past find- 
ing out." And as we should adore, so we 
should rest in the wisdom of God ; God sees 
what condition is best for us. Did we believe 
the wisdom of God, it would keep us from 
murmuring. Rest in God's wisdom in seve- 
ral cases : 1. In want of spiritual comfort. 
God is wise, he sees it good sometimes we 
should be without comfort. Perhaps we 
should be lifted up with spiritual enlarge- 
ments, as Paul with his revelations, 2 Cor. 
xii. 7. It is hard to have the heart low, when 
comfort is high. God sees humility is better 
for us than joy. It is better to want comfort, 
and be humble, than to have it, and be proud. 
— 2. In want of bodily strength, rest in God's 
wisdom ; he sees what is best. Perhaps the 
less health the more grace ; weaker in body, 
the stronger we are in faith, 2 Cor. iv. 16, 
;< Though our outward man perish, yet the 
inward man is renewed day by day." At 
Rome there were two laurel-trees ; when the 
one withered, the other flourished. The in- 
ward man is renewed. When God shakes 
the tree of the body, he is now gathering the 
fruits of righteousness, Heb. xii. 11. Sick- 
ness is God's lance to let out the imposthume 
of sin, Isa. xxvii. 9. — 3. In case of God's 
providences to his church : we wonder what 
God is doing with us, and are ready to kill 
ourselves with care, rest in God's wisdom ; 
he knows best what he hath to do, Ps. Ixxvii. 
19, " Thy footsteps are not known." Trust 
him where you cannot trace him. God is 



most in his way, when we think he is most 
out of the way ; when we think God's church 
is, as it were, in the grave, and there is a 
tombstone laid upon her, God's wisdom can 
roll away the stone from the sepulchre. 
Christ cometh "leaping over mountains," 
Cant. ii. 8. Either his power can remove 
the mountain, or his wisdom knows how to 
leap over it. — 4. In case we are low in the 
world, or have but little oil in our cruse, rest 
in God's wisdom, he sees it best ; it is to 
cure pride and wantonness. God knew, if 
thy estate had not been lost, thy soul had 
been lost. God, he saw riches would be a 
snare unto thee, 1 Tim. vi. 9 : art thou trou- 
bled that God hath prevented a snare ] God 
will make thee rich in faith ; what thou lack- 
est in temporals shall be made up in spi- 
rituals : God will give thee more of his love. 
Thou art weak in estate, yet God will make 
thee strong in assurance. O rest in God's 
wisdom ! he will carve the best piece for thee. 
—5. In case of the loss of dear friends, a 
wife, or child, or husband, — rest satisfied in 
God's wisdom. God hath taken away these, 
because he would have more of your love ; 
he breaks these- crutches, that we may live 
more upon him by faith. God would have 
us learn to go without crutches. 

Use 2. If God be infinitely wise, then let 
us go to him for wisdom; as Solomon, 1 
Kings iii. 9, 10, "Give thy servant an un- 
derstanding heart ;" " and the speech pleased 
the Lord." And there is encouragement for 
us : " If anyone lack wisdom, let him ask of 
God who giveth liberally, and upbraideth 
not," James i. 5. Wisdom is in God, tan- 
quam in fonte, — as in the fountain ; his 
wisdom is imparted, not impaired ; his stock 
is not spent by giving. Go then to God : 
Lord, do thou light my lamp ; in thy light 
shall I see light ; give me wisdom, to know 
the fallacy of my heart, the subtilties of the 
old serpent, to walk jealously towards myself, 
religiously towards thee, prudently towards 
others ; guide me by thy counsel, and after- 
wards receive me to glory ! 



56 



OF GOD'S POWER. 



OF GOD'S POWER. 



The next attribute is God's power, Job 
ix. 19, " If I speak of strength, lo, he is 
strong." In this chapter is a magnificent 
description of God's power : " Lo, he is 
strong!" The Hebrew word for strong, 
signifies a conquering, prevailing strength. 
" He is strong :" the superlative degree is in- 
tended here, viz. " He is most strong." He 
is called, El-shaddai, 1 God almighty,' Gen. 
xvii. 1. His almightiness lies in this, he can 
do whatever is feasible. Divines distinguish 
between authority and power ; God hath 
both. 

I. He hath a sovereign right and authority 
over man. He can do with his creatures as 
he pleases. Who shall dispute with God 1 
who shall ask him a reason of his doings 1 
Dan. iv. 35, " He doeth according to his will 
in the army of heaven, and among the inha- 
bitants of the earth ; and none can stay his 
hand, or say unto him, What doest thou ]" 
God sits judge in the highest court, he calls 
the monarchs of the earth to the bar, and is 
not bound to give a reason of his proceedings, 
Ps. Ixxv. 5, 7, " He putteth down one, and 
setteth up another." He hath salvation 
and damnation in his power. He hath the 
key of justice in his hand, to lock up whom 
he will in the fiery prison of hell ; and he 
hath the key of mercy in his hands, to open 
heaven's gate to whom he pleases. This is 
the name engraven upon his vesture, " King 
of kings, and Lord of lords," Rev. xix. 16. 
He sits Lord paramount, and who can call 
him to an account 1 Isa. xlvi. 10, " I will do 
all my pleasure." The world is God's dio- 
cese, and shall not he do what he will in his 
own diocese 1 He it was that turned king 
Nebuchadnezzar to eat grass, and threw the 
angels to hell when they sinned ; that broke 
the head of the Babylonish empire, Isa. xiv. 
11, " How art thou fallen from heaven, O 
Lucifer ! Thy pomp is brought down to the 
grave ;" who sets bounds to the sea, and 
bridles the proud waves, Job. xxxviii. 11. 
God is the supreme monarch, all power is 
seated originally in him ; " The powers that 



be are ordained of God," Rom. xiii. 1. Kings 
hold their crowns of him, Prov. viii. 15, 
" By me kings reign." 

II. As God hath authority, so he hath in- 
finite power. What is authority without 
power 1 ? " He is mighty in strength," Job. 
ix. 4. This power of God is seen, 

1. In the creation. To create, requires 
infinite power ; all the world cannot make a 
fly. God's power in creating is evident : 
1. Because he needs no instruments to work 
with ; it is proper to God to work without 
tools. — 2. He needs no matter to work upon ; 
first, he creates matter, and then works upon 
it. — 3. He works without labour, Ps. xxxiii. 
9, 1 He spake and it was done.' 

2. The power of God is seen in the con- 
version of souls. Surely a mighty power 
went to raise Christ from the grave, Eph. i. 
20. 1. The same power goes to draw a 
sinner to God, as drew Christ out of the 
grave to heaven. Greater power is put forth 
in conversion, than in creation. When God 
made the world, he met with no opposition ; 
as he* had nothing to help him, so he had no- 
thing to hinder him ; but when he comes to- 
convert a sinner, here he meets with opposi- 
tion, — Satan opposeth him, and the heart 
opposeth him ; a sinner is angry with con- 
verting grace. — 2. The world was the 
" Work of God's fingers," Ps. viii. 3. Con- 
version is the " Work of God's arm," Luke 
i. 5.-3. In the creation, God wrought but 
one miracle, he spake the word ; but, in con- 
version, he works many miracles, — the blind 
is made to see, — the dead is raised, — the deaf 
hears the voice of the Son of God. O the 
infinite power of Jehovah ! Before his scep- 
tre, angels veil and prostrate themselves ; 
kings cast their crowns at his feet. Amos 
ix. 5, "He toucheth the land and it shall 
melt ;" Job. ix. 6, " Which shaketh the earth 
out of her place." An earthquake makes' 
the earth tremble upon her pillars, but God 
shakes it out of its place ; he can remove the 
earth from its centre. God can do what he 
will, his power is as large as his will. Were 



OF GOD'S POWER. 



57 



men's power as large as their will, what work 
would they make in the world ! God's power 
is of equal extent with his will. God can 
with a word unpin the wheels, and break the 
axle-tree of the creation. He can do more 
than we can think, Eph. iii. 20. He can 
suspend natural agents ; he sealed up the 
lions' mouths, made the fire not to burn ; he 
made the waters to stand upon a heap ; he 
caused the sun to go ten degrees backward 
in Ahaz his dial, Isa. xxxviii. 8. What can 
pose omnipotency 1 The Lord cuts off the 
spirit of princes, Ps. lxxvi. 12. He counter- 
works his enemies ; he pulls down their flags 
and banners of pride, infatuates their coun- 
sels, breaks their forces ; and he doth it with 
ease, with the turning of his hand, Ps. lxxxi. 
24, " with his breath," Isa. xl. 24, " with a 
look." That is all it needs cost God to de- 
stroy his enemies ; a look, a cast of his eye, 
Exod. xiv. 24, " The Lord looked into the 
host of the Egyptians, through the pillar of 
fire, and troubled their host." Who shall 
stop him in his march 1 God commands, and 
all creatures in heaven and earth obey him. 
Xerxes, the Persian monarch, threw fetters 
into the' sea, when its waves swelled, as if he 
would have chained up the waters ; but when 
God speaks, the wind and sea obey him ; if 
he say but the word, the stars fight in their 
courses against Sisera ; if he stamp with his 
foot, an army of angels shall presently be in 
battalia. What cannot omnipotent power 
do 7 " The Lord is a man of war," Exod. xv. 
3. He hath a mighty arm. Ps. Ixxxix. 13, 
"God's power is a glorious power," Col. i. 11. 
(1). It is an irresistible power, Rom. ix. 19, 
" Who hath resisted his will V To contest 
with him. is as if the thorns should set them- 
selves in battle array against the fire ; or, as 
if an infirm child should fight with an arch- 
angel. If the sinner be once taken in God's 
iron net, there is no escaping, Isa. xliii. 13, 
" There is none that can deliver out of my 
hand." (2). God's power is an inexhaustible 
power; it is never spent or wasted. Men, 
while they exercise their strength, weaken 
it; but God hath an everlasting spring of 
strength in him, Isa. xxvi. 4. Though he 
spends his arrows upon his enemies, Deut. 
xxxii. 23, yet he doth not spend his strength. 
H 



Isa. xl. 28, "He fainteth not, neither is 
weary." 

Obj. Can God do all things ? he cannot 
deny himself. 

Ans. Though God can do all things, he 
cannot do that which stains the glory of his 
Godhead : he cannot sin ; he cannot do that 
which implies a contradiction. To be a God 
of truth, and yet deny himself, is a contradic- 
tion. 

Use 1. If God be so infinite in power, 
fear this great God. We are apt to fear such 
as are in power; Jer. v. 22, " ' Fear ye not 
me V saith the Lord : 1 Will ye not tremble 
at my presence V " He hath power to cast 
our souls and bodies into hell ! Ps. xc. 11, 
" Who knows the power of his wrath %" God 
can with the same breath that made us, dis- 
solve us ; " His eyes are as a flame of fire ; 
the rocks are thrown down by him," Nah. i. 
6. Solomon saith, " Where the word of a 
king is, there is power," Eccl. viii. 4 ; much 
more where the word of a God is. O let us 
fear this mighty God ! The fear of God will 
drive out all other base fear. 

Use 2. See the deplorable condition of 
wicked men : 1. This power of God is not 
for them : 2. It is against them. 

1. This power of God is not for them : 
they have no union with God, therefore have 
no warrant to lay claim to his power. His 
power is no relief to them. He hath power 
to forgive sins, but he will not put forth his 
power towards an impenitent sinner. God's 
power is an eagle's wing to carry the saints 
to heaven ; but what privilege is that to the 
wicked ; though a man will carry his child in 
his arms over a dangerous water, yet he will 
not carry an enemy in his arms. God's 
power is not engaged to help those that fight 
against him. Let miseries come upon the 
wicked, they have none to help them ; they 
are like a ship in a storm without a pilot, 
driven upon the rocks. 

2. This power of God is against the wick- 
ed. God's power will not be the sinner's 
shield to defend him, but a sword to wound 
him. God's power will bind the sinner in 
chains. God's power serves to revenge the 
wrong done to his mercy. God will be Al- 
mighty to damn the sinner. Now, in what 



58 



OF GOD'S POWER. 



condition is every unbeliever] God's power 
is engaged against him, and " it is a fearful 
thing to fall into the hands of the living God," 
Heb. x. 31. 

Use 3. It reproves such as do not believe 
this power of God. We say, we do not 
doubt of God's power, but his will. But in- 
deed it is God's power that we question. " Is 
there any thing too hard for me ?" Jer. xxxii. 
27 ; yet we stagger through unbelief, as if 
the arm of God's power were shrunk, and he 
could not help in desperate cases. Take 
away a king's power, and we unking him ; 
take away the Lord's power, and we ungod 
him ; yet how guilty of this are we ! Did not 
Israel question God's power] "Can God 
furnish a table in the wilderness 1" Ps. lxxviii. 
19. They thought the wilderness was a fitter 
place for making of graves, than spreading of 
a table. Did not Martha doubt of Christ's 
power? John xi. 39, "He hath been dead 
four days." If Christ had been there while 
Lazarus was sick, or when he had been newly 
dead, Martha did not question but Christ 
could have raised him ; but he had lain in the 
grave four days, and now she seemed to 
question his power. Christ had as much ado 
to raise her faith, as to raise her dead brother. 
And Moses, though a holy man, yet limits 
God's power through unbelief, Numb. xi. 21, 
"The people among whom I am, are six 
hundred thousand footmen; and thou hast 
said, I will give them flesh that they may eat 
a whole month: shall the flocks and the 
herds be slain for them to suffice them ? or 
shall all the fish of the sea be gathered for 
them to suffice them?" And the Lord said 
unto Moses, "Is the Lord's hand waxed 
short?" This is a great affront to God, to go 
to deny his power. That men doubt of God's 
•power, appears, 1. By their taking indirect 
courses. Would they defraud in their deal- 
ings, use false weights, if they believed the 
power of God, that he could provide for 
them? 2. By their depending more upon 
second causes than upon God, 2 Chron. xvi. 
12, "In his disease, he sought not to the 
Lord, but to the physicians." 

Use 4. If God be infinite in power, then 
let us take heed of hardening our hearts 
against God : Job ix. 4, " Who hath hardened 



himself against him, and prospered ?" Job 
sends a challenge to all creatures in heaven 
and earth. Who is he did ever take up the 
buckler against God, and came off conqueror? 
For a person to go on daringly in any sin, is 
to harden his heart against God, and, as it 
were, to raise a war against heaven ; and let 
him remember God is El-shaddai, — almighty; 
he will be too hard for them that oppose him, 
Job xl. 9, "Hast thou an arm like God?" 
Such as will not bow to his golden sceptre, 
shall be broken with his iron rod. Julian 
hardened his heart against God, he opposed 
him to his face ; but what got he at last ? did 
he prosper? Being wounded in battle, he 
threw up his blood into the air, and said to 
Christ, vicisti Galilcee, — " O Galilean, thou 
hast overcome ! I acknowledge thy power, 
whose name and truth I have opposed." 
Will folly contend with wisdom ? — weakness 
with power ? — finite with infinite ? O take 
heed of hardening your heart against God I 
He can send legions of angels to avenge his 
quarrel. It is better to meet God with tears 
in your eyes, than weapons in your hand. 
You may overcome God sooner by repent- 
ance, than by resistance. 

Use 5. Get an interest in God, and then 
this glorious power is engaged for you. God 
gives it under his hand, that he will put forth 
the whole power of his Godhead for the good 
of his people: 1 Chron. xvii. 24, "The Lord 
of hosts is the God of Israel, even a God to 
Israel." This almightiness of God's power 
is a wonderful support and comfort to every 
believer. It was Samson's riddle, Judges xiv. 
14, " Out of the strong came forth sweet- 
ness :" so out of the attribute of God's power, 
— out of this strong comes forth sweetness. 
It is comfort in several cases. 

1. In case of strong corruption. My sins, 
saith a child of God, are potent ; I have no 
power against this army that comes against 
me ; I pray, and humble my soul by fasting, 
but my sins return upon me. Ay, but dost 
thou believe the power of God ? The strong 
God can conquer thy strong corruption ; 
though sin be too hard for thee, yet not for 
him ; he can soften hard hearts, and quicken 
the dead. " Is any thing too hard for the 
Lord ?" Gen. xviii. 14. Set God's power on 



OF THE HOLINESS OF GOD. 



59 



work, by faith and prayer. Say, 4 Lord ! it 
is not for thy honour that the devil should 
have so strong a party within me ; O break 
the head of this leviathan ! Abba, Father, all 
things are possible to thee !' 

2. In case of strong temptation. Satan is 
called 'the strongman,' Obut remember the 
power of God : Christ is called, ' The lion of 
the tribe of Judah ;' he hath broken the ser- 
pent's head upon the cross. Satan is a 
chained enemy, and a conquered enemy. 
Michael is stronger than the dragon. 

3. Comfort in case of weakness of grace, 
and fear of falling away. I pray, but I cannot 
send out strong cries ; I believe, but the hand 
of my faith doth shake and tremble. Cannot 
God strengthen weak grace 1 2 Cor. xii. 9, 
" My strength is made perfect in weakness : 
most gladly therefore will I rather glory in 
my infirmities, that the power of Christ may 
rest upon me." I fear I shall not hold out. 
Christian, dost thou believe the power of 
God T Hath not God preserved thy grace thus 
far? Mayest thou not set up thy Ebenezer? 
God hath kept thy grace hitherto as a spark 
in the main ocean ; and is not he able still to 
keep thy grace 1 1 Pet. i. 5, " Who are kept 
by the power of God," &c God's mercy 
pardons us, but his power preserves us. He 
who by his power keeps the stars that they 
do not fall out of their orbs, keeps our grace 
that it doth not fail or annihilate. 

4. Comfort in case of the deficiency in thy 
estate. God can multiply the oil in the 
cruse ; miraculously he can raise up sup- 
plies ; God, who provides for the birds of the 



air, cannot he provide for his children 1 He 
that clothes the lilies, cannot he clothe his 
lambs ? 

5. Comfort in regard of the resurrection. 
This seems difficult to believe, that the bodies 
of men when eaten up by worms, devoured 
by beasts and fishes, or consumed to ashes, 
should be raised the same numerical bodies ; 
but if we believe the power of God, it is no 
great wonder. Which is hardest, to create, 
or raise the dead 1 he that can make a body 
of nothing, can restore it to its parts when 
mingled and confounded with other sub- 
stances, Matt. xix. 26, " With God all things 
are possible." If we believe the first article 
of the creed, that God is almighty, we may 
quickly believe the other article, the resur- 
rection of the body. God can raise the dead 
because of his power, and he cannot but raise 
them because of his truth. 

6. It is comfort in reference to the church 
of God : he can save and deliver it when it 
is brought low. The enemies have power in 
their hand, but the remainder of wrath God 
will restrain, Ps. lxxvi. 10. God can either 
confine the enemies' power or confound it. 
" If God be for us, who can be against us !" 
God can create Jerusalem a praise, Isa. lxv. 
18. The church in Ezekiel, is compared to 
dry bones, but God made breath to enter into 
them, and they lived, Ezek. xxxvii. 10. The 
ship of the church may be tossed, because sin 
is in it, but it shall not be overwhelmed, be- 
cause Christ is in it, Ps. xlvi. 6, Deus in 
medio. All the church's pangs shall help 
forward her deliverance. 



OF THE HOLINESS OF GOD. 



The next attribute is God's holiness, Exod. 
xv. 11, " Glorious in holiness." Holiness is 
the most sparkling jewel of his crown ; it is 
the name by which God is known, Ps. cxi. 9, 
"Holy and reverend is his name." He is 
the holy One, Job vi. 10. Seraphims cry, 
"Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts, the 
whole earth is full of his glory," Isa. vi. 3. 
His power makes him mighty ; his holiness 
makes him glorious, God's holiness consists 



in his perfect loving of righteousness, and 
abhorrence of evil, Hab. i. 13, " Of purer eyes 
than to behold evil, and cannot look on ini- 
quity." 

1st, God is holy intrinsically : 1. He is holy 
in his nature ; his very being is made up of 
holiness, as light is of the essence of the sun. 
— 2. He is holy in his word ; the word bears 
a stamp of his holiness upon it, as the wax 
bears an impression of the seal, Ps. cxix. 140, 



60 



OF THE HOLINESS OF GOD. 



" Thy word is very pure ;" it is compared to 
silver refined seven times, Ps. xii. 6. Every 
line in the word breathes sanctity, it en- 
courageth nothing but holiness. — 3. God is 
holy in his operations ; all God doeth is holy ; 
he cannot act but like himself ; he can no 
more do an unrighteous action, than the sun 
can darken, Ps. cxlv. 17, " The Lord is holy 
in all his works." 

2dly, God is holy primarily : he is the 
original and pattern of holiness ; holiness 
began at him who is ' the Ancient of days.' 

Sdly, God is holy efficiently : he is the cause 
of all that is holiness in others, James i. 17, 
" Every good gift, and every perfect gift 
comes from above." He made the angels 
holy; he infused all that holiness into Christ's 
human nature ; all the holiness we have is 
but a crystal stream from this fountain. We 
borrow all our holiness from God. As the 
lights of the sanctuary were lighted from the 
middle lamp, so all the holiness of others is 
a lamp lighted from heaven, Lev. xx. 8, "I 
am the Lord which sanctify you." God is 
not only a pattern of holiness, but he is a 
principle of holiness ; his spring feeds all 
our cisterns, he drops his holy oil of grace 
upon us. 

4:lhly, God is holy transcendently, 1 Sam. 
ii. 2, "There is none holy as the Lord." No 
angel in heaven can take the just dimensions 
of God's holiness ; the highest seraphim is 
too low of stature to measure these pyramids : 
the holiness in God is far above the holiness 
in saints or angels. 

1. It is above the holiness in saints. 1. It 
is a pure holiness : the saints' holiness is like 
gold in the ore, imperfect ; their humility is 
stained with pride ; he that hath most faith 
hath need pray, < Lord help my unbelief;' 
but the holiness of God is pure, like wine 
from the grape ; it hath not the least dash or 

tincture of impurity mixed with it. 2. A 

more unchangeable holiness : the saints 
though they cannot lose the habit of holiness 
(for the seed of God remains), yet they may 
lose some degrees of their holiness, Rev. ii. 
4, " Thou hast left thy first love." Grace 
cannot die, yet the flame of it may go out ; 
holiness in the saints is subject to ebbing, 
but holiness in God is unchangeable; he 



never lost a drop of his holiness ; as he can- 
not have more holiness, because he is per- 
fectly holy, so he cannot have less holiness, 
because he is unchangeably holy. 

2. The holiness in God is above the holi- 
ness in the angels ; holiness in the angels is 
only a quality, which may be lost, as we see 
in the fallen angels ; but holiness in God is 
his essence, he is all over holy, and he can 
as well lose his Godhead as his holiness. 

Obj. But is he not privy to all the sins of 
men ? He beholds their impurities ; how can 
this be, and he not defiled ? 

Ans. God sees all the sins of men, but is 
no more defiled with them than the sun is 
defiled with the vapours that arise out of the 
earth. God sees sin, not as a patron to ap- 
prove it, but as a judge to punish it. 

Usel. Is God so infinitely holy? Then 
see how unlike to God sin is. Sin is an un- 
clean thing, it is hyperbolically evil, Rom. i. 
13. It is called ' an abomination,' Deut. vii. 
25. God hath no mixture of evil in him ; sin 
hath no mixture of good ; it is the spirits and 
quintessence of evil ; it turns good into evil ; 
it hath deflowered the virgin-soul, made it 
red with guilt, and black with filth ; it is call- 
ed 'the accursed thing,' Josh. vii. 11. No 
wonder, therefore, that God doth so hate sin, 
being so unlike to him, nay, so contrary to 
him ; it strikes at his holiness ; sin doth all 
it can to spite God ; sin would not only un- 
throne God, but un-god him ; if sin could 
help it, God should be God no longer. 

Use 2. Is God the Holy One, and is his 
holiness his glory 1 Then how impious are 
they, 1. That are haters of holiness 1 As the 
vulture hates perfumes, so they hate this 
sweet perfume of holiness in the saints ; 
their hearts rise against holiness ; as a man's 
stomach at a dish he hath an antipathy 
against. There is not a greater sign of a 
person devoted to hell, than to hate one for 
that thing wherein he is most like God, his 
holiness. — 2. That are despisers of holiness : 
they despise the glory of the Godhead, " Glo- 
rious in holiness." The despising of holiness 
is seen in the deriding of it ; is it not sad men 
should deride that which should save them ? 
Sure that patient will die that derides the 
physic. The deriding the grace of the Spirit 



OF THE HOLINESS OF GOD. 



61 



comes near to the despighting the Spirit of 
grace. Scoffing Ishmael was cast out of 
Abraham's house, Gen. xxi. 9. Such as scoff 
at holiness shall be cast out of heaven. 

Use 3. Of exhortation. Is God so in- 
finitely holy, then let us endeavour to imi- 
tate God in holiness : 1 Pet. i. 16, " Be ye 
holy, for I am holy." There is a twofold 
holiness," — a holiness of equality, — and a 
holiness of similitude. A holiness of equa- 
lity no man or angel can reach to ; who can 
be equally holy with God ] Who can paral- 
lel him in sanctity] But, 2. There is a 
holiness of similitude, and that we must as- 
pire after, to have some analogy and resem- 
blance of God's holiness in us, — be as like 
him in holiness as we can ; though a taper 
doth not give so much light as the sun, yet 
it doth resemble it. We must imitate God 
in holiness. 

Quest. If we mast be like God in holi- 
ness, wherein doth our holiness consist 1 

Ans. In two things ; 1st, In our suitable- 
ness to God's nature. 2dly, Our subjection 
to his will. 

1st. Our holiness stands in our suitable- 
ness to the nature of God ; hence the saints 
are said to partake of the divine nature, 
2 Pet. i. 4, which is not a partaking of his 
essence, but his image. Herein is the saints' 
holiness, — when they are the lively pictures 
of God, — they bear the image of God's meek- 
ness, mercifulness, heavenliness, — they are 
of the same judgment with God, of the same 
disposition, — they love what he loves, and 
hate what he hates. 

2d. Our holiness consists in our subjection 
to the will of God : as God's nature is the 
pattern of holiness, so his will is the rule 
of holiness. This is our holiness, 1. When 
we do his will, Acts xiii. 22. 2. When we 
bear his will, Micah vii. 9, what he inflicts 
wisely, we suffer willingly. This is our 
holiness, when we are suitable to God's 
nature, and submissive to his will; this 
should be our great care, to be like God in 
holiness ; our holiness should be so qualified 
as God's ; God's is a real holiness, such 
should ours be, Eph. iv. 24. " Righteous- 
ness and true holiness." It should not be 
only the paint of holiness, but the life of 



holiness ; it should not only be like the 
Egyptian temples, beautified without, but 
like Solomon's temple, gold within, Ps. xlv. 
13, " The king's daughter is all glorious 
within." That I may press you to resemble 
God in holiness, consider, 

1. How illustrious every holy person is ; 
he is a fair glass in which some of the beams 
of God's holiness shine forth. We read, 
Aaron put on his garments for glory and 
beauty, Exod. xxviii. 2. When we wear 
the embroidered garment of holiness, it is 
for glory and beauty. A good Christian is 
ruddy, being sprinkled with Christ's blood ; 
and white, being adorned with holiness. As 
the diamond to a ring, so is holiness to the 
soul, that, as Chrysostom saith, they that 
oppose it cannot but admire it. 

2. It is the great design God carries on 
in the world to make a people like himself 
in holiness ; what are all the showers of 
the ordinances for, but to rain down right- 
eousness upon us, and make us holy] What 
are the promises for, but to encourage holi- 
ness] What is the sending of the Spirit 
into the world for, but to anoint us with the 
holy unction ] 1 John ii. 20. What are all 
afflictions for, but to make us partakers 
of God's holiness] Heb. xii. 10. What 
are mercies for, but loadstones to draw us 
to holiness ] What is the end of Christ's- 
dying, but that his blood might wash away 
our unholiness ] Tit. ii. 14, " Who gave 
himself for us, to purify unto himself a 
peculiar people." So that if we are not 
holy, we cross God's great design in the 
world. 

3. It is our holiness draws God's heart 
to us. Holiness is God's image ; God can- 
not choose but love his image where he 
sees it. A king loves to see his effigies 
upon a piece of coin : Ps. xlv. v. 7, "Thou 
lovest righteousness." And where doth 
righteousness grow, but in a holy heart] 
Isa. lxii. 4, "Thou shalt be called Heph- 
zibah, for the Lord delighteth in thee." It 
was her holiness drew God's love to her. 
v. 12, " They shall call them the holy peo- 
ple." God values not any by their high 
birth, but their holiness. 

4. Holiness is the only thing that differ- 



62 



OF THE HOLINESS OF GOD. 



enceth us from the reprobate part of the 
world. God's people have his seal upon 
them, 2 Tim. ii. 19, "The foundation of 
God standeth sure, having this seal, the 
Lord knoweth them that are his. And let 
all that name the name of Christ, depart 
from iniquity." The people of God are 
sealed with a double seal : 1. Election, " The 
Lord knows who are his." 2. Sanctifica- 
tion, " Let every one depart from iniquity." 
As a nobleman is distinguished from another 
by his silver star, — as a virtuous woman is 
distinguished from an harlot by her chas- 
tity, — so holiness distinguished between the 
two seeds : all that are of God, as they have 
Christ for their captain, Heb. ii. 10, so holi- 
ness is the white colour they wear. 

5. Holiness is our honour. Holiness and 
honour is put together, 1 Thess. iv. 4. 
Dignity goes along with sanctification, Rev. 
i. 5, 6, " He hath washed us from our sins 
in his blood, and hath made us kings unto 
God." When we are washed and made 
holy, then we are kings and priests to God. 
The saints are called ' vessels of honour ;' 
they are called 4 jewels,' for the sparkling of 
their holiness, because filled with wine of 
the Spirit; this makes them earthly an- 
gels. 

6. Holiness gives us boldness with God, 
Job xxii. 26, " Thou shalt put away ini- 
quity far from thy tabernacle, and shalt lift 
up thy face unto God." Lifting up the face 
is an emblem of boldness. Nothing can 
make us so ashamed to go to God, as sin : 
a wicked man in prayer may lift up his 
hands, but he cannot lift up his face. When 
Adam had lost his holiness, he lost his con- 
fidence, — he hid himself. But the holy per- 
son goes to God, as a child to his father ; 
his conscience doth not upbraid him with 
allowing any sin, therefore he can go boldly 
to the throne of grace, and have mercy to 
help in time of need, Heb. iv. 16. 

7. Holiness gives peace : sin raiseth a 
storm in the conscience, ubi peccatum ibi 



procella: Isa. Ivii. 21, "There is no peace 
saith my God to the wicked." Righteous- 
ness and peace are put together. Holiness 
is the root which bears this sweet fruit of 
peace ; righteousness and peace kiss each 
other. 

8. Holiness leads to heaven; holiness is 
the king of heaven's highway, Isa. xxxv. 8, 
" A highway shall be there, and it shall 
be called the way of holiness." At Rome 
there was the temple of virtue and honour, 
and they were to go through the temple of 
virtue to the temple of honour : so we must 
go through the temple of holiness to the 
temple of heaven. Glory begins in virtue : 
2 Pet. i. 3, " Who hath called us to glory 
and virtue?" Happiness is nothing else 
but the quintessence of holiness; holiness 
is glory militant, and happiness holiness 
triumphant. 

Quest. What shall we do to resemble 
God in holiness ? 

Ans. Have recourse to Christ's blood by 
faith ; it is lavacrum anima ; legal purifi- 
cations were types and emblems of it, 
1 John i. 7. The word is a glass to show 
us our spots, and Christ's blood is a fountain 
to wash them away. 

2. Pray for a holy heart: Ps. Ii. 10. 
" Create in me a clean heart, O God !" 
Lay thy heart before the Lord, and say, 
" Lord, my heart is full of leprosy ; it defiles 
all it toucheth ; Lord, I am not fit to live 
with such a heart, for I cannot honour 
thee ; nor die with such a heart, for I can- 
not see thee. O create in me a clean heart ! 
Send thy Spirit into me, to refine and purify 
me, that I may be a temple fit for thee the 
holy God to inhabit !" 

3. Walk with them that are holy, Prov. 
xiii. 20, " He that walketh with wise men 
shall be wise." Be among the spices, and 
you will smell of them. Association begets 
assimilation ; nothing has a greater power 
and energy to effect holiness than the com- 
munion of saints. 



OF GOD'S JUSTICE. 



63 



OF GOD'S JUSTICE. 



The next attribute is God's justice. All 
God's attributes are identical, and are the 
same with his essence. Though he hath 
several attributes whereby he is made known 
to us, yet he hath but one essence. 

A cedar-tree may have several branches, 
yet it is but one cedar : so there are several 
attributes of God whereby we conceive of 
him, but only one entire essence. Well 
then, concerning God's justice, Deut. xxxii. 
4, " Just and right is he ;" Job xxxvii. 23, 
|* Touching the Almighty, we cannot find 
him out ; he is excellent in power and in 
judgment." God is said to dwell injustice, 
Ps. lxxxix. 14, " Justice and judgment are 
the habitation of thy throne." In God, power 
and justice meet. Power holds the sceptre, 
and justice holds the balance. 

Quest. What is God's justice ? 

Ans. Justice is to give every one his due. 
God's justice is the rectitude of his nature, 
whereby he is carried to the doing of that 
which is righteous and equal : Prov. xxiv. 12, 
" Shall not he render to every man according 
to his works V God is an impartial judge, 
he judgeth the cause ; men oft judge the per- 
son, but not the cause, which is not justice, 
but malice; God judgeth the cause, Gen. 
xviii. 21, " I will go down now and see 
whether they have done altogether according 
to the cry of it which is come up unto me." 
When the Lord is upon a punitive act, he 
weighs things in the balance ; he doth not 
punish rashly, he doth not go in the way of 
a riot, but a circuit, against offenders. Con- 
cerning God's justice, I shall lay down these 
six positions. 

1st. God cannot be but just. His holiness 
is the cause of his justice. Holiness will 
not suffer him to do any thing but what is 
righteous. He can no more be unjust than 
he can be unholy. 

2d. God's will is the supreme rule of jus- 
tice ; it is the standard of equity. His will 
is wise and good. God wills nothing but 
what is just ; and therefore it is just because 
he wills it. 



3d. God doth justice voluntarily : justice 
flows from his nature. Men may act unjust- 
ly, because they are bribed or forced : God 
will not be bribed, because of his justice ; he 
cannot be forced, because of power. He 
doth justice out of love to justice, Heb. i. 9, 
" Thou hast loved righteousness." 

4th. Justice is the perfection of the Divine 
nature. Aristotle saith, "justice compre- 
hends in it all virtues." To say God is just, 
is to say, he is all that is excellent ; perfec- 
tions meet in him, as lines in a centre. He 
is not only just, but justice itself. 

5th. God never did, nor can do, the least 
wrong to his creatures. God's justice hath 
been wronged, but never did any wrong. 
God doth not go according to the summum 
jus, or rigour of the law ; he abates some- 
thing of his severity. He might inflict hea- 
vier penalties than he doth, Ezra ix. 13, 
" Thou hast punished us less than our ini- 
quities deserve ;" our mercies are more than 
we deserve, and our punishments less. 

6th. God's justice is such that it is not fit 
for any man or angel to expostulate with 
God, or demand a reason of his actions. God 
hath not only authority on his side, but equi- 
ty. He lays "judgment to the line, and 
righteousness to the plummet," Isa. xxviii. 
17 ; and it is below him to give an account 
to us of his proceedings. Which of these 
two is fittest to take place, — God's justice, or 
man's reason ] Rom. ix. 20, " Who art thou, 
O man ! that repliest against God V The 
plumb-line of our reason is too short to fa- 
thom the depth of God's justice, Rom. xi. 33, 
" How unsearchable are his judgments !" 
We are to adore God's justice, where we 
cannot see a reason of it. 

Now God's justice runs in two channels : 
It is seen in two things, the distribution of 
rewards and punishments. 

1. In rewarding the virtuous : Ps. lviii. 11, 
" Verily there is a reward for the righteous !" 
The saints shall not serve him for nought, he 
will reward prceces et lachrymas ; though 
they may be losers for him, they shall not be 



64 



OF GOD'S JUSTICE. 



losers by him, Heb. vi. 10, " God is not un- 
righteous to forget your work and labour of 
love, which, ye have showed toward his name." 
He gives a reward, not that we have deserv- 
ed it, but because he hath promised it. 

2. He is just in punishing offenders. And 
he is just, 1. Because he punisheth sinners 
by a law. " Where there is no law there is 
no transgression," Rom. iv. 15. But God 
hath given men a law, and they break it, 
therefore he punisheth them justly.— 2. God 
is just in punishing the wicked ; because he 
never punished them, but upon full proof and 
evidence. What greater evidence than for 
a man's own conscience to be witness against 
him 1 There is nothing God chargeth upon 
a sinner, but conscience doth set seal to the 
truth of it. 

Usel. See here another flower of God's 
crown ; he is just and righteous ; he is the 
exemplar and pattern of justice. 

Obj. But how doth it seem to stand with 
God's justice, that the wicked should prosper 
in the world? Prov. xii. 1, " Wherefore 
doth the way of the wicked prosper V 

This hath been a great stumbling, and been 
ready to make many question God's justice. 
Such as are highest in sin, are highest in 
power. Diogenes seeing Harpalus a thief go 
on prosperously, said, " Sure God hath cast 
■off the government of the world, and mindeth 
not how things go on here below !" 

Ans. 1. The wicked may be sometimes in- 
struments to do God's work ; though they 
do not design his glory, yet they may pro- 
mote it. Cyrus (Ezra i. 7), was instrumental 
in the building of God's temple in Jerusalem. 
There is some kind of justice, that they 
should have a temporal reward; God lets 
them prosper, under whose wing his people 
are sheltered. God will not be in any man's 
debt: Mai. i. 10, "Do ye kindle a fire on 
mine altar for nought 1" 

A. 2. God lets men go on in sin, and 
prosper, that he may leave them more inex- 
cusable, Rev. ii. 21, " I gave her space to 
repent of her fornication.'-' God adjourns 
the sessions, spins out his mercies towards 
sinners ; and if they repent not, his patience 
will be a witness against them, and his jus- 
tice will be more cleared in their condemna- 



tion, Ps. li. 4, " That thou mightest be jus- 
tified when thou speakest, and be clear when 
thou judgest." * 
A. 3. God doth not always let the wicked 
prosper in their sin ; some he doth punish 
openly, that his justice may be taken notice 
of, Ps. ix. 16, " The Lord is known by the 
judgment which he executeth :" that is, his 
justice is seen by striking men dead in the 
very act of sin. Thus he struck Zimri and 
Cozbi in the act of uncleanness. 

A. 4. If God do let men prosper awhile in 
their sin, his vial of wrath is all this while 
filling, his sword is all this time whetting, 
and though God may forbear men awhile, 
yet long forbearance is no forgiveness. The 
longer God is in taking his blow, the heavier 
it will be at last : as long as there is eternity, 
God hath time enough to reckon with his 
enemies. Justice may be as a lion asleep, 
but at last this lion will awake, and roar 
upon the sinner. Do not Nero, and Julian, 
and Cain, now meet with God's justice ? 

Obj. But God's own people suffer great 
afflictions; they are injured and persecuted, 
Ps. Ixxiii. 14, " All the day long have I been 
plagued, and chastened every morning." 
How doth this stand with God's justice ? 

Ans. 1. That is a true rule of St Austin, 
— judicia Dei possunt esse occulta, non in- 
justa, — " God's ways of judgment are some- 
times secret, but never unjust." The Lord 
never afflicts his people without a cause ; so 
that he cannot be unjust. There is some 
good in the godly, therefore the wicked 
afflict thern ; there is some evil in them, 
therefore God afflicts them. God's own 
children have their blemishes, 2 Chron. 
xxviii. 10, " Are there not with you, even 
with you, sins against the Lord V 7 These 
spiritual diamonds, have they no flaws 1 Do 
we not read of the spots of God's children? 
Deut. xxxii. 10. Are not they guilty of much 
pride, censoriousness, passion, worldliness 1 
Though, by their profession, they seem to 
resemble the birds of paradise, — to fly above, 
and feed upon the dew of heaven, — yet, as 
the serpent, they lick the dust. And these 
sins of God's people do more provoke God 
than others : Deut. xxxii. 19, " Because of 
the provoking of his sons and of his daugh- 



OF GOD'S 

ters." The sins of others pierce Christ's 
side, these wound his heart ; therefore is not 
God just in all the- evils that befall them 1 
Amos iii. 2, " You only have I known of all 
the families of the earth, therefore I will pun- 
ish you for all your iniquities." I will punish 
you sooner, surer, sorer, than others. 

A. 2. The trials and sufferings of the godly 
are to refine and purify them. God's fur- 
nace is in Zion, Tsa. xxxi. 9. Is it any injus- 
tice in God to put his gold into the furnace 
to purify it ? Is it any injustice in God, by 
afflicting his people, to make them partakers 
of his holiness 1 Heb. xii. 10. What doth 
more proclaim God's faithfulness, than to 
take such a course with them as may make 
them better ? Ps. cxix. 75, " In faithfulness 
thou hast afflicted me." 

A. 3. What injustice is it in God to inflict 
a lesser punishment, and prevent a greater 1 
The best of God's children have that in them 
which is meritorious of hell : now, I pray, 
doth God do them any wrong, if he useth 
only the :-od, where they have deserved the 
scorpion 1 Is the father unjust if he only cor- 
rects his child who hath deserved to be dis- 
inherited 1 If God deals so favourably with 
his children, he only puts wormwood in their 
cup, whereas he might put fire and brim- 
stone ; they are rather to admire his mercy, 
than complain of his injustice. 

Obj. How can it stand with God's justice, 
that all men being equally guilty by nature, 
God should pass by one and save another ? 
Why doth not he deal with all alike 1 

Ans. Rom. ix. 14, " Is there unrighteous- 
ness with God ? God forbid !" Job viii. 3, 
" Doth the Almighty pervert justice V 

1. God is not bound to give an account of 
his actions to his creatures. If none may 
say to a king, ' What doest thou V Eccl. 
viii. 4, much less to God. It is sufficient, 
God is Lord Paramount; he hath a sovereign 
power over his creatures, therefore can do 
no injustice, Rom. ix. 21. "Hath not the 
potter power over the clay, of the same lump 
to make one vessel to honour, and another 
to dishonour 1" God hath a liberty left in 
his own breast to save one and not another ; 
and his justice is not at all impeached or 
blemished. If two men owe you money, you 
I 



JUSTICE. 65 

may, without any injustice, remit the debt 
to one, and exact it off the other. If two 
malefactors be condemned to die, the king 
may pardon the one, and not the other ; he 
is not unjust if he lets one suffer, because he 
offended the law ; nor if he save the other, 
because he will make use of his prerogative 
as he is king.' — 2. Though some are saved 
and others perish, yet there is no unrighteous- 
ness in God ; because, whoever perisheth, 
his destruction is of himself, Hos. xiii. 9, 
" O Israel thou hast destroyed thyself." God 
offers grace, the sinner refuseth it ; is God 
bound to give grace ? If a chirurgeon comes 
to heal a man's wound, and he will not be 
healed, but bolts out his chirurgeon, is the 
chirurgeon bound to heal him 1 Prov. i. 24, 
" I have called, and ye refused;" Ps. lxxxi. 
11, " Israel would none of me." God is not 
bound to force his mercies upon men : if they 
wilfully oppose the offer of grace, their sin 
is to be taxed as the cause of their perish- 
ing, and not God's justice. 

Use 2. See the difference between God 
and a great part of the world. They are un- 
just, 1. In their courts of judicature ; they 
pervert justice, Isa. x. 1, " They decree un- 
righteous decrees." The Hebrew word for 
a judge's robe, signifies prevarication, deceit, 
or injustice : it is oftener true of the judge 
than of the robe ; the judge deserves rather 
to have that name than the robe. What is a 
good law, without a good judge? Injustice 
lies in two things, either not to punish where 
there is a fault, or, to punish where there is 
no fault ; how frequent ! Again, 2. Unjust in 
their dealings. This is (1). Either in using 
false weights, Hos. xii. 7, " The balances of 
deceit are in his hand." It is sad to have 
the Bible in one hand, and false weights in 
the other. Or, (2). In adulterating commo- 
dities, Isa. i. 22, " Thy wine is mixed with 
water ;" when they mix bad grain with good, 
yet sell it for pure grain. I can never believe 
he is good in the first table, who is not good 
in the second. He cannot be godly who is not 
just. Though God doth not bid you be omni- 
potent, as he is, yet he bids you bejust, as he is. 

Use 3. Imitate God in justice. Let 
Christ's golden maxim -be observed, Matt, 
vii. 12, " What you would have men to do 



66 



THE MERCY OF GOD. 



to you, do ye even so to them." You would 
not have them wrong you, neither do you 
them ; rather suffer wrong than do wrong, 
1 Cor. vi. 7, " Why do ye not rather take 
wrong ?" O be exemplary for justice ! Let 
justice be your ornament ! Job xxix. 14, "I 
put on righteousness (viz. justice) as a robe 
and a diadem." A robe for its graceful beau- 
ty; and I put it on, — et induebam justitiam. 
A judge puts on his robe, and puts it off' 
again at night ; but Job did so put on justice, 
as he did not put it off till death,— semper 
vestiti. We must not lay off this robe of 
justice till we lay down our tabernacle. If 
you have any thing of God in you, you will 
be like him. By every unjust action you do 
deny yourselves to be Christians, you stain 
the glory of your profession ; heathens will 
rise up in judgment against you ; the sun 
might sooner alter his course than God could 
be turned from doing justice. 

Use 4. If God be just, there will be a 
day of judgment. Now things are out of 
course ; sin is rampant, saints are wronged, 
they are often cast in a righteous cause, they 
can meet with no justice here, justice is turn- 
ed into wormwood ; but there is a day com- 
ing, when God will set things right, he will 
do every man justice, he will crown the 



righteous, and condemn the wicked, Acts 
xvii. 31, " He hath appointed a day," &c. 
If God be a just God, he will take vengeance. 
God hath given men a law to live by, — they 
break it ; there must be a day for the execu- 
tion of offenders ; a law not executed, is but 
like a wooden dagger, for a show. At the 
last day God's sword shall be drawn out 
against offenders ; then his justice shall be 
revealed before all the world, "God will 
judge in righteousness," Acts xvii. 31. 
" Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" 
Gen. xviii. 25. The wicked shall drink a sea 
of wrath, but not sip one drop of injustice. 
At that day shall all mouths be stopt, and 
God's justice shall be fully vindicated from 
all the cavils and clamours of unjust men. 

Use 5. Comfort to the true penitent ; 
as God is a just God, he will pardon him. 
Homo agnoscit, Deus ignoscit. 1 John i. 9, 
"If we confess our sins, (i. e. confess and 
forsake), he is just to forgive us our sins." 
Not only merciful but just. Why just? Be- 
cause he hath promised to forgive such? 
Prov. xxviii. 13. If thy heart hath been 
broken for and from sin, thou mayest not 
only plead God's mercy, but his justice for 
the pardoning thy sin. Show him his hand 
and seal, he cannot deny himself. 



THE MERCY OF GOD. 



The next attribute is God's goodness or 
mercy. Mercy is the result and effect of 
God's goodness, Ps. xxxiii. 5. Ps. cxix. 64. 
So then this is the next attribute, God's 
goodness or mercy. The most learned of the 
heathens thought they gave their God, Jupi- 
ter, two golden characters when they styled 
him Good and Great; both these meet in 
God, Goodness and Greatness, — majesty and 
mercy. 

God is, 1. Essentially good in himself. And 
2. Relatively good to us. They are both put 
together, Ps. cxix. 68, " Thou art good, and 
doestgood." This relative goodness is nothing 
else but his mercy, which is an innate pro- 
penseness in God to pity and succour such as 
are in misery. Concerning God's mercy. 



1. I shall lay down these twelve posi- 
tions: 1. It is the great design of the scrip- 
ture to represent God as merciful. This is a 
loadstone to draw sinners to him, Exod. 
xxxiv. 6, " The Lord, merciful, gracious, 
long-suffering, abundant in goodness," &c. 
Here are six expressions to set forth God's 
mercy, and but one to set forth his justice : 
" who will by no means clear the guilty," Ps. 
lvii. 10. " Thy mercy is great above the 
heavens," Ps. cviii. 4. God is represented as 
a king, and a rainbow was about his throne, 
Rev. iv. 3. The rainbow was an emblem of 
mercy; the scripture doth oftener represent 
God in his white robes of mercy, than with 
his garments rolled in blood, — oftener with 
his golden sceptre, than his iron rod. 



THE MERCY OF GOD. 



67 



2. God is more inclinable to mercy than 
wrath. Mercy is his darling attribute, which 
he most delights in, Mic. vii. 18. Mercy 
pleaseth him. It is delightful to the mother, 
saith Chrysostom, to have her breasts drawn : 
so it is to God, to have the breasts of his 
mercy drawn : Is i. xxvii. 4, " Fury is not in 

I me ;" that is, I do not delight in it. Acts of 
severity are rather forced from God, he doth 
not afflict willingly, Lam. iii. 33. The bee 
naturally gives honey, it stings only when it 
is provoked ; God doth not punish till he can 
bear no longer, Jer. xliv. 22, " So that the 
Lord could bear no longer, because of the 
evil of your doings." Mercy is God's right 
hand that he is most used to ; inflicting of 
punishment is called God's * strange work,' 
j Isa. xxviii. 21. He is not used to it. And 
; when the Lord would shave off the pride of 
■ a nation, he is said to ' hire a razor,' as if he 
had none of his own. Isa. vii. 20, ' He shall 
shave with a razor that is hired.' " He is 
slow to anger," Ps. ciii. 8 ; " and ready to 
forgive," Ps. Ixxxvi. 5. 

3. There is no condition, but we may spy 
mercy in it : when the church was in capti- 
vity, she cries out, "It is of the Lord's mer- 
eies that we are not consumed," Lam. iii. 22. 
Geographers write of Syracuse in Sicily, it 
is so situated, that the sun is never out of 
sight. In all afflictions we may see some sun- 
shine of mercy. That outward and inward 
troubles do not come together, is mercy. 

4. Mercy sweetens all God's other attri- 
butes : God's holiness without mercy, and 
his justice without mercy, were terrible. 
When the water was bitter, and Israel could 
not drink, Moses cast a tree into the waters, 
and then they were made sweet. How bitter 
and dreadful were the other attributes of 
God, did not mercy sweeten them ! Mercy 
set God's power on work to help us ; it 
makes his justice become our friend ; it shall 
avenge our quarrels. 

5. God's mercy is one of the most orient 
pearls of his crown ; it makes his Godhead 
appear amiable and lovely. When Moses 
said to God, " I beseech thee show me thy 
glory;" the Lord answered him, " I will make 
all my goodness pass before thee, and I will 
show thee mercy," Exod. xxxiii. 19. God's 



mercy is his glory ; his holiness makes him 
illustrious ; his mercy makes him propitious. 

6. Even the worst taste of God's mercy ; 
such as fight against God's mercy, taste of 
it ; the wicked have some crumbs from mer- 
cy's table ; "The Lord is good to all," Ps. 
cxlv. 9. The sweet dew drops on the thistle 
as well as the rose. The diocese where 
mercy visits is very large ; Pharaoh's head 
was crowned though his heart was hardened. 

7. Mercy coming to us in a covenant is 
sweetest. It was mercy that God would 
give Israel rain, and bread to the full, and 
peace, and victory over their enemies, Lev. 
xxvi. 4, 5, 6. But it was a greater mercy 
that God would be their God, v. 12. To 
have health is a mercy; but to have Christ 
and salvation is a greater mercy; this is like 
the diamond in the ring, it casts a more 
sparkling lustre. 

8. One act of mercy engageth God to an- 
other. Men argue thus : I have shown you 
kindness already, therefore trouble me no 
more ; but, because God hath shown mercy, 
he is more ready still to show mercy; his 
mercy in election, makes him justify, adopt, 
glorify; one act of mercy engageth God to 
more. A parent's love to his child makes 
him always giving, 

9. All the mercy in the creature is de- 
rived from God, and is but a drop of this 
ocean ; the mercy and pity a mother hath 
to her child is from God ; he that puts the 
milk in her breast, puts the compassion in 
her heart, therefore God is called, "The 
father of mercies," 2 Cor. i. 3, because he 
begets all the mercies in the world. If God 
hath put any kindness into the creature, how 
much kindness is in him who is the Father 
of mercy 1 

10. God's mercy, as it makes the saints 
happy, so it should make them humble. 
Mercy is not the fruit of our goodness, but 
the fruit of God's goodness. Mercy is an 
alms that God bestows ; they have no cause 
to be proud that live upon the alms of God's 
mercy, Job x. 15, " If I be righteous, yet 
will I not lift up my head." All my right- 
eousness is the effect of God's mercy, there- 
fore I will be humble, and will not lift up my 
head. 



68 



THE MERCY OF GOD. 



11. It is mercy stays the speedy execu- 
tion of God's justice. "Sinners continually 
provoke God, and make his fury come up in 
his face," Ezek. xxxviii. 18. Whence is it 
God doth not presently arrest and condemn 
them 1 It is not that God cannot do it, for 
he is armed with omnipotence ; but it is from 
God's mercy ; mercy gets a reprieve for 
the sinner, and stops the speedy process of 
justice. God would, by his goodness, lead 
sinners to repentance. 

12. It is dreadful to have mercy witness 
against one. It was sad with Haman, when 
the queen herself accused him, Esth. vii. 6. 
So will it, when this queen of mercy shall 
stand up against a person and accuse him. 
It is only mercy that saves a sinner. Now, 
how sad to have mercy become an enemy ! 
If mercy be an accuser, who shall be our 
advocate 1 The sinner never escapes hell, 
when mercy draws up the indictment. 

I might show you several species or kinds 
of mercy : preventing mercy, sparing mercy, 
supplying mercy, guiding mercy, accepting 
mercy, healing mercy, quickening mercy, 
supporting mercy, forgiving mercy, correcting 
mercy, comforting mercy, delivering mercy, 
crowning mercy, — but I shall speak of the 
qualifications or properties of God's mercy. 

1st. God's mercy is free. To set up merit 
is to destroy mercy ; nothing can deserve 
mercy, because we are polluted in our blood ; 
nor force it ; we may force God to punish us, 
not to love us, Hos. xiv. 4, " I will love them 
freely." Every link in the chain of salvation 
is wrought and interwoven with free grace. 
Election is free, Eph. i. 4, 5, " He hath cho- 
sen us in him," " according to the good 
pleasure of his will." Justification is free, 
Rom. iii. 24, " Being justified freely by his 
grace." Salvation is free, Titus iii. 5, " Ac- 
cording to his mercy he saved us." Say not 
then, I am unworthy, for mercy is free ; if 
God should show mercy only to such as are 
worthy, he would show none at all. 

2d. God's mercy is an overflowing mercy ; 
it is infinite : Ps. Ixxxvi. 5, " Plenteous in 
mercy ;" Eph. ii. 4, " Rich in mercy," Ps. 
li. 1, " Multitude of thy mercies." The vial 
of wrath doth but drop, but the fountain of 
mercy runs. The sun is not so full of light 



as God is of mercy ; God hath morning- 
mercies, Lam. iii. 23, " They are new every 
morning ;" and night mercies, Ps. xlii. 8, 
" In the night his song shall be with me." 
God hath mercies under heaven, those we 
taste of ; and in heaven, those we hope for. 

3^. God's mercy is eternal, Ps. ciii. 17, 
" The mercy of the Lord is from everlasting 
to everlasting." It is repeated twenty-six 
times in one psalm, " His mercy endureth 
for ever," Ps. cxxxvi. The souls of the 
blessed shall be ever bathing themselves in 
this sweet and pleasant ocean of God's mer- 
cy. God's anger to his children lasts but a 
while, Ps. ciii. 17, " But his mercy lasts for 
ever." As long as he is God he will be 
showing mercy ; as his mercy is overflow- 
ing, so everflowing. 

Use 1. Of Information. It shows us 
how we are to look upon God in prayer, — not 
in his judgment-robes, but clothed with a 
rainbow full of mercy and clemency. Add 
wings to prayer. When Jesus Christ as- 
cended up to heaven, that which made him 
go up thither with joy was, " I go to my 
Father ;" so that which should make our 
hearts ascend with joy in prayer, is, " We 
are going to the Father of mercy, who sits 
upon the throne of grace ;" go with con- 
fidence in this mercy, as when one goes to a 
fire, it is not doubtingly, perhaps it will warm 
me, perhaps not. 

Use 2. Believe in his mercy, Ps. Hi. 8, " I 
will trust in the mercy of God for ever." 
God's mercy is a fountain opened, let down 
the bucket of faith, and you may drink of this 
fountain of salvation. What greater encour- 
agement to believe than God's mercy) God 
counts it his glory to be scattering pardons ; 
he is desirous that sinners should touch the 
golden sceptre of his mercy and live. And this 
willingness to show mercy appears two ways: 

1. By his entreating of sinners to come and 
lay hold on his mercy, Rev. xxii. 17, " Who- 
soever will, let him take the water of life 
freely." Mercy woos sinners, — it even 
kneels down to them. It were strange for a 
prince to entreat a condemned man to accept 
a pardon. God saith, Poor sinner, suffer me 
to love thee, be willing to let me save thee. 

2. By his joyfulness when sinners do lay 



THE MERCY OF GOD. 



69 



hold on his mercy. What is God the better 
whether we receive his mercy or not ? What 
is the fountain profited, that others drink of 
it ? Yet, such is God's goodness, that he re- 
joiceth at the salvation of sinners, and is glad 
when his mercy is accepted of. When the 
prodigal son came home, how glad was the 
father? and he makes a feast, to express his 
joy ; this was but a type or emblem, to show 
how God rejoiceth when a poor sinner comes 
in, and lays hold of his mercy. What an 
encouragement is here to believe in God 1 
He is a God of pardons, Neh. ix. 17. Mer- 
cy pleaseth him, Mic. vii. 18. Nothing doth 
prejudice us but unbelief. Unbelief stops the 
current of God's mercy from running ; it 
shuts up God's bowels, closeth the orifice of 
Christ's wounds, that no healing virtue will 
come out, Mat. xiii. 58, " He could do no 
mighty works there, because of their unbe- 
lief." Why dost thou not believe in God's 
mercy 1 Is it thy sins discourage ? God's 
mercy can pardon great sins, nay, because 
they are great, Ps. xxv. 11. The sea covers 
great rocks as well as lesser sands ; some 
that had an hand in crucifying Christ found 
mercy. As far as the heavens are above the 
earth, so far is God's mercy above our sins, 
Isa. lv. 9. What will tempt us to believe, if 
not the mercy of God ! 

Use 3. Of Caution. Take heed of abusing 
this mercy of God! Suck not poison out of 
the sweet flower of God's mercy ! Do not 
think, that because God is merciful, you may 
go on in sin ; this is to make mercy become 
your enemy. None might touch the ark but 
the priests, who by their office were more 
holy ; none may touch this ark of God's mer- 
cy, but such as are resolved to be holy. To 
sin because mercy abounds, is the devil's 
logic. He that sins because of mercy is like 
one that wounds his head because he hath a 
plaster ; he that sins because of God's mer- 
cy, shall have judgment without mercy. 
Mercy abused turns to fury, Deut. xxix. 19, 
20, " If he bless himself, saying, I shall have 
peace though I walk after the imaginations 
of my heart, to add drunkenness to thirst, 
the Lord will not spare him, but the anger 
of the Lord, and his jealousy, shall smoke 
against that man." Nothing sweeter than 



mercy, when it is improved, — nothing fiercer, 
when it is abused ; nothing colder than lead, 
when it is taken out of the mine, — -nothing 
more scalding than lead, when it is heated ; 
nothing blunter than iron, nothing sharper 
when it is whetted. Ps. ciii. 17, " The mercy 
of the Lord is upon them that fear him." 
Mercy is not for them that sin and fear not, 
but for them that fear and sin not. God's 
mercy is an holy mercy ; where it pardons it 
heals. 

Quest. What shall we do to be interested 
in God's mercy 1 

Ans. 1. Be sensible of your wants. See 
how you stand in need of mercy, pardoning, 
saving mercy. See yourselves orphans : Hos. 
xiv. 3, " In thee the fatherless findeth mer- 
cy." God bestows the alms of mercy only 
on such as are indigent. Be emptied of all 
opinion of self-worthiness. God pours the 
golden oil of mercy into empty vessels. 

A. 2. Go to God for mercy, Ps. li. 1, 
" Have mercy upon me, O God !" Put me 
not off with common mercy that reprobates 
may have ; give me not only acorns but 
pearls ; give me not only mercy to feed and 
clothe me, but mercy to save me ; give me the 
cream of thy mercies ; Lord, let me have mer- 
cy and loving-kindness ! Ps. ciii. 4, " Who 
crowneth thee with loving-kindness and ten- 
der mercies." Give me such mercy as speaks 
thy electing love to my soul ! O pray for 
mercy ! God hath treasures of mercy; prayer 
is the key that opens these treasures ; and in 
prayer, be sure to carry Christ in your arms ; 
all the mercy comes through Christ : 1 Sam. 
vii. 9, " Samuel took a sucking lamb ;" carry 
the lamb Christ in your arms, — go in his 
name, — present his merits, — say, " Lord, 
here is Christ's blood, which is the price of 
my pardon ! Lord, show me mercy, because 
Christ hath purchased it !" Though God may 
refuse us when we come for mercy in our 
own name, yet not when we come in Christ's 
name : plead Christ's satisfaction, and this is 
such an argument as God cannot deny. 

Use 4. It exhorts such as have found mer- 
cy, to three things : 1. To be upon Gerizzim, 
the mount of blessing and praising. They 
have not only heard the King of heaven is 
merciful, but they have found it so ; the 



70 



OF THE TRUTH OF GOD. 



honey-comb of God's mercy hath dropt upon 
them ; when in wants, mercy supplied them ; 
when they were nigh unto death, mercy 
raised them from the sick-bed ; when cover- 
ed with guilt, mercy pardoned them, Ps. ciii. 
1, " Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that 
is within me, bless his holy name." O how 
should the vessels of mercy run over with 
praise ! 1 Tim. i. 13, " Who was before a 
persecutor, and injurious ; but I obtained mer- 
cy." I was bemiracled with mercy ; as the 
sea overflows and breaks down the banks, so 
the mercy of God, did break down the banks 
of my sin, and mercy did sweetly flow into 
my soul. You that have been monuments of 
God's mercy, should be trumpets of praise ; 
you tbat have tasted the Lord is gracious, 
tell others what experiences you have had of 
God's mercy, that you may encourage them 
to seek to him for mercy, Ps. Ixvi. 16, "I 
will declare what God hath done for my soul;" 
when I found my heart dead, God's Spirit 
did come upon me mightily, and the blow- 
ing of that wind made the withering flowers 
of my grace revive. O tell others of God's 
goodness, that you may set others a blessing 



him, and that you may make God's praises 
live when you are dead ! — 2. To love God. 
Mercy should be the attractive of love, Ps. 
xviii. 1, "I will love thee, O Lord, my 
strength." The Hebrew word for love : sig- 
nifies love out of the inward bowels. God's 
justice may make us fear him, his mercy may 
make us love him. If mercy will not pro- 
duce love, what will 1 We are to love God 
for giving us our food, much more for giving 
us grace ; for sparing mercy, much more for 
saving mercy. Sure that heart is made of 
marble, which the mercy of God will not 
dissolve in love ! "I would hate my own 
soul, (saith St Augustine) if I did not find 
it loving God." — 3. To imitate God in show- 
ing mercy. God is the Father of mercy ; 
show yourselves to be his children, by being 
like him. St Ambrose saith, " The sum and 
definition of religion is, Be rich in works of 
mercy, be helpful to the bodies and souls of 
others. Scatter your golden seeds ; let the 
lamp of your profession be filled with the oil 
of charity. Be merciful in giving and for- 
giving. 1 Be ye merciful, as your heavenly 
Father is merciful.' " 



OF THE TRUTH OF GOD. 



The next attribute is God's truth, Deut. 
xxxii. 4, "A God of truth, and without in- 
iquity ; just and right is he ;" Ps. lvii. 10, 
" For thy mercy is great unto the heavens, 
and thy truth unto the clouds." A God of 
truth, Ps. Ixxxvi. 15, " Plenteous in truth." 
God is the truth. He is true : 1. In a phy- 
sical sense ; true in his being ; he hath a 
real subsistence, and gives a being to others. 
2. He is true in a moral sense ; he is true 
sine error 'e, without errors ; et sine fallacia, 
without deceit. God is prima Veritas, — the 
pattern and prototype of truth. There is 
nothing true but what is in God, or comes 
from God. I shall now speak of God's truth, 
as it is taken from his veracity in making 
good his promises, 1 Kings viii. 56, " There 
hath not failed one word of all his good pro- 
mise." The promise is God's bond, God's 
truth is the seal set to his bond. This is the 



thing to be explicated and discussed, God's 
truth in fulfilling his promises. 

There are two things to be observed in 
the promises of God to comfort us : 1. The 
power of God, whereby he is able to fulfil 
the promise, God hath promised to sub- 
due our corruption, Micah vii. 19, " He 
will subdue our iniquities." O ! saith a be- 
liever, my corruption is so strong, that sure 
I shall never get the mastery of it. Thus 
Abraham looked at God's power, Rom. iv. 
21, " Being fully persuaded that what God 
had promised he was able also to perform." 
He believed, that God, who could make a 
world, could make dry breasts give suck. 
This is faith's support, there is nothing too 
hard for God. He that could bring water 
out of a rock, is able to bring to pass his 
promises. — 2. The truth of God in the pro- 
mises : God's truth is the seal set to the 



OF THE TRUTH OF GOD. 



71 



promise. Tit. i. 2, " In hope of eternal life, 
which God that cannot lie hath promised." 
4 Eternal life,' there is the sweetness of the 
promise : ' God which cannot lie,' there is 
the certainty of it. Mercy makes the pro- 
mise, truth fulfils it. God's providences are 
uncertain, but his promises are the 'sure 
mercies of David,' Acts xiii. 24 ; " God is 
not a man that he should repent," 1 Sam. 
xv. 29. The word of a prince cannot always 
be taken, but God's promise is inviolable. 
God's truth is one of the richest jewels of his 
crown, and he hath pawned this jewel in a 
promise, 2 Sam. xxiii. 5, "Although my 
house be not so with God, yet he hath made 
with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in 
all things and sure." Although my house be 
not so, that is, though I fail much of that 
exact purity the Lord requires, yet he hath 
made with me an everlasting covenant, that 
he will pardon, adopt, and glorify me ; and 
this covenant is ordered in all things sure : 
" The elements shall melt with fervent heat ;" 
but this covenant abides firm and inviolable, 
being sealed with the truth of God; nay, 
God hath added to his word, his oath, Heb. 
vi. 17, wherein God pawns his being, life, 
righteousness, to make good the promise. 
If as oft as we break our vows with God, he 
should break promise with us, it would be 
very sad ; but his truth is engaged in his pro- 
mise, therefore it is like the law of the Medes 
and Persians, which cannot be altered. " We 
are not (saith Chrysostom) to believe our 
senses so much, as we are to believe the 
promises," &c. Our senses may fail us, but 
the promise cannot, being built upon the truth 
of God ; God will not deceive the faith of his 
people, nay, he cannot ; " God, who cannot 
lie, hath promised ;" he can as well part with 
his Deity, as his verity. God is said to be 
abundant in truth, Exod. xxxiv. 6. What is 
that? viz. If God hath made a promise of 
mercy to his people, he will be so far from 
coming short of his word, that he will be 
better than his word. God often doth more 
than he hath said, never less. He is abundant 
in truth. 

1. The Lord may sometimes delay a pro- 
mise, but he will not deny ; he may delay a 
promise, God's promise may lie a good while 



as seed under ground, but at last it will spring 
up into a crop. God promised to deliver 
Israel from the iron furnace, but this pro- 
mise was above four hundred years in travail 
before it brought forth. Simeon had a pro- 
mise that he should not depart hence, " till 
he had seen the Lord's Christ," Luke ii. 26, 
but it was a long time first, but a little before 
his death, that he did see Christ. But though 
God delay the promise, he will not deny. 
Having given his bond, in due time the mo- 
ney will be paid in. 

2. God may change his promise, but he 
will not break his promise. Sometimes God 
doth change a temporal promise into a spi- 
ritual, Ps. lxxxv. 12, " The Lord shall give 
that which is good," perhaps this may not be 
fulfilled in a temporal sense, but a spiritual. 
God may let a Christian be cut short in tem- 
porals, but God makes it up in spirituals. If 
he doth not increase the basket and the store, 
he gives increase of faith, and inward peace ; 
here he changeth his promise, but he doth 
not break it, he gives that which is better. 
If a man promiseth to pay me in farthings, 
and he pays me in a better coin, in gold, he 
doth not break his promise ] Ps. lxxxix. 33, 
" I will not suffer my faithfulness to fail" 
In the Hebrew, it is to lie. 

Ob j. 1. But how doth this consist with 
the truth of God 1 He saith, He will have 
all to be saved, 1 Tim. ii. 4, yet some perish. 

Ans. St Austin understands it, not of 
every individual person, but some of all sorts 
shall be saved ; as in the ark, God saved all 
the living creatures, not every bird or fish 
were saved, for many perished in the flood, 
but all, that is, some of every kind were 
saved, so God will have all to be saved, that 
is, some of all nations. 

Obj. It is said, Christ died for all; "he 
is the Lamb of God that takes away the sins 
of the world," John i. 29, how doth this con- 
sist with God's truth, when some are vessels 
of wrath, Rom. ix. 22." 

Ans. 1. We must distinguish of world. 
The word is taken either in a limited sense, 
for the world of the elect; or in a larger 
sense, for both elect and reprobates. " Christ 
takes away the sins of the world," that is, 
the world of the elect. 



72 



OF THE TRUTH OF GOD. 



A. 2. We must distinguish of Christ's 
dying for the world. Christ died sufficiently 
for all, not effectually. There is the value of 
Christ's blood, and the virtue ; Christ's blood 
hath value enough to redeem the whole 
world, but the virtue of it is applied only to 
such as believe. Christ's blood is meritori- 
ous for all, not efficacious. All are not 
saved, because some put away salvation 
from them, Acts xiii. 46, and vilify Christ ? s 
blood, counting it an unholy thing, Heb. 
x. 29. 

Use 1. Here is a great pillar for our faith, 
the truth of God. Were not he a God of 
truth, how could we believe in him) Our 
faith were fancy ; but he is truth itself, and 
not a word which he hath spoken shall fall to 
the ground. " Truth is the object of trust." 
The truth of God is an unmoveable, rock we 
may venture our salvation here, Isa. lix. 15, 
' Truth faileth :' truth on earth doth, but not 
truth in heaven. God can as well cease to 
be God, as cease to be true. Hath God said, 
he will do good to the soul that seeks him, 
Lam. iii. 25, He will "give rest to the 
weary Matt. xi. 28. Here is a safe an- 
chor-hold, he will not alter the thing which 
is gone forth of his lips. The public faith of 
heaven is engaged for believers : can we have 
better security 1 The whole earth hangs upon 
the word of God's power, and shalknot our 
faith hang upon the word of God's truth? 
Where can we rest our faith but upon God's 
faithfulness 1 There is nothing else we can 
believe in, but the truth of God ; we cannot 
trust in an arm of flesh, we cannot trust in 
our own hearts, this is to build upon the 
quicksands, but the truth of God is a golden 
pillar for faith to stay upon. God cannot 
deny himself, 2 Tim. ii. 13, "If we believe 
not, yet he abideth faithful : he cannot deny 
himself." Not to believe God's veracity, is 
to affront God, 1 John v. 10, " He that be- 
lieveth not God, hath made him a liar." A 
person of honour cannot be more affronted 
or provoked, than when he is not believed. 
He that denies God's truth, makes the pro- 
mise no better than a forged deed ; and can 
there be a greater affront offered to God ? 

Use 2. Of terror to the wicked. God is a 
God of truth, and he is true in his threaten- 



ings ; the threatenings are a flying roll against 
sinners. God hath threatened to "wound 
the hairy scalp of such a one as goeth on 
still in his trespasses," Ps. lxviii. 21. He 
hath threatened to judge adulterers, Heb. 
xiii. 3. To be avenged upon the malicious, 
Ps. x. 14, "Thou beholdest mischief and 
spight, to requite it with thy hand:" To 
"rain fire and brimstone" upon the sinner, 
Ps. xi. 6. And God is as true in his threaten- 
ings as his promises ; God hath oft, to show 
his truth, executed his threatenings, and let 
his thunderbolts of* judgment fall upon sin- 
ners in this life ; he struck Herod in the act 
of his pride ; he hath punished blasphemers : 
Olympius, an Arian bishop, reproached and 
blasphemed the blessed Trinity, immediately 
lightning fell down from heaven upon him, 
and consumed him. God is as true in his 
threatenings as in his promises ; let us fear 
the threatening, that we may not feel it. 

Use 3. Is God a God of truth? let us be 
like God in truth. 1. We must be true in 
our words. Pythagoras being asked what 
made men like God? answered, "When they 
speak truth." It is the note of a man that 
shall go to heaven, Ps. xv. 2, "He that 
speaketh the truth in his heart." Truth in 
words is opposed, (1). To lying, Eph. iv. 25, 
" Putting away lying, speak every man truth 
to his neighbour." Lying is when one speaks 
that for truth, which he knows to be false. 
A liar is most opposite to the God of truth. 
There are (as Austin saith) two sorts of lies : 
1. An officious lie, when a man tells a lie for 
his profit; as, when a tradesman saith his 
commodity cost him so much, when perhaps 
it did not cost him half so much ; he that will 
lie in his trade, shall lie in hell. 2. A jesting 
lie : when a man tells a lie in sport, to make 
others merry, he goes laughing to hell. When 
you tell a lie, you make yourselves like the 
devil, John viii. 44, "The devil is a liar," 
and the father of it. He deceived our first 
parents by a lie. Some are so wicked, that 
they will not only speak an untruth, but will 
swear to it ; nay, they will wish a curse upon 
themselves, if that untruth be not true. As 
I have read of a woman, one Anne Avarie, 
1575, who being in a shop, wished that she 
might sink if she had not paid for the wares 



BUT ONE GOD. 



73 



she took; she fell down speechless imme- 
diately, and died in the place. A liar is not 
fit to live in a commonwealth. Lying takes 
away all society and converse with men ; 
how can you converse with him whom you 
cannot believe what he saith 1 Lying shuts 
men out of heaven, Rev. xxii. 15, " Without 
| are dogs, and whosoever loveth and maketh 
a lie." And as it is a great sin to tell a lie, 
so it is a worse sin to teach a lie, Isa. ix. 15, 
" The prophet that teacheth lies." He who 
broacheth error teacheth lies ; he spreads the 
: plague ; he not only damns himself, but helps 
: to damn others. (2). Truth in words is op- 
posed to dissembling. The heart and tongue 
should go together, as the dial goes exactly 
with the sun. To speak fair to one's face, 
and not to mean what one speaks, is no bet- 
ter than a lie : Ps. lv. 21, " The words of his 
mouth were smoother than butter, but war 
was in his heart." Some have an art at this, 
they can flatter and hate. Hierom, speak- 
ing of the Arians, saith, "they pretended 
friendship, they kissed my hands, but plotted 
mischief against me." Prov. xxix. 5, " A 
man that flattereth his neighbour, spreadeth 
a net for his feet." Impia subdulci melle 
venena latent, — falsehood in friendship is a 
lie. Counterfeiting of friendship is worse 



than counterfeiting of money. This is con- 
trary to God who is a God of truth. 

2. We must be true in our profession of 
religion. Let practice go along with pro- 
fession, Eph. iv> 24, " Righteousness and 
true holiness." Hypocrisy in religion is a 
lie ; the hypocrite is like a face in a glass, 
there is the show of a face, but no true face, 
so he makes show of holiness, but hath no 
truth of it, it is but the face in the glass. 
Ephraim pretended to be that which he was 
not ; and what saith God of him ? Hos. xi. 12, 
" Ephraim compasseth me about with lies." 
By a lie in our words we deny the truth ; by 
a lie in our profession we disgrace it. Not 
to be what we profess to God, is telling a lie ; 
and the scripture makes it little better than 
blasphemy, Rev. ii. 9, " I know the blas- 
phemy of them that say they are Jews, and 
are not." O ! 1 beseech you, labour in this 
to be like God ; he is a God of truth ; he can 
as well part with his Deity as his verity ; be, 
I say, like God, be true in your words, be 
true in your profession ; God's children are 
children that will not lie, Ps. li. 6. When 
God sees " Truth in the inward parts," and 
" lips in which is no guile," now he sees his 
own image in you ; this draws God's heart 
towards you ; likeness draws love. 



BUT ONE GOD. 



Quest. V. The fifth question is, Are 
there more Gods than one ? 

Ans. There is but one only, the living and 
true God. 

That there is a God hath been proved ; and 
those that will not believe the verity of his 
essence, shall feel the severity of his wrath, 
Deut. vi. 4, " Hear, O Israel, the Lord our 
God is one Lord." He is the ' only God,' 
Deut. iv. 39, " Know therefore this day, and 
consider it in thy heart, that the Lord he is 
God in heaven above, and upon the earth 
beneath, there is none else." Isa. xlv. 21, 
" A just God and a Saviour ; there is none 
besides me." There are many titular gods ; 
kings represent God ; their regal sceptre is an 
emblem of his power and authority. Judges 
K 



are called 1 gods,' Ps. Ixxxii. 6, " I have said, 
ye are gods," viz. set in God's place to do 
justice ; but dying gods, v. 7, " Ye shall die 
like men." 1 Cor. viii. 5, 6, " There be that 
are called gods ;" " but to us there is but one 
God." 

Argument 1. There is but one First Cause 
that hath its being of itself, and on which all 
other beings depend. As in the heavens, the 
primum mobile moves all the other orbs, so 
God gives life and motion to every thing ex- 
istent. There can be but one God, because 
there is but one First Cause. 

2. There is but one infinite Being, there- 
fore there is but one God. There cannot be 
two infinites : Jer. xxiii. 24, " Do not I fill 
heaven and earth," saith the Lord ? If there 



74 



BUT ONE GOD. 



be one infinite, filling all places at once, how 
can there be any room for another infinite to 
subsist 1 

3. There is but one Omnipotent Power. 
If there be two Omnipotents, then we must 
always suppose a contest between these two ; 
that which one would do, the other power 
being' equal, would oppose, and so all things 
would be brought into confusion. If a ship 
should have two pilots of equal power, one 
would be ever crossing the other ; when one 
would sail, the other would cast anchor, here 
were a confusion, and the ship must needs 
perish. The order and harmony in the world, 
the constant and uniform government of all 
things, is a clear argument that there is but 
one Omnipotent, one God that rules all : Isa. 
xliv. 6, "I am the first, and I am the last, 
and besides me there is no God." 

Use 1. Of information. If there be but 
one God, then (1), it excludes all other gods. 
Some have feigned that there were two gods : 
so the Valentinians ; others, that there were 
many gods : so the Polytheists. The Persians 
worshipped the sun ; the Egyptians the lion 
and elephant ; the Grecians worshipped Ju- 
piter ; these, I may say, " err, not knowing 
the scriptures," Matt. xxii. 29. Their faith 
is a fable. God hath given them up to strong 
delusions, to believe a lie, that they may be 
damned, 2 Thess. ii. 11.— 2. If there be but 
one God, then there can be but one true re- 
ligion in the world, Eph. iv. 5, " One Lord, 
one faith." If there were many gods, then 
there might be many religions, every god 
would be worshipped in his way ; but if there 
be but one God, there is but one religion ; 
one Lord, one faith. Some say, we may be 
saved in any religion. It is absurd to imagine 
that God who is One in essence, should ap- 
point several religions in which he will be 
worshipped. It is as dangerous to set up a 
false religion as to set up a false god. There 
are many ways to hell ; men may go thither 
which way their fancy leads them ; but there 
is but one direct road to heaven, viz. faith 
and holiness. There is no way to be saved 
but this : as there is but one God, so there 
is but one true religion. — 3. If there be but 
one God, then you have but One that you 
need chiefly to study to please, and that is 



God. If there were divers gods, we should j 
be hard put to it how to please them all ; one 
would command one thing, another the quite : 
contrary, and to please two contrary mas- 
ters is impossible ; but there is but one God, 
therefore you have but One to please. As 
in a kingdom there is but one king, therefore 
every one seeks to ingratiate himself into his 
favour, Prov. xix. 6, so there is but one true 
God ; therefore here lies our main work to 
please him. Be sure to please God, whoever 
else you displease. This was Enoch's wis- 
dom, Heb. xi. 5, he had this testimony before 
he died, that " he pleased God." 

Quest. What doth this pleasing God 
imply 1 

Ans. 1. We please God when we comply 
with his will. It was Christ's meat and 
drink to do his Father's will, John iv. 34, and 
so he pleased him : Matt. iii. 17, " A voice 
came from heaven, saying, this is my beloved 
Son, in whom I am well pleased." It is the 
will of God that we should be holy, 1 Thess. 
iv. 11. Now, when we are bespangled with 
holiness, our lives are walking Bibles ; this is 
according to God's will and it pleaseth him. 

A. 2. We please God, when we do the 
work that he sets us about, John xvii. 4, " I 
have finished the work which thou gavest 
me to do," viz. my mediatory work. Many 
finish their lives, but do not finish their work. 
Our work God hath cut out for us is to ob- 
serve the first and second tables. Jn the 
first, is set down our duty towards God ; in 
the second our duty towards man. Such as 
make morality the chief and sole part of re- 
ligion, set the second table above the first ; 
nay, they take away the first table ; for, if 
prudence, justice, temperance, be enough to 
save, then what needs the first table 1 and so 
our worship towards God shall be quite left 
out. But those two tables which God hath 
joined together, let no man put asunder. 

A. 3. We please God, when we dedicate 
our heart to give him the best of every thing. 
Abel gave God the fat of the offering, Gen. 
iv. 4. Domitian would not have his image 
carved in wood, or iron, but in gold. Then 
we please God, when we serve him with love, 
fervency, alacrity ; we give him golden ser- 
vices, here lies our wisdom and piety, to 



BUT ONE GOD. 



75 



please God. There is but one God, there- 
fore there is but One whom we have chiefly 
to please, namely, God. 

A. 4. If there be but one God, then we 
must pray to none but God. The Papists 
pray to saints and angels : 1. To saints. A 
Popish writer saith, " when we pray to the 
saints departed, they being touched with 
compassion, say the like to God for us, as 
the disciples did to Christ for the Canaanitish 
woman, Matt. xv. 23, ' Send her away, for 
she crieth after us.' " The saints above 
know not our wants, Isa. Ixiii. 16, Abraham 
is ignorant of us ; or, if they did, we have no 
warrant to pray to them. Prayer is a part 
of divine worship, which must only be given 
to God. 2. They pray to angels. Angel- 
worship is forbidden, Col. ii. 18, 19 ; and that 
we may not pray to angels, is clear from 
Rom. x. 14, " How shall they call then on 
him in whom they have not believed 1 ?" We 
may not pray to any but whom we may be- 
lieve in ; but we may not believe in any an- 
gel, therefore we may not pray to him. There 
is but one God, and it is a sin to invoke any 
but only God. 

A. 5. If there be but one God, who is 
* above all,' Eph. iv. 6, then he must be 
loved above all. 1. We must love him with 
a love of appreciation ; set the highest esti- 
mate on him, who is the only fountain of 
being and bliss. — 2. We must love him with 
a love of complacency : amor est compla- 
centia amantis is amato, Acquin. Our love 
to other things must be more indifferent; 
some drops of love may run beside to the 
creature, but the fall stream must run to- 
wards God ; the creature may have the milk 
of our love, but we must keep the cream of 
our love for God ; God who is above all, must 
be loved above all, Ps. Ixxiii. 25, " There is 
none upon earth that I desire besides thee." 

Use 2. Of caution. If there be but one 
God, then let us take heed of setting up more 
gods than one : Ps. xvi. 4, " Their sorrows 
shall be multiplied, that hasten after another 
God ; their drink-offerings of blood will I not 
offer, nor take up their names into my lips." 
God is a jealous God, and he will not endure 
that we should have other gods. It is easy to 
commit idolatry with the creature : 1. Some 



make a god of pleasure, 2 Tim. iii. 4, " Lovers 
of pleasure, more than lovers of God." What- 
ever we love more than God, we make a god. 
— 2. Others make money their god; the 
covetous man worships the image of gold, 
therefore he is called an idolater, Eph. v. 5. 
That which a man trusts to, he makes his 
god ; but he makes the wedge of gold his 
hope, he makes money his creator, redeemer 
and comforter. It is his creator, — if he hath 
money, then he thinks he is made ; it is his 
redeemer, — if he be in danger, he trusts in 
his money to redeem him out ; it is his com- 
forter, — if at any time he be sad, the golden 
harp drives away the evil spirit ; so that mo- 
ney is his god. God made man of the dust 
of the earth, and man makes a god of the 
dust of the earth. — 3. Another makes a god 
of his child, sets his child in God's room, 
and so provokes God to take it away. If 
you lean too hard upon a glass, it will break ; 
many break their children by leaning too 
hard upon them. — 4. Others make a god of 
their belly, Phil. iii. 19, " Whose god is their 
belly." Clemens Alexandrinus writes of a 
fish that hath its heart in its belly, — an em- 
blem of epicures, their heart is in their belly, 
they mind nothing but indulging the sensual 
appetite ; they do sacrificari lari, — their 
belly is their god, and to this they pour 
drink-offerings. Thus men make many gods. 
The apostle names the wicked man's trinity, 
1 John ii. 16, " The lust of the flesh, the lust 
of the eye, and the pride of life ;" the lust of 
the flesh, — pleasure ; the lust of the eye, — 
money ; pride of life, — honour. O take heed 
of this ! Whatever you deify besides God, 
will prove a bramble ; and fire will come out 
of this bramble and devour you, Judg. ix. 15. 

Use 3. Of reproof. If the Lord Jehovah 
be the only true God, then it reproves those 
who renounce the true God, I mean, such as 
seek to familiar spirits. This is too much 
practised among them that call themselves 
Christians. It is £ sin condemned by the 
law of God, Deut. xviii. 10, 11, "There 
shall not be found among you any one that 
consults with familiar spirits." How ordi- 
nary is this? If people have lost any of 
their goods, they send to wizards to know 
how they may come by their goods again, 



76 



OF THE TRINITY. 



What is this but consulting with the devil ? 
And so you renounce God and your baptism! 
What ! because you have lost your goods, 
will you lose your souls too 1 2 Kings i. 6, 
" Thus saith the Lord, is it not because there 
is not a God in Israel, that thou sendest to 
inquire of Beelzebub V So, is it not because 
you think there is not a God in heaven, that 
ye ask counsel of the devil 1 If any here be 
guilty, be deeply humbled, ye have renounced 
the true God ; better be without the goods ye 
have lost than have the devil help you to 
them again. 

Use 4. Of exhortation. If there be but 
one God, as God is one, so let them that 
serve him be one. This is what Christ 
prayed so heartily for, John xvii. 21, " That 
they all may be one." Christians should be 
one, 1. In judgment ; the apostle exhorts to 
be all of one mind, 1 Cor. i. 18. How sad 
is it to see religion wearing a coat of divers 
colours ; to see Christians of so many opi- 
nions, and going so many different ways 1 It 
is Satan hath sown these tares of division, 
Matt. xiii. 39. He first divided men from 
God, and now divides one man from another. 
— 2. One in affection. They should have 
one heart, Acts iv. 32, "The multitude of 
them that believed, were of one heart, and 
of one soul." As in music, though there be 
several strings of a viol, yet all make one 
sweet harmony : so, though there are several 
Christians, yet there should be one sweet 
harmony of affection among them. There 
is but one God, and they that serve him 
should be one. There is nothing would ren- 
der the true religion more lovely, or make 
more proselytes to it, than to see the pro- 
fessors of it tied together with the heart- 
strings of love, Ps. cxxxiii. 1, " Behold how 



good and how pleasant a thing it is, for bre- 
thren to dwell together in unity !" It is as 
the sweet dew on Hermon, and the fragrant 
ointment poured on Aaron's head. If God 
be one, let all that profess him be of one 
mind, and one heart; this fulfils Christ's 
prayer, " that they all may be one." — 2. If 
there be but one God, let us labour to clear 
the title, that this God is ours, Ps. xlviii. 14, 
" This God is our God." What comfort can 
it be to hear that there is a God, and that he 
is the only God, unless he be our God] 
What is Deity without property ! O let us 
labour to clear the title ! Beg the Holy 
Spirit ; the Spirit works by faith ; by faith 
we are one with Christ, and through Christ 
we come to have God for our God, and so all 
his glorious fulness is made over to us by a 
deed of gift. 

Use 5. What cause have we to be thank- 
ful, that we have the knowledge of the only 
true God? How many are brought up in 
blindness 1 Some worship Mahomet ; divers 
of the Indians worship the devil ; they light 
a candle to him, that he should not hurt 
them. Such as know not the true God must 
needs stumble into hell in the dark. O be 
thankful that we are born in such a land, 
where the light of the gospel hath shined ! 
To have the knowledge of the true God, is 
more than if we had mines of gold, rocks of 
diamonds, islands of spices ; especially if God 
hath savingly revealed himself to us, — if he 
hath given us eyes to see the light, — if we so 
know God as to be known of him, as to love 
him, and believe in him : Matt. xi. 25, we 
can never be enough thankful to God, that he 
hath hid the knowledge of himself from the 
wise and prudent of the world, and hath re- 
vealed it unto us. 



OF THE TRINITY. 



Quest. IV. How many persons are there 
in the Godhead ? 

Ans. Three persons, yet but one God. — 
1 John v. 7, "There are three that bear 
record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and 
the Holy Ghost, and these three are one." 



God is but one, yet are there three dis- 
tinct persons subsisting in one Godhead. 
This is a sacred mystery which the light 
within could never have discovered. As the 
two natures in Christ, yet but one person, is 
a wonder : so three persons, yet but one 



OF THE TRINITY. 



77 



j Godhead. I am in a great deep : the Father 

I; God,— the Son God,— the Holy Ghost God, 
— yet not three Gods, but one God. The 

| three persons in the blessed Trinity are dis- 
tinguished, but not divided; three substances, 
but one essence. This is a divine riddle, 
where one make three, and three make but 

! one. Our narrow thoughts can no more 
comprehend the Trinity in Unity, than a lit- 
tle nut-shell will hold all the water in the 
sea. Let me shadow it out by this simili- 
tude : in the body of the sun, there is the 
substance of the sun, the beams, and the 
heat ; the beams are begotten of the sun, the 
heat proceeds both from the sun and the 
beams ; but these three, though different, are 

; not divided ; they all three make one sun : so 
in the blessed Trinity, the Son is begotten 
of the Father, the Holy Ghost proceeds from 
both ; yet though they are three distinct per- 
sons, yet but one God. First, let me speak 
of the Unity in Trinity ; then of the Trinity 
in Unity. 

L Of the Unity in Trinity. The Unity of 
the persons in the Godhead consists in two 
things : 

1. The identity of essence. In the Trinity 
there is a oneness in essence : the three per- 
sons are of the same divine nature and sub- 
stance ; so that in Deo non est magis et 
minus, — there are no degrees in the God- 
head ; one person is not God more than 
another. 

2. The Unity of the persons in the God- 
head consists in the mutual in-being of them, 
or their being in one together. The three 
persons are so united that one person is in 
another, and with another: John xvii. 21, 
" Thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee." 

II. Let me speak of the Trinity in Unity. 
1. The first person in the Trinity is God the 
Father : he is called the first person, in re- 
spect of order, not dignity : for God the 
Father hath no essential perfection which the 
other persons have not ; he is not more wise, 
more holy, more powerful, than the other 
persons are ; a priority, not a superiority. 

2. The second person in the Trinity is 
Jesus Christ, who is begotten of the Father 
before all time, Prov. viii. 23, 24, 25, " I was 
set up from everlasting, from the beginning, 



or ever the earth was. When there were no 
depths, I was brought forth ; when there were 
no fountains abounding with water. Before 
the mountains were settled ; before the hills, 
was I brought forth." Which scripture de- 
clares the eternal generation of the Son of 
God. This second person in the Trinity, 
who is Jehovah, is become our Jesus. The 
scripture calls him the branch of David, Jer. 1 
xxiii. 5, and I may call him the flower of the 
virgin having assumed our nature. " By him 
all that believe are justified," Acts xiii. 39. 

3. The third person in the Trinity, is the 
Holy Ghost who proceeds from the Father 
and the Son ; his work is to illuminate the 
mind, and enkindle sacred motions. The 
essence of the Spirit is in heaven, and every 
where ; but the influence of it is in the hearts 
of believers : This is that blessed Spirit who 
gives us the holy unction, 1 John ii. 20. 
Though Christ merits grace for us, it is the 
Holy Ghost works it in us : Though Christ 
makes the purchase, it is the Holy Ghost 
makes the assurance, and seals us up to the 
day of redemption. Thus I have spoken of 
all the three persons. The Trinity of per- 
sons may be proved out of Matt. iii. 16, 
"Jesus, when he was baptized, went up 
straightway out of the water, and he saw the 
Spirit of God descending like a dove, and 
lighting upon him ; and lo, a voice from hea- 
ven, saying, This is my beloved Son." Here 
are three names given to the three persons. 
He who spake with a voice from heaven, was 
God the Father; he who was baptized in 
Jordan, was God the Son ; he who descended 
in the likeness of a dove, was God the Holy 
Ghost. Thus I have shown you the unity of 
essence, and the Trinity of persons. 

Use 1. It confutes the Jews and the Turks, 
who believe only the first person in the God- 
head. This cuts asunder the sinews of our 
comfort. Take away the distinction of the 
persons in the Trinity, and you overthrow 
man's redemption ; for God the Father being 
offended with man for sin, how shall he be 
pacified without a mediator 1 This mediator 
is Christ, he makes our peace. And Christ 
having died, and shed his blood, how shall 
this blood be applied, but by the Holy Ghost 1 
Therefore, if there be not three persons in 



78 OF THE 

the Godhead, man's salvation cannot be 
wrought out ; if there be no second person in 
the Trinity, then there is no redeemer ; if 
no third person, then there is no comforter. 
And so the plank is taken away by which we 
should get to heaven. 

2. It confutes the execrable opinion of the 
Socinians, who deny the Divinity of the Lord 
Jesus ; they make him only to be a creature 
of a higher rank. As the Papists blot out 
the second commandment, so the Socinians 
would the second person in the Trinity. If 
to oppose Christ's members be such a sin, 
what is it to oppose Christ himself? (1). Je- 
sus Christ is co-equal with God the Father, 
Phil. ii. 6, " He thought it no robbery to be 
equal with God." (2). He is co-eternal with 
God the Father, Pro v. viii. 23, " 1 was from 
the beginning;" for else there was a time 
when God was without a Son, and so he 
should be no Father ; nay, else there was a 
time when God was without his glory, for 
Christ is the brightness of his Father's glory, 
Heb. i. 3. (3). He is co-essential with God 
the Father. The Godhead subsists in Christ, 
Col. ii. 9, " For in him dwelleth all the ful- 
ness of the Godhead bodily." It is said, not 
only Christ was 'with God' before the be- 
ginning, but he < was God,' John i. 1, and 1 
Tim. iii. 16, 4 God manifest in the flesh.' 
The title of Lord, so often given to Christ, 
in the New Testament, doth answer to the 
title of Jehovah in the Old Testament, Deut. 
vi. 5. Matt. xxii. 37 : so that Christ hath a 
•co-eternity, and con-substantiality with his 
Father, John x. 30, " I and my Father are 
one." It were blasphemy for any angel to 
speak thus. Yet further, to prove Christ's 
Godhead, consider 1st, The glorious incom- 
municable attributes belonging to God the 
Father are ascribed to Christ. 1. Is God the 
Father omnipotent ? So is Jesus Christ. He 
is the Almighty, Rev. i. 8 ; he creates, Col. 
a. 16. 2. Is God the Father infinitely im- 
mense, filling all places 1 Jer. xxiii. 24, so is 
Jesus Christ. While Christ was on the 
«arth by his bodily presence, he was at the 
same time in the bosom of the Father, John 
iii. 13, in regard of his divine presence. 
2dly, The same jura regalia, or prerogatives 
royal, which belong to God the Father, be- 



TRINITY. 

long also to Christ : 1. Doth God the Father j 
seal pardons, this is a flower of Christ's i 
crown, Matt. ix. 2, " Thy sins be forgiven I 
thee." Nor doth Christ only remit sin or- ; 
ganice, as ministers do, by virtue of a power j 
delegated to them from God ; but Christ doth i 
it by his own power and authority. — 2. Is 
God the Father the adequate object of faith 1 j 
Is he to be believed in 1 So is his Son, John 
xiv. 1 — 3. Doth adoration belong to God 
the Father? So it doth to the Son, Heb. i. 6, 
"Let all the angels of God worship him." 
How sacrilegious therefore is the Socinian, 
who would rob Christ of the best flower of 
his crown, his Godhead f They that deny 
Christ to be God, must greatly wrest, or else 
deny the scripture to be the word of God. 

3. It confutes the Arians, who deny the ; 
Holy Ghost to be God. The eternal God- I 
head subsists in the Holy Ghost, John xvi. | 
13, "He will guide you into all truth." 
Christ speaks not there of an attribute, but 
of a person ; and that the Godhead subsists 
in the person of the Holy Ghost, appears 
thus : the Spirit, who gives diversity of gifts, 
is said to be the same Lord, and the same 
God, 1 Cor. xii. 5, 6. The black and un- 
pardonable sin is said in a special manner j 
to be committed against the Godhead sub- 
sisting in the Holy Ghost, Matt. xii. 32. 
The mighty power of God is made mani- 
fest by the Holy Ghost; he changeth the 
hearts of men. The devil would have Christ 
prove himself to be God, by turning stones 
into bread ; but thus the Holy Ghost shows 
his Godhead, by turning stones into flesh, 
Ezek. xxxvi. 26, " I will take away the stony 
heart ; and give you a heart of flesh." Yet 
further, the power and Godhead of the Holy 
Ghost appeared in the effecting the glorious 
conception of our Lord Jesus Christ; the 
very shadow of the Holy Ghost made a vir- 
gin conceive, Luke i. 35. The Holy Ghost^ 
works miracles, which transcend the sphere 
of nature ; as raising the dead, Rom. viii. 11. 
To him belongs divine worship, our souls and 
bodies are the temples of the Holy Ghost, 
1 Cor. vi. 19, in which temples he is to be 
worshipped, v. 20. We are baptized in the 
name of the Holy Ghost ; therefore either we 
must believe his Godhead, or renounce our 



OF THE CREATION. 



79 



baptism in his name. Methinks, it were 
enough for such men as have not so much as 
heard whether there be a Holy Ghost, Acts 
xix. 2, to deny his Deity ; but that any who 
go for Christians, should deny this article of 
their creed, seems to me very strange. They 
who would wittingly and willingly blot out 
the third person, shall have their names blot- 
ted out of the book of life. 

Use 2. Of exhortation. 1st, Believe this 
doctrine, the Trinity of persons in the unity 
of essence. The Trinity is purely an object 
of faith ; the plumb-line of reason is too short 
to fathom this mystery ; but where reason 
cannot wade, there faith must swim. There 
are some truths in religion may be demon- 
strated by reason, as that there is a God ; 
but the Trinity of persons in the Unity of 
essence is wholly supernatural, and must be 
believed by faith. This sacred doctrine, 
though it be not against reason, yet it is 
above reason. Those illuminated philoso- 
phers, that could find out the causes of 
things, and discourse of the magnitude and 
influence of the stars, — the nature of mine- 
rals, — could never, by their deepest search, 
find out the mystery of the Trinity : this is 
of divine revelation, and must be adored with 
humble believing. We can be no good Chris- 
tians, without the firm belief of the Trinity. 
How can we pray to God the Father, but in 
the name of Christ, and through the help of 
the Spirit] Believe the glorious Trinity. 
How are the Quakers to be abhorred, who 
go under the name of Christians, yet under- 
value and renounce Jesus Christ. I have 
read of some of the Quakers, who speak 
thus : " We deny the person of him whom 
you call Christ, and affirm, That they who 
expect to be saved by that Christ without 
works, will be damned in that faith'?" Could 
the devil himself speak worse blasphemy'? 
They would pull up all religion by the roots, 



and take away that corner-stone, on which 
the hope of our salvation is built. — -2dly, If 
there be one God subsisting in three persons, 
then let us give, (1). Equal reverence to all 
the persons in the Trinity. There is not 
more or less in the Trinity ; the Father is 
not more God than the Son and Holy Ghost. 
There is an order in the Godhead, but no 
degrees ; one person hath not a majority or 
supereminency above another, therefore we 
must give equal worship to all the Persons : 
John v. 23, " That all men should honour 
the Son, even as they honour the Father." 
Adore Unity in Trinity. — 3c%, Obey all the 
Persons in the blessed Trinity, for all of 
them are God. 1. Obey God the Father; his 
words, either perceptive or minatory, must 
be observed. Christ himself, as man, obeyed 
God the Father, John iv. 34, much more then 
must we, Deut. xxvii. 10. — 2. Obey God the 
Son, Ps. ii. 12, "Kiss the Son, lest he be 
angry'?" Kiss him with a kiss of obedience ; 
Christ's commands are not grievous, 1 John 
v. 3. Nothing he commands but is for our 
interest and benefit. O then kiss the Son ! 
Why do the elders throw down their crowns 
at the feet of Christ, and fall down before 
the Lamb] Rev. iv. 10, 11, but to testify 
their subjection, and to profess their readi- 
ness to serve and obey him. — 3. Obey God 
the Holy Ghost. Our souls are breathed 
into us by the glorious Spirit, Job xxxiii. 4j, 
"The Spirit of God hath made me." Our 
souls are adorned by the blessed Spirit, every 
grace is a divine sparkle lighted in the soul 
by the Holy Ghost. Nay, more, the Spirit 
of God sanctified Christ's human nature ; he- 
united it with the divine, and fitted the Man 
Christ to be our Mediator. Well then doth 
this third person in the Trinity, the Holy 
Ghost, deserve to be obeyed ; he is God, and 
this tribute of homage and obedience is to be 
paid him by us. 



OF THE CREATION. 



Quest. VII. What are the decrees of 
God? 

Ans. The decrees of God are his eternal 



purpose, according to the counsel of his will, 
whereby, for his own glory, he hath fore- 
ordained whatsoever shall come to pass. 



80 



OF THE CREATION. 



I should now come to speak concerning 
the decrees of God, but I have already spoken 
something to this under the attribute of God's 
immutability. God is unchangeable in his 
essence, and he is unchangeable in his de- 
crees ; his counsel shall stand ; he hath de- 
creed the issue of all things, and carries them 
on to their period by his providence ; and 
therefore I shall proceed to the execution of 
his decrees. 

Quest. VIII. The next question is, What 
is the work of creation ? 

Ans. It is God's making all things of no- 
thing, by the word of his power, &c. — Gen. 
i. 1, " In the beginning God created the hea- 
ven and the earth." 

The creation is glorious to behold,— it is a 
pleasant and fruitful study. Some think that 
Isaac, when he went abroad into the fields to 
meditate, it was in the book of the creatures. 
The creation is the heathen man's Bible, — 
the plowman's primer, — the traveller's per- 
spective glass, through which he receives the 
species and representation of those infinite 
excellencies which are in God. The crea- 
tion is a large volume in which God's works 
are bound up ; and this volume hath three 
great leaves in it, heaven, earth, and sea. 

The author of the creation is God, so it is 
in the text, ' God created.' The world was 
created in time, and could not be from eter- 
nity, as Aristotle thought. The world must 
have a maker, it could not make itself. If 
one should go into a far country, and see 
stately edifices there, he would never imagine 
that these could build themselves, but that 
there had been some artificer there to raise 
such goodly structures ; so this great fabric 
of the world could not create itself, it must 
have some builder or maker, and that is God ; 
" In the beginning God created." To imagine 
that the work of the creation was not framed 
by the Lord Jehovah, is as if we should con- 
ceive a curious landscape to be drawn with- 
out the hand of a limner : Acts xvii. 24, 
" God that made the world and all things 
therein." 

In the work of creation there are two 
things to be considered: I. The making. 
II. The adorning of it. 

I. The making of the world. Here con- 



sider, 1. God made the world without any 
pre-existent matter. This is the difference 
between generation and creation. In genera- 
tion there is materia habilis et disposita, — 
some matter to work upon ; but in creation 
there is no pre-existent matter. God brought 
all this glorious fabric of the world out of the 
womb of nothing. We see our beginning, 
it was of nothing. Some brag of their birth 
and ancestry ; you see how little cause they 
have to boast, they came of nothing. 

2. God made the world with a word. 
When Solomon had to build a temple, he 
needed many workmen, and they all had 
tools to work with, but God wrought without 
tools, Vs. xxxiii. 6, "By the word of the 
Lord were the heavens made." The disci- 
ples wondered that Christ could with a word 
calm the sea, Matt. viii. 26, 27. But it was 
more with a word to make the sea. 

3. God made all things at first very good, 
Gen. i. 31, no defect or deformity. The 
creation came out of God's hands a curious 
piece ; it was a fair copy, without any blot, 
written with God's own fingers, Ps. viii. 3. 
So perfect was God's work. 

II. The adorning of the world. 1. God 
made this great lump and mass, — rudis in~ 
digeslaque moles, and then beautified it, and 
put it into a dress. He divided the sea and 
the earth, he decked the earth with flowers, 
the trees with fruit; but what is beauty 
when it is masked over? Therefore, that 
we might behold this glory, God made the 
light. The heavens were bespangled with 
the sun, moon, and stars, that so the world's 
beauty might be beheld and admired. God, 
in the creation, began with things less noble 
and excellent, vegetables and sensitives ; and 
then the rational creatures, angels and men. 
Man was the most exquisite piece in the 
creation. He is a microcosm, or little world. 
Man was made with deliberation and coun- 
sel, Gen. i. 26, " Let us make man." It is 
the manner of artificers to be more than 
ordinary accurate, when they are about their 
master-pieces. Man was to be the master- 
piece of this visible world, therefore God 
did consult about the making of so rare a 
piece. A solemn council of the sacred per- 
sons in the Trinity was called, " Let us make 



OF THE CREATION. 



81 



man, and let us make him in our own image." 
: On the king's coin his image or effigies is 
stampt ; so God stampt his image on man, and 
made him partake of many divine qualities. 

I shall speak, 1. Of the parts of man's 
body. (1). The head, the most excellent 
! architectonicai part, it is the fountain of 
spirits, and the seat of reason. In nature 
ji the head is the best piece, but in grace the 
I heart excels. (2). The eye, it is the beauty 
of the face ; it shines and sparkles like a 
lesser sun in the body. The eye occasions 
much sin, and therefore well may it have 
tears in it. (8). The ear, which is the con- 
duit-pipe through which knowledge is con- 
veyed. Better lose our seeing than our hear- 
ing, for "faith cometh by hearing," Rom. x. 
17. To have an ear open to God, is the best 
jewel on the ear. (4). The tongue. David 
calls the tongue his glory, Ps. xvi. 9, because 
it is an instrument to set forth the glory of 
God ; the soul at first was a viol in tune to 
praise God, and the tongue did make the 
music. God hath given us two ears, but one 
tongue, to show that we should be swift to 
hear, but slow to speak. God hath set a 
double fence before the tongue, the teeth and 
the lips, to teach us to be wary that we 
offend not with our tongue. (5). The heart, 
this is a noble part, and seat of life. 

2. The Soul of man ; this is the man of 
the man. Man, in regard of his soul, par- 
takes with the angels ; nay, as Plato saith, 
The understanding, will, and conscience, are 
a glass that resemble the Trinity. The soul 
is the diamond in the ring; the soul is a 
vessel of honour ; God himself is served in 
this vessel. It is a sparkle of celestial bright- 
ness, saith Damascene. If David did so ad- 
mire the rare contexture and workmanship 
of his body, Ps. cxxxix. 14, 15, " I am won- 
derfully made, I was curiously wrought in 
the lowest parts of the earth," — if the cabi- 
net be so. curiously wrought, what is the 
jewel 1 How richly is the soul embroidered 1 
Thus you see how glorious a work the crea- 
tion is, and man especially, who is the epi- 
tome of the world. 

Quest. But why did God make the world 1 
Ans. 1. Negatively: Not for himself : he 
did not need it, being infinite. He was happy 
L 



before the world was, in reflecting upon his 
own sublime excellencies and perfections. 
2. God did not make the world to be a place 
of mansion for us, we are not to abide here 
for ever. Heaven is the mansion-house, 
John xiv. 2. The world is only a passage- 
room to eternity ; the world is to us as the 
wilderness was to Israel, not to rest in, but 
to travel through to the glorious Canaan. 
The world is a dressing-room to dress our 
souls in, not a place where we are to stay 
for ever. The apostle tells us of the world's 
funeral, 2 Pet. iii. 10, " The elements shall 
melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the 
works that are therein shall be burnt up." 

A. 2. Positively: God made the world to 
demonstrate his own glory. The world is a 
looking-glass in which we may see the power 
and goodness of God shine forth : " The 
heavens declare the glory of God," Ps. xix. 1. 
The world is like a curious piece of arras or 
tapestry, in which we may see the skill and 
wisdom of him that made it. 

Use 1. Did God create this world] This 
convinceth us of the truth of his Godhead ; 
to create is proper to a Deity, Acts xvii. 24. 
This convinced Plato of a Deity, when he 
saw all the world could not make a fly. Thus 
God proves himself to be the true God, and 
distinguisheth himself from idols, Jer. x. 11. 
It is written in Chaldee, " Thus shall ye say 
to them, The gods that have not made the 
heavens and the earth, even they shall 
perish." Who but God can create] The 
creation is enough to convince the heathen 
that there is a God. There are two books 
out of which God will judge and condemn 
the heathen, viz. the book of Conscience, 
Rom. ii. 15, " Who have the law written in 
their heart ;" and the book of the Creation, 
Rom.i. 20, "The invisible things of him are 
clearly seen by the things that are made, 
even his eternal power and Godhead." The 
world is full of emblems and hieroglyphics ; 
every star in the sky, — every bird that flies 
in the air,-— is a witness against the heathen, 
A creature could not make itself. 

Use 2. Here is a mighty support for faith, 
God creates. He that made all things with 
a word, what cannot he do 1 He can create 
strength in weakness ; he can create a sup- 



82 



OF THE CREATION. 



ply of our wants. What a foolish question 
was that, Ps. lxxviii. 19, " Can he prepare a 
table in the wilderness V* Cannot he that 
made the world do much more'? Ps. cxxiv. 8, 
" Our help is in the name of the Lord, who 
made heaven and earth." Rest on this God 
for help, who made heaven and earth." The 
work of creation, as it is a monument of 
God's power, so it is a stay to faith. Is thy 
heart hard ; he can with a word create soft- 
ness. Is it unclean, he can create purity 1 
Ps. li. 10, " Create in me a clean heart, O 
God !" Is the church of God low, he can 
create Jerusalem a praise, Isa. lxv. 18. No 
such golden pillar for faith to stay upon, as 
a creating power. 

Use 3. Did God make this world full of 
beauty and glory, every thing very good, — 
then, what an evil thing is sin, that hath put 
out of frame the whole creation ! Sin hath 
much eclipsed the beauty, soured the sweet- 
ness, and marred the harmony of the world. 
How bitter is that gall, a drop whereof can 
embitter a whole sea] Sin hath brought 
vanity and vexation into the world, yea, a 
curse. God cursed the ground for man's 
sake, Gen. iii. There were several fruits of 
the curse. — 1. "In sorrow shalt thou eat of 
it," ver. 17. By that word sorrow, is to be 
understood all the troubles and cares of this 
life. — 2. " In the sweat of thy face shalt thou 
eat bread," v. 19. In innocency Adam did 
till the ground, (he must not live idly) but it 
was rather a delight than a labour ; that till- 
ing was without toiling. The eating in sor- 
row, and the sweat of the brow, came in 
after sin. — 3. " Thorns also and thistles shall 
it bring forth," v. 18. 

Quest. Whether in innocency did not the 
earth bear thorns, because it is threatened 
as a punishment ? 

Ans. It is likely it did bear thorns ; for, 
when God had done creating, he made no new 
species or kinds of things ; but the meaning 
is, Now, after sin the earth should bring forth 
more plenty of thorns, and now those thorns 
should be hurtful, and choke the corn, which 
hurtful quality was not in them before. Ever 
since the fall, all the comforts of this life 
have a thorn and a thistle in them. 

4. The fourth fruit of the curse was the 



driving man out of paradise, v. 24, " So he 
drove out the man." God at first brought 
Adam into paradise, as into a house ready 
furnished, or as a king into his throne, Gen. 
i. 28, " Have dominion over every living thing 
that moveth ;" now God's driving Adam out of 
paradise, signified his dethroning and banish- 
ing him, that he might look after a heavenly 
and a better paradise. — 5. A fifth fruit of the 
curse was death, v. 19, " To dust thou shalt 
return." Death was not natural to Adam, it 
came in after sin. Josephus is of opinion, man 
should have died though he had a longer term 
of years added to his life ; but out of question, 
death grew out of the root of sin ; the apostle 
saith, Rom. v. 12, " By sin came death." See 
then how cursed a thing sin is, that hath 
brought so many curses upon the creation. 
If we will not hate sin for its deformity, let 
us hate it for the curse it brings. 

Use 4. Did God make this glorious world ? 
Did he make every thing good 1 ? Was there in 
the creature so much beauty and sweetness % 
Oh ! then what sweetness is there in God 1 
Quicquid ejjicit tale, Mud est magis tale, — 
the cause is always more noble than the effect. 
Think with yourselves, is there so much ex- 
cellency in house and lands, — then how much 
more is there in God, that made these ! Is 
there beauty in a rose 1 What beauty then is 
there in Christ, the rose of Sharon ! Doth oil 
make the face shine 1 Ps. civ. 15. How will 
the light of God's countenance make it shine ! 
Doth wine cheer the heart } O what virtue is 
there in the true vine I How doth the blood 
of this grape cheer the heart ! Is the fruit 
of the garden sweet ? how delicious are the 
fruits of the Spirit ! Is a gold mine so pre- 
cious ? how precious is he who founded this 
mine ! What is Christ, in whom are hid all 
treasures? Col. ii. 3. We should ascend 
from the creature to the Creator. If there 
be any comfort here below, how much more 
is there in God, who made all these things ! 
How unreasonable is it, that we should de- 
light in the world, and not much more in him 
that made it ? How should our hearts be set 
on God, and how should we long to be with 
God, who hath infinitely more sweetness in 
him, than any creature ! 

Use 5. Of Exhortation. 1. Did God 



OF THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD. 



83 



create the world 1 let us wisely observe those 
works of creation. God hath given us not 
only the book of the scriptures to read in, 
but the book of the creation ; look up to the 
heavens, they show much of God's glory, — 
the sun gilds the world with its bright beams, 
— behold the stars, their regular motion in 
their orbs, their magnitude, their light, their 
influence. We may see God's glory blazing 
in the sun, twinkling in the stars. Look into 
the sea, and see the wonders of God in the 
deep, Ps. cvii. 24. Look into the air, there 
the birds make melody, and sing forth the 
praises of their Creator. Look into the earth, 
there we may wonder at the nature of mine- 
rals, — the power of the loadstone, — the vir- 
tue of herbs ; see the earth decked as a bride 
with flowers ; all these are the glorious ef- 
fects of God's power. God hath wrought 
the creation as with curious needle-work, 
that we may observe his wisdom and good- 
ness, and give him the praise due to him, Ps. 
civ. 24, " O Lord, how manifold are thy 
works ! in wisdom hast thou made them all." 

2. Did God create all things I Let us obey 
our Maker. We are his jure creationis ; we 
owe ourselves to him ; if another gives us our 
maintenance we think ourselves bound to 
serve him, much more should we serve and 
obey God who gives us our life, Acts xvii. 28, 
" In him we live and move." God hath made 
every thing for man's service, — the corn for 
nourishment, — the beasts for usefulness, — the 
birds for music, — that man should be for God's 
service. The rivers come from the sea, and 



they run into the sea again. All we have is 
from God ; let us honour our Creator, and 
live to him that made us. 

3. Did God make our bodies out of the dust, 
and that dust out of nothing 1 Let this keep 
down pride. When God would humble Adam 
he useth this expression, " Out of it (the 
dust) was thou taken," Gen. iii. 19. Why 
art thou proud, O dust and ashes ] Thou art 
made but of course metal. Cum sis humi 
limus, cur non humilimus ? Bern. David 
saith, " I was curiously wrought," Ps. cxxxix. 
15. Thy being curiously wrought, may make 
thee thankful ; but being made of the dust, 
may keep thee humble. If thou hast beauty, 
it is but well-coloured earth. Thy body is 
but air and dust mingled together, and this 
dust will drop into the dust. When the Lord 
had said of the Judges, they were gods, Ps. 
lxxxii. 6. Lest they should grow proud, he 
tells them, they were dying gods, v. 7, " Ye 
shall die like men." 

4. Did God create our souls after his image, 
but we lost it 1 let us never rest till we are 
restored to God's image again. We have now 
got the devil's image in pride, malice, envy ; 
let us get God's image restored, which con- 
sists in knowledge and righteousness, Col. 
iii. 10. Grace is our best beauty, it makes 
us like God and angels ; as the sun is to the 
world, so is holiness to the soul. Let us go 
to God to repair his image in us. Lord ! 
thou hast once made me, make me anew ; 
sin hath defaced thy image in me, O draw it 
again by the pencil of the Holy Ghost ! 



OF THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD. 



Quest. XI. WHA T are God's works of 
Providence ? 

Ans. God's works of Providence are his 
most holy, wise, and powerful preserving 
and governing all his creatures, and all their 
actions. 

The work of God's providence, John v. 17, 
h My Father worketh hitherto, and I work." 
The great God hath rested from the works of 
creation, he doth not create any new species 
of things, Gen. ii. 2, " He rested from all 



his works :" and therefore this scripture 
must needs be meant of God's works of pro- 
vidence, " My Father worketh, and I work." 
Ps. ciii. 19, " His kingdom ruleth over all ;" 

1. e. His providential kingdom. Now, for 
the clearing of this point, I shall, 

1. Show you that there is a providence. 

2. What that providence is. 3. Lay down 
some maxims or propositions concerning the 
providence of God. 

1st. That there is a providence : there is 



84 



OF THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD. 



no such thing as blind fate, but there is a 
providence that guides and governs in the 
world : Prov. xvi. 33, " The lot is cast into 
the lap, but the whole disposing thereof is of 
the Lord." 

2dly. What this providence is 1 I answer, 
Providence is God's ordering all issues and 
events of things, after the counsel of his will, 
to his own glory. 1. I call providence God's 
ordering of things, to distinguish it from his 
decrees : God's decree ordains things that 
shall fall out, God's providence ordereth 
them. — 2. I call providence the ordering of 
things after the counsel of God's will. — 
3. God ordereth all events of things, after 
the counsel of his will, to his own glory ; the 
glory of God being 1 the ultimate end of all 
God's actings, and the centre where all the 
lines of providence do meet. The providence 
of God is Regina mundi, — the queen and 
governess of the world ; it is the eye that 
sees, and the hand that turns all the wheels 
in the universe. God is not like an artificer 
that builds a house, and then leaves it, and 
is gone ; but like a pilot, that does with a 
great deal of care, steer on the ship of the 
whole creation. 

Sdly. Positions about God's providence. 
1. God's providence reaches to all places, 
persons, and occurrences. 1. To all places, 
Jer. xxiii. 23, " Am I a God at hand, and not 
a God afar off?" The diocese where provi- 
dence visits is very large ; it reaches to hea- 
ven, earth, and sea, Ps. cvii. 23, 24, " They 
that go down to the sea, see the wonders of 
God in the deep." Now, that the sea, which 
is higher than the earth, should not drown 
the earth, is a wonder of providence ; and 
the prophet Jonah, he saw the wonders of 
God in the deep, when the very fish which 
did devour him and swallow him, did bring 
him safe to shore. — 2. God's providence 
reaches to all persons, especially the persons 
of the godly, they are in a special manner 
taken notice of. God takes care of every 
saint in particular, as if he had none else to 
take care for, 1 Pet. v. 7, " He careth for 
you," i. e. Elect in a special manner. Ps. 
xxxiii. 18, 19, " The eye of the Lord is upon 
them that fear him ; to preserve them from 
death, and to keep them alive in famine." 



God by his providential care, shields off dan- j 
gers from his people, he sets a life-guard of jj 
angels about them, Ps. xxxiv. 7. God's provi- 
dence keeps the very bones of the saints, Ps. 
xxxiv. 10. It bottles their tears, Ps. Ivi. 8. It 
strengthens the saints in their weaknesses, j 
Heb. xi. 34. It supplies all their wants out of | 
its alms-basket, Ps. xxiii. 5. Thus providence 
doth wonderfully supply the wants of the 
elect. When the Protestants in Rochelle 
were besieged by the French king, God by his 
providence, sent in a great number of small 
fishes that fed them, such as were never seen 
before in that haven. So the raven, that un- 
natural creature that will hardly feed its own 
young, yet providentially brought sustenance 
to the prophet Elijah, 1 Kings xvii. 6. The 
virgin Mary, though by bearing and bringing 
forth the Messiah she helped to make the 
world rich, yet she herself was very poor, 
and now, being warned of the angel to go 
into Egypt, Matt. ii. 13, the virgin had scarce 
enough to bear her charges thither : see now 
how God provides for her before-hand ; he, 
by his providence, sends the wise men from 
the east, and they bring costly gifts, gold, 
myrrh, and frankincense, and present these 
to Christ, and now the virgin had enough 
to defray her charges into Egypt. God's 
children sometimes scarce know how they 
are fed, and yet providence feeds them, Ps. 
xxxvii. 3, "Verily thou shalt be fed." If 
God will give his people a kingdom when 
they die, he will not deny them daily 
bread while they live. — 3. God's providence 
reaches to all affairs and occurrences in the 
world ; there is nothing that stirs in the 
world, but God hath, by his providence, 
the over-ruling of it. The raising of a 
man to honour : Ps. lxxv. 7, " He putteth 
down one, and raises up another." Suc- 
cess and victory in battle is the result of 
providence : Saul had the victory, but God 
wrought the salvation, 1 Sam. xi. 13. That 
among all virgins that were brought before 
the king, that Esther should find favour 
in the eyes of the king, was not with- 
out God's special providence; for, by this 
means, the Lord saved the Jews alive that 
were destined to destruction. Providence 
reaches to the least of things, to the birds 



OF THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD. 



85 



and pismires; providence feeds the young- 
raven, when the dam forsakes it, and will 
give it no food, Ps. cxlvii. 9. Providence 
reaches to the very hairs of our head, Matt, 
x. 30, " The very hairs of your head are all 
numbered ;" and surely if providence reaches 
to our hairs then much more to our souls. 
And thus you have seen that God's provi- 
dence reaches to all places, to all persons, to 
all occurrences and affairs. Now there are 
two objections against this doctrine. 

Ob j. 1. But some say, There are many 
things done in the world which are eccentri- 
cal, they are very disorderly and irregular; 
and surely God's providence doth not these 
things. 

Ans. Yes, these things that seem to us 
irregular, God makes use of to his own glory. 
For instance : suppose you were in a smith's 
shop, and there should see several sorts of 
tools, some crooked, some bowed, others 
hooked, would you condemn all these things 
for nought, because they do not look hand- 
some 1 the smith makes use of them all for 
the doing of his work. Thus it is with the 
providences of God, they seem to us to be 
very crooked and strange, yet they all carry 
on God's work. I shall clear this to you in 
two particular cases : 

1st. God's people are low ; why, this seems 
to be very much out of order, that these that 
are best should be in the lowest condition ; 
but there is much wisdom to be seen in this 
providence, as appears thus : 1. Perhaps the 
hearts of the godly were lifted up with riches, 
or with success : now God comes with an 
humbling providence to afflict them and fleece 
them ; better is the loss that makes them 
humble, than the success that makes them 
proud. Again, 2. If the godly were not some- 
times afflicted, and suffered an eclipse in their 
outward comforts, how could their graces be 
seen, their faith and patience ? If it were al- 
ways sunshine, we should see no stars ; if we 
should have always prosperity, it would be 
hard to see the actings of men's faith. Thus 
you see God's providences are wise and 
regular, though to us they seem very strange 
and crooked. 

2dly. Here's another case, the wicked 
flourish ; this seems to be very much out of 



order ; aye, but God, in his providence, sees 
good sometimes that the worst of men should 
be exalted ; they may do some work to God, 
though against their will, Isa. x. 7. God will 
be in no man's debt. God makes use of the 
wicked sometimes to protect and shield his 
church : he makes use of them to refine and 
purify his people, Hab. i. 12, " Thou hast 
established them for correction." As if the 
prophet had said, < Thou hast ordained the 
wicked to correct thy children.' And indeed, 
as Austin saith well, " We are beholden to 
wicked men, who against their wills do us 
good." As the corn is beholden to the flail to 
thrash off its husks, or as the iron is beholden 
to the file to brighten it, so the godly are be- 
holden to the wicked, though it be against 
their will, to brighten and refine their graces. 
Now, then, if the wicked do God's own work, 
though against their will, God will not let 
them be losers by it, he will raise them in 
the world, exalt them, and wring out the 
waters of a full cup to them. Thus you see 
these providences are wise and regular, which 
to us seem strange and crooked. 

Obj. 2. But, may some say, if God hath 
a hand in ordering all things that fall out, 
why then he hath a hand in the sins of men. 

I answer, No, by no means, he hath no 
hand in any man's sins. God cannot go con- 
trary to his own nature, he cannot do any un- 
holy action, no more than the sun can be said 
to be darkened. Here you must take heed of 
two things ; as you must take heed of making 
God ignorant of men's sins, so you must take 
heed of making God to have a hand in men's 
sins. Is it a thing likely, that God is the au- 
thor of sin, that is an avenger of it 1 Is it a 
likely thing that God should make a law 
against sin, and then have a hand in break- 
ing his own law 1 Is that likely 1 And there- 
fore to answer the objection, God in his pro- 
vidence doth permit men's sins : Acts xiv. 16, 
" He suffered all nations to walk in their own 
ways." God permitted their sin, and he 
would never permit their sin if he could not 
bring good out of it ; as the apothecary can 
make a treacle of poison. Had not sin been 
at all permitted, God's justice in punishing 
sin, and his mercy in pardoning sin, had 
never been so well known. The Lord is 



80 



OF THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD. 



pleased to permit it, but he hath no hand 
in sin. 

Ob j. But is it not said, that God hardened 
Pharaoh's heart ? Here's more than God's 
bare permitting of sin. 

Ans. God doth not infuse evil into men, 
only he withdraws the influence of his graces, 
and then the heart hardens of itself ; even as 
the light being withdrawn, darkness presently 
follows in the air ; but it were absurd to say, 
that therefore the light darkens the air ; and 
therefore you will observe, that Pharaoh is 
said to harden his own heart, Exod. viii. 15. 
God is the cause of no man's sin ; it is true 
God hath a hand in the action where sin is, 
but no hand in the sin of the action. A man 
may play upon a jarring instrument, but the 
jarring is from itself : so it is here, the actions 
of men, so far as they are natural, are from 
God ; but so far as they are sinful, they are 
from men themselves, and God has no hand 
at all in them. And so much for the first 
position, that God's providence reaches to 
all places, to all persons, and to all occur- 
rences. 

2. A second position is this: there are 
providences that are casual and accidental to 
us that are pre-determined by the Lord : the 
falling of a tile upon one's head, the breaking 
out of a fire, to us is casual, but it is ordered 
by a providence of God. You have a clear 
instance of this, 1 Kings xxii. 34, " A certain 
man drew a bow at a venture, and smote the 
king of Israel between the joints of the har- 
ness." This accident was casual as to the 
man that drew the bow ; but it was divinely 
ordered by the providence of God; God's 
providence directed the arrow to hit the 
mark. Things that seem to fall out casual, 
and by chance, they are the issues of God's 
decrees, and the interpretation of his will. 

3. God's providence is greatly to be ob- 
served, but we are not to make it the rule of 
our actions, Ps. cvii. 43, " Whoso is wise will 
observe these things." It is good to observe 
providence, but we must not make it our rule 
to walk by ; providence is a Christian's diur- 
nal, but not his Bible. Sometimes a bad 
cause prevails and gets ground ; it is not to 
be liked because it doth prevail ; we must not 
think the better of what is sinful, because it 



is successful ; here is no rule for our actions j 
to be directed by. 

4. Divine providence is irresistible, there i 
is no standing in the way of God's provi- I 
dence to hinder it ; when God's time was 
come for Joseph's release, the prison could 
hold him no longer, " The king sent and ! 
loosed him," Ps. cv. 20. When God would ; ; 
indulge the Jews with liberty in their religion, 
Cyrus, by a providence, puts forth a pro- 
clamation to encourage the Jews to go and 
build their temple at Jerusalem, and worship 
God, Ezra i. 2, 3. If God will shield and 
protect Jeremiah's person in captivity, the 
very king of Babylon shall nurse up the pro- 
phet, give charge concerning him that he 
want nothing, Jer. xxxix. 11, 12. 

5. God is to be trusted when his provi- 
dences seem to run contrary to his promises. 
God promised David to give him the crown, 
to make him king, but providence runs con- 
trary to his promise. David was pursued by 
Saul, was in danger of his life, but all this 
while it was David's duty to trust God. 
Pray observe, the Lord doth oftentimes by 
cross providences bring to pass his promise. 
God promised Paul the lives of all that were 
with him in the ship ; but now the provi- 
dence of God seems to run quite contrary to 
his promise, — the winds blew, — the ship 
splits and breaks in pieces ; and thus God 
fulfilled his promise, upon the broken pieces 
of the ship, they all came safe to shore. 
Trust God when providences seem to run 
quite contrary to promises. 

6. The providences of God are chequer- 
work ; they are intermingled ; in the life to 
come, there shall be no more mixture, — in 
hell there is nothing but bitter, — in heaven 
there is nothing but sweet — but in this life 
the providences of God are mixed, there is 
something of the sweet in them, and some- 
thing of the bitter. Providences are just like 
Israel's pillar of cloud that conducted them 
in their march ; it was dark on one side, and 
light on the other ; so the providences of God 
are a dark part and a light part. In the ark 
there was laid up the rod and manna, so are 
God's providences to his children ; there is 
something of the rod, and something of the 
manna ; so that we may say with David, " I 



OF THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD. 



87 



will sing of mercy and judgment." Joseph 
was in prison, there was the dark side of the 
cloud ; but God was with Joseph, there was 
the light side of the cloud. Asher's shoes 
were of brass, but his feet were dipt in oil, 
Deut. xxxiii. 24. So affliction is the shoe of 
brass that pinches ; aye, but there is mercy 
mingled with the affliction, there's the foot 
dipt in oil. 

7. The very same action, as it comes from 
God's providence, may be good, which, as it 
comes from men, may be evil. For instance, 
Joseph being sold into Egypt ; as he was sold 
by his brethren, it was evil, very wicked, for 
it was the fruit of their envy ; but as it was 
an act of God's providence, so it was good ; 
for by this means Jacob and all his family 
were preserved alive in Egypt. Another 
instance is in Shimei's cursing David ; now 
as Shimei cursed David, it was wicked and 
sinful, for it was the fruit of his malice ; but 
as his cursing was ordered by God's provi- 
dence, so it was an act of God's justice to 
punish David, and to humble him for his 
adultery and murder. The crucifying of 
Christ, as it came from the Jews, was an act 
of hatred and malice to Christ, so Judas's 
betraying him was an act of covetousness, 
but as it was an act of God's providence, so 
there was good in it ; for, see it was an act 
of God's love in giving Christ to die for the 
world. Thus I have cleared to you the doc- 
trine of God's providence, in these several 
positions : let me now speak something by 
way of application. 

Use 1. By way of exhortation in these 
particulars. (1). Admire God's providence : 
the providence of God keeps the whole crea- 
tion upon the wheels, or else it would soon 
be dissolved, and the very axle-tree would 
break in pieces : if God's providence should 
be withdrawn but for a while, creatures 
would be dissolved, and run into their first 
nothing. Without this wise providence of 
God there would be anxiety and confusion 
in the whole world, just like an army when 
it is routed and scattered. The providence 
of God infuses comfort and virtue into 
every thing we enjoy; our clothes would 
not warm us, our food would not nourish 
us, without the special providence of God. 



And doth not all this deserve your admira- 
tion of providence 1 

(2) . Learn quietly to submit to divine pro- 
vidence ; do not murmur at things that are 
ordered by divine wisdom. We may no more 
find fault with the works of providence than 
we may with the works of creation. It is a 
sin as well to quarrel with God's providence, 
as to deny God's providence. If men do not 
act as we would have them, they shall act as 
God would have them. His providence is his 
master-wheel that turns these lesser wheels, 
and God will bring his glory out of all at last : 
Ps. xxxix. 9, " I was dumb and opened not 
my mouth, because thou, Lord, didst it." It 
may be, we think sometimes we could order 
things better if we had the government of the 
world in our hands ; but alas ! should we be 
left to our own choice, we should choose 
those things that are hurtful for us. David 
did earnestly desire the life of his child, which 
was the fruit of his sin ; now, had the child 
lived, it had been a perpetual monument of 
his shame. Let us be content God should 
rule the world, learn to acquiesce in his will 
and submit to his providence. Doth any 
affliction befall you 1 remember God sees it 
is that which is fit for you, or it should not 
come ; your clothes cannot be so fit for you, 
as your crosses. God's providence may some- 
times be secret, but it is always wise ; though 
we may not be silent under God's dishonour, 
yet we should learn to be silent under his 
displeasure. 

(3) . You that are Christians, believe that 
all God's providence shall conspire for your 
good at last. The providences of God are 
sometimes dark, and our eyes dim, and we 
can hardly tell what to make of them j but 
when ye cannot unriddle providence, believe 
it shall work together for the good of the 
elect, Rom. viii. 28. The wheels in a clock 
seem to move cross one to another, but they 
help forward the motion of the clock, and 
make the larum strike : so the providences 
of God seem to be cross wheels ; but for all 
that they shall carry on the good of the elect. 
The pricking of a vein is in itself evil and 
hurtful, but as it prevents a fever, and tends 
to the health of the patient, so it is good ; so 
affliction in itself is not joyous but grievous, 



OF THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD. 



88 

but the Lord turns this to the good of his 
saints. Poverty shall starve their sins, afflic- 
tions shall prepare them for a kingdom. 
Therefore, Christians, believe that God loves 
us, that he will make the most cross provi- 
dences to promote his glory and our good. 

(4). Let this be an antidote against im- 
moderate fear ; for nothing comes to pass 
but what is ordained by God's decree, and 
ordered by his providence. We sometimes 
fear what the issue of things will be, men 
grow high in their actings : let us not make 
things worse by our fear. Men are limited 
in their power, and shall not go one hair's 
breadth further than God's providence will 
permit ; he might let Sennacherib's army 
march towards Jerusalem, but he shall not 
shoot one arrow against it. 2 Kings xix. 35, 
" Then the angel of the Lord went forth, and 
smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred 
and fourscore and five thousand." When Is- 
rael was compassed in between Pharaoh and 
the Red-sea, no question, some of their hearts 
did begin to tremble, and they looked upon 
themselves as dead men ; but providence so 
ordered it, that the sea was a safe passage to 
Israel, and a sepulchre to Pharaoh and all 
his host. 

Use 2. Comfort in respect of the church of 
God. God's providence reacheth in a more 
special manner to his church, Isa. xxvii. 2, 
" Sing ye unto her, a vineyard of red wine." 
God waters this vineyard with his blessings, 
and watcheth over it by his providence, " I 
the Lord keep it night and day." Such as 
think totally to ruin the church, must do it in 
a time when it is neither day nor night ; for 
the Lord keeps it by his providence night and 
day. What a miraculous conduct of provi- 
dence had Israel ! God led them by a pillar 
of fire, gave them manna from heaven, set the 
rock abroach. God by his providence pre- 
serves his church in the midst of enemies ; 
which is as to see a spark kept alive in the 
ocean, or a flock of sheep among wolves. 
God saves his church strangely ; 1. By giv- 
ing unexpected mercies to his church, when 
she looked for nothing but ruin, Ps. cxxvi. 1, 
" When the Lord turned again the captivity 
of Sion, we were like them that dreamed." 
How strangely did God raise up queen Esther 



to preserve alive the Jews, when Hainan had i 
got a bloody warrant signed for their execu- I 
tion ] — 2. Strangely, by saving in that very I f« 
way in which we think he will destroy. God j \> 
works sometimes by contraries. He raiseth jo 
his church by bringing it low. The blood of A 
the martyrs hath watered the church, and j « 
made it more fruitful, Exod. i. 12, " The t 
more they afflicted them, the more they mul- 
tiplied." The church is like that plant which 
Gregory Nazianzen speaks of, it lives by 
dying, and grows by cutting. — 3. Strangely,, 
in that he makes the enemy to do his work. 
When the people of Ammon and Moab, and 
Mount Seir came against Judah, God set the \ 
enemy one against another, 2 Chron. xx. 23, i 
"The children of Ammon and Moab stood 
up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir j 
utterly to slay and destroy them ; and when 1 
they had made an end of the inhabitants of j 
Seir, every one helped to destroy another." 1 
In the powder-treason he made the traitors to j 
be their own betrayers ; God can do his work j 
by the enemy's hand. God made the Egyp- j 
tians send away the people of Israel laden I 
with jewels, Exod. xii. 36. The church is the 1 
apple of God's eye, and the eyelid of his 1 
providence doth daily cover and defend it. 1 
Use 3. Let the merciful providence of God j 
cause thankfulness. We are kept alive by a 1 
wonderful working providence. Providence 
makes our clothes warm us, our meat nourish j 
us ; we are fed every day out of the alms- 
basket of God's providence. That we are in 
health, — that we have an estate,-- -it is not 
our diligence, but God's providence, Deut. 
viii. 18, "Thou shalt remember the Lord 
thy God, for he it is that giveth thee power 
to get wealth." Especially if we go a step 
higher, we may see cause of thankfulness, — 
that we should be born and bred in a gospel- 
land} — that we should live in such a place 
where the Sun of Righteousness shines, — 
this is a signal providence ! Why might we 
not have been born in such places ' where 
Paganism prevails? That Christ should make 
himself known to us, and touch our hearts 
with his Spirit when he passeth by others : 
whence is this, but from the miraculous 
providence of God, which is the effect of his 
free grace ? 



OF THE COVENANT OF WORKS. 



89 



Use 4. See here that which may make us 
long for that time when the great mystery of 
God's providence shall be fully unfolded to us. 
Now we scarce know what to make of God's 
providence, therefore are ready to censure 
what we do not understand ; but in heaven 
we shall see how all God's providences (sick- 
ness, losses, sufferings) carried on our salva- 
tion. Here we see but some dark pieces of 



God's providence, and it is impossible to 
judge of God's works by pieces ; but when 
we come to heaven, and see the full body 
and portraiture of God's providence drawn 
out into its lively colours, it will be a glori- 
ous sight to behold ; then we shall see how 
all God's providences helped to fulfil his pro- 
mises. Never a providence but we shall see 
had either a wonder or a mercy in it. 



OF THE COVENANT OF WORKS. 



Quest. XII. I proceed to the next ques- 
tion, What special providence did God exer- 
cise towards man in the estate wherein he 
was created? 

Ans. When God had created man, he en- 
tered into a covenant of life with him, upon 
condition of perfect obedience, forbidding him 
to eat of the tree of knowledge, upon pain of 
death. 

For this, consult with Gen. ii. 16, 17, 
" And the Lord commanded the man, saying, 
4 Of every tree of the garden thou mayest 
freely eat ; but of the tree of the knowledge 
of good and evil, thou shalt not eat ; for in 
the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt 
surely die.' " The subject then of our next 
discourse is the covenant of works. This 
covenant was made with Adam and all man- 
kind ; for Adam was a public person, and the 
representative of the world. 

Quest. For what reason did God make 
a covenant with Adam and his posterity in 
innocency ? 

Ans. 1. To show his sovereignty over us : 
we were his creatures, and as God was the 
great monarch of heaven and earth, God 
might impose upon us terms of a covenant. 
— 2. God made a covenant with Adam, to 
bind him fast to God : as God bound himself 
to Adam, so Adam was bound to God by the 
covenant. 

Quest. What was the covenant ? 

Ans. God commanded Adam not to eat of 
the tree of knowledge ; God gave Adam leave 
to eat of all the other trees of the garden. 
God did not envy him any happiness ; only 
meddle not with this tree of knowledge, be- 
M 



cause God would try Adam's obedience. As 
king Pharaoh made Joseph chief ruler of his 
kingdom, and gave him a ring off his finger, 
and a chain of gold, only he must not touch 
his throne, Gen. xli. 40, in like manner God 
dealt with Adam : he gave him a sparkling 
jewel, knowledge, and arrayed him with a fine 
vesture, put upon him the garment of original 
righteousness, only, saith God, touch not the 
tree of knowledge, for that is aspiring after 
omnisciency. Adam had power to have kept 
this law : Adam had the copy of God's law 
written in his heart. This covenant of works 
had a promise annexed to it, and a threaten- 
ing. 1. The promise, ' Do this and live.' In 
case man had stood, it is probable he had not 
died, but had been translated to a better para- 
dise. 2. The threatening, " Thou shalt die 
the death ;" Hebrew, " In dying thou shalt 
die ;" that is, thou shalt die both a natural 
death, and an eternal, unless some other ex- 
pedient be found out for thy restoration. 

Quest. But why did God give Adam 
this law, seeing God did foresee that Adam 
would transgress it ? 

Ans. 1. It was Adam's fault that he did 
not keep the law ; God gave him a stock of 
grace to trade with, but he of himself broke. 
— 2. Though God foresaw Adam would trans- 
gress, yet that was not a sufficient reason 
that Adam should have no law given him : 
for, by the same reason, God should not have 
given his written word to men, to be a rule 
of faith and manners, because he foresaw that 
some would not believe, and others would be 
profane. Shall not laws be made in the land, 
because some break them 7 — 3. God, though 



90 



OF THE COVENANT OF WORKS. 



he foresaw Adam would break the law, he 
knew how to turn it to a greater good, in 
sending Christ. The first covenant being- 
broken, he knew how to establish a second, 
and a better. Well, concerning the first 
covenant, consider these four things. 

1. The form of the first covenant, in in- 
nocence, was working ; Gen. xlii. 18, " do 
this and live." Working was the ground 
and condition of our justification, Gal. iii. 12. 
Not but that working is required in the cove- 
nant of grace : we are bid to work out our 
salvation, and be rich in good works. But 
works in the covenant of grace are not re- 
quired under the same notion, as in the first 
covenant with Adam. Works are not re- 
quired to the justification of our persons, but 
as a testification of our love to God ; not as a 
cause of our salvation, but as an evidence of 
our adoption. Works are required in the 
covenant of grace, not so much in our own 
strength, as in the strength of another ; " It 
is God which worketh in you," Phil. ii. 13. 
As the scrivener guides the child's hand, and 
helps him to form his letters, so that it is not 
so much the child's writing as the master's, 
in like manner our obedience is not so much 
our working as the Spirit's co-working. 

2. The covenant of works was very strict. 
God required of Adam, and all mankind, 
1. Perfect obedience. Adam must do all 
things written in the ' book of the law,' Gal. 
iii. 10, and not fail, either in the matter or 
manner. Adam was to live up to the whole 
breadth of the moral law, and go exactly ac- 
cording to it, as a well made dial goes with 
the sun ; a sinful thought had forfeited the 
covenant. — 2. Personal obedience : Adam 
must not do his work by a proxy, or have any 
surety bound for him ; no, it must be done in 
his own person.— 3. Perpetual obedience: he 
must continue in all things written in the 
♦ book of the law,' Gal. iii. 10. Thus it was 
very strict. There was no mercy in case of 
failure. 

3. The covenant of works was not built 
upon a very firm basis: therefore it must 
needs leave men full of fears and doubts. 
The covenant of works rested upon the 
strength of men's inherent righteousness; 
which though in innocency was perfect, yet 



was subject to a change. Adam was created 
holy, but mutable ; he had a power to stand, 
but not a power not to fall. Adam had a 
stock of original righteousness to begin the 
world with, but he was not sure he would not 
break. Adam was his own pilot, and could 
steer right in the time of innocency ; but he 
was not so secured, but that he might dash 
against the rock of a temptation, and he and 
his posterity suffer shipwreck; so that the 
covenant of works must needs leave jealousies 
and doubtings in Adam's heart, he having no 
security given him, that he should not fall 
from that glorious state. 

4. The covenant of works being broken by 
sin, man's condition was very deplorable and 
desperate ; he was left in himself helpless ; 
there was no place for repentance ; the jus- 
tice of God being offended sets all the other 
attributes against mankind. When Adam lost 
his righteousness, he lost his anchor of hope 
and his crown : there was no way for man's 
relief, unless God would find out such a way, 
as neither man nor angel could devise. 

Use 1. See the condescension of God, who 
was pleased to stoop so low, as to make a 
covenant with us. For the God of glory to 
make a covenant with dust and ashes : for 
God to bind himself to us, to give us life in 
case of obedience ; entering into a covenant 
was a sign of God's friendship with us, and 
a royal act of his favour. 

Use 2. See what a glorious condition man 
was in, when God entered into covenant with 
him. 1. He was placed in the garden of 
God, which for the pleasure of it was called 
paradise, Gen. ii. 8. He had his choice of 
all the trees, one only excepted ; he had all 
kinds of precious stones, pure metals, rich 
cedars ; he was a king upon the throne, and 
all the creation did obeisance to him, as in 
Joseph's dream, all his brethren's sheaves did 
bow to his sheaf. Man, in innocency, had 
all kinds of pleasure that might ravish his 
senses with delight, and be as baits to allure 
him to serve and worship his Maker. — 2. Be- 
sides he was full of holiness ; paradise was 
not more adorned with fruit, than Adam's 
soul was with grace. He was the coin on 
which God had stamped his lively image: 
light sparkled in his understanding, he was 



CONCERNING SIN. 



91 



like an earthly angel ; his will and affections 
were full of order, tuning harmoniously to the 
will of God. Adam was a perfect pattern of 
sanctity. — 3. Adam had intimacy of com- 
munion with God and conversed with him, as 
a favourite with his prince. Adam knew 
God's mind, and had his heart: he not only 
enjoyed the light of the sun in paradise, but 
the light of God's countenance. This con- 
dition was Adam in, when God entered into 
a covenant with him ; but this did not long 
continue : " man being in honour abideth 
not," Ps. xlix. ult., — lodged not for a night ; 
his teeth watered at the apple, and ever since 
it hath made our eyes water. 

Use 3. Learn, from Adam's fall, how un- 
able we are to stand in our own strength. If 
Adam, in the state of integrity, did not stand, 
how unable are we now, when the lock of our 
original righteousness is cut ? If purified na- 
ture did not stand, how then shall corrupt 
nature 1 We need more strength to uphold 
us than our own. 

Use 4. See in what a sad condition all un- 
believers and impenitent persons are ; as long 
as they continue in their sins, they continue 
under the curse, — under the first covenant. 
Faith entitles us to the mercy of the second 
covenant: but, while men are under the 
power of their sins, they are under the curse 
of the first covenant, and if they die in this 
condition, they are damned to eternity. 

Use 5. See the wonderful goodness of God, 
who was pleased when he had forfeited the 
first covenant, to enter into a new covenant 
with us. Well may it be called fcedus gratce, 
— a covenant of grace ; it is bespangled with 
promises, as the heaven with stars. When 
the angels, those glorious spirits, fell, God did 



not enter into a new covenant with them to 
be their God, but let those golden vessels lie 
broken ; but hath entered into a second cove- 
nant with us, better than the first, Heb. viii. 6. 
It is better, because it is surer ; it is made in 
Christ, and cannot be reversed ; Christ hath 
engaged his strength to keep every believer. 
In the first covenant we had a posse stare, — 
a power of standing : in the second we had a 
non posse cadere, — an impossibility of fall- 
ing finally, 1 Pet. i. 5. 

Use 6. Whosoever they are that look for 
righteousness and salvation by the power of 
their free-will, or the inherent goodness of 
their nature, or by virtue of their merit, as the 
Socinians and Papists, these are all under the 
covenant of works ; they do not submit to the 
righteousness of faith, therefore they are 
bound to keep the whole law, and in case of 
failure, they are condemned. The covenant of 
grace is like a court of chancery, to relieve 
the sinner, and help him who is cast by the 
first covenant ; it saith, 4 Believe in the Lord 
Jesus, and be saved ;' but such as will stand 
upon their own inherent righteousness, free- 
will and merit, they fall under the first cove- 
nant of works, and are in a perishing estate. 

Use 7. Let us labour by faith to get into the 
second covenant of grace, and then the curse 
of the first covenant is taken away by Christ. 
If we once get to be heirs of the covenant of 
grace, we are in a better state than before. 
Adam stood on his own legs, therefore fell ; 
we stand in the strength of Christ ; under 
the first covenant, the justice of God, as an 
avenger of blood, pursues you ; but if ye get 
into the second covenant you are got into 
the city of refuge, — you are safe, and the 
justice of God is pacified towards you. 



CONCERNING SIN. 



Quest. XIV. What is sin ? 

Ans. Sin is any want of conformity unto, 
or transgression of the law of God. — 1 John 
iii. 4, " Sin is the transgression of the law." 
Of sin in general : 

1. Sin is a violation or transgression ; the 
Latin word, transgredior, 1 to transgress,' 



signifies to go beyond one's bounds: the 
moral law is to keep us within the bounds of 
our duty, — sin is a going beyond our bounds. 

2. The law of God ; it is not the law of an 
inferior prince that is broken, but of Jehovah, 
who gives laws as well to angels as men ; it 
is a law that is just, and holy, and good, 



92 



CONCERNING SIN. 



Rom. vii. 12. It is just, there is nothing- in 
it unequal ; holy, nothing- in it impure ; good, 
nothing in it prejudicial. So that there is no 
reason to break this law, no more than, for a 
beast that is in a fat pasture, to break over 
the hedge, to leap into a barren heath or 
quagmire. 

I shall show what a heinous and execrable 
thing sin is. It is malorum colluvies, — the 
complication of all evil ; it is the spirits of 
mischief distilled ; the scripture calls it the 
1 accursed thing,' Josh. vii. 13, it is compared 
to the venom of serpents, the stench of 
sepulchres. The apostle useth this express- 
ion of sin, Out of measure sinful, Rom. vii. 
13, or, as it is in the Greek, ' Hyperbolically 
sinful.' The devil would paint over sin with 
the vermillion colour of pleasure and profit, 
that he may make it look fair : but I shall 
pull off the paint from sin, that you may see 
the ugly face of it. We are apt to have 
slight thoughts of sin, and say to it, as Lot of 
Zoar, Gen. xix. 20, 'Is it not a little one?' 
But that you may see how great an evil sin 
is, consider these four things : 

1st. The original of sin, from whence it 
comes: it fetcheth its pedigree from hell. 
Sin is of the devil, 1 John iii. 8, " He that 
committeth sin is of the devil." Satan was 
the first actor of sin, and the first tempter to 
sin : Sin is the devil's first-born. 

2d. Sin is evil in the nature of it. 

1. It is a defiling thing. Sin is not only a 
defection, but a pollution. It is to the soul 
as rust is to gold, as a stain is to beauty. It 
makes the soul red with guilt, and black with 
filth. Sin in scripture is compared to a 
4 menstruous cloth,' Isa. xxx. 22, to a plague- 
sore, 1 Kings viii. 38 ; Joshua's filthy gar- 
ments, in which he stood before the angel, 
Zech. iii. 3, were nothing but a type and 
hieroglyphic of sin. Sin hath blotted God's 
image, and stained the orient brightness of 
the soul. Sin makes God loathe° a sinner, 
Zech. xi. 8, and when a sinner sees his sin, 
he loathes himself, Ezek. xx. 42. Sin drops 
poison on our holy things, it infects our 
prayers. The high priest was to make atone- 
ment for sin on the altar, Exod. xxix. 36, to 
typify that our holiest services need Christ 
to make an atonement for them. Duties of 



religion in themselves are good, but sin cor- 
rupts them, as the purest water is polluted 
running through muddy ground. The leper, 
under the law, if he had touched the altar, 
the altar had not cleansed him, but he had 
defiled the altar. The apostle calls sin, 
" Filthiness of the flesh and spirit," 2 Cor. 
vii. 1. Sin stamps the devil's image on a 
man ; malice is the devil's eye, hypocrisy his 
cloven foot. It turns a man into a devil, 
John vi. 70, " Have not I chosen you twelve, 
and one of you is a devil." 

2. Sin is a grieving of God's Spirit, Eph. 
iv. 30, " Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God." 
To grieve, is more than to anger. 

Quest. How can the Spirit be said to be 
grieved ? For, seeing he is God, he cannot 
be subject to any passion. 

Ans. This is spoken metaphorically : Sin 
is said to grieve the Spirit ; because it is an 
injury offered to the Spirit, and he takes it 
unkindly, and, as it were, lays it to heart. 
And, is it not much thus to grieve the 
Spirit? The Holy Ghost descended in the 
likeness of a dove; sin makes this blessed 
dove mourn. Were it only an angel, we 
should not grieve him, much less the Spirit of 
God. Is it not sad to grieve our Comforter? 

3. Sin is an act of contumacy against 
God ; a walking antipodes to heaven, Lev. 
xxvi. 27, " If ye will walk contrary to me." 
A sinner tramples upon God's law, — crosseth 
his will, — doth all he can to affront, yea to 
spite God. The Hebrew word for sin, 
pashang, signifies ' rebellion ;' there is the 
heart of a rebel in every sin, Jer. xliv. 17, 
" We will certainly do whatsover thing goeth 
forth out of our own mouth, to burn incense 
unto the queen of heaven." Sin strikes at 
the very Deity ; Peccatum est Deicidium ; 
Sin would not only unthrone God, but un- 
god him. If the sinner could help it, God 
would no longer be God. 

4. Sin is an act of disingenuity and un- 
kindness. God feeds the sinner, keeps off 
evils from him, bemiracles him with mercy ; 
but the sinner not only forgets God's mer- 
cies, but abuseth them ; he is the worse for 
mercy ; like Absalom, who, as soon as David 
had kissed him, and taken him into favour, 
plotted treason against him, 2 Sam. xv. 10. 



CONCERNING SIN. 



93 



Like the mule, who kicks the dam after she 
hath given it milk, vas partusum, 2 Sam. 
xvi. 17, " Is this thy kindness to thy friend?" 
God may upbraid the sinner : I have given 
thee (may God say) thy health, strength, and 
estate, — thou requitest me evil for good, thou 
woundest me with my own mercies, — is this 
thy kindness to thy friend ? Did I give thee 
life to sin ? Did I give thee wages to serve 
the devil ? 

5. Sin is a disease, Isa. i. 5, "The whole 
head is sick ;" some are sick of pride, others 
of lust, others of envy. Sin hath distempered 
the intellectual part, it is a leprosy in the 
head, it hath poisoned the vitals, Tit. i. 15, 
" Their conscience is defiled." It is with a 
sinner as with a sick patient, his palate is 
distempered, the sweetest things taste bitter 
to him. The word which is 4 sweeter than 
the honey-comb,' Isa. v. 20, tastes bitter to 
him ; they ' put sweet for bitter.' This is a 
disease, and nothing can cure this disease 
but the blood of the Physician. 

6. Sin is an irrational thing ; it makes a 
man act not only wickedly, but foolishly. It 
is absurd and irrational to prefer the lesser 
before the greater, — the pleasures of life, be- 
fore the rivers of pleasures at God's right- 
hand for evermore. Is it not irrational to 
lose heaven for the satisfying or indulging of 
lust? As Lysimachus who, for a draught of 
water lost a kingdom. Is it not irrational to 
gratify an enemy ? In sin we do so. When 
lust or rash anger burns in the soul, Satan 
warms himself at this fire. Men's sins feast 
the devil. 

7. Sin is a painful thing: it costs men 
much labour in pursuing their sins. How 
do men tire themselves in doing the devil's 
drudgery 1 Jer. ix. 5, " They weary them- 
selves to commit iniquity." What pains did 
Judas take to bring about his treason 1 He 
goes to the high priest, and then after to the 
band of soldiers, and then back again to the 
garden. St Chrysostom saith, " Virtue is 
easier than vice." It is more pains to some 
to follow their sins, than to others to worship 
their God. While the sinner travails with 
his sin, in sorrow he brings forth : it is called 
' serving divers lusts,' Tit. iii. 3. Not enjoy, 
but serve : Why so ? because not only of the 



slavery in sin, but the hard labour; it is 
' serving divers lusts.' Many a man goes to 
hell in the sweat of his brow. 

8. Sin is the only thing God hath an an- 
tipathy against. God doth not hate a man 
because he is poor, or despised in the world ; 
you do not hate your friend because he is 
sick ; but that which draws forth the keen- 
ness of God's hatred, is sin, Jer. xliv. 4, " O 
do not this abominable thing which I hate." 
And sure, if the sinner dies under God's 
hatred, he cannot be admitted into the celes- 
tial mansions. Will God let him live with 
him whom he hates 1 God will never lay a 
viper in his bosom. The feathers of the 
eagle will not mix with the feathers of the 
other fowls ; God will not mix and incorpo- 
rate with a sinner. Till sin be removed, 
there is no coming where God is. 

3d. See the evil of sin, in the price paid 
for it ; it cost the blood of God to expiate it. 
" O man (saith St Austin) consider the great- 
ness of thy sin, by the greatness of the price 
paid for sin." All the princes on earth, or 
angels in heaven, could not satisfy for sin ; 
only Christ. Nay, Christ's active obedience 
was not enough to make atonement for sin, 
but he must suffer upon the cross ; for, " with- 
out shedding of blood is no remission," Heb. 
ix. 22. O what an accursed thing is sin that 
Christ should die for it ! The evil of sin is 
not so much seen in that one thousand are 
damned for it, as that Christ died for it. 

4th. Sin is evil in the effects of it. 

1. Sin hath degraded us of our honour. 
Reuben by incest lost his dignity ; and though 
he were the first-born, he could not excel, 
Gen. xlix. 4. God made us in his own image, 
a little lower than the angels ; but sin hath 
debased us. Before Adam sinned, he was 
like a herald that hath his coat of arms upon 
him ; all reverence him, because he carries 
the king's coat of arms ; but let this coat be 
pulled off, and he is despised, no man re- 
gards him. Sin hath done this, it hath 
plucked off our coat of innocency, and now 
it hath debased us, and turned our glory 
into shame : Dan. xi. 21, " And in his estate 
shall stand up a vile person." This was 
spoken of Antiochus Epiphanes, who was 
a king, and his name signifies ' illustrious ;' 



94 



CONCERNING SIN. 



yet sin hath degraded him, he was a vile 
person. 

2. Sin disquiets the peace of the soul. 
Whatever denies, disturbs; as poison tor- 
tures the bowels, corrupts the blood, so sin 
doth the soul, Isa. lvii. 21. Sin breeds a 
trembling at the heart ; it creates fears, and 
there is torment in fear, 1 John iv. 18. Sin 
makes sad convulsions in the conscience. 
Judas was so terrified with guilt and horror, 
that he hanged himself to quiet his con- 
science. And is not he like to be ill cured, 
that throws himself into hell for ease ? 

3. Sin produceth all temporal evil, Lam. 
i. 8, "Jerusalem hath grievously sinned, 
therefore she is removed." It is the Trojan 
horse, — it hath sword, and famine, and pesti- 
lence, in the belly of it. Sin is a coal that 
not only blacks but burns. Sin creates all 
our troubles ; it puts gravel into our bread, 
wormwood in our cup. Sin rots the name, 
consumes the estate, buries relations. Sin 
shoots the flying roll of God's curses into a 
family and kingdom, Zech. v. 4. It is re- 
ported of Phocas, that having built a wall of 
mighty strength about his city, there was a 
voice heard, " Sin is within the city, and that 
will throw down the wall." 

4. Sin unrepented of brings final damna- 
tion. The canker that breeds in the rose 
is the cause of its perishing ; and corruptions 
that breed in men's souls are the cause of 
their damning. Sin, without repentance, 
brings the ' second death,' Rev. xx. 14, that 
is, mors sin morte, Bern., — " a death al- 
ways dying." Sin's pleasure will turn to 
sorrow at last; like the book the prophet 
did eat, Ezek. iii. 3, sweet in the mouth, 
but bitter in the belly. Sin brings the wrath 
of God, and what buckets or engines can 
quench that fire ? Mark ix. 44, " Where 
the worm dieth not, and the fire is not 
quenched " 

Use 1. See how deadly an evil sin is, how 
strange is it that any one should love if? Ps. 
iv. 2, " How long will ye love vanity 7" Hos. 
iii. 1, " Who look to other gods and love 



flagons of wine." Sin is a dish men cannot 
forbear though it makes them sick. Who 
would pour rose water into a kennel 1 What 
pity is it so sweet an affection as love should 
be poured upon so filthy a thing as sin ! Sin 
brings a sting in the conscience, — a curse in 
the estate, — yet men love it. A sinner is the 
greatest self-denier; for his sin he will deny 
himself a part in heaven. 

Use 2. Do any thing rather than sin ! O 
hate sin ! There is more evil in the least sin, 
than in the greatest bodily evils that can be- 
fall us. The ermine rather chooseth to die 
than defile her beautiful skin. There is more 
evil in a drop of sin, than in a sea of afflic- 
tion ; affliction is but like a rent in a coat, sin 
a prick at the heart. In affliction there is 
aliquid boni, some good ; in this lion there 
is some honey to be found, Ps. cxix. 71, " It 
is good for me that I have been afflicted." 
Utile est anima si in hac area mundi 
Jiagellis trituretur corpus, Aug. Affliction 
is God's flail to thrash off our husks ; not to 
consume ; but refine. There is no good in 
sin ; it is the spirit and quintessence of evil. 
Sin is worse than hell ; for the pains of hell 
only are a burden to the creature ; but sin is 
a burden to God, Amos ii. 13, " I am pressed 
under you, as a cart is pressed that is full of 
sheaves." 

Use 3. Is sin so great an evil 1 Then how 
thankful should you be to God, if he hath 
taken away your sin? Zech. iii. 4, " I have 
caused thy iniquity to pass from thee." If 
you had a disease on your body, plague or 
dropsy, how thankful would you be to have 
it taken away ) Much more to have sin taken 
away. God takes away the guilt of sin by 
pardoning grace, and the power of sin by 
mortifying grace. O be thankful that this 
sickness is " not unto death ;" that God hath 
changed your nature, and by grafting you 
into Christ, made you partake of the sweet- 
ness of that olive ; that sin, though it live, 
doth not reign, but the elder serves the 
younger, the elder of sin serves the younger 
of grace. 



ADAM'S SIN. 



95 



ADAM'S SIN. 



Quest. XV. What was the sin whereby 
our first parents fell from the estate wherein 
they were created ? 

Ans. The sin was their eating the forbid- 
den fruit : Gen. iii. 6, " She took of the fruit 
thereof, and did eat, and gave also to her 
husband." 

Here is implied, 1st. That our first parents 
fell from their estate of innocency. 2d. The 
sin by which they fell, eating the forbidden 
fruit. 

1st. Our first parents fell from their glori- 
ous state of innocency : Eccl. vii. 29, " God 
made man upright, but they have sought out 
many inventions." Adam was perfectly holy, 
— he had rectitude of mind, and liberty of will 
to good, — but his head ached till he had in- 
vented his own and our death, — he sought out 
many inventions, 1. Adam's fall was volun- 
tary ; he had a posse non peccare, — a power 
not to fall. Free-will was a sufficient shield 
to repel temptation ; the devil could not have 
forced him, unless he had given his consent. 
Satan was only a suitor to woo, not a king to 
compel : but Adam gave away his own power, 
and suffered himself to be decoyed into sin, 
like a young gallant, who, at one throw, loseth 
a fair lordship. Adam had a fair lordship, he 
was lord of the world, Gen. i. 28, " Have 
dominion over the fish of the sea, and over 
the fowl of the air, and over every living thing 
that moveth." But he lost all at one throw. 
As soon as he sinned, he forfeited paradise. — 
2. Adam's fall was sudden, he did not long 
continue in his royal majesty. 

Quest. How long did Adam continue in 
paradise before he fell? 

Ans. Tostatus saith, he fell the next day. 
Pererius saith, he fell the eighth day after his 
creation. But the most probable and received 
opinion is, that Adam fell the very same day 
in which he was created : So Irenseus, Cyril, 
Epiphanius, and many others. The reasons 
which incline me to believe so, are, 

1. It is said, Satan was a murderer 'from 
the beginning,' John viii. 44. Now, whom 
did he murder 1 Not the blessed angels, he 



could not reach them ; nor the cursed angels, 
for they had before destroyed themselves. 
How then was Satan a murderer from the 
beginning 1 As soon as Satan fell, he began 
to tempt mankind to sin ; this was a murder- 
ing temptation. By which it appears Adam 
did not stay long in paradise, soon after his 
creation the devil set upon him, and mur- 
dered him by his temptation. 

2. Argument to prove that Adam fell the 
same day he was created : Adam had not yet 
eaten of the tree of life, Gen. iii. 22, 23, 
" And now lest he put forth his hand, and 
take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live 
for ever ; the Lord sent him forth from the 
garden." This tree of life, being one of the 
choicest fruits in the garden, and being 
placed in the midst of paradise, it is very like 
Adam would have eaten of this tree of life 
one of the first, had not the serpent beguiled 
him with the tree of knowledge. So that 
hence I conclude, Adam fell the very day of 
his creation, because he had not yet tasted 
the tree of life, that tree that was most in his 
eye, and had such delicious fruit growing 
upon it. 

3. Argument from Ps. xlix. 12, " Man be- 
ing in honour, abideth not." The Rabbins 
read it thus, ' Adam being in honour, lodged 
not one night.' The Hebrew word for abide, 
signifies, ■ to stay or lodge all night.' Adam 
then, it seems, did not take up one night's 
lodging in paradise. 

Inference. From Adam's sudden fall, he 
fell the same day in which he was created, 
learn: 1. The weakness of human nature, 
Adam in a state of integrity, quickly made a 
defection from God, he soon lost the robe of 
innocency, and the glory of Paradise. And, 
was our nature thus weak when it was at the 
best, what is it now when it is at the worst 1 
If Adam did not stand when he was perfectly 
righteous, how unable are we to stand when 
sin hath cut the lock of our original right- 
eousness 1 If purified nature did not stand, 
how then shall corrupt nature 1 If Adam, in 
a few hours, sinned himself out of Paradise, 



9G 



ADAM'S SIN. 



how quickly would we sin ourselves into hell, 
if we were not kept by a greater power than 
our own ! But God puts underneath his 
everlasting arms, Deut. xxxii. 17. — 2. From 
Adam's sudden fall, he fell the same day ; 
learn how sad it is for a man to be left to 
himself. (1). Adam being left to himself, 
fell : O then, what will become of us, how 
soon fall, if God leave us to ourselves ! A 
man without God's grace, left to himself, is 
like a ship in a storm, without pilot or an- 
chor, and is ready to dash upon every rock. 
Make this prayer to God, "Lord, do not 
leave me to myself: If Adam fell so soon 
who had strength, how soon shall I fall who 
have no strength!" O urge God with his 
hand and seal, 2 Cor. xii. 9, " My strength 
shall be made perfect in weakness." 

2d. The sin by which our first parents fell 
was 'eating the forbidden fruit;' where, 
consider two things : I. The occasion of it. 
II. The sin itself. 

I. The occasion of it ; the serpent's tempta- 
tion. The devil did creep into the serpent, 
and spake in the serpent, as the angel in 
Balaam's ass ; where, consider, 

1st. The subtlety of Satan's temptation ; 
his wiles are worse than his darts. Satan's 
subtlety in tempting: (1). He deals all along 
as an impostor, he ushered in his temptation 
by a lie, Gen. iii. 4, " Ye shall not surely 
die." 2d. Lie, That God did envy our first 
parents their happiness, v. 5, " God knows, 
that in the day ye eat, your eyes shall be 
opened;" q. d. It is God's envying your 
felicity ; that he forbids you this tree. 3d. 
Lie, That they should be thereby made like 
unto God, v. 5, "Ye shall be as gods." 
Here was his subtlety in tempting : The 
devil was first a liar, then a murderer. 

(2). In that he set upon our first parents 
so quickly, before they were confirmed in 
their obedience ; the angels in heaven are 
fully confirmed in holiness, — they are called 
' stars of the morning,' Job xxxviii. 7, and 
they are fixed stars. But our first parents 
were not confirmed in their obedience, — 
they were not fixed in their orb of holiness ; 
though they had a possibility of standing, 
they had not an impossibility of falling : they 
were holy, but mutable ; here was Satan's 



subtlety, in tempting our first parents before 
they were confirmed in their obedience. 

(3) . His subtlety in tempting was, That 
he set upon Eve first ; 1. Because he thought 
she was less able to resist. Satan did break 
over the hedge, where it was weakest ; he 
knew he could more easily insinuate and 
wind himself into her by a temptation. An 
expert soldier, when he is to storm or enter 
a castle, observes warily where there is a 
breach, or how he may enter with more fa- 
cility ; so did Satan the weaker vessel. 2. He 
tempted Eve first, because he knew, if once 
he could prevail with her, she would easily 
draw her husband. Thus the devil handed 
over a temptation to Job by his wife, Job 
ii. 9, "Curse God and die." Agrippina 
poisoned the emperor Commodus with wine 
in a perfumed cup ; the cup being perfumed 
and given him by his wife, it was the less 
suspected. Satan knew a temptation com- 
ing to Adam from his wife, would be more 
prevailing, and would be less suspected : O 
bitter ! Sometimes relations prove tempta- 
tions : a wife may" be a snare, when she 
dissuades her husband from doing his duty, 
or enticeth him to evil. " Ahab which did 
sell himself to work wickedness, whom his 
wife Jezebel stirred up," 1 Kings xxi. 25. 
She blew the coals and made his sin flame 
out the more. Satan's subtlety was in tempt- 
ing Adam by his wife, he thought she would 
draw him to sin. 

(4) . Satan's subtlety in tempting, was in 
assaulting Eve's faith; he would persuade 
her that God had not spoken truth, " Ye 
shall not surely die," Gen. iii. 4. This was 
Satan's master-piece, to weaken her faith ; 
when he had shaken that, and had brought 
her once to distrust ; then 1 she yielded,' — 
she presently put forth her hand to evil. 

2dly. Satan's cruelty in tempting : as soon 
as Adam was invested in all his glory, the 
devil cruelly, as it were on the day of Adam's 
coronation, would dethrone him, and bring 
forth him and all his posterity under a curse. 
We see how little love Satan hath to man- 
kind ; he hath an implacable antipathy against 
us, and antipathies can never be reconciled. 
So much for the occasion of Adam's sin, 
tempted by the serpent. 



ADAM' 

II. The sin itself, 1 Eating the forbidden 
fruit.' This was very heinous, and that ap- 
pears three ways : 1. In respect of the per- 
son that committed it. 2. The aggravation of 
the sim 3. The dreadfulness of the effect. 

1st. Very heinous in respect of the person 
that ( committed it : Adam had excellent and 
noble endowments ; he was illuminated with 
knowledge, — embellished with holiness, — he 
knew his duty, and it was as easy to him to 
obey God's command as to know it, — he 
might have chosen whether he would sin or 
no, — yet he wilfully did eat of the tree which 
he was forbidden. 

2dly. The aggravation of Adam's sin. 

Quest. Wherein did it appear to be so 
great 1 ' Twas but raptus pomi, was this such 
a great matter to pluck an apple ? 

Ans. Besides that, it was against an infinite 
God ; it was malum complexum, — a volumi- 
nous sin, — there were many twisted together 
in it, as Cicero saith of parricide, " he who is 
guilty of it, plurima committit peccata in uno, 
commits many sins in one ;" so there were ma- 
ny sins in this one sin of Adam. A big-bellied 
sin, a chain with many links. Ten sins in it. 

1. Incredulity. Our first parents did not 
believe what God had spoken was truth. 
God said, They shall die the death, in the 
day they eat of that tree. They believed 
not that they should die ; they could not be 
persuaded that such fair fruit had death at 
the door. Thus, by unbelief, they made God 
a liar ; nay, which was worse, they believed 
the devil rather than God. 

2. Unthankfulness, which is the epitome of 
all sin. Adam's sin was committed in the 
midst of Paradise. God had enriched him 
with variety of mercies ; he had stamped his 
own image upon him ; he had made him lord 
of the world, gave him of all the trees of the 
garden to eat (one only excepted) and now 
to take of that tree ! This was high ingrati- 
tude ; this was like the dye to the wool, which 
made it crimson. When Adam's eyes were 
opened, and he saw what he had done, well 
he might be ashamed, and hide himself ; to 
sin in the midst of Paradise, how could he 
look God in the face without blushing ! 

3. In Adam's sin was discontent : had he 
not been discontented, he would never have 

N 



S SIN. 97 

sought to have altered his condition. Adam, 
one would think, had enough, — he differed 
but little from the angels, — he had the robe 
of innocence to clothe him, and the glory of 
Paradise to crown him, — yet he was not con- 
tent, he would have more, he would be above 
the ordinary rank of creatures. How wide 
was Adam's heart, that a whole world could 
not fill it ! 

4. Pride, in that he would be like God. 
This worm, that was but newly crept out of 
the dust, now aspires after Deity ; " Ye shall 
be as gods," saith Satan, and Adam hoped 
to have been so indeed ; he supposed the tree 
of knowledge would have anointed his eyes, 
and made him omniscient. But, by climbing 
too high, he got a fall. 

5. Disobedience. God said, " Thou shalt 
not eat of the tree ;" he would eat of it, though 
it cost him his life. Disobedience is a sin 
against equity ; it is equal we should serve him 
from whom we have our subsistence ; God 
gave Adam his allowance, therefore it was 
but equal he should give God his allegiance ; 
therefore disobedience was against equity. 
How could God endure to see his laws tram- 
pled on before his face 1 This made God place 
a flaming sword at the end of the garden. 

6. Curiosity : to meddle with that which 
was out of his sphere, and did not belong to 
him. God smote the men of Bethshemish 
but for looking into the ark, 1 Sam. vi. 19. 
Adam would be prying into God's secrets, and 
tasting what was forbidden. 

7. Wantonness : though Adam had a choice 
of all the other trees, yet his palate grew wan- 
ton, and he must have this tree. Like Israel, 
God sent them manna, angels' food, aye, but 
they had an hankering after quails ; it was not 
enough God did supply their wants, unless he 
should satisfy their lusts. Adam had not only 
for necessity, but for delight ; yet his wanton 
palate lusted after forbidden fruit. 

8. Sacrilege : the tree of knowledge was 
none of Adam's, yet he took of it, and did 
sacrilegiously rob God of his due. It was 
counted a great crime in Harpalus to rob the 
temple, and steal the silver vessels ; so in 
Adam to steal fruit from that tree, which God 
had peculiarly enclosed for himself. Sacri- 
lege is double theft. 



98 



OF ORIGINAL SIN. 



9. Murder : Adam was a public person, and 
all his posterity were involved and wrapped 
up in him, and he sinning, did at once destroy 
all his posterity, if free grace did not inter- 
pose. If Abel's blood did cry so loud in 
God's ears, Gen. iv. 10, "The voice of 
thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the 
ground," then how loud did the blood of 
all Adam's posterity cry against him for ven- 
geance ! 

10. Presumption : Adam presumed of 
God's mercy ; he blessed himself saying, he 
should have peace ; he thought, though he 
did transgress, he should not die, God would 
sooner reverse his decree, than punish him. 



High presumption ; what an heinous sin then 
was Adam's breach of covenant ! 

Use. One sin may have many sins in it. 
W e are apt to have slight thoughts of sin, it 
is but a little one. How many sins were in 
Adam's sin ] O take heed of any sin ! As in 
one volume there may be many works bound 
up, so there may be many sins in one sin. 

Sdly. The dreadfulness of the effect : it 
hath corrupted man's nature. How rank is 
that poison a drop whereof could poison a 
whole sea ! And how deadly is that sin of 
Adam, that could poison all mankind, and 
bring a curse upon them, till it be taken away 
by him who was 'made a curse for us.' 



OF ORIGINAL SIN. 



Quest. XVI. Did all mankind fall in 
Adam's first transgression? 

Ans. The covenant being made with 
Adam, not only for himself, but for his pos- 
terity, all mankind, descending from him by 
ordinary generation, sinned in him, and fell 
with him in his first transgression. 

Rom. v. 12, " By one man sin entered into 
the world, and death by sin," &c. Adam be- 
ing a representative person, he standing, we 
stood ; and he falling, we fell. We sinned in 
Adam ; so it is in the text, " In whom all 
have sinned." Adam was the head of man- 
kind, and he being guilty, we are guilty, as 
the children of a traitor have their blood 
stained : Omnes unus ille Adam fuerunt, 
Aug. "All of us," saith Austin, "sinned in 
Adam, because we were part of Adam." 

Obj. If when Adam fell, all mankind fell 
with him ; why then, when one angel fell, did 
not all fall ? 

Ans. The case is not the same. The 
angels had no relation to one another; they 
are called morning-stars,— the stars have no 
dependence one upon another; but it was 
otherwise with us, we were in Adam's loins, 
as a child is a branch of the parent, we were 
part of Adam, therefore when he sinned, we 
sinned. 

Quest. How is Adam's sin made ours ? 
Ans. 1. By imputation. The Pelagians of 



old held that Adam's transgression is hurtful 
to posterity by imitation only, not by imputa- 
tion ; but the text confutes that, " In whom 
all have sinned." 

A. 2. Adam's sin is ours by propagation. 
Not only is the guilt of Adam's sin imputed 
to us, but the pravity and corruption of his 
nature is derived to us as poison is carried 
from the fountain to the cistern. This is that 
which we call original sin, Ps. li. 5, " In sin 
did my mother conceive me." Adam's le- 
prosy cleaves to us as Naaman's leprosy did 
cleave to Gehazi, 2 Kings v. 27. This origi- 
nal concupiscence is called, 

1. ' The old man,' Eph. iv. 22. It is said 
to be the old man, not that it is weak as old 
men are, but for its long standing, and of its 
deformity. In old age the fair blossoms of 
beauty fall ; so original sin is the old man, 
because it hath withered our beauty, and made 
us deformed in God's eye. 

2. Original concupiscence is called 'the 
law of sin,' Rom. vii. 25. Original sin hath 
vim coactivam, — the power of a law. A law 
binds the subject to allegiance. Men must 
needs do what sin will have them, when they 
have both the love of sin to draw them, and 
the law of sin to force them. In original sin 
there is something privative, and something 
positive. — I. Something privative. Carentia 
justitice debitcB, we have lost that excellent 



OF ORIGINAL SIN. 



99 



quintessential frame of soul which once we 
had. Sin hath cut the lock of original purity, 
where our strength lay. — 2. Something posi- 
tive. Original sin hath contaminated and 
defiled our virgin-nature. It was death 
among the Romans to poison the springs. 
Original sin hath poisoned the spring of our 
nature, — it hath turned beauty into leprosy, — 
it hath turned the azure brightness of our 
souls into a midnight darkness. 

Original sin hath become co-natural to us. 
A man by nature cannot but sin ; though 
there were no devil to tempt, — no bad exam- 
ples to imitate, — yet there is such an innate 
principle in him, that he cannot forbear sin- 
ning, 2 Pet. ii. 14. A peccato cessare nes- 
ciunt, — who cannot cease to sin, as a horse 
that is lame cannot go without halting. In the 
original, sin is, — 1. An aversion from good. 
Man hath a desire to be happy, yet opposeth 
that which should promote his happiness ; he 
hath a disgust of holiness, he hates to be re- 
formed. Since we fell from God, we have no 
mind to return to him. — 2. A propension to 
evil. If, as the Pelagians say, there is so much 
goodness in us since the fall, then why is 
there not as much natural proneness to good 
as there is to evil? Our own experience 
tells us that the natural bias of the soul hath 
a tendency to that which is bad. The very 
heathens by the light of nature saw this : 
Hierocles the philosopher said, " It is graft- 
ed in us by nature to sin." Men roll sin as 
honey under their tongue. They drink ini- 
quity as water, Job xv. 16. Like an hydro- 
pical person that thirsts for drink and is not 
satisfied : so they have a kind of drought on 
them, they thirst for sin. They sin, Eph. iv. 
19, though they are tired out in committing 
sin, yet they sin, Jer. ix. 5, "They weary 
themselves to commit iniquity f as a man 
that follows his game while he is weary, yet 
he delights in it, and cannot leave off. Though 
God hath set so many flaming swords in the 
way to stop men in their sin, yet they go on 
in sin ; which all shows what a strong appe- 
tite they have to the forbidden fruit. 

That we may further see the nature of 
original sin, consider, 1st, the universality of 
it ; it hath, as a poison, diffused itself into all 
the parts and powers of our soul, Isa. i. 5, 



" The whole head is sick, and the whole heart 
faint." Like a sick patient that hath no part 
sound, — his liver swelled, — his feet gan- 
grened, — his lungs perished ; such infected, 
gangrened souls have we, till Christ (who 
hath made a medicine of his blood) do cure us. 

1. Original sin hath depraved the intel- 
lectual part. As in the creation " darkness 
was upon the face of the deep," Gen. i. 2, so 
the understanding, — darkness is upon the 
face of this deep. As there is salt in every 
drop of sea, bitterness in every branch of 
wormwood, so there is sin in every faculty ; 
the mind is darkened, we know little of God. 
Ever since Adam did eat of the tree of 
knowledge, and his eyes were opened, we 
lost our eye-sight. Besides ignorance in 
the mind, there is error and mistake ; we do 
not judge rightly of things ; we put bitter for 
sweet, and sweet for bitter, Isa. v. 20. Be- 
sides this, there is much pride, supercilious- 
ness, and prejudice, many fleshly reasonings, 
Jer. iv. 14, "How long shall thy vain 
thoughts lodge within thee?" 

2. Original sin hath defiled the heart ; 
the heart is mortiferum, deadly wicked, Jer. 
xvii. 9, it is a lesser hell. In the heart are 
legions of lusts, obdurateness, infidelity, hy- 
pocrisy, sinful estuations ; it boils as the sea 
with passion and revenge. " Madness is in 
their heart while they live," Eccl. ix. 3. The 
heart is, qfficina diaboli, the devil's shop or 
workhouse, where all mischief is framed. 

3. The will. Contumacy is the seat of re- 
bellion. The sinner crosseth God's will to 
fulfil his own, Jer. xliv. 18, " We will burn 
incense to the queen of heaven." There is a 
rooted enmity in the will against holiness ; 
it is like an iron sinew, it refuseth to bend to 
God. Where is then the freedom of the 
will, when it is so full not only of indisposi- 
tion, but opposition to what is spiritual? 

4. The affections. These, as the strings of 
a viol, are out of tune. These are the lesser 
wheels, which are strongly carried by the 
will, the master-wheel. Our affections are 
misplaced, set on wrong objects. Our love 
is set on sin, our joy on the creature. Our 
affections are naturally as a sick man's appe- 
tite, he desires things which are noxious and 
hurtful for him ; he calls for wine in a fe- 



100 



OF ORIGINAL SIN. 



ver : so we have impure lustings, instead of 
holy longings. 

2d. The adherency of original sin. It 
cleaves to us as blackness to the skin of the 
Ethiopian, we cannot get rid of it. Paul 
shook off the viper on his hand, but we can- 
not shake off this inbred corruption. It may 
be compared to a wild fig-tree growing on a 
wall, though the roots of it are pulled up, yet 
there are some strings of it in the joints of 
the stone-work which will not be eradicated, 
but will sprout forth till the wall be pulled in 
pieces. Original concupiscence comes not 
as a lodger, for a night, but as an indweller, 
Rom. vii. 17, " Sin which dwelleth in me." 
— It is a malus genius, — an evil Spirit, that 
haunts us wheresoever we go, Gen. xiii. 7, 
" The Canaanite dwelt in the land." 

3d. Original sin retards and hinders us in 
the exercises of God's worship. Whence is 
all that dulness and deadness in religion 1 It 
is the fruit of original sin : it is this rocks us 
asleep in duty, Rom. vii. 19, " The good that 
I would, I do not." Sin is compared to a 
weight, Heb. xii. 1 . A man that hath weights 
tied to his legs cannot run fast. It is like 
that fish Pliny speaks of, a sea-lamprey, that 
cleaves to the keel of a ship, and hinders its 
progress when it is under sail. 

^4th. Original sin, though it lies latent in 
the soul, and be as a spring which runs un- 
der ground, yet oft it breaks forth unexpect- 
edly. Christian, thou canst not believe that 
evil which is in thy heart, and which will 
break forth suddenly, if God leave thee, 2 
Kings viii. 13, 15, "Is thy servant a dog, 
that he should do this great thing?" Hazael 
could not believe he had such a root of bit- 
terness in his heart that he should rip up the 
women with child: is thy servant a dog? 
Yes, and worse than a dog, when that origi- 
nal corruption within was stirred up ! If one 
had come to Peter, and said, " Peter, within 
a few hours thou wilt deny Christ," — he 
would have said, " Ts thy servant a dog?" 
But alas ! Peter did not know his own heart, 
nor how far that corruption within would pre- 
vail upon him. The sea may be calm and 
look clear ; but when the wind blows, how 
doth it rage and foam ! so though now thy 
heart seems good, yet, when temptation 



blows, how may original sin discover itself, 
making thee foam with lust and passion. 
Who would have thought to have found 
adultery in David, and drunkenness in Noah, 
and cursing in Job 1 If God leave a man to 
himself, how suddenly and scandalously may 
original sin break forth in the holiest men 
alive ! 

5th. Original sin doth mix and incorpo- 
rate itself with our duties and graces. — 
1. With our duties. As the hand which is 
paralytical or palsied cannot move without 
shaking, as wanting some inward strength, 
so we cannot do any holy action without 
sinning, as wanting a principle of original 
righteousness. As the leper, whatever he 
touched became unclean, — if he touched the 
altar, the altar did not sanctify him, but he 
polluted the altar, — such a leprosy is origi- 
nal sin, it defiles our prayers and tears, we 
cannot write without blotting. Though I do 
not say that the holy duties and good works 
of the regenerate are sins, for that were to 
reproach the spirit of Christ by which they 
are wrought; yet this I say, that the best 
works of the godly have sin cleaving to 
them ; only Christ's blood makes atonement 
for our holy things. — 2. With our graces. 
There is some unbelief mixed with faith, — 
lukewarmness with zeal, — pride with hu- 
mility. As bad lungs cause an asthma or 
shortness of breath, so original corruption, 
having infected our heart, our graces breathe 
now very faintly. 

6th. Original sin is a vigorous active prin- 
ciple within us ; it doth not lie still, but is 
ever exciting and stirring us up to evil ; it 
is an inmate very unquiet ; Rom. vii. 15, 
" What I hate, that do I." How came Paul 
to do so 1 Original sin did irritate and stir 
him up to it. Original sin is like quick- 
silver, always in motion ; when we are 
asleep, sin is awake in the fancy. Original 
sin sets the head a plotting evil, and the hands 
aworking it ; it hath in it principium motus, 
not quietis ; it is like the pulse, ever beating. 

7th. Original sin is the cause of all actual : 
it is fomes peccati, — it is the womb in which 
all actual sins are conceived. Hence come 
murders, adulteries, rapines ; it is the Trojan 
horse, out of which a whole army of impie- 



OF ORIGINAL SIN. 



101 



ties come. Though actual sins may be more 
scandalous, yet original sin is more heinous ; 
the cause is more than the effect. 

8th. It is not perfectly cured in this life. 
Grace, though it doth subdue sin, yet doth 
not wholly remove it. Though we are like 
Christ, having the first fruits of the Spirit, 
yet we are unlike him, having the remain- 
ders of the flesh. There are two nations in 
the womb. Original sin is like that tree, 
Dan. iv. 28, though the branches of it were 
hewn down, and the main body of it, yet the 
stumps and root of the tree were left: 
Though the Spirit be still weakening and 
hewing down sin in the godly, yet the stump 
of original sin is still left. It is a sea that 
will not, in this life, be dried up. 

Quest. But why doth God leave original 
corruption in us after regeneration? He 
could quite free us from it, if he pleased. 

Ans. He doth it, to show the power of 
his grace in the weakest believer. Grace 
shall prevail against a torrent of corruption. 
Whence is this? the corruption is ours, but 
the grace is God's. 

A. 2. God leaves original corruption, to 
make us long after heaven, where there 
shall be no sin to defile, no devil to tempt. 
When Elias was taken up to heaven, his 
mantle dropped off; so, when the angels 
shall carry us up to heaven, this mantle of 
sin shall drop off, we shall never more com- 
plain of an aching head, or an unbelieving 
heart. 

Use 1. If original sin be propagated to 
us, and will be inherent in us while we live 
here, then it confutes the Libertines and 
Quakers, who say they are without sin; 
they hold perfection ; they show much 
pride and ignorance, but we see the seeds 
of original sin remain in the best. Eccl. 
vii. 20, There is not a just man lives, and 
sins not. And St. Paul complained of a 
I body of death,' Rom. vii. 24. Grace, 
though it doth purify nature, it doth not 
perfect it. 

Obj. But doth not the apostle say of be- 
lievers, that their ' old man is crucified? 
Rom. vi. 6, and they are '■dead to sinV 
Rom. vii. 11. 

Ans. They are dead, 1. Spiritually. They 



are dead as to the reatus, — the guilt of it ; 
and as to the regnum, — the power of it ; the 
love of sin is crucified. 

A. 2. They are dead to sin legally. As a 
man that is sentenced to death is dead in 
law, so they are legally dead to sin ; there is 
a sentence of death gone out against sin, it 
shall die and drop into the grave. But at the 
present, sin hath its life lengthened out ; no- 
thing but the death of the body can quite free 
us from the body of this death. 

Use 2. Let us lay to heart original sin, 
and be deeply humbled for it ; it cleaves to 
us as a disease, — it is an active principle in 
us stirring us up to evil. Original sin is 
worse than all actual sin; the fountain is 
more than the stream. Some think, as long 
as they are civil, they are well enough, ay, 
but the nature is poisoned. A river may 
have fair streams, but vermin at bottom. 
Thou carriest an hell about thee, thou canst 
do nothing but thou defilest it; thy heart, 
like muddy ground, defiles the purest wa- 
ter that runs through it. Nay, though thou 
art regenerate, there is much of the old 
man in the new man. O how should ori- 
ginal sin humble us ! This is one reason 
God hath left original sin in us, because 
he would have it as a thorn in our side to 
humble us. As the bishop of Alexandria, 
after the people had embraced Christianity, 
destroyed all their idols but one, that the 
sight of that idol might make them loathe 
themselves for their former idolatry, so God 
leaves original sin to pull down the plumes 
of pride. Under our silver wings of grace 
are black feet. 

Use 3. Let the sense of this make us 
daily look up to heaven for help, beg Christ's 
blood to wash away the guilt of sin, and his 
Spirit to mortify the power of it, beg further 
degrees of grace, — gratium Christi eo ob- 
noxius ambiamus. Though grace cannot 
make sin not to be, yet not to reign ; though 
grace cannot expel sin, it can repel it ; and 
for our comfort, where grace makes a com- 
bat with sin, death shall make a conquest. 

Use 4. Let original sin make us walk 
with continual jealousy and watchfulness 
over our hearts. The sin of our nature is like 
a sleeping lion, the least thing that awakens 



102 



MAN'S MISERY BY THE FALL. 



it makes it rage. The sin of our nature, 
though it seems quiet, and lies as fire hid un- 
der the embers, yet if it be a little stirred and 
blown up by a temptation, how quickly may 



it flame forth into scandalous evils ! There- 
fore we had need always to walk watchfully, 
Mark xiii. 37, " I say to you all, Watch." 
A wandering heart needs a watchful eye. 



MAN'S MISERY 

Quest. XIX. What is the misery of that 
estate whereinto man fell ? 

Ans. All mankind by their fall lost com- 
munion with God, are under his wrath and 
curse, and so made liable to all the miseries 
in this life, to death itself, and to the pains of 
hell for ever. 

Eph. ii. 3, * And were by nature children 
of wrath.' Adam left an unhappy portion 
to his posterity, Sin and Misery. We have 
already considered the first of these, origi- 
nal sin, — now the misery of that estate. In 
the first, we have seen mankind offending; 
in the second, we shall see him suffering. 
The misery ensuing from original sin is two- 
fold. 

1st. Private. By this first hereditary sin 
we have lost communion with God. Adam 
was God's familiar, his favourite ; but sin 
hath put us all out of favour ; when we lost 
God's image, we lost his acquaintance. 
God's banishing Adam out of paradise, 
hieroglyphically, it showed how sin hath 
banished us out of God's love and favour. 

2d. Positive. In four things. 1. Under the 
power of Satan. 2. Heirs of God's wrath. 

3. Subject to all the miseries of this life. 

4. Obnoxious to hell and damnation. 

1. The first misery is, By nature we are 
" under the power of Satan," who is called 
' the prince of the power of the air,' Eph. 
ii. 2. Before the fall, man was a free deni- 
son,— now a slave; before, a king on the 
throne,— now in fetters. And who is man 
enslaved to 1 To one that is an hater of him. 
This was an aggravation of Israel's servi- 
tude, Ps. cvi. 41, " They that hated them 
ruled over them." By sin we are enslaved 
to Satan, who is an hater of mankind, and 
writes all his laws in blood. Sinners before 
conversion are under Satan's command, as 
the ass at the command of the driver, he doth 



BY THE FALL. 

all the devil's drudgery. No sooner Satan 
tempts, but he obeys ; as the ship is at the 
command of the pilot, he steers it which way 
he will, so is the sinner at the command of 
Satan, he may steer him which way he will ; 
and he never steers the ship but into hell's 
mouth. The devil rules all the powers and 
faculties of a sinner. — 1. He rules the un- 
derstanding, he blinds men with ignorance, 
and then rules them ; as the Philistines first 
put out Samson's eyes, and then bound him. 
Satan can do what he will with an ignorant 
man ; He doth not see the error of his way, 
therefore the devil can lead him into any 
sin ; you may lead a blind man any whither : 
omne peccatum fundatur in ignorantia. — 
2. Satan rules the will. Though he cannot 
force the will, yet he can, by a temptation, 
draw it, John viii. 44, " The lusts of your fa- 
ther ye will do." He hath got your hearts, 
and him ye will obey, Jer. xliv. 17, " We 
will burn incense to the queen of heaven." 
When the devil spurs a sinner by a tempta- 
tion, he will over hedge and ditch break all 
God's laws, that he may obey Satan. Where 
then is free will, when Satan hath such pow- 
er over the will 1 ? "His lusts ye will do." 
There's not any member of the body but is 
at the devil's service ; the head to plot sin, 
the hands to work it, the feet to run the 
devil's errand. Grave jugum servitutis ! 
Cicero. Slavery is hateful to a noble spirit. 
Satan is the worst tyrant ; the cruelty of a 
cannibal, or Nero, is nothing to his. Other 
tyrants do but rule over the bodies, he over 
the conscience ; other tyrants have some 
pity on their slaves, — though they work in 
the galley, they give them meat, let them 
have hours for rest, — but Satan is a merci- 
less tyrant, he lets them have no rest. What 
pains did Judas take 1 The devil would let 
him have no rest till he had betrayed Christ 



MAN'S MISERY BY THE FALL. 



103 



and afterwards imbrued his hands in his own 
Wood. 

Use 1. See here our misery by original 
sin ; enslaved to Satan, Eph. ii. 2. Satan is 
said to work effectually in the children of 
disobedience. What a sad plague is this for 
a sinner to be at the will of the devil ! Just 
like a slave, if the Turks bid him dig in the 
fi mines, hew in the quarries, tug at the oar, the 
slave must do it, he dares not refuse. If the 
devil bids a man lie or cozen, he doth not re 
fuse ; and — which is worse, — men are en 
slaved, and they willingly obey this tyrant ; 
other slaves are forced against their will : 
" Israel sighed by reason of their bondage," 
Exod. ii. 23, but sinners are willing to be 
slaves, they will not take their freedom, they 
! kiss their fetters. 

Use 2. Let us labour to get out of this de 
plorable condition sin hath plunged us into ; 
get from under the power of Satan. If any of 
your children were slaves, you would give 
great sums of money to purchase their free- 
dom ; your souls are enslaved, and will ye not 
labour to be set free 1 Improve the gospel ; 
the gospel proclaims a jubilee to captives ; 
sin binds men, the gospel looseth them ; 
Paul's preaching was " to turn men from the 
power of Satan to God," Acts xxvi. 18. The 
gospel-star leads you to Christ ; and if you 
get Christ, then you are made free, though 
not from the being of sin, yet from Satan's 
tyranny, John viii. 36, "If the Son therefore 
shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed." 
You hope to be kings to reign in heaven, and 
will you let Satan reign in you now 1 Never 
think to be kings when you die, and slaves 
while you live ; the crown of glory is for 
conquerors, not for captives. Oh ! get out 
of Satan's jurisdiction ; get your fetters of 
sin filed off by repentance. 

II. We are heirs of God's wrath. In the 
text, "and were by nature the children of 
wrath." Tertullian's exposition here is 
wrong, ' children of wrath,' he understands 
subjectively, that is, subject to wrath and pass- 
ion, — offending often in the irascible faculty 
of a wrathful spirit. But, by ' children of 
wrath,' the apostle passively means heirs of 
wrath, exposed to God's displeasure. God 
was once a friend, but sin broke the knot of 



friendship ; now God's smile is turned into a 
frown ; we are now bound over to the sess- 
ions, and become children of wrath; and 
who knows the power of God's wrath! Ps. 
xc. 11. " The wrath of a king is as the roar- 
ing of a lion," Prov. xix. 12. How did Ha- 
inan's heart tremble when the king rose up 
from the banquet in wrath? Est. vii. 7. But 
God's wrath is infinite ; all other is but as a 
spark to a flame ; wrath in God is not a pass- 
ion as in us, but it is an act of God's holy 
will, whereby he abhors sin, and decrees to 
punish it. This wrath is very dismal ; it is 
this wrath of God that imbitters afflictions in 
this life ; when sickness comes attended with 
God's wrath, it puts conscience into an agony. 
The mingling of the fire with the hail made 
it so terrible, Exod. ix. 24. So mingling 
God's wrath with affliction, makes it tortur- 
ing ; it is the nail in the yoke. God's wrath, 
when but in a threatening (as a shower hang- 
ing in the cloud) made Eli's ears to tingle : 
what is it then, when this wrath is executed ? 
It is terrible when the king rates and chides 
a traitor ; but it is more dreadful when he 
causeth him to be set upon the rack, or to be 
broke upon the wheel : " Who knows the 
power of God's wrath V While we are chil- 
dren of wrath, 1. We have nothing to do 
with any of the promises ; they are as the 
tree of life, bearing several sorts of fruit, but 
no right to pluck one leaf. Eph. ii. 3, " Chil- 
dren of wrath," v. 12, " Strangers from the 
covenants of promise." The promises are as 
a fountain sealed. While we are in the state 
of nature, we see nothing but the flaming 
sword ; and, as the apostle saith, Heb. x. 27, 
there remains nothing but " a fearful looking 
for of fiery indignation." — 2. While children 
of wrath we are heirs to all God's curses, 
Gal. iii. 10. How can the sinner eat and 
drink in that condition? Like Damocles's ban- 
quet, he sat at meat, and there was a sword 
hanging over his head by a small thread ; one 
would think he could have little stomach to 
eat ; so the sword of God's wrath and curse 
hangs every moment over a sinner's head. 
We read of a flying roll written with curses, 
Zech. v. 2 : there is a roll written with curses 
goes out against every person that lives and 
dies in sin. God's curse blasts wherever it 



104 



MAN'S MISERY BY THE FALL. 



comes ; a curse on the sinner's name, — a curse 
on his soul,— a curse on his estate, posterity, — 
a curse on the ordinances. Sad, if all a man 
did eat should turn to poison : the sinner eats 
and drinks his own damnation at God's table. 
Thus it is before conversion. As the love of 
God makes every bitter thing sweet, so the 
curse of God makes every sweet thing bitter. 

Use. See our misery by the fall. ' Heirs 
of wrath :' and is this estate to be rested ml 
If a man be fallen under the king's displea- 
sure, will he not labour to re-ingratiate him- 
self into his favour ?- O let us flee from the 
wrath of God ! And whither should we fly, 
but to Jesus Christ ! there's none else to 
shield off" the wrath of God from us, 1 Thess. 
i. 10, "Jesus which delivered us from the 
wrath to come." 

III. Subject to all outward miseries. All 
the troubles incident to man's life are the bit- 
ter fruits of original sin. The sin of Adam 
hath " subjected the creature to vanity," Rom. 
viii. 20. Is it not a part of the creature's 
vanity that all the comforts here below will 
not fill the heart, any more than the mariner's 
breath can fill the sails of a ship'? Job xx. 
22, "In the fulness of his sufficiency he 
shall be in straits." There is still something 
wanting, and a man would have more ; the 
heart is always hydropical, — it thirsts and is 
not satisfied. Solomon put all the creatures 
into a limbec ; and when he came to extract 
the spirit and quintessence, there was nothing 
but froth, "all was vanity," Eccl. i. 2. Nay, 
it is vexing vanity ; not only emptiness, but 
bitterness. Our life is labour and sorrow; 
we come into the world with a cry, go out 
with a groan, Ps. xc. 10. Some have said, 
that they would not be to live the life they 
have lived over again, because their life hath 
had more water in it than wine, — more water 
of tears, than wine of joy : Quia est diu vi- 
vere nisi diu torqueri, Aug. " Man is born 
unto trouble," Job v. 7. Every one is not 
born heir to land, but he is born heir to trou- 
ble ; as well separate weight from lead. We 
do not finish our troubles in this life, but 
change them." Trouble is the vermin bred 
out of the putrid matter of sin. Whence are 
all our fears, but from sin 1 1 John iv. 18, 
There is torment in fear. Fear is the ague 



of the soul, sets it a shaking. Some fear 
want, others alarms, others fear loss of rela- 
tions; if we rejoice, it is with trembling. 
Whence are all our disappointments of hopes 
but from sin ? Where we look for comfort, 
there a cross ; where we expect honey, there 
we taste wormwood. Whence is it that the 
earth is filled with violence, that " the wick- 
ed devoureth the man that is more righteous 
than he V- Hab. i. 13. Whence is it that so 
much fraudulency in dealing, so much false- 
ness in friendship, such crosses in relations 1 
Whence is it children prove undutiful ? They 
that should be as the staff of the parent's 
age, are a sword to pierce their hearts. 
Whence is it servants are unfaithful to their 
masters'? The apostle speaks of some who 
have entertained angels in their houses, Heb. 
xiii. 2, but how oft, instead of entertaining 
angels in their houses, do some entertain de- 
vils? Whence are all the mutinies and divi- 
sions in a kingdom? 2 Chron. xv. 5, "In 
those times there was no peace to him that 
went out, nor to him that came in." All this 
is but the sour core in that apple our first pa- 
rents ate, viz. fruit of original sin. Besides 
all the deformities and diseases of the body, 
fevers, convulsions, catarrhs, — "Macies et 
nova febrium terris incubuit cohors" — 
These are from sin. There had never been 
a stone in the kidneys, if it had not been first 
a stone in the heart. Yea, the death of the 
body, is the fruit and result of original sin, 
Rom. v. 12, " Sin entered into the world, and 
death by sin." Adam was made immortal, 
conditionally, if he had not sinned ; sin digged 
Adam's grave. Death is terrible to nature. 
Lewis king of France forbade all that came 
into his court to mention the name of death 
in his ears. The Socinians say that death 
comes only from the infirmness of the consti- 
tution ; but the apostle saith, sin ushered in 
death into the world, — "by sin came death." 
Certainly, had not Adam ate of the tree of 
knowledge, he had not died ; Gen. ii. 17, " In 
the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt 
surely die," implying, if Adam had not eaten, 
he should not have died. O then see the 
misery ensuing upon original sin ! Sin dis- 
solves the harmony and good temperature of 
the body, it pulls this frame in pieces. 



OF THE COVENANT OF GRACE. 



105 



IV. Original sin without repentance ex- 
poseth to hell and damnation. " This is the 
second death," Rev. xx. 14. Two things in it : 

1. Poena damni, — punishment of loss. The 
soul is banished from the beatifical presence 
of God, in whose presence is fulness of joy. 

2. Pcena census, — punishment of sense. 
The sinner feels the scalding vials of God's 
wrath. It is penetrating, abiding, John iii. 36, 
" reserved," 2 Pet. ii. 17. If, when God's 
anger be kindled but a little, and a spark or 
two of it flies into a man's conscience here 
in this life, it be so terrible ; what then will 
it be when God stirs up all his anger 1 In 

! hell there is the worm and the fire, Mark ix. 

1 44. Hell is the very accent and emphasis of 
misery ; there's judgment without mercy. O 
what flames of wrath, — what seas of venge- 
ance, — what rivers of brimstone are poured 
out there upon the damned ! Bellarmine is 
of opinion that one glimpse of hell fire were 
enough to make the most flagitious sinner to 
turn Christian; nay, live like a hermit, a 
most strict mortified life. What is all other 
fire to this, but painted fire ] Ejus adesse 
intolerabile, ejus abesse impossibile, — to 
bear it will be intolerable, to avoid it will be 
impossible ; and these hell-torments are for 
ever, have no period put to them, Rev. ix. 6, 
" They shall seek death, and shall not find 



it." Origen fancied a fiery stream in which 
the souls of sinful men were to be purged 
after this life, and then to pass into heaven ; 
but it is for ever. The breath of the Lord 
kindles that fire ; and where shall we find en- 
gines or buckets to quench it ) Rev. xiv. 11, 
" And the smoke of their torment ascendeth 
up for ever and ever, and they have no rest 
night nor day." Thank original sin for all. 

Use 1. What sad thoughts should we 
have of this primitive original sin that hath 
created so many miseries] What honey 
can be got out of this lion 1 What grapes 
can we gather off this thorn ? It sets hea- 
ven and earth against us : while we choose 
this bramble to rule, fire comes out of the 
bramble to devour us. 

Use 2. How are all believers bound to 
Jesus Christ, who hath freed them from that 
misery to which sin hath exposed them 1 ? 
Eph. i. 7, " In whom we have redemption 
through his blood." Sin hath brought trouble 
and a curse into the world; Christ hath 
sanctified the trouble, and removed the curse. 
Nay, he hath not only freed believers from 
misery, but purchased for them a crown of 
glory and immortality, 1 Pet. v. 4, " When 
the chief shepherd shall appear, ye shall 
receive a crown of glory that fadeth not 
away." 



OF THE COVENANT OF GRACE. 



Quest. XX. Did God leave all mankind 
to perish in this state of sin and misery ? 

Ans. No, he entered into a covenant of 
grace to deliver the elect out of that estate, 
and bring them into a state of grace by a 
Redeemer. 

Isa. lv. 3, "I will make an everlasting 
covenant with you." Man being by his fall, 
plunged into a labyrinth of misery, and hav- 
ing no way left to recover himself, God was 
pleased to enter into a new covenant with 
him, and so restored him to life by a Re- 
deemer. — The great proposition I shall go 
upon is, that there is a new covenant ratified 
between God and the elect. 

Quest. What is the new covenant ? 
O 



Ans. It is a solemn compact and agree- 
ment made between God and fallen man, 
wherein the Lord undertakes to be our God, 
and to make us his people. 

Quest. What names are given to the 
covenant 1 

Ans. 1. It is called the covenant of peace, 
Ezek. xxxvii. 26, because it seals up recon- 
ciliation between God and humble sinners. 
Before this covenant there was nothing but 
enmity; God did not love us, — a creature 
that offends cannot be loved by a holy God ; 
and we did not love him, — a God that con- 
demns, cannot be loved by a guilty creature ; 
so that there was war on both sides. But 
God hath found out a way in the new cove- 




106 



OF THE COVENANT OF GRACE. 



nant to reconcile differing parties, so that it 
is fitly called the covenant of peace. 

2. It is called a covenant of grace, and 
well it may, for, 1st. It was with grace, that, 
when we had forfeited the first covenant, 
God should enter into a new covenant, after 
we had cast away ourselves. The covenant 
of grace is tabula post naufragium, — as a 
plank after shipwreck. O the free grace of 
God, that he should parley with sinners, and 
set his wisdom and mercy a-work to bring 
rebels into the bond of the covenant ! — 2d. It 
is a covenant of grace, because it is a royal 
charter, all made up of terms of grace : that 
" God will cast our sins behind his back," — 
that " he will love us freely," Hos. xiv. 4, — 
that he will give us a will to accept of the 
mercy of the covenant, and strength to per- 
form the conditions of the covenant, Ezek. 
xxxvii. 26. All this is pure grace. 

Quest. Why should God make a cove- 
nant with us ? 

Ans. 1. It is out of indulgence, favour, 
and respect to us. A tyrant will not enter 
into a covenant with slaves, he will not 
show them such respect. God's entering 
into covenant with us to be our God, is a 
dignity he puts upon us. A covenant is 
insigne honoris, — a note of distinction be- 
tween God's people and heathens, Ezek. 
xvi. 62, " I will establish my covenant with 
thee." When the Lord told Abraham that 
he would enter into a covenant with him, 
Abraham fell upon his face, Gen. xvii. 2, as 
being amazed that the God of glory should 
bestow such a favour upon him. 

A. 2. God makes a covenant with us, to 
tie us fast to him ; it is called in Ezekiel, 
* the bond of the covenant.' God knows we 
have slippery hearts, therefore he will have 
a covenant to bind us ; it is horrid impiety 
to go away from God after covenant. If one 
of the vestal nuns, who had vowed herself to 
religion, was deflowered, the Romans caused 
her to be buried alive. It is perjury to de- 
part from God after solemn covenant. 

Quest. How doth the covenant of grace 
differ from the first covenant made with 
Adam ? 

Ans. 1. The terms of the first covenant 
were more strict and severe : for, 1st. The 



least failing would have made the covenant 
with Adam null and void, but many failings 
do not null the covenant of grace. I grant, 
the least sin is a trespass upon the covenant, 
but it cloth not make it null and void. There 
may be many failings in the conjugal rela- | 
tion, but every failing doth not break the 
marriage-bond. It would be sad, if, as oft 
as we break covenant with God, he should 
break covenant with us ; but God will not | 
take advantage of every failing, but " in an- I 
ger remember mercy." — 2dly. The first cove- j 
nant being broken, allowed the sinner no J 
remedy, all doors of hope were shut, but the I 
new covenant allows the sinner a remedy, it 
leaves room for repentance, it provides a 
mediator, Heb. xii. 24, " Jesus the mediator 1 
of the new covenant." 

A. 2. The first covenant did run. all upon j 
' working,' the second upon 4 believing,' Rom. 
iv. 5. 

Quest. But are not works required in 
the covenant of grace ? 

Ans. Yes ; Tit. iii. 8, " This is a faithful 
saying, that they which have believed in God, 
be careful to maintain good works." But the 
covenant of grace doth not require works in 
the same manner as the covenant of works 
did. In the first covenant, works were re- 
quired as the condition of life ; in the second, j 
they are required only as the signs of a man 
that is alive. In the first covenant, works 
were required as grounds of salvation ; in the 
new covenant, they are required as evidences j 
of our love to God. In the first, they were 
required to the justification of our persons ; 
in the new, to the testification of our grace. 

Quest. What is the condition of the | 
covenant of grace ? 

Ans. The main condition is faith. 

Quest. But why is faith more the condi- 
tion of the new covenant than any other 
grace ? 

Ans. To exclude all glorying in the crea- 
ture ; faith is an humble grace. If repentance 
or works were the condition of the covenant, 
a man would say, "It is my righteousness 
hath saved me:" but if it be of faith, where 
is boasting ] Faith fetcheth all from Christ, 
and gives all the glory to Christ ; it is a most 
humble grace. Hence it is God hath singled 



OF THE COVENANT OF GRACE. 



out this grace to be the condition of the cove- 
nant. And if faith be the condition of the 
covenant of grace, it excludes desperate pre- 
sumptuous sinners from the covenant. They 
say there is a covenant of grace, and they 
shall be saved : but did you ever know a bond 
without a condition 3 The condition of the 
covenant is faith, and if thou hast no faith, 
thou hast no more to do with the covenant 
than a foreigner or a country farmer with the 
city charter. 

Use 1. Of information. See the amazing 
goodness of God, to enter into covenant with 
us : he never entered into covenant with the 
angels when they fell. It was much conde- 
scension in God to enter into covenant with 
us in a state of innocency, but more so when 
we were in a state of enmity. In this cove- 
nant of grace we may see the cream of God's 
love and the working of his bowels to sinners. 
This is a marriage covenant, Jer. iii. 14, "I 
am married to you, saith the Lord." In the 
new covenant, God makes himself over to 
us, and what can he give more'? And he 
makes over his promises to us, and what 
better bonds can we have 1 

Use 2. Of trial. Whether we are in cove- 
nant with God. There are three characters. 

1. God's covenant-people are an humble 
people, 1 Pet. v. 5, "Be clothed with hu- 
mility." God's people esteem of others bet- 
ter than themselves ; they shrink into nothing 
in their own thoughts, Phil. ii. 3. David 
cries out, "I am a worm, and no man, Ps. 
xxii. 6 ; though a saint, though a king, yet 
a worm. When Moses's face shined, he 
covered it with a veil : God's people, when 
they shine most in grace, are covered with 
the veil of humility. Pride excludes from 
the covenant ; " God resisteth the proud," 
1 Pet. v. 5, and sure such are not in cove- 
nant with God, whom he resists. 

2. A people in covenant with God are a 
willing people ; though they cannot serve 
God perfectly, they serve him willingly. 
They do not grudge God a little time spent 
in his worship ; they do not hesitate or mur- 
mur at sufferings ; they will go through a 
sea and a wilderness if God call : Ps. ex. 3, 
" Thy people shall be a willing people," — 
Heb. ' a people of willingness.' This spon- 



107 

taneity and willingness, is from the attractive 
power of God's Spirit ; the Spirit doth not 
impellere, force, but trahere, sweetly draw 
the will; and this willingness in religion 
makes all our services accepted. God doth 
sometimes accept of willingness without the 
work, but never the work without willing- 
ness. 

3. God's covenant-people are a conse- 
crated people ; they have holiness to the 
Lord written upon them ; Deut. vii. 6, " Thou 
art a holy people unto the Lord thy God." 
God's covenant-people are separated from 
the world and sanctified by the Spirit. The 
priests under the law were not only to wash 
in the great laver, but were arrayed with 
glorious apparel, Exod. xxviii. 2. This was 
typical to show God's people are not only 
washed from gross sins, but adorned with 
holiness of heart, they bear not only God's 
name, but image. Tamerlane refused a pot 
of gold, when he saw it had not his father's 
stamp upon it, but the Roman stamp. Holi- 
ness is God's stamp ; if he doth not see this 
stamp upon us, he will not own us for his 
covenant-people. 

Use 3. Of exhortation. To such as are 
out of covenant, labour to get into covenant, 
and have God for your God. How glad 
would the old world have been of an ark 1 
How industrious should we be to get within 
the ark of the covenant'? Consider, 1. The 
misery of such as live and die out of cove- 
nant with God. (1). Such have none to go 
to in an hour of distress. When conscience 
accuseth, when sickness approacheth, (which 
is but a harbinger to bespeak a lodging for 
death) then what will you do "? Whither will 
you flee "? Will you look to Christ for help 1 
He is a mediator only for such as are in cove- 
nant. O how will you be filled with horror 
and despair ! and be as Saul, 1 Sam. xxviii. 
15, " The Philistines make war against me, 
and the Lord is departed." (2). Till you 
are in covenant with God, there is no mercy. 
The mercy-seat was placed upon the ark, 
and the mercy-seat was no larger than the 
ark, to show, that the mercy of God reacheth 
no further than the covenant. 

2. The excellency of the covenant of 
grace ; it is a better covenant than the cove 



108 



OF THE COVENANT OF GRACE. 



nant made with Adam. (1). Because it is 
more friendly and propitious. Those ser- 
vices which would have been rejected in the 
first covenant, are accepted in the second. 
Here God accepts of the will for the deed, 
2 Cor. viii. 12 ; here sincerity is crowned in 
the covenant of grace ; wherein we are weak, 
God will give strength, and wherein we come 
short, God will accept of a surety. (2). It 
is a better covenant, because it is surer, 
2 Sam. xxiii. 5, " God hath made with me 
an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, 
and sure." The first covenant was not sure, 
it stood upon a tottering foundation, works ; 
Adam had no sooner a stock of righteousness 
to trade with, but he broke ; but the covenant 
of grace is sure, it is confirmed with God's 
decree, and it rests upon two mighty pillars, 
the oath of God, and the blood of God. 
(3). It hath better privileges. The covenant 
of grace brings preferment. Our nature now 
is more ennobled, we are raised to higher 
glory than in innocency, we are advanced to 
sit upon Christ's throne, Rev. iii. 21. We 
are by virtue of the covenant of grace, nearer 
to Christ than the angels : they are his 
friends, we his spouse. God is willing to be 
in covenant with you. Why doth God woo 
and beseech you by his ambassadors to be 
reconciled, if he were not willing to be in 
covenant f 

Obj. I would fain be in covenant with 
God, but I have been a great sinner, and I 
fear God will not admit me into covenant. 

Ans. If thou seest thy sins, and loathest 
thyself for them, yet God will take thee into 
covenant, Isa. xliii. 24, " Thou hast wearied 
me with thy iniquities ; I, even I, am he that 
blotteth out thy transgressions." As the sea 
covers great rocks, so God's covenant-mercy 
covers great sins. Some of the Jews that 
crucified Christ, yet had their sins washed 
away in his blood. 

Obj. But I am not worthy that ever God 
should admit me into covenant. 

Ans. It never came into God's thoughts to 
make a new covenant upon terms of worthi- 
ness. If God should show mercy to none but 
such as are worthy, then must he show mercy 
to none at all. But it is God's design in the 
new covenant to advance the riches of grace, 



to love us freely, and, when we have no 
worthiness of our own, to accept us through 
Christ's worthiness. Therefore let not un- 
worthiness discourage you ; it is not unwor- 
thiness excludes any from the covenant, but 
unwillingness. 

Quest. What shall we do that we may be 
in covenant with God ? 

Ans. 1. Seek to God by prayer. Exige 
a Domino misericordium, Aug. " Lord, be 
my God in covenant." The Lord hath made 
an express promise that, upon our prayer to 
him, the covenant should be ratified, he will 
be our God, and we shall be his people : Zee. 
xiii. 9, " They shall call upon my name, and I 
will hear them : I will say, * it is my people ;' 
and they shall say, 1 the Lord is my God.' " 
Only it must be an importunate prayer ; come 
as earnest suitors, resolve to take no denial. 

A. 2. If you would be in covenant with 
God, break off the covenant with sin ; before 
the marriage-covenant there must be a di- 
vorce, 1 Sam. vii. 3, " If ye do return unto j 
the Lord with all your hearts, then put away 
the strange gods ;" and they put away Ash- 
taroth, viz. their female gods. Will any king 
enter into covenant with that man who is in 
league with his enemies 1 

A. 3. If you would enter into the bond of 
the covenant, get faith in the blood of the 
covenant. Christ's blood is the blood of 
atonement ; believe in this blood, and you are 
safely arked in God's mercy ; Eph. ii. 13, 
" Ye are made nigh by the blood of Christ." 

Use 4. Of comfort to such as can make out 
their covenant-interest in God. 1. You that 
are in covenant with God, all your sins are 
pardoned. Pardon is the crowning mercy, 
Ps. ciii. 3, " Who forgiveth thy iniquity, who 
crowneth thee," &c. This is a branch of the 
covenant, Jer. xxxi. 33, 34, " I will be their 
God, and I will forgive their iniquity." Sin j 
being pardoned, all wrath ceaseth. How ter- j 
rible is it when but a spark of God's wrath 
flies into a man's conscience ! but sin being 
forgiven, no more wrath. God doth not ap- 
pear now in the fire or earthquake, but 
covered with a rainbow full of mercy. 

2. All your temporal mercies are fruits of 
the covenant. Wicked men have mercies 
by providence, not by virtue of a covenant ; 



OF THE COVENANT OF GRACE. 



109 



| with God's leave, not with his love. But 
such as are in covenant have their mercies 
sweetened with God's love, and they swim 
to them in the blood of Christ. As Naaman 
said to Gehazi, 2 Kings v. 23, " Take two 
talents," so saith God to such as are in cove- 
nant, take two talents, — take health, and 
take Christ with it, — take riches, and take 
my love with them, — take the venison, and 
take the blessing with it, — take two talents. 

3. You may upon all occasions plead the 
covenant. If you are haunted with tempta- 
tions, plead the covenant : Lord, thou hast 
promised to bruise Satan under my feet short- 
ly, wilt thou suffer thy child to be thus wor- 
ried ] take off the roaring lion. If in want, 
plead the covenant : Lord, thou hast said, " I 
shall want no good thing," wilt thou save me 
from hell, and not from want 1 wilt thou give 
me a kingdom, and deny me daily bread 1 

4. If in covenant with God, all things 
shall co-operate for your good : etiam mala 
cidunt in bonum, Ps. xxv. 10. Not only 
golden paths, but his bloody paths. Every 
wind of providence shall blow them nearer 
heaven. Affliction shall humble and purify, 
Heb. xii. 10. Out of the bitterest drug God 
distils your salvation. Afflictions add to the 
saints' glory. The more the diamond is cut, 
the more it sparkles ; the heavier the saints' 
cross is, the heavier shall be their crown. 

5. If thou art in covenant once, then for 
ever in covenant. The text calls it, 'an 
everlasting covenant.' Such as are in co- 
venant are elected ; God's electing love is 
unchangeable, Jer. xxxii. 40, " I will make 
an everlasting covenant with them, that I 
will not turn away from them ; but I will put 
my fear in their heart, that they shall not de- 
part from me." God will so love the saints, 
that he will not forsake them ; and the saints 
shall so fear God, that they shall not forsake 
him. 'Tis a covenant of eternity. It must 
be so ; for who is this covenant made with 1 
Is it not with believers ? and have not they 
coalition and union with Christ 1 Christ is 
the head, they are the body, Eph. i. 23. This 
is a near union, much like that union between 
God the Father and Christ, John xvii. 21, 
" As thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, 
that they also may be One in us." Now the 



union between Christ and the saints being so 
inseparable, it can never be dissolved, or the 
covenant made void ; you may die with 
comfort. 

6. Thou art in covenant with God, and 
thou art going to thy God : behold a death- 
bed cordial ; death breaks the union between 
the body and the soul, but perfects the union 
between Christ and the soul. This hath 
made the saints desire death as the bride 
the wedding-day : Phil. i. 23, cupio dissolvi. 
" Lead me, Lord, to that glory," (said one) 
" a glimpse whereof I have seen as in a glass 
darkly." 

Use 5. Of direction : to show how you 
should walk who have tasted of covenant- 
mercy — Live as a people in covenant with 
God. As you differ from others in respect 
of dignity, so you must in point of carriage. 

1st. You must love this God. God's love 
to you calls for love. 1. It is amor gratiatus, 
— a free love. Why should God pass by 
others and take you into a league of friend- 
ship with himself] In the law, God passed 
by the lion and eagle, and chose the dove : 
so he passes by the noble and mighty. 2. It 
is amor plenus, — a full love. When God 
takes you into covenant, you are his Heph- 
zibah, Isa. lxii. 5 ; his delight is in you ; he 
gives you the key of all his treasure, he heaps 
pearls upon you, he settles heaven and earth 
upon you, he gives you a bunch of grapes by 
the way, and saith, ' Son, all I have is thine.' 
And doth not all this call for love 1 Who can 
tread upon these hot coals, and his heart not 
burn in love to God 1 

2dly. Walk holily. The covenant hath 
made you a royal nation, therefore be a holy 
people. Shine as lights in the world ; live 
as earthly angels. God hath taken you into 
covenant, that you and he may have com- 
munion together; and what is it keeps up 
your communion with God, but holiness ? 

Sdly. Walk thankfully, Ps. ciii. 1. God is 
your God in covenant, he hath done more for 
you than if he had made you ride upon the 
high places of the earth, and given you 
crowns and sceptres. O take the cup of 
salvation, and bless the Lord! Eternity 
will be little enough to praise him. Musi- 
cians love to play on their music where 



110 



CHRIST THE MEDIATOR OF THE COVENANT. 



there is the loudest sound ; and God loves 
to bestow his mercies where he may have 
the loudest praises. You that have angels' 



reward, do angels' work. Begin that work 
of praise here, which you hope to be always 
doing in heaven. 



CHRIST THE MEDIATOR OF THE COVENANT. 
Heb. xii. 24. Jesus the Mediator of the New Covenant; <SfC. 



Jesus Christ is the sum and quintessence 
of the gospel, the wonder of angels, the joy 
and triumph of saints. The name of Christ 
is sweet, it is as music in the ear, honey in 
the mouth, and a cordial at the heart. — I 
shall wave the context, and only speak of 
that which concerns our present purpose : 
having discoursed of the covenant of grace, 
I shall speak now of the Mediator of the 
covenant, and the restorer of lapsed sinners, 
'Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant.' 

There are several names and titles in scrip- 
ture given to Christ, as the great restorer of 
mankind: 1. Sometimes he is called a Sa- 
viour, Matt. i. 21. His name shall be called 
Jesus. The Hebrew word for Jesus, signifies 
a Saviour, and whom he saves from hell, he 
saves from sin : where Christ is a Saviour, 
he is a sanctifier, Matt. i. 21, " He shall save 
his people from their sins." There is no 
other Saviour, Acts iv. 12, " Neither is there 
salvation in any other." As there was but 
one ark to save the world from drowning, so 
there is but one Jesus to save sinners from 
damning. As Naomi said to her daughters- 
in-law, Ruth i. 11, " Are there yet any more 
sons in my womb'?" So hath God any other 
sons in the womb of his eternal decree, to be 
saviours to us, besides Christ 1 Job xxviii. 12, 
" Where shall wisdom be found] the depth 
saith, it is not in me ; and the sea saith, it is 
not in me." Let me allude, Where shall 
salvation be found 1 The angel saith, it is 
not in me ; mortality saith it is not in me ; 
the ordinance saith it is not in me, Christ 
alone is the well-spring of life ; the ordinance 
is the conduit-pipe that conveys salvation, 
but Christ is the spring that feeds it. " Nei- 
ther is there salvation in any other." 

2. Sometimes Christ is called a Redeemer : 
Isa. lix. 20, " The Redeemer shall come to 



Sion." Some understand it of Cyrus, others 
of an angel ; but the most ancient Jewish doc- 
tors understood it of Christ, the Redeemer 
of the elect : Job xix. 23, " My Redeemer 
liveth." The Hebrew word for Redeemer, 
signifies such a one as is near a-kin, and 
hath right to redeem a mortgage ; so Christ 
is near of kin to us, being our elder brother, 
therefore hath the best right to redeem us. 

3. Christ is called a Mediator in the text, 
" Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant." 
The Greek word for Mediator, signifies a 
middle person, one that doth make up the 
breach between two disagreeing parties. 
God and we were at variance by sin, now 
Christ doth mediate and umpire between us, 
he reconciles us to God through his blood, 
therefore he is called the Mediator of the 
new covenant. There is no way of com- 
munion and intercourse between God and 
man, but in and through a Mediator ; Christ 
takes away the enmity in us, and the wrath 
of God, and so makes peace. Nor is Christ 
only a Mediator of reconciliation, but inter- 
cession, Heb. ix. 24, " Christ is entered, not 
into the holy place made with hands, but into 
heaven itself, now to appear in the presence 
of God for us." The priest, when he had 
slain the sacrifice, was to go with the blood 
before the altar and mercy-seat, and show it 
to the Lord. Now, in Christ our blessed 
Mediator, consider two things. 1st. His per- 
son. 2d. His graces. I. His person. His 
person is amiable ; he is all made up of love 
and beauty. He is the effigies of his Father, 
Heb. i. 3, " The express image of his per- 
son." Consider, 

1st. Christ's person in two natures. 

2d. His two natures in one person. 

1st. Christ's person in two natures. 1. 
Look upon his human nature as incarnate. 



CHRIST THE MEDIATOR OF THE COVENANT. 



Ill 



The Valentinians deny his human nature ; 
but John i. 14,- "The Word was made 
flesh." It is spoken of Christ the promised 
Messiah. Christ took our flesh, that the 
same nature which sinned might suffer ; and 
" the Word was made flesh," that through 
the glass of his human nature we might look 
upon God. 

Quest. Why is Christ called the Word i 
Ans. Because, as a word is the interpreter 
of the mind, and reveals what is in a man's 
breast, so Jesus Christ reveals his Father's 
mind to us concerning the great matters of 
our salvation, John i. 18. Were it not for 
Christ's manhood, the sight of the Godhead 
would be formidable to us ; but through 
Christ's flesh we may look upon God with- 
out terror. And Christ took our flesh, that 
he might know how to pity us ; he knows 
what it is to be faint, sorrowful, tempted, 
Ps. ciii. 14, " He knows our frame." And 
he took our flesh, that he might, as Austin 
saith, ennoble our human nature with honour. 
Christ having married our flesh, hath exalted 
it above the angelical nature. 

2. Look upon Christ's divine nature. 
Christ may be fitly compared to Jacob's lad- 
der, Gen. xxviii. 12, which reacheth from 
earth to heaven. Christ's human nature 
was the foot of the ladder which stood upon 
earth ; his divine nature the top of the ladder 
which reacheth to heaven. This being a 
grand article of our faith, I shall amplify. I 
know the Arians, Socinians, Ebionites would 
rob Christ of the best jewel of his crown, — 
his Godhead ; but the Apostolical, Nicene, 
Athanasian creeds, affirm Christ's Deity ; to 
this the churches of Helvetia, Bohemia, Wit- 
temberg, Transylvania, &c. give their full 
consent ; and the scripture is clear for it. 
He is called the < mighty God,' Isa. ix. 6, 
" And in him dwells the fulness of the God- 
head," Col. ii. 9. He is of the same nature 
and essence with the Father. So Athanasius, 
Basil, Chrysostom ; 1. Is God the Father 
called Almighty] so is Christ, Rev. i. 8, 
"The Almighty."— 2. Is God the Father, 
the heart-searcher? so is Christ, John ii. 25, 
" He knew their thoughts V— 3. Is God the 
Father omnipresent 1 So is Christ, John iii. 
13, " The Son of Man which is in heaven." 



Christ as God was then in heaven, when as 
man he was upon the earth. 

Quest. Is God eternal ? 

Ans. Christ is the everlasting Father, Isa. 
ix. 6, which scripture may be urged against 
the Corinthian heretics, who denied the pre- 
existency of Christ's Godhead, and held that 
Christ had no being till he derived it from the 
Virgin Mary. 

4. Doth divine worship belong to the first 
person in the Trinity 1 so it doth to Christ, 
John v. 23, Heb. i. 6, " Let all the angels of 
God worship him." — 5. Is creation proper to 
the Deity 1 this is a flower of Christ's crown, 
Col. i. 16, " By him were all things created." 
— 6. Is invocation proper to the Deity ; this 
is given to Christ, Acts vii. 59, " Lord Jesus 
receive my spirit." — 7. Is recumbency and 
trust peculiar to God the Father 1 this is 
given to Christ, John xiv. 1, " Ye believe in 
God, believe also in me." Christ must needs 
be God, not only that the divine nature might 
support the human from sinking under God's 
wrath, but also to give value and weight to 
his sufferings. 

Christ being God, his death and passion is 
meritorious ; Christ's blood is called sanguis 
Dei, — the blood of God, Acts xx. 28, be- 
cause the person who was offered in sacrifice 
was God as well as man. This is an in- 
vincible support to believers ; it was God 
who was offended, and it was God who satis- 
fied. Thus Christ's person in two natures. 

2d. Consider Christ's two natures in one 
person, God-man, 1 Tim. iii. 16, " God mani- 
fest in the flesh." Christ had a twofold 
substance, divine and human ; yet not a two- 
fold subsistence, both natures make but one 
Christ. A scion may be grafted into another 
tree, — a pear-tree into an apple, — which, 
though it bear different fruits, is but one 
tree ; so Christ's manhood is united to the 
Godhead in an ineffable manner ; yet though 
there are two natures, yet but one person. 
This union of the two natures in Christ 
was not by transmutation, the divine nature 
changed into the human, or the human into 
the divine, — nor by mixture, the two natures 
mingled together as wine and water are 
mixed, — both the natures of Christ remain 
distinct, yet make not two distinct persons, 



112 



CHRIST THE MEDIATOR OF THE COVENANT. 



but one person ; the human nature not God, 
yet one with God. 

II. Consider Christ, our Mediator, in his 
graces : these are the sweet savour of his 
ointments that make the virgins love him. 
Christ, our blessed Mediator, is said to be 
" full of grace and truth," John i. 14. He 
had the anointing of the Spirit without 
measure, John iii. 35. Grace in Christ is 
after a more eminent and glorious manner 
than it is in any of the saints. 

1. Jesus Christ, our Mediator, hath per- 
fection in every grace, Col. i. 19. He is a 
panoply, magazine, and storehouse of all 
heavenly treasure, all fulness. This no saint 
on earth hath ; he may excel in one grace, 
but not in all : as Abraham was eminent for 
faith, Moses for meekness, but Christ excels 
in every grace. 

2. There is a never-failing fulness of grace 
in Christ ; grace in the saints is ebbing and 
flowing, it is not always in the same degree 
and proportion ; at one time David's faith 
was strong, at another time so faint and 
weak that you could hardly feel any pulse, 
Ps. xxxi. 22, " I said, I am cut off from be- 
fore thine eyes." But grace in Christ is a 
never-failing fulness, it did never abate in 
the least degree, he never lost a drop of his 
holiness. What was said of Joseph, may 
more truly be applied to Christ, Gen. xlix. 
23, "The archers shot at him, but his bow 
abode in strength." Men and devils shot 
at him, but his grace remained in its full 
vigour and strength, — "his bow abode in 
strength." 

3. Grace in Christ is communicative, his 
grace is for us ; the holy oil of the Spirit was 
poured on the head of this blessed Aaron 
that it might run down upon us. The saints 
have not grace to bestow on others. When 
the foolish virgins would have bought oil of 
their neighbour virgins, Matt. xxv. 8, 9, 
" Give us of your oil, for our lamps are gone 
out," the wise virgins answered, " Not so, 
lest there be not enough for us and you." 
The saints have no grace to spare to others ; 
but Christ diffuseth his grace to others ; 
grace in the saints is as water in the vessel, 
grace in Christ is as water in the spring; 
John i. 16, " Of his fulness have we received 



grace for grace." Set a glass under a still 
or limbeck, and it receives water from the 
limbeck drop by drop ; so the saints have 
the drops and influences of Christ's grace 
distilling upon them. What a rich consola- 
tion is this to those who either have no 
grace, or their stock is but low ! They may 
go to Christ, the Mediator, as a treasury of 
grace : " Lord, I am indigent, but whither 
shall I carry my empty vessel, but to a full 
fountain]" Ps. Ixxxvii. 7, "All my springs 
are in thee ;" I am guilty, thou hast blood to 
pardon me ; I am polluted, thou hast grace 
to cleanse me ; I am sick unto death, thou 
hast the " balm of Gilead, to heal me." Gen. 
xli. 56. Joseph opened all the storehouses 
of corn : Christ is our Joseph, that opens 
all the treasuries and storehouses of grace, 
and communicates to us. He is not only 
sweet as the honey-comb, but drops as the 
honey-comb ; this is a great comfort, in 
Christ our Mediator there is a cornucopia, 
and fulness of all grace ; and Christ is de- 
sirous that we should come to him for grace, 
like the full breast that aches till it be 
drawn. 

Use 1 . Admire the glory of this Mediator ; 
he is God-man, he is co-essentially glorious 
with the Father. All the Jews that saw 
Christ in the flesh, did not see his Godhead ; 
all that saw the man did not see the Messiah ; 
the temple of Solomon within was embel- 
lished with gold ; travellers, as they passed 
along, might see the outside of the temple, 
but only the priests saw the glory which 
sparkled within the temple ; only believers, 
who are made priests unto God, Rev. i. 6, 
see Christ's glorious inside, the Godhead 
shining through the manhood. 

Use 2. If Christ be God-man in one 
person, then look unto Jesus Christ alone 
for salvation. There must be something 
of the Godhead to fasten our hope upon ; 
in Christ there is Godhead and manhood 
hypostatically united. If we could weep 
rivers of tears, — out-fast Moses on the 
mount, — if we were exact moralists, touch- 
ing the law blameless, — if we could arrive 
at the highest degree of sanctification in 
this life, — all this would not save us, with- 
out looking to the merits of him who is 



OF CHRIST'S PROPHETICAL OFFICE. 



113 



God ; our perfect holiness in heaven is not 
the cause of our salvation, but the righteous- 
ness of Jesus Christ. To this therefore did 
Paul flee, as to the horns of the altar, Phil, 
iii. 9, " That I may he found in him, not 
having my own righteousness." It is true, 
we may look to our graces as evidences of 
salvation, but to Christ's blood only as the 
Cause. In time of Noah's flood, all that 
trusted to the high hills and trees, and not to 
the ark, were drowned : Heb. xii. 2, " Look- 
ing unto Jesus ;" and so look unto him, as 
to believe in him, that so Christ may not only 
be united to our nature, but to our persons, 
John xx. 31, " That believing, you may have 
life through his name." 

Use 3. Is Jesus Christ God and man in 
one person 1 This, as it shows the dignity 
of believers, that they are nearly related to 



one of the greatest persons that is, Col. ii. 
9, " In him dwells the fulness of the God- 
head bodily," so it is of unspeakable comfort. 
Christ's two natures being married together, 
the divine and human, all that Christ in ei- 
ther of his natures can do for believers, he 
will do. In his human nature he prays for 
them, in his divine nature he merits for them. 
This for the person of our Mediator. 

Use 4. Admire the love of Christ our Me- 
diator, that he should humble himself, and 
take our flesh, that he might redeem us. 
Believers should put Christ in their bosom, 
as the spouse did, Cant. i. 13, " Lie betwixt 
my breasts." What was said of Ignatius, 
that the name of Jesus was found written in 
his heart, should be verified of every saint, 
he should have Jesus Christ written in his 
heart. 



OF CHRIST'S PROPHETICAL OFFICE. 



Deut. xviii. 15. The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet, &c. 



Having spoken of the person of Christ, we 
are next to speak of the offices of Christ, — 
Prophetical, Priestly, Regal. 

I. Prophetical. " The Lord thy God will 
raise up unto thee a Prophet." Enuncia- 
tur hie locus de Christo, — it is spoken of 
Christ. There are several names given to 
Christ as a Prophet : He is called ' the Coun- 
sellor,' Isa. ix. 6. In uno Christo Angelus 
foederis completur, Fagius. * The Messen- 
ger of the covenant,' Mai. iii. 1. 'A Lamp,' 
2 Sam. xxii. 29. * The Morning-star,' Rev. 
xxii. 16. Jesus Christ is the great Prophet 
of his church. The woman of Samaria, gave 
a shrewd guess, John iv. 16. He is the best 
teacher, he makes all other teaching effec- 
tual, Luke xxiv. 45, " Then opened he their 
understanding." He did not only open the 
scriptures, but opened their understanding. 
He teacheth to profit, Isa. xlviii. 17 } " I am 
the Lord thy God, who teacheth thee to 
profit." 

Quest. How doth Christ teach ? 
Ans. 1. Externally, by his word, Ps. cxix. 
105, " Thy word is a lamp to my feet." Such 
P 



as pretend to have a light or revelation above 
the word, or contrary to it, never had their 
teaching from Christ, Isa. viii. 20. 

A. 2. Christ teacheth these sacred myste- 
ries, inwardly, by the Spirit, John xvi. 13. 
The world knows not what it is, 1 Cor. ii. 
14, " The natural man receives not the things 
of God, neither can he know them." He 
knows not what it is to be transformed by 
the renewing of the mind, Rom. xii. 2, or 
what the inward workings of the Spirit mean ; 
these are riddles and paradoxes to him. He 
may have more insight into the things of the 
world than a believer, but he doth not see the 
deep things of God. A swine may see an 
acorn under a tree, but he cannot see a star ; 
he who is taught of Christ sees the arcana 
imperii, — the secrets of the kingdom of hea- 
ven. 

Quest. What are the lessons Christ 
teacheth ? 

Ans. 1. He teacheth us to see into our 
own hearts. Take the most mercurial wits, 
the greatest politicians that understand the 
mysteries of state, yet they know not the 



114 



OF CHRIST'S PROPHETICAL OFFICE. 



mysteries of their own hearts, they cannot 
believe there is that evil in them as is, 
2 Kings viii. 13, "Is thy servant a dog?" 
Grande profundum est homo, Aug. The 
heart is a great deep, which is not easily fa- 
thomed. But Christ when he teacheth, re- 
moves the veil of ignorance, and lights a 
man into his own heart ; and now he sees 
swarms of vain thoughts, — he blusheth to 
see how sin mingles with his duties, — his 
stars are mixed with clouds, — he prays, as 
Austin, that God would deliver him from him- 
self. 

A. 2. The second lesson Christ teacheth, 
is the vanity of the creature, A natural man 
sets up his happiness here, worships the gold- 
en image ; but he that Christ hath anointed 
with his eye-salve, hath a spirit of discern- 
ing, he looks upon the creature in its night- 
dress, sees it to be empty and unsatisfying, 
not commensurate to a heaven-born soul. 
Solomon had put all the creatures into a lim- 
beck, and when he came to extract the spirit 
and quintessence, all was vanity, Eccl. ii. 11. 
The apostle calls it a show or apparition, 
1 Cor. vii. 31, having no intrinsical goodness. 

A. 3. The third lesson is the excellency of 
things unseen. Christ gives the soul a sight 
of glory, a prospect of eternity, 2 Cor. iv. 18, 
" We look not at things which are seen, but 
at things which are not seen." Moses saw 
him who is ' invisible,' Heb. ix. 27. And 
the Patriarchs saw a better country, viz. a 
heavenly, Heb. xi. 16, where delights of an- 
gels, rivers of pleasure, the flower of joy, 
fully ripe and blown. 

Quest. How doth Christ's teaching differ 
from other teaching ? 

Ans. Several ways : 

1. Christ teacheth the heart. Others may 
teach the ear, Christ the heart. Acts. xvi. 
14, " Whose heart the Lord opened." All 
that the dispensers of the word can do is but 
to work knowledge, Christ works grace ; 
they can but give you the light of the truth, 
Christ gives you the love of the truth ; they 
can only teach you what to believe, Christ 
teacheth how to believe. 

2. Christ gives us a taste of the word. 
Ministers may set the food of the word be- 
fore you, and carve it out to you ; but it is 
only Christ causeth you to taste it, i. Pet. ii. 



3, " If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is 
gracious ;" Ps. xxxiv. 8, " Taste and see 
that the Lord is good." It is one thing to 
hear a truth preached, another thing to taste 
it ; one thing to read a promise, another 
thing to taste it. David had got a taste of 
the word, Ps. cxix. 102, 103, " Thou hast 
taught me : How sweet are thy words unto 
my taste ! yea, sweeter than honey to my 
mouth." The apostle calls it the savour of 
knowledge, 2 Cor. ii. 14. The light of know- 
ledge is one thing, the savour another. 
Christ makes us taste a savouriness in the 
word. 

3. Christ, when he teacheth, makes ua 
obey. Others may instruct, but cannot com- 
mand obedience ; they teach to be humble, 
but men remain proud. The Prophet had 
been denouncing judgments against the peo- 
ple of Judah, but they would not hear, Jer. 
xliv. 17, " We will do whatsoever goeth out 
of our own mouth, to bake cakes to the queen 
of heaven." Men come quasi armed in a 
coat of mail that the sword of the word will 
not enter ; but when Christ comes to teach, 
he removes this obstinacy ; he not only in- 
forms the judgment, but inclines the will. He 
doth not only come with the light of his word, 
but the rod of his strength, and makes the 
stubborn sinner yield to him. His grace is 
irresistible. 

4. Christ teacheth easily. Others teach 
with difficulty. Difficulty in finding out a 
truth, and in inculcating it, Isa. xxviii. 10, 
" Precept (must be) upon precept, and line 
upon line." Some may teach all their lives, 
and the word take no impression. They 
complain, as Isa. xlix. 4, " I have spent my 
labour in vain," ploughed on rocks; but Christ 
the great Prophet teacheth with ease. He 
can with the least touch of his Spirit con- 
vert ; he can say, " Let there be light ;" with 
a word he conveys grace. 

5. Christ when he teacheth makes men 
willing to learn. Men may teach others, but 
they have no mind to learn, Prov. i. 7, 
" Fools despise instruction ;" they rage at 
the word, as if a patient should rage at the 
physician when he brings him a cordial ; 
thus backward are men to their own salva- 
tion. But Christ makes his people a ' wil- 
ling people,' Ps. ex. 3. They prize know- 



OF CHRIST'S PROPHETICAL OFFICE. 



115 



ledge, and hang it as a jewel upon their ear. 
Those that Christ teacheth, say, as, Isa. ii. 
3, " Come let us go up to the mountain of 
the Lord, and he will teach us of his ways, 
and we will walk in them ;" and, as Acts x. 
33, " We are all here present before God, to 
hear all things commanded." 

6. Christ, when he teacheth, doth not only 
illuminate, but animate. He doth so teach, 
as he doth quicken, John viii. 12, "I am the 
light of the world ;" he that follows me 
shall have lumen vitce, — the light of life. 
By nature we are dead, therefore unfit for 
teaching ; who will make an oration to the 
dead] But Christ teacheth them that are 
dead, he gives the light of life. As when 
Lazarus was dead, Christ said, " Come 
forth :" and he made the dead to hear, " La- 
zarus came forth :" so when Christ saith to 
the dead soul, come forth of the grave of un- 
belief, he hears Christ's voice, and comes 
forth, it is the light of life. The philosophers 
say, color et lux concrescunt, — light and heat 
increase together. 'Tis true here, where 
Christ comes with his light, there is the heat 
of the spiritual life going along with it. 

Use 1st. Of information. 1. See here an 
argument of Christ's Divinity : had he not 
been God, he could never have known the 
mind of God, or revealed to us those arcani 
cceli, — those deep mysteries, which no man 
or angel could find out. Who but God can 
anoint the eyes of the blind, and give not only 
light, but sight 1 Who but he, who hath the 
key of David, can open the heart 1 Who but 
God can bow the iron sinew of the will 1 He 
only who is God can enlighten the con- 
science, and make the stony heart bleed. 

2. See what a cornucopia, or plenty of 
wisdom is in Christ, who is the great doctor 
of his church, and gives saving knowledge 
to all the elect. The body of the sun must 
needs be full of clarity and brightness, which 
enlightens the whole world : Christ is the 
great luminary, " in whom are hid all trea- 
sures of knowledge," Col. ii. 3. The middle 
lamp of the sanctuary gave light to all the 
other lamps : Christ diffuseth his glorious 
light to others. We are apt to admire the 
learning of Aristotle and Plato : Alas ! what 
ie this poor spark of light to that which is 



in Christ, from whose infinite wisdom both 
men and angels light their lamp. 

3. See the misery of man in the state of 
nature. Before Christ come to be their pro- 
phet they are enveloped with ignorance and 
darkness. Men know nothing in a salvifical 
sanctified manner, they know nothing as 
they ought to know, 1 Cor. viii. 2. This is 
sad. 1. Men in the dark cannot discern co- 
lours : so in the state of nature they cannot 
discern between morality and grace, — they 
take one for the other, pro dea nubem. — 2. 
In the dark the greatest beauty is hid, — let 
there be rare flowers in the garden, and pic- 
tures in the room, yet in the dark their 
beauty is veiled over, — so, though there be 
such transcendent beauty in Christ as 
amazeth the angels, a man in the state of 
nature sees none of this beauty. What is 
Christ to him, or heaven to him 1 The veil 
is upon his heart. — 3. A man in the dark is 
in danger every step he goes : so a man in 
the state of nature is in danger, every step, 
of falling into hell. Thus it is before Christ 
teacheth us ; nay, the darkness in which a 
sinner is, while in an unregenerate state, is 
worse than natural darkness, for natural 
darkness affrights, Gen. xv. 12, " An horror 
of great darkness fell upon Abraham," but 
the spiritual darkness is not accompanied 
with horror, — men tremble not at their con- 
dition, — nay, they like their condition well 
enough, John iii. 19, " Men loved darkness." 
This is their sad condition, till Jesus Christ 
comes as a prophet to teach them, and to 
turn them from darkness to light, and from 
the power of Satan to God. 

4. See the happy condition of the children 
of God, they have Christ to be their pro- 
phet, Isa. liv. 13, " All thy children shall be 
taught of the Lord;" 1 Cor. i. 30, "God is 
made to us wisdom." One man cannot see 
by another's eyes ; but believers see with 
Christ's eyes, — " In his light they see light ;" 
Christ gives them the light of grace and light 
of glory. 

Use 2d. Labour to have Christ for your 
prophet ; he teacheth savingly, he is an in- 
terpreter of a thousand, he can untie those 
knots which puzzle very angels. Till Christ 
teach, we never learn any lesson ; till Christ 



116 



OF CHRIST'S PROPHETICAL OFFICE. 



is made to us wisdom, we shall never be wise 
to salvation. 

Quest. What shall we do to have Christ 
for our teacher ? 

Ans. See your need of Christ's teaching. 
You cannot see your way without this morn- 
ing-star. Some speak much of the light of 
reason improved : Alas ! the plumb-line of 
reason is too short to fathom the deep things 
of God, — the light of reason will no more 
help a man to believe, than the light of a 
candle will help him to understand. A man 
can no more by the power of nature reach 
Christ, than an infant can reach the top of 
the pyramids, or the ostrich fly up to the 
stars. See your need of Christ's anointing 
and teaching, Rev. iii. 18. 

A. 2. Go to Christ to teach you, Ps. xxv. 5, 
" Lead me in thy truth, and teach me." As 
one of the disciples said, " Lord teach us to 
pray," Luke xi. 1 : so Lord, teach me to profit. 
Do thou light my lamp, O thou great prophet 
of thy church ! Give me a spirit of wisdom 
and revelation, that I may see things in ano- 
ther manner than ever I saw them before ; 
teach me in the word to hear thy voice, and 
in the sacrament to discern thy body, Ps. 
xiii. 3, " Lighten mine eyes," &c. Cathe- 
dram habet in cailo qui corda docet in terra. 
Aug. " He hath his pulpit in heaven who 
converts souls." And that we may be en- 
couraged to go to our great prophet : 

1. Jesus Christ is very willing to teach 
us. Why else did he enter into the calling 
of the ministry but to teach the mysteries 
of heaven] Matt. iv. 23, "Jesus went 
about teaching and preaching the gospel of 
the kingdom, and healing all manner of 
sickness and all manner of disease among 
the people." Why did he take the office 
prophetical upon him 1 — Why was Christ so 
angry with them that kept away the key of 
knowledge'? Luke xi. 52. — Why was Christ 
anointed with the spirit without measure'? 
— but that he might anoint us with know- 
ledge. Knowledge is in Christ as milk in 
the breast for the child. O then go to 
Christ for teaching ! None in the gospel 
came to Christ for sight but he restored 
their eye-sight ; and sure Christ is more 
willing to work a cure upon a blind soul, 



than ever he was to do so upon a blind ! 1 
body. 

2. There are none so dull and ignorant 
but Christ can teach them. Every one is \ 
not fit to make a philosopher's scholar of, ! 
ex omni ligno nonfit Mercurius ; but there 
is none so dull, but Christ can make a good 
scholar of. Even such as are ignorant, and 
of low parts, Christ teacheth them in such 
a manner, that they know more than the 
great sages and wise men of the world. 
Hence that saying of St. Augustine, sur- j 
gunt indocti, et rapiunt ccelum, — the un- 
learned men rise up, and take heaven ; they j 
know the truths of Christ more savingly than i 
the great admired Rabbies. The duller the 
scholar, the more is his skill seen that teach- j 
eth. Hence it is, Christ delights in teaching 
the ignorant, to get himself more glory, Isa. 
xxxv. 5, " The eyes of the blind shall be 
opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be un- j 
stopped." Who would go to teach a blind 
or a deaf man ? Yet such dull scholars Christ 
teacheth. Such as are blinded with igno- 
rance, they shall see the mysteries of the 
gospel, and the deaf ears shall be unstopped, i 

3. Wait upon the means of grace which 
Christ hath appointed. Though Christ teach- 
eth by his Spirit, yet he teacheth in the use 
of ordinances. Wait at the gates of wisdom's 
door ; ministers are teachers under Christ, j 
Eph. iv. 11, "Pastors and teachers." We 1 
read of pitchers and lamps within the pitch- j 
ers, Judges vii. 16. Ministers are earthen 1 
vessels, but these pitchers have lamps within I 
them to light souls to heaven. Christ is said 
to speak to us from heaven now, Heb. xii. 
25, viz. by his ministers, as the king speaks j 
by his ambassador. Such as wean them- 
selves from the breast of ordinances, seldom 
thrive ; either they grow light in their head, !j 
or lame in their feet. The word preached is 
Christ's voice in the mouth of the minister, 
and they that refuse to hear Christ speaking 
in the ministry, Christ will refuse to hear 1 
them speaking on their death-bed. 

4. If you would have the teachings of 
Christ, walk according to that knowledge 
which you have already. Use your little 
knowledge well, and Christ will teach you j 
more, John vii. 17. " If any man will do 



OP CHRIST'S PRIESTLY OFFICE. 



117 



his will, he shall know of my doctrine, whe- 
ther it be of God, or whether I speak of my- 
self." A master seeing his servant improve a 
little stock well gives him more to trade with. 

Use 3d. If you have been taught by Christ 
savingly, be thankful ; it is your honour to 
have God for your teacher, and that he should 
teach you and not others, is matter of admi- 
ration and gratulation. O how many know- 
ing men are ignorant ! They are not taught 
of God ; they have Christ's word to enlighten 
them, but not his Spirit to sanctify them. But 
that you should have the inward as well as 
the outward teaching, — that Christ should 
anoint you with the heavenly unction of his 



Spirit, — that you can say as he, John ix. 25, 
" One thing I know, that whereas I was 
blind, I now see," — O how thankful should 
you be to Christ, who hath revealed his Fa- 
ther's bosom secrets unto you ! John i. 18, 
" No man hath seen God at any time ; the 
only begotten Son which is in the bosom of 
the Father, he hath declared him." If Alex- 
ander thought himself so much obliged to 
Aristotle for the philosophical instructions 
he learned from him ; O how are we obliged 
to Jesus Christ, this great Prophet, for open- 
ing to us the eternal purposes of his love, and 
revealing to us the mysteries of the kingdom 
of heaven ! 



OF CHRIST'S PRIESTLY OFFICE. 



Quest. XXV. How doth Christ execute 
the office of a priest ? 

Ans. In his once offering up of himself a 
sacrifice to satisfy divine justice, and recon- 
cile us to God, and in making continual inter- 
cession for us. — Heb. ix. 26, " Now once in 
the end of the world hath he appeared to put 
away sin by the sacrifice of himself." 

Quest. What are the parts of Christ's 
priestly office. 

Ans. Christ's priestly office hath two parts, 
his satisfaction and intercession. 

I. His satisfaction. And this consists of 
two branches : 1st. His active obedience, 
Matt. iii. 15, " He fulfilled all righteousness. 
Christ did every thing which the law required ; 
his holy life was a perfect commentary upon 
the law of God ; and he obeyed the law for 
us.-— 2d. His passive obedience. Our guilt 
being transferred and imputed to him, he did 
undergo the penalty which was due to us ; 
he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice 
of himself. The paschal-lamb slain, was a 
type of Christ who was offered up in sacrifice 
for us. Sin could not be done away without 
blood, Heb. ix. 22, " Without blood is no re- 
mission." Christ was not only a lamb with- 
out spot, but a lamb slain. 

Quest. Why was it requisite there should 
be a priest ? 

Ans. There needed a priest to be an um- 



pire, to mediate between a guilty creature, 
and an holy God. 

Quest. How could Christ suffer, being 
God J 

Ans. Christ suffered only in the human 
nature. 

Quest. But if only Christ's humanity 
suffered, how could this suffering satisfy for 
sin ? 

Ans. The human nature being united to 
the divine, the human nature did surfer, the 
divine did satisfy. Christ's Godhead, as it 
did support the human nature that it did not 
faint, so it did give virtue to his sufferings. 
The altar sanctifies the thing offered on it, 
Matt, xxiii. 19 : so the altar of Christ's divine 
nature sanctified the sacrifice of his death, 
and made it of infinite value. 

Quest. Wherein doth the greatness of 
Christ's sufferings appear ? 

Ans. 1st. In the sufferings of his body. 
He suffered truly, not in appearance only ; 
the apostle calls it mors crucis, — the death 
of the cross, Phil. ii. 8. Tully, when he 
speaks of this kind of death, quid decam in 
crucem tollere 1 Though he was a great 
orator he wanted words to express it. The 
thoughts of this made Christ sweat great 
drops of blood in the garden, Luke xxii. 44. 
It was an ignominious, painful, cursed death. 
Christ suffered in all his senses : 1. In his 



118 



OF CHRIST'S PRIESTLY OFFICE. 



eyes ; they beheld two sad objects, he saw 
his enemies insulting, and his mother weep- 
ing. — 2. In his ears ; his ears were filled 
with the revilings of the people, Matt, xxvii. 
42, " He saved others, himself he cannot 
save ." — 3. In his smell ; when their drivel 
fell upon his face. — 4. In his taste; when 
they gave him gall and vinegar to drink, bit- 
terness and sharpness. — 5. In his feeling; 
his head suffered with thorns, his hands and 
feet with the nails. Totum pro vulnere cor- 
pus ; now was this white lily dyed of a pur- 
ple colour. — 2d. In the sufferings of his soul. 
He was pressed in the wine-press of his Fa- 
ther's wrath. This caused that vociferation 
and outcry on the cross, " My God, My God," 
cur deseruisti? Christ suffered a double 
eclipse upon the cross, an eclipse of the sun, 
and an eclipse of the light of God's counte- 
nance. How bitter was this agony ! The 
evangelists use three words to express it : 
" He began to be amazed," Mark xiv. 33 ; 
" He began to be faint ;" " To be exceeding 
sorrowful," Matt. xxvi. 37. Christ felt the 
pains of hell in his soul, though not locally, 
yet equivalently. 

Quest. Why did Christ suffer ? 

Ans. Surely not for any desert of his own, 
Dan. ix. 26, " The Messiah shall be cut off, 
but not for himself :" it was for us, Isa. liii. 
6. Unus peccat, alius plectitur ; he suffer- 
ed, that he might satisfy God's justice for us. 
We, by our sins, had infinitely wronged God; 
and, could we have shed rivers of tears, of- 
fered up millions of holocausts and burnt- 
offerings, we could never have pacified an 
angry Deity ; therefore Christ must die, that 
God's justice may be satisfied. — It is hotly 
debated among divines, whether God could 
not have forgiven sin freely without a sa- 
crifice. Not to dispute what God could 
have done, yet when we consider God was 
resolved to have the law satisfied, and to have 
man saved in a way of justice as well as mer- 
cy, then, I say, it was necessary that Christ 
should lay down his life as a sacrifice. 

1. To fulfil the predictions of scripture, Luke 
xxiv. 46, " Thus it behoved Christ to suffer." 

2. To bring us into favour with God. It 
is one thing for a traitor to be pardoned, and 
another thing to be made a favourite. Christ's 
blood is not only called a sacrifice, whereby 



God is appeased, but a propitiation, whereby 
God becomes gracious and friendly to us. 
Christ is our mercy-seat, from which God 
gives answers of peace to us. 

3. Christ died that he might make good 
his last will and testament with his blood ; 
there were many legacies which Christ be- 
queathed to believers, which had been all 
null and void, had not he died, and by his 
death confirmed the will, Heb. ix. 16. A 
testament is in force after men are dead ; the 
mission of the Spirit, the promises, those 
legacies, were not in force till Christ's death ; 
but Christ by his blood hath sealed them, and 
believers may lay claim to them. 

4. He died that he might purchase for us 
glorious mansions, therefore heaven is called 
not only a promised, but a ' purchased pos- 
session,' Eph. i. 14. Christ died for our 
preferment ; he suffered that we might reign ; 
he hung upon the cross that we might sit upon 
the throne. Heaven was shut, &c. crux 
Christi, clavis Paradisi, — the cross of Christ 
is the ladder by which we ascend to heaven. 
His crucifixion is our coronation. 

Use 1st. In the bloody sacrifice of Christ, 
see the horrid nature of sin ; sin, it is true, is 
odious as it banished Adam out of paradise, 
and threw the angels into hell ; but that 
which doth most of all make it appear horrid, 
is this, that it made Christ veil his glory, and 
lose his blood. We should look upon sin 
with indignation, and pursue it with a holy 
malice, and shed the blood of those sins which 
shed Christ's blood. The sight of Caesar's 
bloody robe, incensed the Romans against 
them that slew him. The sight of Christ's 
bleeding body should incense us against sin ; 
let us not parley with it, let not that be our 
joy, which made Christ a man of sorrow. 

Use 2d. Is Christ our priest sacrificed ? 
See God's mercy and justice displayed. I 
may say as the apostle, Rom. xi. 22, " Be- 
hold the goodness and severity of God." 
1. The goodness of God in providing a sa- 
crifice : had not Christ suffered upon the 
cross, we must have lain in hell for ever, 
satisfying God's justice. — 2. The severity 
of God: though it were his own Son, the 
Son of his love, and our sins were but im- 
puted to him, yet God did not spare him, 
Rom. viii. 32, but his wrath did flame 



OF CHRIST'S PRIESTLY OFFICE. 



119 



against him. And if God were thus severe 
to his own Son, how dreadful will he be one 
day to his enemies ) Such as die in wilful 
impenitency, must feel the same wrath as 
Christ did ; and because they cannot bear it 
at once, therefore they must be enduring it 
for ever. 

Use 3d. Is Christ our priest, who was sa- 
crificed for us 1 Then see the endeared affec- 
tion of Christ to us sinners. " The cross," 
saith Austin, " was a pulpit, in which Christ 
preached his love to the world." That Christ 
should die, was more than if all the angels 
had been turned to dust ; and that Christ 
should die as a malefactor, having the weight 
of all men's sins laid upon him, that he should 
die for his enemies, Rom. v. 10. The balm- 
1 tree weeps out its precious balm, to heal 
i those that cut and mangle it : Christ shed his 
blood, to heal those that crucified him. And 
that he should die freely : it is called ' the of- 
fering of the body of Jesus,' Heb. x. 10. And 
though his sufferings were so great that they 
made him sigh, and weep, and bleed ; yet 
they could not make him repent, Isa. liii. 11, 
1 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and 
be satisfied." Christ had hard travail upon 
the cross, yet he doth not repent of it, but 
thinks his sweat and blood well bestowed, 
because he sees redemption brought forth 
to the world. O infinite, amazing love of 
Christ ! A love that passeth knowledge, Eph. 
iii. 19, that neither man nor angel can pa- 
rallel ! How should we be affected with this 
love ! If Saul was so affected with David's 
kindness in sparing his life, how should we 
be affected with Christ's kindness in parting 
with his life for us 1 At Christ's death and 
passion, the very stones did cleave asunder, 
Mat. xxvii. 51, " The rocks rent." Not to 
be affected with Christ's love in dying, is to 
have hearts harder than rocks. 

Use 4:lh. Is Christ our sacrifice ] then see 
the excellency of his sacrifice. It is perfect, 
Heb. x. 14, " By one offering, he hath per- 
fected them that are sanctified." Therefore, 
how impious are the Papists, in joining their 
merits and the prayers of saints with Christ's 
sacrifice'? They offer him up daily in the 
mass, as if Christ's sacrifice on the cross 
were imperfect ; this is a blasphemy against 



Christ's priestly office. — 2. Christ's sacrifice 
is meritorious ; he not only died for our ex- 
ample, but to merit salvation ; the person 
who suffered being God as well as man, did 
put virtue into his sufferings ; and now our 
sins are expiated, and God appeased. No 
sooner did the messengers say, " Uriah is 
dead," but David's anger was pacified, 2 
Sam. xi. 21. No sooner did Christ die, but 
God's anger was pacified. — 3. This sacrifice 
is beneficial. Out of the dead lion Samson 
had honey ; it procures justification of our 
persons, acceptance of our service, — access 
to God with boldness, — entrance into the 
holy place of heaven, Heb. x. 19. Per latus 
Christi patescit nobis in cazlum, Israel pass- 
ed through the Red Sea to Canaan; so 
through the red sea of Christ's blood, we 
enter into the heavenly Canaan. 

Use 5th. Of exhortation. 1. Let us fidu- 
cially apply this blood of Christ ; all the 
virtue of a medicine is in the applying; 
though the medicine be made of the blood of 
God, it will not heal, unless by faith applied. 
As fire is to the chymist, so is faith to the 
Christian ; the chymist can do nothing with- 
out fire, so there is nothing done without 
faith. Faith makes Christ's sacrifice ours, 
Phil. iii. 8, " Christ Jesus my Lord." It is 
not gold in the mine that enricheth, but gold 
in the hand ; faith is the hand that receives 
Christ's golden merits. It is not a cordial 
in the glass refresheth the spirit, but a cor- 
dial drunk down. Per jidem Christi san- 
guinem sugimus, Cypr. Faith opens the 
orifice of Christ's wounds, and drinks the 
precious cordial of his blood. Without faith 
Christ himself will not avail us. 

2. Let us love a bleeding Saviour, and let 
us show our love to Christ, by being ready to 
suffer for him. Many rejoice at Christ's 
suffering for them, but . dream not of their 
suffering for him; Joseph dreamed of his 
preferment, but not of his imprisonment. 
Was Christ a sacrifice ?— Did he bear God's 
wrath for us 1 — We should bear man's wrath 
for him. Christ's death was voluntary, Ps. 
xl. 7, " Lo, I come to do thy will, O God 
Luke xii. 50, " I have a baptism to be bap- 
tised with, and how am I straitened till it be 
accomplished ! Christ calls his sufferings a 



120 



OF CHRIST'S INTERCESSION. 



baptism ; he was to be (as it were) baptised 
in his own blood ; and how did he thirst for 
that time ; ' How am I straitened V O then, 
let us be willing to suffer for Christ ! Christ 
hath taken away the venom and sting of the 
saint's sufferings : there is no wrath in their 
cup. Our sufferings Christ can make sweet. 
As there was oil mixed in the peace-offering, 
so God can mix the oil of gladness with our 
sufferings. "The ringing of my chain is 
sweet music in my ears," Landgrave of 
Hesse. Life must be parted with shortly ; 
what is it to part with it a little sooner, as 
a sacrifice to Christ, as a seal of sincerity, 
and a pledge of thankfulness 1 

Use 6th. Of consolation. This sacrifice of 
Christ's blood may infinitely comfort us. This 
is the blood of atonement ; Christ's cross is 
cardo salutis, Calv. " The hinge and foun- 
tain of our comfort." 1. This blood com- 
forts in case of guilt ! O, saith the soul, my 
sins trouble me ! why, Christ's blood was 
shed for the remission of sin, Matt. xxvi. 5. 
Let us see our sins laid on Christ, and then 
they are no more ours but his. — 2. In case of 
pollution. Christ's blood is an healing and 
cleansing blood : (1.) It is healing, Isa. liii. 5, 
" With his stripes we are healed." It is the 
best weapon-salve, it heals at a distance : 
Though Christ be in heaven, we may feel the 
virtue of his blood healing our bloody issue. 
(2.) And it is cleansing : It is therefore com- 
pared to fountain-water, Zech. xiii. 1. The 
word is a glass to show us our spots, and 
Christ's blood is a fountain to wash them 
away ; it turns leprosy into purity, I John i. 7, 
" The blood of Jesus cleanseth us from all 
our sin." There is indeed one spot so black, 
that Christ's blood doth not wash away, 
viz. the sin against the Holy Ghost. Not 
but that there is virtue enough in Christ's 



blood to wash it away; but he who hath 
sinned that sin will not be washed, he con- 
temns Christ's blood, and tramples it under 
foot, Heb. x. 29. Thus we see what a 
strong cordial Christ's blood is ; it is the 
anchor-hold of our faith, the spring of our 
joy, the crown of our desires, and the only 
support both in life and death. In all our 
fears, let us comfort ourselves with the pro- 
pitiatory sacrifice of Christ's blood : Christ 
died both as a purchaser and as a conqueror : 
1. As a purchaser, in regard of God having 
by his blood obtained our salvation. 2. And 
as a conqueror, in regard of Satan ; the cross 
being his triumphant chariot, wherein he 
hath led hell and death captive. 

Use ult. Bless God for this precious sacri- 
fice of Christ's death, Ps. ciii. 1, " Bless the 
Lord, O my soul !" And for what doth Da- 
vid bless him? "Who redeemeth thy life 
from destruction!" Christ gave himself a 
sin-offering for us ; let us give ourselves a 
thank-offering to him. If a man redeem 
another out of debt, will not he be grateful ? 
How deeeply do we stand obliged to Christ, 
who hath redeemed us from hell and damna- 
tion ! Rev. v. 9, " And they sung a new song, 
saying, thou art worthy to take the book, and 
open the seals ; for thou wast slain, and hast 
redeemed us to God by thy blood." Let our 
hearts and tongues join in concert to bless 
God, and let us show thankfulness to Christ 
by fruitfulness ; let us bring forth (as spice- 
trees) the fruits of humility, zeal, good 
works. This is to live unto him who died 
for us, 2 Cor. v. 15. The wise men did not 
only worship Christ, but presented him with 
gifts : gold, and frankincense, and myrrh, 
Mat. ii. 11. Let us present Christ with the 
fruits of righteousness which are unto the 
glory and praise of God. 



OF CHRIST'S INTERCESSION. 

Rom. viii. 34. Who also maketh intercession for us. 

II. When Aaron entered into the holy makes a melodious sound in the ears of God. 
place, his bells gave a sound : so Christ Christ, though he be exalted to glory, hath 
having entered into heaven, his intercession not laid aside his bowels of compassion, but 



OF CHRIST'S INTERCESSION. 



121 



is still mindful of his body mystical, as Jo- 
seph was mindful of his father and brethren, 
when he was exalted to the court. " Who 
also maketh intercession for us." To inter- 
' cede is to make request in the behalf of an- 
I other. Christ is the great master of requests 
i in heaven ; Christus est Catholicus Ratris 
Sacerdos, Tertul. 

Quest. What are the qualifications of 
our intercessor ? 

Ans. He is holy, Heb. vii. 26, " For such 
; a high priest became us, who is holy, unde- 
nted, separated from sinners." " Christ knew 
no sin," 2 Cor. v. 21. He knew sin in its 
weight, not in the act. It was requisite that 
he, who was to do away the sins of others, 
should himself be without sin. Holiness is 
one of the precious stones which shine on 
the breastplate of our high priest. 

A. 2. He is faithful, Heb. ii. 17, " It be- 
hoved him to be made like unto his brethren, 
that he might be a faithful high priest." 
Moses was faithful as a servant, — Christ as 
a son, Heb. iii. 5. He doth not forget any 
; cause he hath to plead, nor doth he use any 
deceit in pleading. An ordinary attorney 
■ may either leave out some word which might 
make for the client, or put in a word against 
him, having received a fee on both sides ; but 
Christ is true to the cause he pleads ; we may 
leave our matters with him, we may trust our 
lives and souls in his hand. 

A. 3. He never dies. The priests under 
the law, while their office lived, they them- 
selves died, Heb. vii. 23, " They were not 
suffered to continue, by reason of death;" 
but " Christ ever lives to make intercession," 
Heb. vii. 25. He hath no succession in his 
priesthood. 

Quest. Who Christ intercedes for 1 

Ans. Not for all promiscuously, John xvii. 
9, but for the elect. The efficacy of Christ's 
prayer reacheth no further than the efficacy 
of his blood ; but his blood was shed only for 
the elect, therefore his prayers only reach 
them. The high priest went into the sanc- 
tuary with the names only of the twelve 
tribes upon his breast : so Christ goes into 
heaven only with the names of the elect 
upon his breast. Christ intercedes for the 
weakest believers, John xvii. 20, and for all 
Q 



the sins of believers. In the law there were 
some sins the high priest was neither to offer 
sacrifice for, nor yet to offer prayer for, 
Numb. xv. 30, " The soul that doth ought 
presumptuously shall be cut off." The priest 
might offer up prayer for sins of ignorance, 
but not of presumption ; but Christ's inter- 
cession extends to all the sins of the elect. 
Of what a bloody colour was David's sin ! 
Yet it did not exclude Christ's intercession. 

Quest. What doth Christ in the work of 
intercession ? 

Ans. Three things. 

L He presents the merit of his blood to his 
Father, and, in the virtue of that price paid, 
pleads for mercy. The high priest was 
herein a lively type of Christ. Aaron was to 
do four things : 1. Kill the beasts. — 2. To 
enter with the blood into the holy of holies. — 
3. To sprinkle the mercy-seat with the blood. 
— 4. To kindle the incense, and with the 
smoke of it cause a cloud arise over the 
mercy-seat ; and so the atonement was made, 
Lev. xvi. 11, 12, 13,14, 15, 16. Christ our 
high priest did exactly answer to this type : 
he was offered up in sacrifice, that answers 
to the priest's killing the bullock : and Christ 
is gone up into heaven, that answers to the 
priest's going into the holy of holies, — and 
he spreads his blood before his Father, that 
answers to the priest's sprinkling the blood 
upon the mercy-seat, — and he prays to his 
Father that for his blood's sake he would be 
propitious to sinners, that answers to the 
cloud of incense going up, — and through his 
intercession God is pacified, that answers to 
the priest's making atonement. 

2. Christ by his intercession answers all 
bills of indictment brought in against the 
elect. Believers, do what they can, Sin, and 
then Satan accuseth them to God, and con- 
science accuseth them to themselves : now, 
Christ by his intercession, answers all these 
accusations, Rom. viii. 33, "Who shall lay 
any thing to the charge of God's elect ? it 
is Christ that maketh intercession for us." 
When Esculus was accused for some impiety, 
his brother stood up for him, and showed the 
magistrates how he had lost his hand in the 
service of the state, and so obtained his par- 
don : thus, when Satan accuseth the saints, 



122 



OF CHRIST'S INTERCESSION. 



or when the justice of God lays any thing to 
their charge, Christ shows his own wounds, 
and by virtue of his bloody sufferings, he an- 
swers all the demands and challenges of the 
law, and counterworks Satan's accusations. 

3. Christ by his intercession calls for ac- 
quittance, ' Lord, let the sinner be absolved 
from guilt :' and in this sense Christ is called 
an advocate, 1 John ii. 1. He requires that 
the sinner be set free in the court. An ad- 
vocate differs much from an orator ; an ora- 
tor useth rhetoric to persuade and entreat 
the judge to show mercy to another ; but an 
advocate tells the judge what is law. Thus 
Christ appears in heaven as an advocate, he 
represents what is law ; when God's justice 
opens the debt-book, Christ opens the law- 
book : "Lord," saith he, "thou art a just 
God, and wilt not be pacified without blood ; 
Lo ! here the blood is shed, therefore in jus- 
tice, give me a discharge of these distressed 
creatures ; it is equal, that the law being 
satisfied, the sinner should be acquitted." 
And, upon Christ's plea, God sets his hand 
to the sinner's pardon. 

Quest. In what manner Christ inter- 
cedes ? 

Ans. 2. Freely : he pleads our cause in 
heaven, and takes no fee. An ordinary law- 
yer will have his fee, and sometimes a bribe 
too ; but Christ is not mercenary, how many 
causes doth he plead every day in heaven and 
will take nothing? As Christ laid down his life 
freely, John x. 15, 18, so he intercedes freely. 

A. 3. Feelingly : he is as sensible of our 
condition as his own, Heb. iv. 15, " We have 
not a high priest which cannot be touched 
with the feeling of our infirmity." As a ten- 
der-hearted mother would plead with a judge 
for a child ready to be condemned ; O how 
would her bowels work ! how would her tears 
trickle down ! what weeping rhetoric would 
she use to the judge for mercy ! Thus the 
Lord Jesus is full of sympathy and tenderness, 
Heb. ii. 17, that he might be a merciful high 
priest ; though he hath left his passion, yet 
not his compassion. An ordinary lawyer is 
not affected with the cause he pleads, nor 
doth he care which way it goes ; it is profit 
makes him plead, not affection ; but Christ 
intercedes feelingly, and that which makes 



him intercede with affection is, it is his own 
cause which he pleads. He hath shed his 
blood to purchase life and salvation for the 
elect ; and if they should not be saved, he 
would lose his purchase. 

A. 4. Efficaciously: it is a prevailing in- 
tercession. Christ never lost any cause he 
pleaded ; he was never non-suited. Christ's 
intercession, must needs be effectual, if we 
consider, 

1. The excellency of his person. If the 
prayer of a saint be so prevalent with God, 
(Moses's prayer did bind God's hand, Exod. 
xxxii. 10, "Let me alone ;" and Jacob, as a 
prince, prevailed with God, Gen. xxxii. 28 ; 
and Elijah did by prayer open and shut hea- 
ven, James v. 17), then what is Christ's 
prayer 1 He is the Son of God, the Son in 
whom he is well pleased, Matt. iii. 17. What 
will not a father grant a son ! John xi. 42, 
" I knew that thou hearest me always." If 
God could forget that Christ were a priest, 
yet he cannot forget that he is a son. 

2. Christ prays for nothing but what his 
Father hath a mind to grant. There is but one 
will between Christ and his Father ; Christ 
prays "Sanctify them through thy truth;" 
and, " This is the will of God, even your sanc- 
tification," 1 Thess. iv. 3. So then, if Christ 
prays for nothing but what God the Father 
hath a mind to grant, then he is like to speed. 

3. Christ prays for nothing but what he 
hath power to give : what he prays for as he 
is man, that he hath power to give as he is 
God, John xvii. 24, " Father, I will." Fa- 
ther, there he prays as a man ; / will, there 
he gives as God. This is a great comfort to 
a believer, when his prayer is weak and he 
can hardly pray for himself, Christ's prayer 
in heaven is mighty and powerful. Though 
God may refuse prayer as it comes from us, 
yet not as it comes from Christ. 

4. Christ's intercession is always ready 
at hand. The people of God have sins of 
daily incursion ; and, besides these, some- 
times they lapse into great sins, and God is 
provoked, and his justice is ready to break 
forth upon them ; but Christ's intercession 
is ready at hand, he daily makes up the 
breaches between God and them, he pre- 
sents the merits of his blood to his Father 



OF CHRIST'S INTERCESSION. 



123 



to pacify him. When the wrath of God 
began to break out upon Israel, Aaron pre- 
sently stepped in with his censer, and offered 
incense, and so the plague was stayed, Numb, 
xvi. 47, so, no sooner doth a child of God of- 
fend, and God begin to be angry, but imme- 
diately Christ steps in and intercedes : " Fa- 
ther, it is my child hath offended, though he 
hath forgotten his duty, thou hast not lost 
thy bowels : O pity him, and let thy anger be 
turned away from him !" Christ's interces- 
sion is ready at hand, and, upon the least 
failings of the godly, he stands up and makes 
request for them in heaven. 

Quest. What are the fruits of ChrisVs 
intercession ? 

Ans. 1st Fruit, Justification. In justifica- 
tion there are two things : 1. Guilt is remit- 
ted. 2. Righteousness is imputed, Jer. xxxiii, 
16, " The Lord our righteousness." We are 
reputed not only righteous as the angels, but 
as Christ, having his robes put upon us, 2 
Cor. v. 21. But whence is it that we are 
justified? It is from Christ's intercession, 
Rom. viii. 33, 34, "Lord," saith Christ, 
" these are the persons I have died for ; look 
upon them as if they had not sinned, and re- 
pute them righteous." 

2d Fruit. The unction of the Spirit, 1 
John ii. 20, " Ye have an unction from the 
Holy One." This unction or anointing is 
nothing else but the work of sanctification 
in the heart whereby the Spirit makes us 
partake of the divine nature, 2 Pet. i. 4. 
Such as speak of the philosopher's stone, 
suppose it to have such a property, that when 
it toucheth the metal it turns it into gold : 
such a property hath the Spirit of God upon 
the soul ; when it toucheth the soul, it puts 
it into a divine nature, it makes it to be holy 
and to resemble God. The sanctifying work 
of the Spirit is the fruit of Christ's interces- 
sion, John vii. 39, " The Holy Ghost was not 
yet given, because Jesus was not yet glori- 
fied." Christ being glorified and in heaven, 
now he prays the Father, and the Father 
sends the Spirit, who pours out the holy 
anointing upon the elect. 

3d Fruit. The purification of our holy 
things. It is Christ's work in heaven, not 
only to present his own prayers to his Fa- 



ther, but he prays over our prayers again, 
Rev. viii. 3, "Another angel came, having 
a golden censer, and there was given to him 
much incense, that he should offer it with 
the prayers of all saints upon the golden 
altar." This angel was Christ; he takes 
the golden censer of his merits, and puts our 
prayers into this censer, and with the incense 
of his intercession makes our prayers go up 
as a sweet perfume in heaven. It is observ- 
able, Lev. xvi. 16, "Aaron shall make atone- 
ment for the holy place." This was typical, 
to show that our holy duties need to have 
atonement made for them. Our best ser- 
vices, as they come from us, are mixed with 
corruption, as wine that tastes of the cask, 
Isa. lxiv. 6, " they are filthy rags ; but Christ 
purifies and sweetens these services, mixing 
the sweet odours of his intercession with 
them; and now God accepts and crowns 
them. What would become of our duties 
without a high priest 1 Christ's intercession 
doth to our prayers as the fan to the chaff, it 
winnows it from the corn ; so Christ win- 
nows out the chaff which intermixeth with 
our prayers. 

4th Fruit. Access with boldness unto the 
throne of grace, Heb. iv.- 16. We have a 
great high priest that is passed into the hea- 
vens, let us go, — come boldly to the throne 
of grace ; we have a friend at court that 
speaks a good word for us, and is following 
our cause in heaven, .therefore let this ani- 
mate and encourage us in prayer. We think 
it too much boldness ; what, such sinners as 
we to come for pardon, — we shall be denied ! 
This is a sinful modesty: did we indeed 
come in our own name in prayer* it were 
presumption, but Christ intercedes for us in 
the force and efficacy of his blood. Now, to 
be afraid to come to God in prayer, is a dis- 
honour to Christ's intercession. 

5th Fruit. The sending the Comforter, 
John xiv. 16, " I will pray the Father, and he 
will give you another Comforter." The com- 
fort of the Spirit is distinct from the anoint- 
ing; this comfort is very sweet, — sweeter 
than the honey-drops from the comb, — it is 
the manna in the golden pot, it is vinum in 
pectore, — a drop of this heavenly comfort is 
enough to sweeten a sea of worldly sorrow, — ■ 



124 



OF CHRIST'S INTERCESSION. 



it is called " the earnest of the Spirit," 2 Cor. 
i. 22. An earnest assures one of the whole 
sum. The Spirit gives us an earnest of hea- 
ven in our hand. Whence is this comforting- 
work of the Spirit 1 Thank Christ's inter- 
cession for it : ' I will pray the Father, and 
he shall send the Comforter.' 

6th Fruit. Perseverance in grace, John 
xvii. 11, " Keep through thy own name those 
whom thou hast given me." It is not our 
prayer, or watchfulness, or grace that keeps 
us, but it is God's care and maintenancy ; he 
holds us, that we do not fall away. And, 
whence is it God preserves us ? It is from 
Christ's intercession ; «« Father keep them." 
That prayer of Christ for Peter, is the copy of 
his prayer now in heaven, Luke xxii. 32, " I 
have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not." 
Peter's faith did fail in some degree when he 
denied Christ ; but Christ prayed that it 
might not totally fail. The saints persevere 
in believing, because Christ perseveres in 
praying. 

7th Fruit, Absolution at the day of judg- 
ment. Christ shall judge the world, John v. 
22, " God hath committed all judgment to 
the Son." Now sure those that Christ hath 
so prayed for, he will absolve when he sits 
upon the bench of judicature. Will Christ 
condemn those he prays for ] Believers are 
his spouse ; will he condemn his spouse 1 

Use 1st. Branch 1. See here the constancy 
of Christ's love to the elect. He did not 
only die for them, but intercedes for them in 
heaven; when Christ hath done dying, he 
hath not done loving ; he is now at work in 
heaven for the saints ; he carries their names 
on his breast, and will never leave praying 
till that prayer be granted, John xvii. 24, 
" Father, I will, that those whom thou hast 
given me, be with me where I am." 

Branch 2. See whence it is that the pray- 
ers of the saints are so powerful with God. 
Jacob, as an angel, prevailed with God; 
Moses' prayer tied God's hands ; Precibus 
suis tanquam vinquam vinculis ligatum 
tenuit Deum ; " Let me alone," Exod. xxxii. 
10. Whence is this 1 It is Christ's prayer in 
heaven makes the saints' prayers so availa- 
ble. Christ's divine nature is the altar on 
which he offers up our prayers, and so they 



prevail ; prayer, as it comes from the saints, 
is but weak and languid ; but when the ar- 
row of a saint's prayer is put into the bow 
of Christ's intercession, now it pierceth the 
throne of grace. 

Branch 3. It shows where a Christian 
must chiefly fix his eye when he comes to 
prayer, viz. on Christ's intercession. We 
are to look up to the mercy seat, but to hope 
for mercy through Christ's intercession. We 
read, Lev. vi., that Aaron made the atone- 
ment as well by the incense, as by the blood ; 
we must, look to the cloud of incense, viz. 
the intercession of Christ. Christian, look 
up to thy advocate, one that God can deny 
nothing to ; a word from Christ's mouth is 
more than if all the angels in heaven were 
interceding for thee. If a man had a suit 
depending in the court of chancery, and had 
a skilful lawyer to plead, this would much en- 
courage him. Christ is now at the court ap- 
pearing for us, Heb. ix. 24, and he hath great 
potency in heaven ; this should much encou- 
rage us to look up to him, and hope for au- 
dience in prayer. We might indeed be 
afraid to present our petitions, if we had not 
Christ to deliver them. 

Branch 4. The sad condition of an unbe- 
liever : he hath none in heaven to speak a 
word for him, John xvii. 9, " I pray not for 
the world ;" as good be shut out of heaven 
as be shut out of Christ's prayer. Christ 
pleads for the saints, as queen Esther did for 
the Jews, when they should have been de- 
stroyed : " Let my people be given me at my 
request," Esth. vii. 3. When the devil shows 
the blackness of their sins, Christ shows the 
redness of his wounds. But how sad is the 
condition of that man Christ will not pray 
for, nay, that he will pray against? As queen 
Esther petitioned against Haman, and then 
his face was covered, Esth. vii. 6, and he was 
led away to execution. It is sad when the 
law shall be against the sinner, and con- 
science, and judge, and no friend to speak a 
word for him ; there is no way then, but, 
jailor, take the prisoner. 

Branch 5. If Christ makes intercession, 
then we have nothing to do with other in- 
tercessors. The church of Rome distin- 
guished between mediators of redemption 



OF CHRIST'S INTERCESSION. 



125 



and intercession, and say, the angels do not 
redeem us, but intercede for us, and pray to 
them ; but Christ only can intercede for us 
ex officio. God hath consecrated him a 
high priest, Heb. v. 6, " Thou art a priest for 
ever." Christ intercedes vi pretii, — in the 
virtue of his blood ; he pleads his merits to 
;his Father ; the angels have no merits to 
bring to God, therefore can be no intercessors 
for us ; whoever is our advocate must be our 
propitiation to pacify God, 1 John ii. 1, " We 
have an advocate with the Father, v. 2. And 
he is our propitiation." The angels cannot be 
our propitiation, therefore not our advocates. 

Use 2d. Of trial. How shall we know 
that Christ intercedes for us % They have 
little ground to think Christ prays for them, 
who never pray for themselves : well, but 
nhow shall we know 1 

Ans. 1. If Christ be praying for us, then 
his Spirit is praying in us, Gal. iv. 6, "He 
hath sent forth his Spirit into your heart, 
crying, Abba, Father;" and Rom. viii. 26, 
the Spirit helps us with sighs and groans ; 
not only with gifts but groans. We need 
not climb up into the firmament to see if the 
sun be there, we may see the beauty of it 
upon the earth ; so we need not go up into 
heaven to see if Christ be there interceding 
for us, let us look into our hearts, if they are 
quickened and inflamed in prayer, and we can 
cry, Abba, Father. By this interceding of 
the Spirit within us, we may know Christ is 
interceding above for us. 

A. 2. If we are given to Christ, then he 
intercedes for us, John xvii. 9, " I pray for 
them whom thou hast given me ;" 'tis one 
thing for Christ to be given to us, another for 
us to be given to Christ. 

Quest. How know you that ? 

Ans. If thou art a believer, then thou art 
one given to Christ, and he prays for thee ; 
faith is an act of recumbency, we do rest on 
Christ as the stones in the building rest upon 
the corner-stone. Faith throws itself into 
Christ's arms ; it saith, " Christ is my priest, 
— his blood is my sacrifice, — his divine na- 
ture is my altar, and here I rest." This faith 
is seen by its effects ; it is a refining work, 
and a resigning work. It purifies the heart, 
there is the refining work ; it makes a deed 



of gift to Christ, it gives up its use, its love 
to him, 1 Cor. vi. 19, there is the resigning 
work of faith. These that believe are given 
to Christ, and have a part in his prayer, 
John xvii. 20, " Neither pray I for these alone, 
but for them also which shall believe on me 
through their word." 

Use 3d. Of exhortation. Branch 1. It 
stirs us up to several duties : 1. If Christ 
appears for us in heaven, then we must ap- 
pear for him upon earth ; Christ is not 
ashamed to carry our names on his breast, 
and shall we be ashamed of his truth 1 
Doth he plead our cause, and shall we not 
stand up in his cause 1 What a mighty ar- 
gument is this to stand up for the honour of 
of Christ in times of apostacy? Christ is 
interceding for us : doth he present our names 
in heaven, and shall not we profess his name 
on earth ? 

Branch 2. If Christ lays out all his inter- 
est for us at the throne of grace, we must 
lay out all our interest for him, Phil. i. 20, 
" That Christ may be magnified." Trade 
your talents for Christ's glory; there's no 
man but has some talent to trade, — one parts, 
another estate. O trade for Christ's glory ! 
Spend and be spent for him ; let your heart 
study for Christ, your hands work for Christ, 
your tongue speak for him ; if Christ be an 
advocate for us in heaven, we must be fac- 
tors for him on earth, every one in his sphere 
must act vigorously for Christ. 

Branch 3. Believe in this glorious inter- 
cession of Christ ! That he now intercedes 
for us, and that for his sake God will accept 
us : in the text, " Who maketh intercession 
for us." If we believe not, we dishonour 
Christ's intercession. If a poor sinner may 
not go to Christ as his high priest, believing 
in his intercession, then are we Christians in 
a worse condition under the gospel than the 
Jews were under the law. They, when they 
had sinned, had their high priest to make 
atonement : and shall not we have our high 
priest 1 Is not Christ our Aaron, who pre- 
sents his blood and incense before the mer- 
cy-seat 1 O look up by faith to Christ's 
intercession ! Christ did not only pray for 
his disciples and apostles, but for the weak- 
est believer. 



126 



OF CHRIST'S KINGLY OFFICE. 



Branch 4. Love your intercessor, 1 Cor. 
xvi. 22, " If any man love not the Lord Jesus 
Christ, let him be Anathema." Kindness 
invites love ; had you a friend at court, who, 
when you were questioned for delinquency 
or debt, should plead with the judge for you, 
and bring you off your troubles, would you 
not love that friend % So it is here, how 
oft doth Satan put in his bills against us in 
the court 1 Now Christ is at the Judge's 
hand, he sits at his Father's right hand ever 
to plead for us, and to make our peace with 
God. O how should our hearts be fired with 
love to Christ ! Love him with a sincere and 
superlative love, above estate, relations : 
Bern. Plusquam tua, tuos. And our fire 
of love should be as fire on the altar, never to 
go out, Lev. vi. 13. 

Use4tth. Of comfort to believers. Christ is 
at work for you in heaven, he makes inter- 
cession for you. O ! but I am afraid Christ 
does not intercede for me. 

Quest. lama sinner; who doth Christ 
intercede for ? 

Ans. Isa. liii. 12, " He made intercession 
for the transgressors." Did Christ open his 
sides for thee, and will he not open his mouth 
to plead for thee ? 

Quest. But I have offended my high 
priest by distrusting his blood, abusing his 
love, grieving his Spirit ; and will he ever 
pray for me ? 



Ans. Which of us may not say so? But,; 
Christian, dost thou mourn for unbelief] Be | 
not discouraged, thou mayest have a part in , 
Christ's prayer, Numb, xvi., " The congre- 
gation murmured against Aaron ;" yet, ■ 
though they had sinned against their high 
priest, v. 48, " Aaron ran in with his censer, j 
and stood between the dead and the living." 
If so much bowels in Aaron, who was but a 
type of Christ, how much more bowels are 
in Christ who will pray for them who have 
sinned against their high priest ] Did not 
he pray for them that crucified him, " Father, 
forgive them." 

Quest. But I am unworthy ; what am J, 
that Christ should intercede for me ? 

Ans. The work of Christ's intercession is 
a work of free grace ; Christ's praying for us, 
is from his pitying of us ; Christ looks not at 
our worthiness, but our wants. 

Quest. But I am followed with sad temp- 
tations 1 

Ans. But though Satan tempts, Christ 
prays, and Satan shall be vanquished ; though 
thou mayest lose a single battle, yet not the 
victory ; Christ prays that thy faith fail not, 
therefore, Christian, say, " Why art thou 
cast down, O my soul V Christ intercedes ; 
it is man that sins, — it is God that prays ; 
the Greek word for advocate signifies com- 
forter. This is a sovereign comfort, Christ 
makes intercession. 



OF CHRIST'S KINGLY OFFICE. 



Quest. XXVI. How doth Christ execute 
the office of a king ? 

Ans. In subduing us to himself, in rul- 
ing and defending us, and in restrain- 
ing and conquering all his and our ene- 
mies. 

Now of Christ's regal office, Rev. xix. 16, 
"And he hath on his vesture, and on his 
thigh, a name written, < King of kings, and 
Lord of lords.' "—Jesus Christ is of mighty 
renown, he is a king; 1. He hath a kingly 
title, « High and Mighty,' Isa. lvii. 15.— 
2. He hath his insignia regalia, — his en- 
signs of royalty ; corona est insigne regies 
potest atis,—h\s crown, Rev. vi. 2 ; his sword, 



Ps. xlv. 3, " Gird thy sword upon thy thigh ;" 
his sceptre, Heb. i. 8, " A sceptre of right- 
eousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom." — 
3. His escutcheon, or coat armour ; he gives 
the lion in his arms, Rev. v. 5, " The lion of 
the tribe of Judah." And he is, the text 
saith, "King of kings." He hath a pre- 
eminence of all other kings ; he is called, 
" the Prince of the kings of the earth," 
Rev. i. 5. He must needs be so, for " by 
him kings reign," Prov. viii. 15. They hold 
their crowns by immediate tenure from this 
great King. Christ infinitely outvies all other 
princes; he hath the highest throne, the largest 
dominions, and the longest possession, Heb. 



OF CHRIST'S KINGLY OFFICE. 



127 



i. 8, " Thy throne, O God, is for ever and 
ever." Christ hath many heirs, but no suc- 
cessors. Well may he be called " King of 
kings," for he hath an unlimited power ; the 
power of other kings is limited, but Christ's 
power is unlimited, Ps. cxxxv. 6, " Whatso- 
ever he pleased, that did he, in heaven and 
earth, and in the sea." Christ's power is as 
large as his will. The angels take the oath 
of allegiance to him, Heb. i. 6, " Let all the 
angels of God worship him." 

Quest. How doth Christ come to be king? 

Ans. Not by usurpation, but legally. Christ 
holds his crown by immediate tenure from 
heaven. God the Father hath decreed him to 
be king, Ps. ii. 6, 7, "I have set my king upon 
my holy hill : I will declare the decree." God 
hath anointed and sealed him to his regal office, 
John vi. 27, " Him hath God the Father seal- 
ed." God hath set the crown upon his head. 

Quest. In what sense is Christ king 1 

Ans. Two ways : 1st. In reference to his 
people. And, 2d. In reference to his enemies. 

1st. In reference to his people : 1. To go- 
vern them. It was prophesied of Christ be- 
fore he was born, Matt. ii. 6, " And thou, 
Bethlehem, art not the least among the 
princes of Judah ; for out of thee shall come 
a governor that shall rule my people Israel." 
It is a vain thing for a king to have a crown 
on his head, unless he have a sceptre in his 
hand to rule. 

Quest. Where doth Christ rule ? 

Ans. His kingdom is spiritual. He rules 
in the hearts of men. He sets up his throne 
where no other king doth, he rules the will 
and affections, his power binds the con- 
science, he subdues men's lusts, Mic. vii. 19, 
I He will subdue our iniquities." 

Quest. What doth Christ rule by 1 

Ans. By law, and by love: 1. He rules by 
law. It is one of the jura regalia, the flowers 
of the crown, to enact laws. Christ as king 
makes laws, and by his laws he rules : the law 
of faith, " believe in the Lord Jesus," — the 
law of sanctity, 1 Pet. i. 15, " Be ye holy in 
all manner of conversation." Many would 
admit Christ to be their advocate to plead for 
them, but not their king to rule them. — 2. He 
rules by love. He is a king full of mercy and 
clemency ; as he hath a sceptre in his hand, 



so an olive branch of peace in his mouth. 
Though he be the Lion of the tribe of Judah 
for majesty, yet the Lamb of God for meek- 
ness. His regal rod hath honey at the end of 
it. He sheds abroad his love into the hearts 
of his subjects ; he rules them with promises 
as well as precepts. This makes all his sub- 
jects become volunteers : they are willing to' 
pay their allegiance to him, Ps. ex. 3, his 
people are a willing people. 

2d. Christ is a king to defend his people. 
As Christ hath a sceptre to rule them, so a 
shield to defend them, Ps. iii. 3, "Thou, 
O Lord, art a shield for me." When An- 
tiochus did rage furiously against the Jews, 
he took away the vessels of the Lord's 
house, set up an idol in the temple ; then 
this great king, called Michael, did stand up 
for them to defend them, Dan. xii. 1. Christ 
preserves his church as a spark in the ocean, 
as a flock of sheep among wolves. That 
the sea should be higher than the earth and 
yet not drown it, is a wonder : so that the 
wicked should be so much higher than the 
church in power, and not devour it, is be- 
cause Christ hath this inscription on his 
vesture and his thigh, King of Kings. Ps. 
exxiv. 2, 3, " If it had not been the Lord, 
who was on our side, they had swallowed us 
up." They say, lions are insomnes, they 
have little or no sleep ; it is true of the Lion 
of the tribe of Judah, he never slumbers nor 
sleeps, but watcheth over his church to de- 
fend it : Isa. xxvii. 2, 3, " Sing ye unto her y 
a vineyard of red wine ; I the Lord do keep 
it, lest any hurt it. I will keep it night and 
day." If the enemies destroy the church, it 
must be at a time when it is neither night 
nor day, for Christ keeps it day and night. 
Christ is said to carry his church, as the 
eagle her young ones upon her wings, Exod. 
xix. 4. The arrow must first hit the eagle 
before it can hurt the young ones, and shoot 
through her wings : the enemies must first 
strike through Christ, before they can de- 
stroy his church. Let the wind and storms 
be up, and the church almost covered with 
waves, yet Christ is in the ship of the church, 
and so long there is no danger of shipwreck. 
Nor will Christ only defend his church, as 
he is king, but deliver it, 2 Tim. iv. 17, 



OF CHRIST'S KINGLY OFFICE. 



128 

" And I was delivered out of the mouth of 
the lion," viz. Nero. 1 Chron. xi. 14, " The 
Lord saved them by a great deliverance." 
Sometimes Christ is said to command de- 
liverance, Ps. lxiv. 4 ; sometimes to create 
deliverance, Isa. xlv. 18. Christ as a king, 
commands deliverance, and as a God creates 
it. And deliverance shall come in his time. 
Isa. lx. 22, " I the Lord will hasten it in his 
time." 

Quest. When is the time that this King 
will deliver his people 1 

Ans. When the hearts of his people are 
humblest, when their prayers are ferventest, 
when their faith is strongest, when their 
forces are weakest, when their enemies are 
highest, now is the usual time that Christ 
puts forth his kingly power in their deliver- 
ance, Isa. xxxiii. 2, 8, 9. 

3d. Christ is a king to reward his people. 
There's nothing lost by serving this king : 
1. He rewards his subjects in this life : 
(1). He gives them inward peace and joy ; 
a bunch of grapes by the way : and often- 
times riches and honour. " Godliness hath 
the promise of this life," 1 Tim. iv. 8. These 
are, as it were, the saints' veils. But besides 
the great reward is to come, "An eternal 
weight of glory," 2 Cor. iv. 17. Christ 
makes all his subjects kings, Rev. ii. 10, " I 
will give thee a crown of life." This crown 
will be full of jewels, and it will ' never fade,' 
1 Pet. v. 4. — (2). Christ is a king in refer- 
ence of his enemies, in subduing and con- 
quering them ; he pulls down their pride, 
befools their policy, restrains their malice. 
That stone cut out of the mountain without 
hands, which smote the image, Dan. ii. 34, 
was an emblem, saith Austin, of Christ's 
monarchical power, conquering and triumph- 
ing over his enemies. Christ will make his 
enemies his footstool, Ps. ex. 1. He can de- 
stroy them with ease, 2 Chron. xiv. 11, " It 
is nothing with thee, to help." He can do 
it with weak means, without means. He 
can make the enemies destroy themselves ; 
he set the Persians against the Grecians : 
and, 2 Chron. xx. 23, the children of Ammon 
helped to destroy one another. Thus Christ 
is king in vanquishing the enemies of his 
church. — This is a great ground of comfort 



to the church of God in the midst of all the 
combinations of the enemy, " Christ is king ;" 
and he can not only bound the enemies' 
power, but break it. The church hath more 
with her than against her, she hath Em- 
manuel on her side, even that great King to 
whom all knees must bend. Christ is called 
" a man of war," Exod. xv. 3, he understands 
all the policy of chivalry ; he is described 
with seven eyes and seven horns, Rev. v. 6. 
The seven eyes are to discern the conspira- 
cies of his enemies, and the seven horns are 
to push and vex his enemies. Christ is de- 
scribed with a crown and a bow, Rev. vi. 2, 
" He that sat on the white horse had a bow, 
and a crown was given unto him, and he 
went forth conquering and to conquer." The 
crown is an ensign of his kingly office, and 
the bow is to shoot his enemies to death. 
Christ is described with a vesture dipt in 
blood, Rev. xix. 13. He hath a golden scep- 
tre to rule his people, but an iron rod to 
break his enemies : Rev. xvii. 12, 14, " The 
ten horns thou sawest are ten kings ; these 
shall make war with the Lamb, but the Lamh 
shall overcome them ;" for he is the King 
of Kings. The enemies may set up their 
standard, but Christ will set up his trophies 
at last, Rev. xiv. 18, 20, " And the angel 
gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it 
into the great wine-press of the wrath of 
God, and the wine-press was trodden, and 
blood came out of the wine-press." The 
enemies of Christ shall be but as so many 
clusters of ripe grapes, to be cast into the 
great wine-press of the wrath of God, and to 
be trodden by Christ till their blood come out. 
Christ will at last come off victor, and all his 
enemies shall be put under his feet ; gaudeo 
quod Christus Dominus est, alioqui des- 
perassem, — " I am glad Christ reigns, else I 
should have despaired," said Miconius in an 
epistle to Calvin. 

Use 1st. Branch 1. See hence, it is no 
disparagement to serve Christ ; he is a king, 
and it is no dishonour to be employed in a 
king's service. Some are apt to reproach 
the saints for their piety; they serve the 
Lord Christ, he who hath this inscription 
upon his vesture, King of Kings. Theo- 
dosius thought it a greater honour to be a 



OF CHRIST'S 

i servant of Christ, than the head of an em- 
f pire, Servere est regnare. Christ's servants 
l: are called ' vessels of honour,' 2 Tim. ii. 21 ; 
I and ' a royal nation,' 1 Pet. ii. 9. Serving 
| of Christ ennobles us with dignity : it is a 
i greater honour to serve Christ, than to have 
! kings serve us. 

Branch 2. If Christ be king, it informs us, 
; that all matters of fact must one day be 
brought before him. Christ hath jus vitce et 
necis, — the power of life and death in his 
hand, John v. 22, "The Father hath com- 
mitted all judgment to the Son." He who 
once hung upon the cross, shall sit upon the 
bench of judicature ; kings must come before 
him to be judged ; they who once sat upon 
the throne, must appear at the bar. God 
hath committed all judgment to the Son, and 
Christ's is the highest court of judicature ; 
if this king once condemns men, there is no 
appeal to any other court. 

Branch 3. See whither we are to go, when 
we are foiled by corruption ; go to Christ, he 
is king ; desire him by his kingly power to 
subdue thy corruptions, to bind these kings 
with chains, Ps. cxlix. 8. We are apt to 
say of our sins, " These sons of Zeruiah 
will be too strong for us :" we shall never 
overcome this pride and infidelity : ay, but 
go to Christ, he is king ; though our lusts 
are too strong for us, yet not for Christ to 
conquer, he can by his Spirit break the 
power of sin. Joshua, when he had con- 
quered five kings, caused his servants to set 
their feet on the necks of those kings ; so 
Christ can and will set his feet on the necks 
of our lusts. 

Use 2d. Of caution. Is Christ King of 
Kings'? Let all great ones take heed how 
they employ their power against Christ. 
Christ gives them their power, and if this 
power shall be made use of for the suppres- 
sing of his kingdom, and ordinances, their 
account will be heavy. God hath laid the 
key of government upon Christ's shoulders, 
Isa. ix. 6, and to go to oppose Christ in his 
kingly office, it is as if the thorns should 
set themselves in battalia against the fire, or 
R 



KINGLY OFFICE. 129 

a child fight with an archangel. Christ's 
sword on his thigh is able to avenge all his 
quarrels : it is not good to stir a lion ; let no 
man provoke the " Lion of the tribe of Ju- 
dah, whose eyes are as a lamp of fire, and 
the rocks are thrown down by him," Nah. i. 
6. " He shall cut off the spirit of princes," 
Ps. lxxvi. 12. 

Use 3d. Branch 1. If Christ be a great 
king, submit to him. Say not, as those 
Jews, " We have no king but Caesar," — no 
king but our lusts. This is to choose the 
bramble to rule over you, and "out of the 
bramble will come forth a fire," Judg. ix. 
Submit to Christ willingly. All the devils in 
hell submit to Christ ; but it is against their 
will, they are his slaves, not his subjects. 
Submit cheerfully to Christ's person and his 
laws. Many would have Christ their Sa- 
viour, but not their Prince ; such as will not 
have Christ to be their king to rule them, 
shall never have his blood to save them. 
Obey all Christ's princely commands ; if he 
commands love, humility, good works, be 
as the needle which points which way so- 
ever the loadstone draws. 

Branch 2. Let such admire God's free 
grace, who were once under the power and 
tyranny of Satan, and now Christ hath made 
them of slaves to become the subjects of his 
kingdom. Christ did not need subjects, he 
hath legions of angels ministering to him ; 
but in his love, he hath honoured you to make 
you his subjects. O how long was it ere 
Christ could prevail with you to come under 
his banner! How much opposition did he 
meet with, ere you would wear this Prince's 
colours ! But at last omnipotent grace over- 
came you. When Peter was sleeping be- 
tween two soldiers, an angel came and beat 
off his chains, Acts xii. 7, so, when thou 
wert sleeping in the devil's arms, that Christ 
should, by his Spirit smite thy heart, and 
cause the chains of sin to fall off, and 
make thee a subject of his kingdom. O 
admire free grace ! Thou who art a sub- 
ject of Christ, art sure to reign with Christ 
for ever. 



130 



OF CHRIST'S HUMILIATION 



OF CHRIST'S HUMILIATION IN HIS INCARNATION. . 
1 Tim. iii. 16. Great is the mystery of godliness, God manifest in the flesh. 



Quest. XXVII. Wherein did Christ's 1 
humiliation consist ? 

Ans. In his being born, and that in a low 
condition, made under the law, undergoing 
the miseries of this life, the wrath of God, 
and the cursed death of the cross. 

Christ's humiliation consisted in his incar- 
nation, his taking flesh and being born. It 
was real flesh Christ took ; not the image of 
a body (as the Manichees erroneously held) 
but a true body ; therefore Christ is said to 
be " made of a woman," Gal. iv. 4. As the 
bread is made of the wheat, and the wine is 
made of the grape, so Christ is made of a 
woman, his body was part of the flesh and 
substance of the virgin. This is a glorious 
mystery, " God manifest in the flesh." In the 
creation, man was made in God's image ; in 
the incarnation, God was made in man's 
image. 

Quest. How came it about that Christ 
was made flesh 1 

Ans. It was by his Father's special desig- 
nation, Gal. iv. 4, " God sent forth his Son, 
made of a woman." God the Father did in a 
special manner appoint Christ to be incar- 
nate, which shows how needful a call is to 
any business of weight and importance : to act 
without a call, is to act without a blessing. 
Christ himself would not be incarnate, and 
take upon him the work of a Mediator till he 
had a call." God sent forth his Son, made 
of a woman." 

Quest. But was there no other way for 
the restoring of fallen man but this, that 
God should take flesh 1 

Ans. We must not ask a reason of God's 
will ; it is dangerous to pry into God's ark ; 
we are not to dispute but adore. The wise 
God saw this the best way for our redemp- 
tion that Christ should be incarnate ; it was 
not fit for any to satisfy God's justice but 
man ; none could do it but God ; therefore, 
Christ being both God and man, he is the 
fittest to undertake this work of redemption. 

Quest. Why was Christ born of a wo- 
man ? 



Ans. 1. That God might fulfil that promise, 
Gen. iii. 15, The seed of the woman shall 
break the serpent's head. — 2. Christ was 
born of a woman, that he might roll away 
that reproach from the woman which she had 
contracted by being seduced by the serpent. 
Christ, in taking his flesh from the woman, 
hath honoured her sex ; that as at the first 
the woman had made man a sinner ; so now, 
to make him amends, she should bring him a. 
Saviour. 

Quest. Why was Christ born of a virgin^ 
Ans. 1. For decency. It became not God 
to have any mother but a maid, and it be- 
came not a maid to have any other Son but 
a God. 

A. 2. For necessity. Christ was to be a 
high priest, most pure and holy. Had he 
been born after the ordinary course of nature, 
he had been defiled ; all that spring out of 
Adam's loins have a tincture of sin, but, that 
< Christ's substance might remain pure and 
immaculate,' he was bora of a virgin. 

A. 3. To answer the type. Melchisedec 
was a type of Christ; he is said to be 
"without father and without mother." 
Christ being born of a virgin, answered the 
type ; he was without father and without 
mother; without mother as he was God, 
without father as he was man. 

Quest. How could Christ be made of the 
flesh and blood of a virgin, and yet be with- 
out sin ! The purest virgin that is, her soul 
is stained with original sin. 

Ans. This knot the scripture unties, 
Luke i. 35, " The Holy Ghost shall come 
upon thee, and overshadow thee : therefore 
that holy thing, which shall be born of thee, 
shall be called the Son of God." "The 
Holy Ghost shall come upon thee," that is, 
the Holy Ghost did consecrate and purify- 
that part of the virgin's flesh whereof Christ 
was made. As the alchymist extracts and 
draws away the dross from the gold, so the 
Holy Ghost did refine and clarify that part 
of the virgin's flesh, separating it from sin. 
Though the virgin Mary herself had sin, 



IN HIS INCARNATION. 



131 



yet, that part of her flesh, whereof Christ was 
made, was without sin; otherwise it must 
have been an impure conception. 

Quest. What is meant by the power of 
the Holy Ghost overshadowing the virgin 1 

Ans. Basil saith, " It was the Holy Ghost's 
blessing that flesh of the virgin whereof Christ 
was formed." But there is a further mystery 
in it ; the Holy Ghost having framed Christ 
in the virgin's womb, did, in a wonderful 
manner, unite Christ's human nature to his 
divine, and so of both made one person. This 
is a mystery, which the angels pry into with 
adoration. 

Quest. When was Christ incarnate ? 

Ans. In the fulness of time, Gal. iv. 4, 
" When the fulness of time was come, God 
sent forth his Son, made of a woman." By 
the fulness of time, we must understand tern- 
pus apatre pr<Bfinitum ; so Ambrose, Luther, 
Corn, a Lap., the determinate time that God 
hath set. More particularly, this fulness of 
time was when all the prophecies of the com- 
ing of the Messiah were accomplished ; and 
all legal shadows and figures, whereby he 
was typified, were abrogated : " in the fulness 
of time God sent his Son." And, by the way, 
observe, this may comfort us in regard of the 
church of God, though at present we do not 
see that peace and purity in the church as we 
could desire, yet in the fulness of time, when 
God's time is come and mercy is ripe, then 
shall deliverance spring up, and God will 
come riding upon the chariots of salvation. 
When the fulness of time was come, then 
God sent forth his Son, made of a woman. 

Quest. Why was Jesus Christ made fiesh^ 

Ans. 1. The causa prima, and impulsive 
cause was free grace ; it was love in God the 
Father to send Christ, and love in Christ 
that he came to be incarnate. Love was the 
intrinsical motive. Christ is God-man, be- 
cause he is a lover of man. Christ came out 
of pity and indulgence to us : non merita 
nostra, sed miseria nostra, Aug. Not our 
deserts, but our misery, made Christ take 
flesh. Christ's taking flesh, was a plot of 
free grace, and a pure design of love. God 
himself, though Almighty, was overcome with 
love. Christ incarnate is nothing but love 
covered with flesh. Christ's assuming our 



human nature, as it was a master-piece of 
wisdom, so a monument of free grace. 

A. 2. Christ took our flesh upon him, that 
he might take our sins upon him. He was, 
saith Luther, maximus peccatur, — the great- 
est sinner, having the weight of the sins of 
the whole world lying upon him. He took 
our flesh that he might take our sins, and so 
appease God's wrath. 

A. 3. Christ took our flesh, that he might 
make the human nature appear lovely to God, 
and the divine nature appear lovely to man. 
1. That he might make the human nature 
lovely to God. Upon our fall from God, our 
nature became odious to him ; no vermin is 
so odious to us as the human nature was to 
God. When once our virgin nature was be- 
come sinful, it was like flesh imposthumated, 
or running into sores, loathsome to behold : 
such was our nature when corrupt, odious to 
God, he could not endure to look upon us. 
Now, Christ taking our flesh, makes this hu- 
man nature appear lovely to God. As when 
the sun shines on the glass, it casts a bright 
lustre ; so Christ being clad with our flesh, 
makes the human nature shine, and appear 
amiable in God's eyes. — 2. As Christ being 
clothed with our flesh, makes the human na- 
ture appear lovely to God, so he makes the 
divine nature appear lovely to man. The pure 
Godhead is terrible to behold, we could not 
see it and live ; but Christ clothing himself 
with our flesh, makes the divine nature more 
amiable and delightful to us. Now we need 
not be afraid to look upon God, seeing him 
through Christ's human nature. It was a 
custom of old among the shepherds^ they were 
wont to clothe themselves with sheep-skins, 
to be more pleasing to the sheep ; so Christ 
clothed himself with our flesh, that the divine 
nature may be more pleasing to us. The hu- 
man nature is a glass, through which we may 
see the love and wisdom, and glory of God 
clearly represented to us. Through the lan- 
tern of Christ's humanity, we may behold the 
light of the Deity shining. Christ being in- 
carnate, he makes the sight of the Deity not 
formidable, but delightful to us. 

A. 4. Jesus Christ united himself to man, 
4 that man might be drawn nearer to God.' 
God before was an enemy to us, by reason 



OF CHRIST'S HUMILIATION 



of sin ; but Christ taking our flesh, doth me- 
diate for us, and bring us into favour with 
God. As when a king is angry with a sub- 
ject, the king's son marries the daughter of 
this subject, and so mediates for this subject, 
and brings him into favour with the king 
again ; so, when God the Father was angry 
with us, Christ married himself to our nature, 
and now mediates for us with his Father, and 
brings us to be friends again, and now God 
looks upon us with a favourable aspect. As 
Joab pleaded for Absalom, and brought him 
to king David, and David kissed him, so doth 
Jesus Christ ingratiate us into the love and 
favour of God. Therefore he may well be 
called a peace-maker, having taken our flesh 
upon him, and so made peace between us 
and his angry Father. 

Use 1st. Branch 1. See here, as in a glass, 
the infinite love of God the Father ; that 
when we had lost ourselves by sin, then God, 
in the riches of his grace, did send forth his 
Son, made of a woman, to redeem us. And 
behold the infinite love of Christ, that he was 
willing thus to condescend to take our flesh. 
Surely the angels would have disdained to 
have taken our flesh, it would have been a 
disparagement to them ! What king would 
be willing to wear sackcloth over his cloth 
of gold % But Christ did not disdain to take 
our flesh. the love of Christ ! had not 
Christ been made flesh, we had been made a 
curse ; had not he been incarnate, we had 
been incarcerate, and had been for ever in 
prison. Well might an angel be the herald 
to proclaim this joyful news of Christ's in- 
carnation, Luke ii. 10, " Behold, I bring you 
good tidings of great joy ; for unto you is 
born this day, in the city of David, a Saviour j 
which is Christ the Lord." The love of 
Christ in being incarnate, will the more ap- 
pear if we consider, 

1. Whence Christ came. He came from 
heaven, and from the richest place in heaven, 
his Father's bosom, that hive of sweetness. 

2. To whom Christ came. Was it to his 
friends 1 No ; he came to sinful man. Man 
that had defaced his image, abused his love ; 
man who was turned rebel ; yet he came 
to man, resolving to conquer obstinacy with 
kindness. If he would come to any, why 



not to the angels that fell 1 Heb. ii. 16, 
" He took not upon him the nature of an- 
gels." The angels are of a more noble \ 
extract, — more intelligible creatures, — more y 
able for service ; ay, but behold the love of (i 
Christ, he came not to the fallen angels, but ji 
to mankind. Among the several wonders 
of the loadstone, this is not the least, that 
it will not draw gold or pearl, but despising 
these, it draws the iron to it, one of the most 
inferior metals : thus Christ leaves the angels, 
these noble spirits, the gold and the pearl, 1 
and he comes to poor sinful man and draws | 
him into his embraces. 

3. In what manner he came. He came 
not in the majesty of a king, attended with 
his life-guard, but he came poor ; not like 
the heir of heaven, but like one of an in- 
ferior descent. The place he was born in 
was poor : not the royal city Jerusalem, but 
Bethlehem, a poor obscure place. He was 
born in an inn, and a manger was his cradle, 
the cobwebs his curtains, the beasts his 
companions ; he descended of poor parents. 
One would have thought, if Christ would 
have come into the world, he would have 
made choice of some queen or personage of 
honour to have descended from ; but he 
comes of mean obscure parents; that they 
were poor appears by their offering, Luke 
ii. 24, " A pair of turtle-doves," which 
was the usual offering of the poor, Lev. 
xii. 8. Christ was so poor, that when he 
wanted money, he was fain to work a mi- 
racle for it, Matt. xvii. 27. He, when he 
died, made no will. He came into the world 
poor. 

4. Why he came. That he might take 
our flesh, and redeem us ; that he might in- 
state us into a kingdom. He was poor that 
he might make us rich, 2 Cor. viii. 3. He 
was born of a virgin that we might be born 
of God. He took our flesh that he might 
give us his Spirit. He lay in the manger 
that we might lay in paradise. He came 
down from heaven that he might bring us to 
heaven. And what was all this but love 1 If 
our hearts be not rocks, this love of Christ 
should affect us. Behold love that passeth 
knowledge ! Eph. iii. 10. 

Branch 2. See here the wonderful humi- 



IN HIS INCARNATION. 



lity of Christ; Christ was made flesh, O 
j sancta humilitas, tu filium Dei descendere 
\ fecisti in uterum, Marice Virginis ! Aust. 
! That Christ should clothe himself with our 
j flesh, a piece of that earth which we tread 
j upon ; O infinite humility ! Christ's taking 
I- our flesh was one of the lowest steps of his 
humiliation. Christ did humble himself more 
in lying in the virgin's womb, than in hanging 
| upon the cross. It was not so much for man 
! to die, but for God to become man, that was 
I the wonder of humility, Phil. ii. 7, " He was 
1 made in the likeness of man." For Christ to 
be made flesh was more humility than for the 
j angels to be made worms. Christ's flesh is 
called a veil, Heb. x. 20, " Through the veil," 
: that is, his flesh ; Christ's wearing our flesh, 
| veiled his glory. For him to be made flesh, 
who was equal with God, O humility ! Phil, 
ii. 6, " Who being in the form of God, thought 
| it not robbery to be equal with God." He 
stood upon even ground with God, he was 
coessential and consubstantial with his Fa- 
ther, as Austin and Cyril and the council of 
Nice express it ; yet for all this he takes flesh. 
Christ stript himself of the robes of his glory, 
and covered himself with the rags of our hu- 
manity. If Solomon did so wonder that God 
should dwell in the temple, which was en- 
riched and hung with gold, how may we 
wonder that God should dwell in man's weak 
and frail nature 1 Nay, which is yet more 
humility, Christ not only took our flesh, but 
took it when it was at the worst, under dis- 
grace ; as if a servant should wear a noble- 
man's livery, when he is impeached of high 
treason. Nay, besides, Christ took all the 
infirmities of our flesh. There are two sorts 
of infirmities : such as are sinful without pain, 
or such as are painful without sin. The first 
of these infirmities Christ did not take upon 
him ; sinful infirmities, — to be covetous or 
ambitious, — Christ never took these upon 
him ; but Christ took upon him painful in- 
firmities ; as, 1. Hunger, Matt. xxi. 18, He 
came to the fig-tree, and would have eaten. 
2. Weariness ; as when he sat on Jacob's 
well to rest him, John iv. 6. 3. Sorrow, 
Matt. xxvi. 38, " My soul is exceeding sor- 
rowful, even unto death." It was a sorrow 
guided with reason, not disturbed with pas- 



133 

sion. 4. Fear, Heb. v. 7, " He was heard in 
that he feared." Nay, yet a further degree of 
Christ's humility, he not only was made flesh, 
but in the likeness of sinful flesh, " He knew 
no sin, yet he was made sin," 2 Cor. v. 21. 
He was like a sinner ; he had all sin laid upon 
him, but no sin lived in him. Isa. liii. 12, 
" He was numbered among transgressors." 
He who was numbered with the persons of 
the Trinity, he is said " to bear the sins of 
many," Heb. ix. 28. Now, this was the low- 
est degree of Christ's humiliation. For Christ 
to be reputed as a sinner, never such a pat- 
tern of humility ! That Christ, who would 
not endure sin in the angels, should himself 
endure to have sin imputed to him, it is the 
most amazing humility that ever was ! 

From all this learn to be humble. Dost thou 
see Christ humbling himself, and art thou 
proud 1 'Tis the humble saint that is Christ's 
picture. Christians, be not proud of your fine 
feathers: 1. Hast thou an estate? be not 
proud, the earth thou treadest on is richer 
than thou : it hath mines of gold and silver in 
the bowels of it. 2. Hast thou beauty 1 be not 
proud : it is but air and dust mingled. 3. Hast 
thou skill and parts ] be humble : Lucifer hath 
more knowledge than thou. 4. Hast thou 
grace 1 be humble : thou hast it not of thy own 
growth, it is borrowed. Were it not folly to 
be proud of a ring that is lent ? 1 Cor. iv. 7. 
Thou hast more sin than grace, spots than 
beauty. O look on Christ, this rare pattern, 
and be humbled ! It is an unseemly sight to 
see God humbling himself, and man exalting 
himself; to see a humble Saviour, and a 
proud sinner. God hates the very resem- 
blance of pride, Lev. ii. 11. He would have 
no honey in the sacrifice. Indeed leaven is 
sour; but why no honey] because, when 
honey is mingled with meal or flour, it makes 
the meal to rise and swell; therefore no 
honey. God hates the resemblance of the 
sin of pride ; better want parts, and the com- 
forts of the Spirit, than humility. Si Deus 
superbientibus angelis non pepercit, — if 
God, saith Austin, spared not the angels, 
when they grew proud, will he spare thee, 
who are but dust and rottenness ? 

Branch 3. Behold here a sacred riddle or 
paradox, " God manifest in the flesh." The 



134 OF CHRIST'S 

text calls it a mystery. That man should be 
made in God's image, was a wonder ; but that 
God should be made in man's image, is a 
greater wonder. That the Ancient of Days 
should be born, — that he who thunders in 
the heavens should cry in the cradle, — Qui 
tonitruat in ccelis, clamat in cunabulis ; qui 
regit sidera, sugit ubera, — that he who rules 
the stars, should suck the breast, — that a 
virgin should conceive, — that Christ should 
be made of a woman, and of that woman 
which himself made, — that the branch should 
bear the vine, — that the mother should be 
younger than the child she bare, and the child 
in the womb bigger than the mother, — that 
the human nature should not be God, yet one 
with God : this was not only mirum but mi- 
raculum. Christ taking flesh is a mystery 
we shall never fully understand till we come 
to heaven, when our light shall be clear, as 
well as our love perfect. 

Branch 4. From hence, ' God manifest in 
the flesh, Christ born of a virgin,' — a thing 
not only strange in nature, but impossible, — 
learn, that there are no impossibilities with 
God : God can bring about things which are 
not within the sphere of nature to produce ; 
that iron should swim, — that the rock should 
gush out water,— that the fire should lick up 
the water in the trenches, 1 Kings xviii. 38. 
It is natural for the water to quench the fire, 
but for the fire to consume the water, this is 
impossible in the course of nature : but God 
can bring about all this, Jer. xxxii. 27, " There 
is nothing too hard for thee." Zech. viii. 6, 
" If it be marvellous in your eyes, should it 
be marvellous in my eyes'? saith the Lord." 
How should God be united to our flesh ? It is 
impossible to us, but not with God; he can 
do what transcends reason, and exceeds faith. 
He would not be our God if he could not do 
more than we can think, Eph. iii. 20. He can 
reconcile contraries. How apt are we to be 
discouraged with seeming impossibilities ! 
How do our hearts die within us, when things 
go cross to our sense and reason ! We are 
apt to say as that prince, 2 Kings vii. 2, " If 
the Lord would make windows in heaven, 
might this thing be ?" It was a time of famine, 

and now that a measure of wheat which 

was a good part of a bushel— should be sold 



f ' - I 
HUMILIATION 

for a shekel, viz. half an ounce of silver, how 
can this be 1 So when things are cross, or 
strange, God's own people are apt to ques- 
tion, how they should be brought about with 
success 1 Moses, who was a man of God, and 
one of the brightest stars that ever shined in 
the firmament of God's church, yet he was 
apt to be discouraged with seeming impossi- \ 
bilities, Num. xi. 21, 22, "And Moses said, ! 
the people among whom I am, are six hun- 
dred thousand footmen, and thou hast said, I 
will give them flesh, that they may eat for a 
whole month : shall the flocks and herds be 
slain for them to suffice them ? or shall all the 
fish of the sea be gathered for them, to suffice 
them ?" As if he had said, in plain language, 
he did not see how the people of Israel, being 
so numerous, could be fed for a month, v. 23, 
" And the Lord said, Is the Lord's hand waxed 
short?" Surely, that God who brought Isaac 
out of a dead womb, and the Messiah out of 
a virgin's womb, what cannot he do ] O let 
us rest upon the arm of God's power, and 
believe in him, in the midst of seeming im- 
possibilities. Remember, i there are no im- 
possibilities with God.' He can subdue a 
proud heart. He can raise a dying church. 
Christ born of a virgin ; that wonder-working 
God that wrought this can bring to pass the 
greatest seeming impossibilities. 

Use 2d. Of exhortation. Branch 1. See- 
ing Christ took our flesh, and was born of a 
virgin, let us labour that he may be spiritually- 
born in our hearts. What will it profit us, 
that Christ was born into the world, unless 
he be born in our hearts : that he was united 
to our nature, unless he be united to our 
persons 1 Marvel not that I say unto you, 
Christ must be born again, viz. in our hearts, 
Gal. iv. 19, " Till Christ be formed in you." 
Now, then, try if Christ be born in your 
hearts. 

Quest. How shall we know that? 

Ans. 1. There are pangs before the birth ; 
so, before Christ be born in the heart, 
there are spiritual pangs. Some pangs of 
conscience, deep convictions, Acts ii. 37, 
"They were pricked at their heart." I 
grant the new birth doth recipere magis et 
minus ; all have not the same pangs of sor- 
row and humiliation, yet all have pangs. 



IN HIS INCARNATION. 



135 



- 1 If Christ be born in thy heart, thou hast 
■ been deeply afflicted for sin. Christ is never 
born in the heart without pangs. Many 
thank God they never had any trouble of spi- 
: rit, they were always quiet : a sign Christ is 
not yet formed in them. 

A. 2. As, when Christ was born into the 
world, he was made flesh ; so, if he be born 
in thy heart, he makes thy heart a heart of 
flesh, Ezek. xxxvi. 26. Is thy heart incar- 
nate ] before it was a rocky heart, and would 
I not yield to God, or take the impressions of 
I the world, — durum est quod non cedit tac- 
Vtui; now it is fleshy and tender like melted 
I wax, to take any stamp of the Spirit. This 
I is a sign Christ is born in our hearts ; when 
they are hearts of flesh, they melt in tears 
and in love. What is it the better Christ 
was made flesh, unless he hath given thee 
a heart of flesh ? 

A. 3. Christ was conceived in the womb 
of a virgin, so, if he be born in thee, thy 
heart is a virgin-heart, in respect of sincerity 
and sanctity. Art thou purified from the love 
of sin ? If Christ be born in thy heart, it is a 
sanctum sanctorum, — a holy of holies. If thy 
heart be polluted with the predominant love 
of sin, never think Christ is born there. 
Christ will never lie any more in a stable. 
If he be born in thy heart, it is consecrated 
| by the Holy Ghost. 

A. 4. If Christ be born in thy heart, then 
' it is with thee as in a birth : 1. There is life. 
Faith is principium vivens, — it is the vital 
artery of the soul, Gal. ii. 20, " The life that I 
live in the flesh, is by the faith of the Son of 
God." 2. There is appetite, 1 Pet. ii. 2, " As 
new-born babes, desire the sincere milk of the 
word." The word is like breast-milk, — pure, 
sweet, nourishing ; the soul in which Christ is 
formed desires this breast-milk. St Bernard, 
in one of his soliloquies, comforts himself 
with this, that sure he had the new-birth in 
him, because he found in his heart such strong 
anhelations and thirstings after God. 3. Mo- 
tion. After Christ is born in the heart, there 
is a violent motion ; there is striving to enter 
in at the strait gate, and offering violence to 
the kingdom of heaven, Matt. xii. 11. By this 
we may know Christ is formed in us. This 
is the only comfort, that as Christ was born 



into the world, so he is born in our hearts ; as 
he was united to our flesh, so he is united to 
our person. 

Branch 2. As Christ was made in our im- 
age, let us labour to be made in his image. 
Christ being incarnate was made like us, let 
us labour to be made like him. There are 
three things in which we should labour to be 
like Christ. 1. In disposition. He was of a 
most sweet disposition, delicicB humani gene- 
ris, Tit. Vespasian. He invites sinners to 
come to him. He hath bowels to pity us, 
breasts to feed us, wings to cover us. He 
would not break our heart, but with mercy. 
Was Christ made in our likeness ] let us la- 
bour to be made in his likeness. Let us be 
like him in this sweetness of disposition : be 
not of a morose spirit. It was said of Nabal, 
1 Sam. xxv. 17, " He is such a son of Belial, 
that a man cannot speak to him." Some are 
so barbarous, as if they were a-kin to the os- 
trich, they are fired with rage, and breathe 
forth nothing but revenge ; like those two men 
in the gospel, ' possessed with devils, coming 
out of the tombs, exceeding fierce,' Matt. viii. 
28. Let us be like Christ in mildness and 
sweetness. Let us pray for our enemies, and 
conquer them by love. David's kindness 
melted Saul's heart, 1 Sam. xxiv. 16. A fro- 
zen heart will be thawed with the fire of love. 

2. Be like Christ in grace. He was like 
us in having our flesh, let us be like him in 
having his grace. In three graces we should 
labour to be like Christ : 1. In humility, Phil, 
ii. 8, "He humbled himself." He left the 
bright robes of his glory to be clothed with 
the rags of our humanity : a wonder to hu- 
mility ! Let us be like Christ in this grace. 
Humility, saith St Bernard, is contemptus 
proprice excellentice, — a contempt of self- 
excellency, a kind of self-annihilation. This 
is the glory of a Christian. We are never so 
comely in God's eyes, as when we are black 
in our own. In this let us be like Christ. 
True religion is to imitate Christ. And indeed, 
what cause have we to be humble, if we look 
within us, about us, below us, above us? 
(1). If we look intra nos, — within us, here 
we see our sins represented to us in the glass 
of conscience ; lust, envy, passion. Our sins 
are like vermin crawling in our souls, Job 



136 OF CHRIST'S 

xiii. 23, " How many are my iniquities V 
Our sins are as the sands of the sea for num- 
ber, as the rocks of the sea for weight. Aus- 
tin cries out, V<b mihi fwcibus peccatorum 
polluitur templum domini ! My heart, which 
is God's temple, is polluted with sin. — (2). 
If we look juxta nos, — about us, here is that 
may humble us. We may see other Chris- 
tians out-shining us in gifts and graces, as 
the sun out-shines the lesser planets. Others 
are laden with fruit, perhaps we have but here 
and there an olive-berry growing, to show 
that we are of the right kind, Isa. xvii. 6. — 
(3). If we look infra nos, — below us, here is 
that may humble us. We may see the mo- 
ther earth, out of which we came. The earth 
is the most ignoble element, Job. xxx. 8, 
" They were viler than the earth." Thou 
that dost set up thy scutcheon, and blaze thy 
coat of arms, behold thy pedigree ; thou art 
but pulvis animatus, — walking ashes : and 
wilt thou be proud \ What is Adam 1 He 
is the son of dust. And what is dust ? The 
son of nothing. — (4). If we look supra nos, 
— above us, here is that may humble us. If 
we look up to heaven, there we may see God 
resisting the proud. Superbos sequitur ultor 
a tergo Deus. The proud man is the mark 
which God shoots at, and he never misses 
the mark. He threw proud Lucifer out of 
heaven, — he thrust proud Nebuchadnezzar 
out of his throne, and turned him to eat 
grass, Dan. iv. 33, O then be like Christ in 
humility i 

3. Did Christ take our flesh 1 was he made 
like to us 1 let us be made like to him in 
zeal, John ii. 17, " The zeal of thy house 
hath eaten me up." He was zealous when 
his Father was dishonoured. In this let us 
be like Christ, zealous for God's truth and 
glory, which are the two orient pearls of the 
crown of heaven. Zeal is as needful for a 
Christian, as salt for the sacrifice, or fire on 
the altar. Zeal without prudence, is rash- 
ness ; prudence without zeal, is cowardliness. 
Without zeal, our duties are not acceptable 
to God. Zeal is like rosin to the bow- 
strings, without which the lute makes no 
music. 

4. Be like Christ, in the contempt of the 
world. When Christ took our flesh, he came 



HUMILIATION. 

not in the pride of flesh, he did not descend 
immediately from kings and nobles, but was 
of mean parentage. Christ was not ambitious 
of titles of honour. Christ did as much de- 
cline the worldly dignity and greatness as ' 
others seek it. When they would have made 
him a king, he refused it ; he chose rather to 
ride upon the foal of an ass, than to be drawn 
in a chariot ; and to hang upon a wooden 
cross, than to wear a golden crown. Christ 
scorned the pomp and glory of the world : he 
waved secular affairs, Luke xii. 14, " Who 
made me a judge ?" His work was not to ar- 
bitrate matters of law ; he came not into the 
world to be a magistrate, but a Redeemer. 
Christ was like a star in a higher orb, he 
minded nothing but heaven. Was Christ 
made like us? let us be made like him, in 
heavenliness and contempt of the world. Let 
us not be ambitious of the honours and prefer- 
ments of the world ; let us not purchase the 
world with the loss of a good conscience. 
What wise man would damn himself to grow 
rich 1 or pull down, his soul, to build up an 
estate 1 Be like Christ in a holy contempt of 
the world. 

5. Be like Christ in conversation. Was 
Christ incarnate 1 was he make like us 1 let us 
be made like him in holiness of life. No temp- 
tation could fasten upon Christ, John xiv. 
30, " The prince of this world cometh, and 
hath nothing in me." Temptation to Christ 
was like a spark of fire upon a marble pillar, 
which glides off*. Christ's life, saith Chrysos- 
tom, was brighter than the sunbeams. Let us 
be like him in this, 1 Pet. i. 15, " Be ye holy 
in all manner of conversation." We are not, 
saith Austin, to be like Christ in working 
miracles, but in a holy life. A Christian should 
be both a loadstone and a diamond, — a load- 
stone, in drawing others to Christ, — a dia- 
mond, casting a sparkling lustre of holiness 
in his life. O let us be so just in our deal- 
ings, so true in our promises, so devout in 
our worship, so unblameable in our lives, that 
we may be the walking pictures of Christ ! 
Thus as Christ was made in our likeness, let 
us labour to be made in his likeness. 

Branch 3. If Jesus Christ was so abased 
for us, — he took our flesh which was a 
disparagement to him, — it was mingling 



CHRIST'S EXALTATION. 



137 



dust with gold, — if he, I say, abased himself 
I so for us, let us be willing to be abased for 
; him. If the world reproach us for Christ's 
sake, and cast dust on our name, let us bear 
it with patience. The apostles, Acts v. 41, 
departed from the council " rejoicing that 
they were counted worthy to suffer shame for 
1 Christ's name ;" that they were graced to be 
disgraced for Christ. That is a good saying 
of St Austin, Quid sui detrahit fames mece, 
addet mercedi mece, — they who take away 
'from a saint's name, shall add to his reward ; 
and while they make his credit weigh lighter, 
they make his crown weigh heavier. O was 
Christ content to be humbled and abased for 
us, to take our flesh, and to take it when it 
was in disgrace ! Let us not think much to 
be abased for Christ. Say as David, 2 Sam. 
vi. 22, " If this be to be vile, I will yet be 



more vile." If to serve my Lord Christ, if 
to keep my conscience pure, if this be to be 
vile, I will yet be more vile. 

Use 3d. Of comfort. Jesus Christ having 
taken our flesh, hath ennobled our nature, — 
naturam nostrum nobilitavit. Our nature 
is now invested with greater royalties and 
privileges than in time of innocency. Be- 
fore, in innocency, we were made in the 
image of God ; but now, Christ having as- 
sumed our nature, we are made one with 
God ; our nature is ennobled above the an- 
gelical nature. Christ taking our flesh, hath 
made us nearer to himself than the angels. 
The angels are his friends, believers are flesh 
of his flesh, his members, Eph. v. 30, and i. 
23. And the same glory which is put upon 
Christ's human nature, shall be put upon be- 
lievers. 



CHRIST'S EXALTATION. 



Phil. ii. 9. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name above 

every name, <SfC. 



Before, we have spoken of Christ's hu- 
miliation ; now of his exaltation ; before, 
you saw the Sun of Righteousness in the 
eclipse ; now, you shall see it coming out of 
the eclipse, and shining in its full splendour 
and glory : " Wherefore God hath highly ex- 
alted him," — super exaltavit, Ambr. " Above 
all exaltation." 

Quest. XXVIII. Wherein consists 
Chrisfs exaltation ? 

Ans. In his rising from the dead, his as- 
cending into heaven, and sitting at the right 
hand of God the Father, &c. 

Quest. In what sense hath God exalted 
Christ ? 

Ans. Not in respect of Christ's Godhead, 
for that cannot be exalted higher than it is ; 
as in Christ's humiliation the Godhead was 
not lower, so in his exaltation, the Godhead 
is not higher ; but Christ is exalted as Me- 
diator, his human nature is exalted. 

Quest. How many ways is Christ ex- 
alted ? 

Ans. Five ways : God hath exalted Christ, 
S 



1. In his titles. 2. In his office. 3. Tn his as- 
cension. 4. In his session at God's right hand. 
5. In constituting him judge of the world. 

I. First title. God hath exalted Christ in 
his titles. 1. He is exalted to be a Lord, 
Acts ix. 17, " The name of the Lord Jesus 
was magnified." He is a Lord in respect of 
his sovereignty ; he is Lord over angels and 
men, Matt, xxviii. 18, " All power is given 
unto me." Christ hath three keys in his 
hand, — the key of the grave, to open the 
graves of men at the resurrection, — the key 
of heaven, to open the kingdom of heaven to 
whom he will, — the key of hell, Rev. i. 18, to 
lock up the damned in that fiery prison. To 
this Lord all knees must bow, Phil. ii. 10, 
"That at the name of Jesus every knee should 
bow :" name, is put here for person, — to that 
holy thing Jesus, to the sceptre of that di- 
vine person every knee shall bow. Bowing 
is put for subjection, — all must be subdued 
to him as sons or captives, submit to him 
as to the Lord or Judge ; "Kiss the Son," 
Ps. ii. 12, with a kiss of love and loyalty. 



138 



CHRIST'S EXALTATION, 



We must not only cast ourselves into Christ's 
arms to be saved by him, but we must cast 
ourselves at his feet, to serve him. 

Second title. Christ is exalted to be a 
prince: Dan xii. 1, "There shall stand up 
Michael the great prince;" some think it 
was a created angel, but it was Angelus 
foederis, Christ the angel of the covenant. 
He is a great prince, Rev. i. 5, " The prince 
of the kings of the earth." They hold their 
crowns by immediate tenure from him ; his 
throne is above the stars, he hath angels and 
archangels for his attendants. Thus he is 
exalted in his titles of honour. 

II. God hath exalted Christ in his office ; 
he hath honoured him to be Salvator mundi, 
— the Saviour of the world, Acts v. 31, 
" Him hath God exalted with his right hand 
to be a Prince and a Saviour." It was a 
great honour to Moses to be a temporal sa- 
viour ; but what is it to be the Saviour of 
souls! Christ is called the 'horn of salva- 
tion,' Luke i. 69. He saves from sin, Matt, 
i. 21 ; from wrath, 1 Thess. i. 10. To save 
is a flower belongs only to his crown, Acts 
iv. 12, " Neither is there salvation in any 
other." What an honour is this to Christ ! 
How did this make heaven ring of saints' 
praises ! they sing hallelujahs to Christ their 
Saviour, Rev. v. 9, " They sung a new song, 
saying, thou art worthy to take the book and 
open the seals ; for thou wast slain, and hast 
redeemed us to God by thy blood." 

III. God hath exalted Christ in his ascen- 
sion ; if he be ascended, then he is exalted. 
Austin saith, " Some were of opinion that 
Christ's body ascended into the orb and circle 
of the sun :" so the Hermians. But the 
scripture is plain, he ascended into heaven, 
Luke xxiv. 51, and Eph. iv. 10, " Far above 
all heavens," — therefore above the firmament. 
He is ascended into the highest part of the 
empyrean heaven which Paul calls the third 
heaven. Concerning Christ's ascension, two 
things : 

1. The manner of Christ's ascension : 1st, 
Christ being to ascend, blessed his disciples, 
Luke xxiv. 50, " He lifted up his hands, and 
blessed them, and while he blessed them, he 
was parted from them, and carried up into 
heaven." Christ did not leave his disciples 



houses and lands, but he left them his bless- 
ing. — 2<%, Christ ascended as a conqueror, 
in a way of triumph, Ps. lxviii. 18, " Thou j 
hast led captivity captive," &c. He triumph- I 
ed over sin, hell, and death ; and Christ's tri- I 
umph is a believer's triumph : Christ hath 
conquered sin and hell for every believer. 

2. The fruit of Christ's ascension: Christ's 
ascension to heaven causeth the descension 
of the Holy Spirit into our hearts, Eph. iv. 
8, " When he ascended up on high, he gave 
gifts to men." Christ having ascended up j 
in the clouds, as his triumphant chariot, 
gives the gift of his Spirit to us : as a king 
at his coronation bestows gifts liberally to 
his favourites. 

IV. God hath exalted Christ in his session 
at God's right hand, Mark xvi. 19, " After 
the Lord had spoken to them, he was receiv- 
ed up into heaven, and sat upon the right 
hand of God." Eph. i. 20, " He raised him 
from the dead, and set him at his own right 
hand, far above all principality and power, 
and every name that is named. 

Quest. What is meant by Christ's sit- 
ting at God's right hand 1 

Ans. To speak properly, God hath no 
right hand or left ; for being a Spirit, he is 
void of all bodily parts ; but it is a borrowed 
speech, — a metaphor taken from the man- 
ner of kings who were wont to advance 
their favourites next to their own persons, 
and set them at their right hand : Solomon 
caused a seat to be set for the queen his 
mother, and placed her at his right hand, 
1 Kings ii. 19. So for Christ to sit at the 
right hand of God, is to be in the next place 
to God the Father in dignity and honour. 
The human nature of Christ, being per- 
sonally united to the divine, is now set 
down on a royal throne in heaven, and 
adored even of angels. By virtue of the 
personal union of Christ's human nature 
with the divine, there is a communication 
of all that glory from the Deity of Christ 
which his human nature is capable of. Not 
that the manhood of Christ is advanced to 
an equality with the Godhead, but the di- 
vine nature being joined with the human, 
the human nature is wonderfully glorified, 
though not deified. Christ as Mediator is 



CHRIST'S EXALTATION. 



139 



filled with all majesty and honour, beyond the 
comprehension of the highest order of angels : 
Christ in his humiliation descended so low, 
that it was not fit to go lower ; and in his ex- 
altation he ascended so high that it is not 
possible to go higher. In his resurrection he 
was exalted above the grave, — in his ascen- 
sion he was exalted above the airy and starry 
heaven, — in his sitting at God's right hand, 
he is exalted above the highest heavens far, 
Eph. iv. 10, " Far above all heavens." 

V. God hath exalted Christ in constituting 
him Judge of the whole world, John v. 22, 
" The Father hath committed all judgment 
to the Son." At the day of judgment shall 
Christ be exalted supereminently, " He shall 
come in the glory of his Father," Mark viii. 
38. He shall wear the same embroidered 
robes of majesty as the Father ; and he shall 
come with all his holy angels, Matt. xxv. 31. 
He who was led to the bar with a band of 
soldiers shall be attended to the bench with a 
guard of angels ; Christ shall judge his judges, 
he shall judge Pilate that condemned him ; 
kings must leave their thrones, and come to 
his bar. And this is the highest court of 
judicature, from whence is no appeal. 

Use 1st. Of information. Branch 1. See 
Christ's different state on earth, and now in 
heaven. O how is the scene altered ! When 
he was on earth, he lay in a manger, — now 
he sits on a throne ; then he was hated and 
scorned of men, — now he is adored of an- 
gels ; then his name was reproached, — now 
" God hath given him a name above every 
name," Phil. ii. 9. Then he came in the form 
of a servant, and as a servant, stood with his 
basin and towel, and washed his disciples' 
feet, John xiii. 4, 5, — now he is clad in his 
prince's robes, and the kings of the earth cast 
their crowns before him ; on earth he was a 
man of sorrow, — now he is anointed with the 
oil of gladness ; on earth was his crucifixion, 
— now his coronation ; then his Father frown- 
ed upon him in desertion, — now he hath set 
him at his right hand ; before he seemed to 
have no form or beauty in him, Isa. liii. 2, — 
now he is in the brightness of his Father's 
glory, Heb. i. 3. O what a change is here ! 
" Him hath God highly exalted." 

Branch 2. Was Christ first humble and 



then exalted ? hence learn, the way to true 
honour is humility : Luke xiv. 11, " He that 
humbleth himself shall be exalted." The 
world looks upon humility as that which will 
make one contemptible, but it is the ready 
way to honour ; the way to rise is to fall, the 
way to ascend is to descend. Humility exalts 
us in the esteem of men, and it exalts us to 
a higher throne in heaven, Matt, xviii. 4, 
" Whosoever shall humble himself as this 
little child, the same is the greatest in the 
kingdom of heaven," viz. He shall have a 
greater degree of glory in it. 

Branch 3. Christ suffered, and then was 
exalted : see hence, that sufferings must go 
before glory. Many desire to be glorified with 
Christ, but they are not content to suffer for 
Christ, 2 Tim. ii. 12, " If we suffer with him, 
we shall reign with him." The wicked first 
reign and then suffer ; the godly first suffer, 
and then reign : there is no way to Constan- 
tinople but through the Straits ; no way to 
heaven, but through sufferings ; no way to the 
crown, but by the way of the cross. Jerusa- 
lem above is a pleasant city, — streets of gold, 
gates of pearl ; but we must travel through a 
dirty road to this city, — through many re- 
proaches and sufferings, Acts xiv. 22. We 
must enter into glory as Christ did ; first he 
suffered shame and death, and now is exalted 
to sit at God's right hand. 

Use 2d. Of comfort. Branch 1. Christ, 
being so highly exalted, hath ennobled our 
nature ; he hath crowned it with glory, and 
lifted it above angels and archangels ; though 
Christ, as he was man, was made a little 
lower than the angels, Heb. ii. 9, yet as the 
human nature is united to the divine, and is 
at God's right hand, so the human nature is 
above the angels. And if God hath so digni- 
fied our human nature, what a shame is it that 
we should debase it ! God hath exalted the 
human nature above the angels, and the 
drunkard abaseth the human nature below 
the beasts. 

Branch 2. Christ being exalted at God's 
right hand, the key of government is laid 
upon his shoulders ; he governs all the affairs 
of the world for his own glory. Do you think 
when Christ is so highly advanced, and hath 
all power in heaven and earth in his hand, he 



140 



CHRIST'S EXALTATION. 



will not take care of his elect, and turn the 
most astonishing providences to the good of 
his church] In a clock, the wheels move 
cross one to another, but all make the clock 
strike : so Christ being at his Father's right 
hand, be will make the most cross provi- 
dences tend to the salvation of his church. 

Branch 3. Christ being at God's right 
hand, we may be assured he hath now finish- 
ed the work of man's redemption, Heb. x. 12, 
" This man, after he had offered one sacrifice 
for sins, for ever sat down on the right hand 
of God." If Christ had not fully expiated sin, 
and satisfied God's law, he had not sitten 
down at God's right hand, but had still lain 
in the grave ; but now he is exalted to glory, 
— this is an evident token he hath done and 
suffered all that was required of him, for the 
working out of our redemption. 

Branch 4. Though Jesus Christ is so highly 
exalted in glory, yet he is not forgetful of us 
on earth. Some, when they are raised to 
places of honour forget their friends ; when 
the chief butler was restored to his place at 
court, then he forgot poor Joseph in prison ; 
but it is not so with Christ, though he be 
exalted to such glory in heaven, yet he is not 
unmindful of his saints on earth. Our high 
priest hath all the names and wants of his 
people written upon his breastplate. Art 
thou tempted ? Though Christ be in glory, 
he knows how to pity and succour thee, 
Heb. iv. 15, " We have not a high priest 
that cannot be touched with the feeling of 
our infirmities." Dost thou mourn for sin? 
Christ, though in a glorified state, he hears 
thy sighs, bottles thy tears. 

Branch 5. Christ being exalted at God's 
right hand, this is for the comfort of be- 
lievers, that they shall one day be exalted 
to that place of glory where he is. Christ's 
exaltation is our exaltation. Christ hath 
prayed for this, John xvii. 24, "Father, I 
will, that all those whom thou hast given me, 
be with me where I am." And he is said to 
go before to " prepare a place" for believers, 
John xiv. 2. Christ is called the head, the 
church is called his body, Eph. i. 22, 23. 
The head being exalted to honour, the body 
mystical shall be exalted too; as sure as 
Christ is exalted far above all heavens, so 



sure will he instate believers in all that glory 
which his human nature is adorned with, 
John xvii. 22. As here he puts his grace 
upon the saints, so shortly will he put his 
glory upon them. This is comfort to the 
poorest Christian ; perhaps thou hast scarce 
a house to put thy head in, yet thou mayest 
look up to heaven, and say, "there is my 
house, there is my country, and I have al- 
ready taken possession of heaven in my head 
Christ ; he sits there, and it will not be long 
before I shall sit there with him ; he is upon 
the throne of glory, and I have his word for 
it, I shall sit upon the throne with him," 
Rev. iii. 21. 

Use 3d. Of exhortation. Hath God highly 
exalted Christ'? Let us labour to exalt him. 
Let us exalt, 1. His person. 2. His truths. 

1. Let us exalt Christ in our hearts ; be- 
lieve ! O adore and love him ! We cannot 
lift Christ up higher in heaven, but we may 
in our hearts. 2. Let us exalt him in our lips ; 
let us praise him. Our bodies are the temples 
of the Holy Ghost, our tongues must be the 
organs in these temples; by praising and 
commending Christ we exalt him in the 
esteem of others. 3. Let us exalt him in our 
lives, by living holy lives : vera religio hcec, 
sine macula vivera lactant. It is not all the 
doxologies and prayers in the world do so 
exalt Christ as a holy life : this makes Christ 
renowned, and lifts him up indeed, when his 
followers walk worthy of Christ. 

2. Let us exalt Christ's truths, Buchol- 
cerus, in his Chronology, reports of the no- 
bles of Polonia, that whenever the gospel 
is read, they lay their hands upon their 
swords, by that intimating they are ready 
to maintain the gospel with the hazard of 
their lives. Let us exalt Christ's truths, 
— maintain the truths of Christ against er- 
ror, — maintain the doctrine of free grace 
against merit, — the Deity of Christ against 
Socinianism. 

Truth is the most orient pearl of Christ's 
crown : contend for the truth as one would 
for a sum of money, that it should not be 
wrested out of his hand ; this Christ takes 
to be an exalting of him, when we exalt 
his truths, wherein his glory is so much 
concerned. 



CHRIST THE REDEEMER. 



141 



CHRIST THE 

Quest. XXX. How doth the Spirit apply 
to us the redemption purchased to us by- 
Christ? 

Ans. The Spirit applies to us the redemp- 
i tion purchased by Christ, by working faith in 
us, and thereby uniting us to Christ in our 
effectual calling. 

Here are in this answer two things : 1st. 
Something implied, viz. That Christ is the 
glorious purchaser of our redemption, in 
these words, "The redemption purchased by 
Christ." — 2d. Something expressed, viz. that 
the Spirit applies to us this redemption pur- 
chased, by working faith in us, &c. 

I. The thing here implied, that Jesus 
Christ is the glorious purchaser of our re- 
demption. The doctrine of redemption by 
Jesus Christ is a glorious doctrine ; it is the 
marrow and quintessence of the gospel ; in 
this all a Christian's comfort lies. Great was 
the work of creation, but greater the work of 
redemption; it cost more to redeem us than 
jto make us ; in the one there was but the 
speaking of a word, in the other shedding of 
Jblood, Luke i. 51. The creation was but the 
work of God's fingers, Ps. viii. 3 ; redemption 
jthe work of his arm, Heb. ix. 12, "Having 
obtained eternal redemption for us." Christ's 
purchasing redemption for us, implies that our 
sins did mortgage and sell us ; had there not 
been some kind of mortgaging, there had been 
I no need of redemption : redimere, q. rursus 
| emere, Hierom. Now Christ, when we were 
j thus mortgaged and sold by sin, did purchase 
I our redemption ; Christ had the best right to 
] redeem us, for he is our kinsman. The He- 
brew word for Redeemer, goel, signifies a 
| kinsman, — one that is near in blood : in the 
I old law the nearest kinsman was to redeem 
I his brother's land, Ruth. iv. 4. Thus Christ 
being near akin to us, 'Flesh of our flesh,' 
is the fittest to redeem us. 

Quest. How doth Christ redeem its ? 
Ans. By his own precious blood, Eph. i. 7, 
" In whom we have redemption through his 
blood." Among the Romans he was said to 
redeem another that laid down a price equiva- 



REDEEMER. 

lent for the ransom of the prisoner. In this 
sense Christ is a redeemer, he hath paid a 
price. Never such a price paid to ransom 
prisoners, 1 Cor. vi. 20, "Ye are pretio 
empti, — bought with a price ; and this price 
was his own blood. So, in the text, " by his 
own blood he entered in once into the holy 
place, having obtained eternal redemption for 
us," this blood being the blood of that person 
who was God as well as man, is a price suf- 
ficient for the ransom of millions. 

Quest. Fromwhat dothChrist redeem us ? 

Ans. From sin. To be redeemed from 
Turkish slavery is a great mercy, but it is in- 
finitely more to be redeemed from sin. There 
is nothing can hurt the soul, but sin ; it is 
not affliction hurts it, it often makes it better, 
as the furnace makes gold the purer ; but it 
is sin that doth damnify. Now, Christ re- 
deems us from sin, Heb. ix. 26, " Now once 
in the end of the world hath he appeared to 
put away sin by the sacrifice of himself." 

Quest. But how are we redeemed from 
sin ? Do we not see corruption stirring in 
the regenerate ? Much pride and unmor- 
tified passion ? 

Ans. We must distinguish of redemption : 
redemption is either inchoata or plena, i. e. 
begun redemption, or perfect redemption ; 
sin cannot stand with a perfect redemption, 
but here it is begun ; sin may stand with an 
imperfect redemption. There may be some 
darkness in the air at the sun's first rising, 
but not when the sun is at the fall meridian ; 
while our redemption is but begun, there may 
be sin ; but not when it is perfect in glory. 

Quest. But in what sense hath Christ 
redeemed justified persons from sin ? 

Ans. 1. A reatu, — from the guilt of sin, 
though not the stain. Guilt is the binding 
a person over to punishment. Now Christ 
hath redeemed a justified person from the 
guilt of sin ; he hath discharged his debts. 
Christ saith to God's justice, as Paul to 
Philemon, " If he hath wronged thee any 
thing, or owes thee aught, put that on my 
account," v. 18. 



142 CHRIST THE 

A. 2. A justified person is redeemed a 
dominio,— from the power and regency of 
sin , though not the presence. Sin may fur ere, 
but not regnare ; it may rage in a child of 
God, but not reign ; lust did rage in David, 
fear in Peter, but it did not reign, they reco- 
vered themselves by repentance, Rom. vi. 14, 
" Sin shall not have dominion over you." Sin 
lives in a child of God, but is deposed from the 
throne ; it lives not as a king, but a captive. 

A. 3. A believer is redeemed a maledic- 
tione, — from the curse due to sin, Gal. iii. 13, 
" Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of 
the law, being made a curse for us." Christ 
said to his Father, as Rebecca to Jacob, 
" upon me, upon me be the curse ; let the 
blessing be upon them, but upon me be the 
curse." And now, there is no condemnation 
to believers, Rom. viii. 1. An unbeliever 
hath a double condemnation, — one from the 
law which he hath transgressed, — and the 
other from the gospel which he hath de- 
spised ; but Christ hath redeemed a believer 
from this malediction, he hath set him out 
of the power of hell and damnation. 

Quest. To what hath Christ redeemed us ? 

Ans. He hath redeemed us to a glorious 
inheritance, 1 Pet. i. 4, " To an inheritance 
incorruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth 
not away, reserved in heaven for you." 

1. 'To an inheritance:' Christ hath not 
only redeemed us out of prison, but he hath 
redeemed us to a state of happiness, — to an 
inheritance. Heaven is not a lease which 
soon expires, but an inheritance, — and a glo- 
rious inheritance, Col. i. 12, an inheritance 
in light. Lumen actuat colores, — light adorns 
and gilds the world. What were the world 
without light but a prison ? The heavenly in- 
heritance is irradiated with light : Christ, as 
a continual sun, enlightens it with his beams, 
Rev. xxi. 23. 

2. ' To an inheritance incorruptible :' It 
doth not moulder away, or suffer dissolution. 
Earthly comforts are shadowed out by the ta- 
bernacle, which was transient ; but heaven is 
set out by the temple which was fixed and 
permanent, built with stone, overlaid with 
gold. This is the glory of the celestial inhe- 
ritance ; it is incorruptible. Eternity is writ- 
ten on the frontispiece of it. 

3. 'Undefiled:' The Greek word for un- 



REDEEMER, 1. 

defiled, alludes to a precious stone called if 
amianthus, which cannot be blemished : such ] 
a place is heaven, undefiled, — nothing can i 
stain it, — there's no sin there to eclipse its 
purity. For the holiness and undefiledness 
of it, it is compared to pure gold, and to the • 
sapphire and emerald, Rev. xxi. " The sap- 
phire hath a virtue," saith Pliny, " to pre-i 
serve chasteness ; the emerald to expel poi- S 
son." These are the lively emblems of 
heaven, to show the sanctity of it, — no fever 
of lust, — no venom of malice, — there arq 
none but pure virgin spirits inhabit it. 

4. It 4 fadeth not away :' The Greek word 
is the name of a flower amaranthus, which 
keeps a long time fresh and green, as Clem. 
Alexandrinus writes. Such is the heavenly 
inheritance, it doth not lose its orient colour,, \ 
but keeps its freshness and greenness to eter- 1 • 
nity ; the beauty of it fadeth not away. To, 
this glorious inheritance hath Christ redeem-; • 
ed the saints : an inheritance which cannot 
be fully described or set forth by all the lights 
of heaven, though every star were a sun. 
And that which is the diamond in the ring, 
the glory of this inheritance is, the eternal 
sight and fruition of the blessed God ; the 
sight of God will be a most alluring, heart- 
ravishing object ; the king's presence makes 
the court, John iii. 2, " We shall see him 
as he is." It is comfortable to see God 
showing himself through the lattice of an 
ordinance, — to see him in the word and sa- 
crament ; the martyrs thought it comfortable 
to see him in a prison ; O then, what will it 
be to see him in glory, shining ten thousand 
times brighter than the sun ! And not only 
see him but enjoy him for ever ; Prcemium 
quodjide non attingitur, — Aug. Faith itself 
is not able fully to comprehend this reward. 
And all this blessedness hath Christ pur- 
chased through the redemption of his blood. 

Use 1st. Branch 1. See into what a 
wretched deplorable condition we had 
brought ourselves by sin. We had sinned 
ourselves into slavery, so that we needed 
Christ to purchase our redemption: nihil 
durius servitute, Cicero, " Slavery is the 
worst condition ;" such as are now prison- 
ers in Algiers think it so.— But by sin we 
are in a worse slavery, slaves to Satan, a 
merciless tyrant, who sports in the damna- 



CHRIST THE REDEEMER. 



143 



tion of souls. In this condition we were 
when Christ came to redeem us. 

Branch 2. See in this, as in a transparent 
glass, the love of Christ to the elect ; he came 
to redeem them, these he died intentionally 
for. Were it not great love for a king's son 
to pay a great sum of money to redeem a 
captive % But that he should be content to be 
a prisoner in his stead, and die for his ran- 
som ; this were matter of wonder. Jesus 
Christ hath done all this, he hath written his 
love in characters of blood. It had been 
much for Christ to speak a good word to his 
Father for us, but he knew that it was not 
enough to redeem us ; though a word speak- 
ing made a world, yet it would not redeem 
a sinner, Heb. ix. 22, " Without shedding of 
blood there is no remission." 

Use 2d. Of trial. If Christ came to pur- 
chase our redemption, then let us try whether 
we are the persons whom Christ hath re- 
deemed from the guilt and curse due to sin. 
IThis is a needful trial ; for, let me tell you, 
(there is but a certain number whom Christ 
|ihath redeemed. O, say sinners, Christ is a 
[Redeemer, and we shall be saved by him ! 
[Beloved, Christ came not to redeem all ; then 
j'we overthrow the decrees of God. Redemp- 
I tion is not as large as creation. I grant there 
l is a sufficiency of merit in Christ's blood to 
I save all ; but there's difference between suf- 
ficiency and efficiency. Christ's blood is a 
sufficient price for all, but it is effectual only 
to them that believe. A plaster may have a 
• sovereign virtue in it to heal any wound, but 
it doth not heal unless applied to the wound, 
j And if it be so, that all have not the benefit 
of Christ's redemption, only some ; then it is 
a necessary question to ask our souls, Whe- 
ther we are in the number of them that are 
redeemed by Christ or not ? 

Quest. How shall we know that 1 

Ans. Such as are redeemed, are reconciled 
J to God ; the enmity is taken away ; their 
judgments approve, their wills incline ad 
1 bonum, Col. i. 21. Are they redeemed, that 
! are unreconciled to God 1 Who hate God and 
his people, (as the vine and laurel have an 
antipathy) — who do all they can to disparage 
holiness 1 Are these redeemed who are un- 
I reconciled T Christ hath purchased a re- 



prieval for these : but a sinner may have a 
reprieve and yet go to hell, John v. 6. 

A. 2. Such as are redeemed by Christ are 
redeemed from the world, Gal. i. 4, " Who 
gave himself for our sins, that he might de- 
liver (or redeem) us from this present evil 
world." Such as are redeemed by Christ are 
risen with Christ, Col. iii. 1. As the birds, 
though they light upon the ground to pick up 
a little seed, yet immediately they take their 
wings and fly up to heaven again : so the 
redeemed of the Lord, though they use the 
world, and take the lawful comforts of it, yet 
their hearts are presently off these things, 
and they ascend to heaven ; live here, and 
trade above. Such as Christ hath died for, 
are ' dead to the world ;' to the honours, 
profits, and preferments of it. What shall 
we think of them who say, they are redeemed 
of the Lord, yet are lovers of the world 1 Like 
the tribes who desired to have their portion 
on this side Canaan : Phil. iii. 19, " Who 
mind earthly things." They pull down their 
souls to build up an estate. They are not 
redeemed by Christ who are not redeemed 
from the world. 

Use 3d. Of comfort, to such as are re- 
deemed. You are happy, — the lot of free 
grace is fallen upon you, — you who were 
once in the devil's prison, you have broke 
this prison, — you that were once bound in 
the chains of sin, God hath begun to beat 
off your chains, and hath freed you from the 
power of sin, and the curse due to it. What 
a comfort is this ] And is there any consola- 
tion in Christ'? it is thine. Is there any 
sweet fruit growing upon the promise 1 thou 
mayest gather it. Are there any glorious 
privileges in the gospel 1 they are thy jointure, 
justification, adoption, coronation. Is there 
any glory in heaven 1 thou shalt shortly drink 
of that river of pleasure. Hast thou any 
temporal comforts ] these are but a pledge 
and earnest of more : thy meal in the barrel 
is but a bait by the way, and an earnest of 
that angels' food which God hath prepared 
for thee. How mayest thou be comforted 
in all worldly afflictions, though the fig-tree 
flourish not ! Nay, in case of death, death 
hath lost its sting, Mors ebiit morte Christi. 
Death shall carry thee to thy Redeemer; 



144 



OF FAITH. 



fear not dying since you cannot be perfectly 
happy but by dying. 

Use ult. Of exhortation. Long for the 
time when you shall have a full and perfect 
redemption in heaven, an eternal jubilee ; 
when you shall be freed not only from the 
power but from the presence of sin. Here 
a believer is as a prisoner that hath broken 
prison, but walks with a fetter on his leg ; 
when the banner of glory shall be displayed 
over you, you shall be as the angels of God, — 
you shall never have a sinful thought more, — 
no pain or grief, no aching head or unbe- 
lieving heart. You shall see Christ's face, 



and lie for ever in his arms ; you shall be as 
Joseph, Gen. xli. 14, " They brought him 
hastily out of the dungeon, and he shaved 
himself, and changed his raiment and came 
in unto Pharaoh." Long for that time when 
you shall put off your prison-garments, and 
change your raiment, and put on the em- 
broidered garment of glory. O long ! yet 
be content to wait for this full and glorious 
redemption, when you shall be more happy 
than you can desire, when you shall have 
"that which eye hath not seen, nor ear, 
heard, nor can it enter into man's heart to 
conceive." 



OF FAITH. 



Gal. ii. 20. The life that I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God. 



II. The Spirit applies to us the redemp- 
tion purchased by Christ, by working faith 
in us. 

Christ is the glory, and faith in Christ 
the comfort of the gospel. 

Quest. What are the kinds of faith ? 

Ans. Fourfold: 1. An historical or dog- 
matical faith, which is the believing the 
truths revealed in the word, because of divine 
authority. 

2. There is a temporary faith, which last- 
eth but for a time, and vanisheth, Matt. xiii. 
21, " Yet hath he no root in himself, but 
dureth for a while." A temporary faith is 
like Jonah's gourd, which came up in a night 
and withered, chap. iv. 10. 

3. A miraculous faith, which was granted 
to the apostles, to work miracles for the con- 
firmation of the gospel. This Judas had ; he 
cast out devils, yet was cast out to the devil. 

4. A true justifying faith, which is called 
" A faith of the operation of God," Col. ii. 
12, and is a jewel hung only upon the elect. 

Quest. What is justifying faith? 

Ans. I shall show, 1st. What it is not. It 
is not a bare acknowledgment that Christ is a 
Saviour. Indeed there must be an acknow- 
ledgment, but that is not sufficient to justify. 
The devils acknowledged Christ's Godhead, 



Mat. viii. 29, ' Jesus the Son of God.' There 
may be an assent to divine truth, yet no work 
of grace on the heart; many assent in their 
judgments, that sin is an evil thing, but they 
go on in sin, their corruptions are stronger 
than their convictions, and that Christ is ex- 
cellent, they cheapen the pearl, but do not buy. 

2d. What justifying faith is? I answer, 
true justifying faith consists in three things. 

1. Self-renunciation. Faith is a going out 
of one's self ; a man is taken off from his own 
bottom, he sees he hath no righteousness of 
his own to save him, Phil. iii. 9, " Not having 
mine own righteousness." Self-righteous- 
ness is a broken reed the soul dares not lean 
on. Repentance and faith are both humbling 
graces ; by repentance a man abhors himself ; 
by faith he goes out of himself. It is with a 
sinner in the first act of believing, as with 
Israel in their wilderness march, behind them 
they saw Pharaoh and his chariots pursuing 
them, before them the Red sea ready to de- 
vour them : so the soul behind sees God's 
justice pursuing him for sin, before hell ready 
to devour him ; and, in this forlorn condition, 
he sees nothing in himself to help him but 
he must perish unless he can find help in 
another. 

2. Recumbency. The soul casts itself 



OF FAITH. 



145 



upon Jesus Christ; faith rests on Christ's 
person. Faith believes the promise ; but 
that which faith rests upon in the promise, 
is the person of Christ ; therefore the spouse 
is said to "lean upon her beloved," Cant, 
viii. 5. And faith is described to be a 
I believing 1 on the name of the Son of God," 
John iii. 23, viz. on his person. The pro- 
mise is but the cabinet, Christ is the jewel 
in it which faith embraceth. The promise is 
but the dish, Christ is the food in it which 
faith feeds on. And as faith rests on Christ's 
person, so on his person under this notion, 
as he was crucified. Faith glories in the 
cross of Christ, Gal. vi. 14. To consider 
Christ as he is crowned with all manner of 
excellencies, doth rather stir up admiration 
and wonder ; but Christ looked upon as 
bleeding and dying, is the proper object of 
our faith ; therefore it is called " faith in his 
blood," Rom. iii. 25. 

3. Appropriation, of the applying Christ 
to ourselves. A medicine, though it be ever 
so sovereign, yet if not applied to the wound, 
will do no good, — though the plaster be made 
of Christ's own blood, yet it will not heal, un- 
less it be applied by faith, — the blood of God, 
without faith in God, will not save. This ap- 
plying of Christ is called a receiving of him, 
John i. 12. The hand receiving of gold, en- 
richeth ; so the hand of faith receiving Christ's 
golden merits with salvation, enricheth us. 

Quest. How is faith wrought! 

Ans. By the blessed Spirit ; who is call- 
ed the « Spirit of grace,' Zech. xii. 10, be- 
cause he is the spring and efficient of all 
grace. Faith is the chief work which the 
Spirit of God works in a man's heart. In 
making the world God did but speak a 
word, but in working faith he puts forth 
his arm, Luke i. 51. The Spirit's working 
faith is called, " The exceeding greatness 
of God's power." What a power was put 
forth in raising Christ from the grave, when 
such a tombstone lay upon him, "the sins 
of all the world I" Yet he was raised up by 
the Spirit ; the same power the Spirit of 
God puts forth in working faith. The Spi- 
rit irradiates the mind, subdues the will ; 
the will naturally is like a garrison, which 
holds out against God ; the Spirit with a 
T 



sweet violence conquers, or rather changeth 
the will, making the sinner willing to have 
Christ upon any terms, to be ruled by him as 
well as saved by him. 

Quest. Wherein lies the preciousness of 
faith ? 

Ans. 1. In its being the chief gospel- 
grace, — the head of the graces ; as gold 
among the metals, so is faith among the 
graces. Clem. Alexandrinus calls the other 
graces the daughters of faith. Indeed, in hea- 
ven, love will be the chief grace ; but, while 
we are here militant, love must give place to 
faith ; love takes possession of glory, but faith 
gives a title to it. Love is the crowning grace 
in heaven, but faith is the conquering grace 
upon earth, 1 John v. 4, " This is the victory 
that overcometh the world, even our faith." 

A. 2. In its having influence upon all the 
graces, and setting them a-work, not a grace 
stirs till faith set it a-work. As the clothier 
sets the poor a-work, he sets their wheel 
a-going : faith sets hope a-work. The heir 
must believe his title to an estate in reversion 
before he can hope for it ; faith believes its 
title to glory, and then hope waits for it. Did 
not faith feed the lamp of hope with oil, it 
would soon die. Faith sets love a-work, 
Gal. v. 6, " Faith which worketh by love ;" 
believing the mercy and merit of Christ 
causeth a flame of love to ascend. Faith sets 
patience a-work, Heb. vi. 12, " Be followers 
of them, who through faith and patience inhe- 
rit the promise." Faith believes the glorious 
rewards given to suffering. This makes the 
soul patient in suffering. Thus faith is the 
master-wheel, it sets all the other graces 
a-running. 

A. 3. In its being the grace which God ho- 
nours to justify and save : thus indeed it is 
'precious faith,' as the apostle calls it, 2 Pet. 
i. 1. The other graces help to sanctify, but 
it is faith that justifies, Rom. v. 1, " Being 
justified by faith." Repentance or love do 
not justify, but faith. 

Quest. How doth faith justify ? 

Ans. Faith doth not justify, 1. As it is a 
work, that were to make a Christ of our 
faith ; but faith justifies, as it lays hold of the 
object, viz. Christ's merits. If a man had a 
precious stone in a ring that could heal, we 



146 



OF FAITH. 



say the ring heals ; but properly it is not the 
ring, but the precious stone in the ring that 
heals. Thus faith saves and justifies, but it 
is not any inherent virtue in faith, but as it 
lays hold on Christ, so it justifies. 

2. Faith doth not justify as it exerciseth 
grace. It cannot be denied, faith doth invi- 
gorate all the graces, it puts strength and 
liveliness into them, but it doth not justify 
under this notion. Faith works by love, but 
it doth not justify as it works by love, but as 
it applies Christ's merits. 

Quest. Why should faith save and jus- 
tify more than any other grace ? 

Ans. 1. Because of God's sanction. He 
hath appointed this grace to be justifying : 
and he doth it, because faith is a grace that 
takes a man off himself, and gives all the 
honour to Christ and free grace, Rom. iv. 20, 
"Strong in faith giving glory to God." 
Therefore God hath put this honour on faith, 
to make it saving and justifying. The king's 
stamp makes the coin pass for current ; if he 
would put his stamp upon leather as well as 
silver, it would make it current ; so God hav- 
ing put his sanction, the stamp of his au- 
thority and institution upon faith, this makes 
it to be justifying and saving. 

A. 2. Because faith makes us one with 
Christ, Eph. iii. 17. It is the espousing, incor- 
porating grace, it gives us coalition and union 
with Christ's person : other graces make us 
like Christ, faith makes us members of Christ. 

Use 1st. Of exhortation. Let us above 
all things labour for faith. Fides est sanc- 
tissimum humani pectoris bonum : Eph. vi. 
19. "Above all taking the shield of faith." 
Faith will be of more use to us than any 
grace : as an eye, though dim, was of more 
use to an Israelite than all the other mem- 
bers of his body, — not a strong arm, or a 
nimble foot, — it was his eye looking on the 
brazen serpent that cured him. It is not 
knowledge, though angelical, — not repent- 
ance, though we could shed rivers of tears, 
— could justify us : only faith, whereby we 
look on Christ. " Without faith it is impos- 
sible to please God," Heb. xi. 6 ; and if we 
do not please him by believing, he will not 
please us in saving of us. Faith is the condi- 
tion of the covenant of grace; without 



faith, — without covenant ; and without cove- 
nant, — without hope, Eph. ii. 12. i 

Use 2d. Of trial : Let us try whether we 
have faith. There is something looks like 
faith, and is not ; a Bristol stone looks like 
a diamond. Some plants have the same leaf 
with others, but the herbalist can distinguish 
them by the root, and taste. Something may 
look like true faith, but it may be distin- 
guished by the fruits. Let us be serious in 
the trial of our faith ; there is much depends 
upon our faith; if our faith be not good, 
there is nothing good comes from us ; ourl 
duties and graces are adulterate. 

Quest. Well then, how shall we know it 
is a true faith ? 

Ans. By the noble effects : 1. Faith is a 
Christ-prizing grace, it puts a high valua- 
tion upon Christ, 1 Pet. ii. 7, " To you, that 
believe, he is precious." St Paul did best 
know Christ, 1 Cor. ix. 1, " Have I not seen 
Jesus Christ our Lord]" Paul saw Christ 
with his bodily eyes in a vision, when he 
was caught up into the third heaven, and saw 
him with the eye of his faith in the holy sup- 
per, therefore he best knew Christ. And 
see how he styles all things in comparison of 
him, Phil. iii. 8, " I count all things but dung, 
that I may win Christ." Do we set a high 
estimate upon Christ 1 could we be willing to 
part with the wedge of gold for the pearl of 
price ] Greg. tfazianzen blessed God, he 
had any thing to lose for Christ's sake. 

2. Faith is a refining grace, 1 Tim. iii. 9, 
" Mystery of faith in a pure conscience." 
Faith is in the soul as fire among metals : It 
refines and purifies. Mortality may wash 
the outside, faith washeth the inside, Acts 

xv. 9, " Having purified their hearts by 
faith." Faith makes the heart a sacristy or 
holy of holies. Faith is a virgin-grace 
though it doth not take away the life of sin, 
yet it takes away the love of sin. Examine 
if your hearts be an unclean fountain, send- 
ing out mud and dirt, pride, envy ; if there 
be legions of lusts in thy soul, there is no 
faith. Faith is a heavenly plant, which will 
not grow in an impure soil. 

3. Faith is an obediential grace, Rom. 

xvi. 26, « The obedience of faith.' Faith 
melts our will into God's ; faith runs at 



OF FAITH. 



147 



God's call ; if God commands duty (though 
cross to flesh and blood) faith obeys, Heb. xi. 
8, "By faith Abraham obeyed." Faith is 
not an idle grace, as it hath an eye to see 
Christ, so it hath a hand to work for him. 
Faith doth not only believe God's promise, 
but obey his command. It is not your having 
knowledge will evidence you to be believers ; 
the devil hath knowledge, but wants obe- 
dience, and that makes him a devil. And 
the true obedience of faith is a cheerful obe- 
dience ; God's commands do not seem griev- 
ous. Have you the obedience, and obey 
cheerfully 1 What say you to this 1 Do you 
look upon God's command as your burthen, 
or privilege, — as an iron fetter about your 
leg, or a gold chain about your neck ? 

4. Faith is an assimilating grace. It 
changeth the soul into the image of the ob- 
ject ; it makes it like Christ. Never did 
any look upon Christ with a believing eye, 
but he was made like Christ. A deformed 
person may look on a beautiful object, but 
not be made beautiful ; but faith looking on 
Christ transforms a man, and turns him into 
his similitude. Faith looking on a bleeding 
Christ causeth a soft bleeding heart ; looking 
on a holy Christ causeth sanctity of heart ; 
looking on an bumble Christ makes the soul 
humble. As the camelion is changed into 
the colour of that which it looks upon ; so 
faith looking on Christ, changeth a Christian 
into the similitude of Christ. 

5. By the growth of it ; if it be a true 
faith, it grows ; living things grow, Rom. i. 
17, " From faith to faith." 

Quest. How may we judge of the growth 
of faith ? 

Ans. Growth of faith is judged, 1. By 
strength. We can do that now, which we 
could not do before. When one is man- 
grown, he can do that which he could not do 
when he was a child ; he can carry a heavier 
burthen, so thou canst bear crosses with 
more patience. 



2. Growth of faith is seen by doing duties 
in a more spiritual manner, viz. with fer- 
vency ; we put coals to the incense, from a 
principle of love to God. When an apple hath 
done growing in bigness, it grows in sweet- 
ness ; thou dost duties in love, and now art 
sweeter, and come off with a better relish. 

Obj. But I fear I have no faith? 

Ans. We must distinguish between weak- 
ness of faith and nullity ; a weak faith is 
true. The bruised reed is but weak, yet it is 
such as Christ will not break. Though thy 
faith be but weak, yet be not discouraged. 

1. A weak faith may receive a strong 
Christ; a weak hand can tye the knot in 
marriage, as well as a strong ; a weak eye 
might have seen the brazen serpent. The 
woman in the gospel, that but touched Christ, 
received virtue from him. The touch of 
faith. 

2. The promise is not made to strong 
faith, but to true. The promise doth not 
say, whosoever hath a giant-faith that can 
remove mountains, that can stop the mouths 
of lions, shall be saved ; but whosoever be- 
lieves, be -his faith ever so small. Though 
Christ sometimes chides a weak faith ; yet 
that it may not be discouraged, he makes a 
promise to it, Mat. v. 3, Beati qui esuriunt. 

3. A weak faith may be fruitful. Weak- 
est things multiply most ; the vine is a weak 
plant, but it is fruitful. Weak Christians 
may have strong affections. How strong is 
the first love, which is after the first planting 
of faith ! 

4. Weak faith may be growing. The 
seeds spring up by degrees ; first the blade, 
then the ear, then the full corn in the ear. 
Therefore be not discouraged; God who 
would have us receive them that are weak 
in faith, Rom. xiv. 1, will not himself re- 
fuse them. A weak believer is a member 
of Christ ; and though Christ will cut off 
rotten members from his body, yet not weak 
members. 



EFFECTUAL CALLING, 



EFFECTUAL CALLING. 
Rom. viii. 30. Them he also called. 



Quest. XXXI. What is effectual call- 
ing ? 

Ans. It is a gracious work of the Spirit, 
whereby he causeth us to embrace Christ, 
freely offered to us in the gospel. 

In this verse is a golden chain of salvation, 
made up of four links ; this is one, vocation, 
— " Them he also called." Calling is nova 
creatio, — a new creation, the first resurrec- 
tion. There is a two-fold call: 1. An ex- 
trinsic or outward call; 2. An intrinsic or 
inward effectual call. 

1. An extrinsic or outward call, which is 
God's offer of grace to sinners, inviting them 
to come in and accept of Christ and salvation, 
Matt. xx. 16, " Many are called, but few 
chosen." This outward call shows men what 
they ought to do in order to salvation, and 
renders them inexcusable in case of dis- 
obedience. 

2. There is an intrinsic or effectual call, 
when God with the offer of grace works grace ; 
by this call the heart is renewed, and the will 
effectually drawn to embrace Christ. The 
outward call brings men to a profession of 
Christ, the inward to a possession of Christ. 

Quest. What are the means of this effec- 
tual call 1 

Ans. Every creature hath a voice to call us. 
The heavens call to us to behold God's glory, 
Ps. xix. 1 ; conscience calls to us ; God's 
judgments call to us, repent, Mic. vi. 9, " Hear 
ye the rod." But every voice doth not con- 
vert. There are two means of our effectual 
call: 

1. The preaching of the word, which is the 
sounding God's silver trumpet in men's ears ; 
God doth not speak by an oracle, he calls by 
his ministers. Samuel thought it had been 
only the voice of Eli that called to him ; but 
it was God's voice, 1 Sam. iii. 6. So perhaps 
you think it is only the minister speaks to 
you in the word, but it is God himself speaks. 
Therefore Christ is said (now) to speak to 
us from heaven, Heb. xii. 25. How doth he 



speak but by his ministers as a king speaks 
by his ambassadors. Know, that in every I 
sermon preached, God calls to you ; and to 
refuse the message we bring, is to refuse God J 
himself. 

2. The other means of our effectual call, is j 
the Holy Spirit. The ministry of the word is I 
the pipe or organ ; the Spirit of God blowing 
in it doth effectually change men's hearts, 
Acts x. 44, " While Peter spake, the Holy 
Ghost fell on all them that heard the word of 
God." Ministers knock at the door of men's 
hearts, the Spirit comes with a key and opens 
the door, Acts xvi. 6, "A certain woman 
named Lydia, whose heart the Lord opened." 

Quest. From what doth God call men ? 

Ans. 1. From sin ; he calls them from 
their ignorance and unbelief, 1 Pet. i. 14. 
By nature the understanding is enveloped 
with darkness. God calls men " from dark- 
ness to light," Acts xxvi. 18, as if one should 
be called out of a dungeon to behold the 
light of the sun. 

A. 2. From danger. As the angels called 
Lot out of Sodom when it was ready to rain 
fire, so God calls his people from the fire and 
brimstone of hell, and from all those curses 
they were exposed to. 

A. 3. He calls them out of the world, as 
Christ called Matthew from the receipt of 
custom : John xvii. 16, " They are not of the 
world." Such as are divinely called are 
not natives here, but pilgrims ; they do not 
conform to the world, or follow its sinful 
fashions ; they are not of the world ; though 
they live here, yet they trade in the hea- 
venly country ; the world is a place where 
Satan's throne is, Rev. ii. 13. A stage on 
which sin every day acts its part. Now such 
as are called, are in, but not of the world. 

Quest. To what God calls men? 

Ans. 1. He calls them to holiness, 1 Thess, 
iv. 7, " God hath not called us to unclean- 
ness, but unto holiness." Holiness is the 
livery, or silver star, the godly wear, Isa. 



EFFECTUAL CALLING. 



149? 



lxiii. 18, Knam kodsheca,— ( The people of 
thy holiness.' The called of God are anoint- 
ed with the consecrating oil of the Spirit, 

1 John ii. 20, " Ye have an unction from the 
Holy One." 

A. 2. God calls them to glory, as if a man 
were called out of a prison to sit upon a 
throne, 1 Thess. ii. 12, " Who hath called 
you to his kingdom and glory." Whom God 
calls, he crowns ; it is a 1 weight of glory,' 

2 Cor. iv. 17. The Hebrew word for glory, 
Kauod signifies pondus, a weight ; the weight 
of glory adds to the worth, the weightier gold 
is, the more it is worth. And this glory is 
not transient, but permanent, — an eternal 
weight ; it is better felt than expressed. 

Quest. What is the cause of the effec- 
tual call ? 

Ans. God's electing love, Rom. viii. 30, 
I Whom he predestinated, them he also call 
ed." Election is the fountain-cause of our 
vocation ; it is not because some are more 
worthy to partake of the heavenly calling 
than others (as the Arminians), we were all 
in our blood, Ezek. xvi. 6. And what wor- 
thiness is in us % What worthiness was there 
in Mary Magdalene, out of whom seven de- 
vils were cast ? What worthiness in the 
Corinthians, when God began to call them 
by his gospel 1 They were fornicators, ef- 
feminate, idolaters, 1 Cor. vi. 11, " Such 
were some of you, but ye are washed," &c. 
Before effectual calling, we are not only 
" without strength," Rom. v. 6, but i ene- 
mies,' Col. i. 21. So that the foundation of 
vocation is election. 

Quest. What are the epithets or qualifi- 
cations of this call ? 

Ans. 1. It is a powerful call ; verba Dei 
sunt opera, Luther. God puts forth infinite 
power in calling home a sinner to himself ; 
he doth not only put forth his voice but his 
arm. The apostle speaks of the exceeding 
greatness of his power, he exerciseth towards 
them that believe, Eph. i. 19. God rides 
forth conquering in the chariot of his gospel ; 
he conquers the pride of the heart, and makes 
the will, which stood out as a fort-royal, to 
yield and stoop to his grace ; he makes the 
stony heart bleed ; it is a mighty powerful 
call. Why then do the Arminians seem to 



talk of a moral persuasion, -—that God in the 
conversion of a sinner, doth only morally 
persuade, and no more ? He sets his promises 
before them to allure them to good, and his 
threatenings to deter them from evil ; and 
here is all he doth. But sure moral persua- 
sions alone are insufficient to the effectual 
call : how can the bare proposal of promisee 
and threatenings convert a soul 1 This 
amounts not to a new creation, or that power 
which raised Christ from the dead ; God doth 
not only persuade, but enable, Ezek. xxxvii. 
27. If God, in conversion, should only mo- 
rally persuade, that is, set good and evil be- 
fore men, then God doth not put forth so 
much power in saving men, as the devil doth 
in destroying them. Satan doth not only 
propound tempting objects to men, but doth 
concur with his temptations : therefore he is 
said to " work in the children of disobedi- 
ence," Eph. ii. 2. The Greek word, to work, 
signifies imperii vim, Camer., the power Sa- 
tan hath in carrying men to sin. And shall 
not God's power in converting, be greater 
than Satan's power in seducing 1 The effec- 
tual call is mighty and powerful ; God puts 
forth a divine energy, nay a kind of omnipo- 
tency ; it is such a powerful call that the will 
of man hath no power effectually to resist. 

A. 2. It is a high calling, Phil. iii. 14, " I 
press toward the mark of the prize of the 
high calling of God." It is a high calling, 
1st, Because we are called to high exercises 
of religion ; to be crucified to the world, to 
live by faith, to do angels' work, to love God, 
to be living organs of his praise, to hold com- 
munion with the Father and the Son, 1 John 
i. 3.— 2c%, It is a high calling, because we 
are called to high privileges ; to justification 
and adoption, to be kings and priests unto 
God ; we are called to the fellowship of an- 
gels, to be co-heirs with Christ, Rom. viii. 17. 
They who are effectually called, are candi- 
dates of heaven ; they are princes in all lands, 
Ps. xiv. 16, though princes in disguise. — 
Sdly, It is an immutable call, Rom. xi. 9, 
" The gifts and calling of God are without 
repentance ;" that is, those gifts that flow 
from election, (as vocation and justifica- 
tion) these are without repentance. God 
repented he called Saul to be a king; but 



150 



EFFECTUAL CALLING. 



he never repents that he calls a sinner to be 
a saint. 

Use 1st. See the necessity of the effectual 
call, a man cannot go to heaven without it. 
First, We must be called before glorified, 
Rom. viii. 30. A man uncalled can lay claim 
to nothing in the Bible but threatenings ; a 
man in the state of nature is not fit for hea- 
ven, no more than a man in his filth and his 
rags is fit to come into a king's presence ; a 
man in his pure naturals, is a God-hater, 
Rom. i. 30 ; and is he fit for heaven I Will 
God lay his enemies in his bosom 1 

Use 2d. Of trial. Whether we are effec- 
tually called 1 we may know it by the ante- 
cedent and consequent of it. 

1. By the antecedent. Before this effec- 
tual call, an humbling work passeth upon the 
soul : a man is convinced of sin, he sees he 
is a sinner and nothing but a sinner ; the fal- 
low ground of his heart is broken up, Jer. iv. 
3. As the husbandman breaks the clods, 
then casts in the seed, so God, by the con- 
vincing work of the law breaks a sinner's 
heart, and makes it fit to receive the seeds of 
grace. Such as were never convinced, are 
never called, John xvi. 8, " He shall convince 
the world of sin." Conviction is the first 
step in conversion. 

2. By the consequents, two, (1). He who 
is savingly called, answers to God's call. 
When God called Samuel, he answered, 
" Speak, Lord, thy servant heareth," 1 Sam. 
iii. 10. When God calls thee to an act of 
religion, thou dost run at God's call, Acts 
xxvi. 19, " I was not disobedient to the hea- 
venly vision." If God calls to duties contrary 
to flesh and blood, we obey his voice in every 
thing ; true obedience is like the needle 
which points that way which the loadstone 
draws. Such as are deaf to God's call, show 
they are not called by grace. — (2). He who 
is effectually called, doth stop his ears to all 
other calls which would call him off from 
God. As God hath his call, so there are other 
contrary calls : Satan calls by a temptation, 
— lust calls, — evil company calls, — but, as the 
adder stops its ear against the voice of the 
charmer, so he who is effectually called, stops 
his ear against all the charms of the flesh 
and the Devil. 



Use 3d. Of comfort to them who are the 1 : 
called of God. This call evidenceth election, 
Rom. viii. 30, " Whom he predestinated, 
them he also called." Election is the cause 
of our vocation, and vocation is the sign of j 
our election. Election is the first link of the i 
golden chain of salvation, vocation is the se- 
cond ; he who hath the second link of the 
chain is sure of the first link ; as by the 
stream we are led to the fountain, so by vo- 
cation we ascend to election. Calling is an ■ 
earnest and pledge of glory, 2 Thess. ii. 131 I 
" God hath chosen you to salvation, through 
sanctification." We may read God's predestU 
nating love in the work of grace in our heart. 

To such as are called, to be thankful to 
God for this unspeakable blessing ; he thank- 
ful to all the persons in the Trinity, to the, 
Father's mercy,- — to the Son's merit, — to the 
Spirit's efficacy. To make you thankful, 
consider, when you had offended God that he 
should call you ; that, when God needed you 
not, he had millions of glorified saints and 
angels to praise him, yet he called you. 
Again, consider what you were before God 
called you ; you were in your sins ; when God 
called Paul, he found him persecuting ; when 
he called Matthew, he found him at the re- 
ceipt of custom ; when he called Zaccheus, 
he found him using extortion. When God 
calls a man by his grace, he finds him seek- 
ing after his lusts ; as when Saul was called 
to the kingdom, he was seeking the asses ; 
that God should call thee when thou wast in 
the hot pursuit of sin, admire God's love, 
exalt his praise. Again, that God should call 
you, and pass by others, what mercy is this ! 
Matt. xi. 26, " Even so, Father, for so it 
seemed good in thy sight." That God should 
pass by the wise and noble persons, of sweeter 
dispositions, acuter parts, guilty of less vice, 
and that the lot of free grace should fall upon 
you-. O astonishing love of God ! It was a 
great favour of God to Samuel, that God 
called to him, and revealed his mind to him, 
and passed by Eli, though a priest and a 
judge in Israel, 1 Sam. iii. 6, so, that God 
should call to thee, a flagitious sinner, and 
pass by others of higher birth and better mo- 
rals, here is that which calls aloud for praise. 
As God so governs the clouds, that he 



OF JUSTIFICATION. 



151 



makes them rain upon one place, and not 
upon another : so two at a sermon, — one his 
heart the Lord opens, — the other is no more 
affected with it, than a deaf man with the 
sound of music. Here is the banner of free 
grace displayed, and here should the trophies 
of praise be erected. Elijah and Elisha were 
walking together ; on a sudden there came a 
chariot of fire, and carried Elijah up to hea- 
ven, but left Elisha behind ; so, when two are 
walking together, husband and wife, father 
and child, that God should call one by his 
grace, but leave the other, carry up one in a 
triumphant chariot to heaven, but let the 
other perish eternally ; O infinite rich grace ! 
How should they that are called be affected 
with God's discriminating love 1 How should 
the vessels of mercy run over with thankful- 
ness 1 How should they stand upon mount 
Gerizim, blessing and praising God ] O be- 
gin the work of heaven here ! Such as are 
patterns of mercy should be trumpeters of 
praise. Thus St Paul being called of God, 
and seeing what a debtor he was to free 
grace, breaks forth into admiration and gratu- 
lation, 1 Tim. i. 13. 

Use Uh. To the called. Walk worthy of 
your high calling, Eph. iv. 1, " I beseech 
you, that ye walk worthy of the vocation 
wherewith ye are called ;" in two things. 

1. Walk compassionately. Pity such as 
are yet uncalled ; hast thou a child that God 
hath not yet called, a wife, a servant ? weep 
over their dying souls ; they are in their 
blood, " under the power of Satan." O pity 



them ! Let their sins more trouble you than 
your own sufferings ; if you pity an ox or ass 
going astray, will you not pity a soul going 
astray 1 Show your piety by your pity. 

2. Walk holily. Your's is a holy calling, 
2 Tim. i. 9. You are called to be saints, 
Rom. i. 7. Show your vocation by a Bible 
conversation. Shall not flowers smell sweeter 
than weeds'? Shall not they who are enno- 
bled with grace have more fragrancy in their 
lives than sinners 1 1 Pet. i. 15, " As he who 
hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all 
manner of conversation." O dishonour not 
your high calling, by any sordid carriage ! 
When Antigonus was going to defile him- 
self with women ; one told him, " he was a 
king's son." O remember your dignity : 
f called of God !' of the blood-royal of hea- 
ven : do nothing unworthy of your honour- 
able calling ! Scipio refused the embraces 
of a harlot because he was general of an 
army : abhor all motions to sin, because of 
your high calling. It is not fit for them 
who are the called of God, to do as others ; 
though others of -the Jews did drink wine, 
it was not fit for the Nazarite, because he 
had a vow of separation upon him, and had 
promised abstinence. Though Pagans and 
nominal Christians take liberty to sin, yet it 
is not fit for them who are called out of the 
world, and have the mark of election upon 
them, to do so ; ye are consecrated persons, 
your bodies are the temples of the Holy 
Ghost, and your bodies must be a sacristy 
or holy of holies. 



OF JUSTIFICATION. 
Rom. iii. 24. Being justified freely by his Grace. 



Quest. XXXIII. What is justifica- 
tion? 

Ans. It is an act of God's free grace, 
whereby he pardoneth all our sins, and ac- 
cepts us as righteous in his sight, only for 
the righteousness of Christ, imputed to us, 
and received by faith alone. 

Justification is the very hinge and pil- 
lar of Christianity: and an error about 



justification is dangerous, like a crack in 
the foundation, or an error in the first con- 
coction. Justification by Christ is a spring 
of the water of life ; and to have the poison 
of corrupt doctrine cast into this spring, is 
damnable. It was a saying of Luther, " that 
after his death the doctrine of justification 
would be corrupted ;" as it hath been in these 
latter times : the Arminians and Socinians 



152 



OF JUSTIFICATION. 



have cast a dead fly into this box of precious 
ointment. 

I shall endeavour to follow the star of scrip- 
ture to light me through this mysterious point. 

Quest. What is meant by justification ? 

Ans. It is verbum forense, — a word bor- 
rowed from law-courts, wherein a person 
arraigned is pronounced righteous, and is 
openly absolved in the court. Thus God, in 
justifying a person, pronounceth him to be 
righteous, and looks upon him as if he had 
not sinned. 

Quest. What is the ground of justifica- 
tion ? 

Ans. The causa, — the inward impellent 
motive or ground of justification, — is the free 
grace of God : so in the text, justified freely 
by his grace ; which Ambrose expounds, " not 
of the grace wrought within us, but the free 
grace of God." The first wheel that sets all 
the rest a-running is the love and favour of 
God : " being justified by his grace ;" as a 
king freely pardons a delinquent. Justifica- 
tion is a mercy spun out of the bowels of free 
grace. God doth not justify us because we are 
worthy, but by justifying us makes us worthy. 

Quest. What is the material cause, or 
that by which a sinner is justified 1 

Ans. The matter of our justification, is 
Christ's satisfaction made to his Father. If 
it be asked, how can it stand with God's jus- 
tice and holiness to pronounce us innocent 
when we are guilty % This answers it, Christ 
having made satisfaction for our fault, now 
God may, in equity and justice, pronounce 
us righteous. It is a just thing for a creditor 
to discharge a debtor of the debt, when a 
satisfaction is made by the surety. 

Quest. But how was Chrisfs satisfac- 
tion meritorious, and so sufficient to justify ? 

Ans. In respect of the divine nature : as 
he was man he suffered, as God he satisfied ; 
by Christ's death and merits, God's justice 
is more abundantly satisfied, than if we had 
suffered the pains of hell for ever. 

Quest. Wherein lies the formality or 
essence of our justification ? 

Ans. In the imputation of Christ's right- 
eousness to us, Jer. xxiii. 6, " This is the 
name whereby he shall be called, Jehovah 
Tzidkennu" The Lord our righteous- 



ness. 1 Cor. i. 30, " He is made to us 

righteousness." This righteousness of Christ 
which doth justify us, is a better righteous- 
ness than the angels'; theirs is the righteous- 
ness of creatures, this of God. 

Quest. What is the means or instrument 
of our justification ? 

Ans. Faith, Rom. v. 1, " Being justified 
by faith." The dignity is not in faith as a 
grace, but relatively, as it lays hoJd on 
Christ's merits. 

Quest. What is the efficient cause of our 
justification 1 

Ans. The whole Trinity ; all the persons 
in the blessed Trinity have a hand in the 
justification of a sinner, — opera Trinitatis 
ad extra sunt indivisa. God the Father is 
said to justify, Rom. viii. 33, " It is God that 
justifieth." God the Son is said to justify, 
Acts xiii. 39, " By him all that believe are 
justified." God the Holy Ghost is said to 
justify, 1 Cor. vi. 11, " But ye are justified by 
the Spirit of our God." God the Father 
justifies, as he pronounceth us righteous ; 
God the Son justifies, as he imputes his right- 
eousness to us ; and God the Holy Ghost 
justifies, as he clears up our justification, and 
seals us up to the day of redemption. 

Quest. What is the end of our justifica- 
tion 1 

Ans. The end is, 1. That God may in- 
herit praise, Eph. i. 6, " To the praise of the 
glory of his grace." Hereby God raiseth 
the everlasting trophies of his own honour ; 
how will the justified sinner proclaim the 
love of God, and make heaven ring with his 
praises ! — 2. That the justified person may 
inherit glory, Rom. viii. 30, " Whom he 
justified, them he also glorified." God, in 
justifying, doth not only absolve a soul from 
guilt, but advance him to dignity : as Joseph 
was not only loosed from prison, but made 
lord of the kingdom. Justification is crown- 
ed with glorification. 

Quest. Whether are we justified from 
eternity ? 

Ans. No : for, 1. By nature we are un- 
der a sentence of condemnation, John iii. 
18. But we could not be at all condemned, 
if we were justified from eternity.— 2. The 
scripture confines justification to those who 



OF JUSTIFICATION. 



153 



believe and repent, Acts iii. 19, " Repent, that 
your sins may be blotted out." Therefore 
their sins were uncancelled, and their persons 
unjustified, till they did repent. Though God 
doth not justify us for our repentance, yet 
not without it. The Antinomians erroneous- 
ly hold, that we are justified from eternity ; 
. this doctrine is a key which opens the door 
to all licentiousness ; what sins do they care 
they commit, so long as they hold they are 
ab ceterno justified whether they repent or not? 

Before I come to the uses, I shall lay down 
four maxims or positions about justifica- 
tion. 

Position 1. That justification confers a 
real benefit upon the person justified. The 
acquitting and discharging of the debtor, by 
virtue of the satisfaction made by the surety, 
is a real benefit to the debtor ; a robe of right- 
eousness, and a crown of righteousness, are 
real benefits. 

Position 2. All believers are alike justified; 
justificatio non recipit magis et minus, — 
though there are degrees in grace, yet not in 
justification ; one is not justified more than 
another, the weakest believer is as perfectly 
justified as the strongest. Mary Magdalene 
is as much justified as the Virgin Mary. 
This maybe cordial-water to a weak believer : 
though thou hast but a drachm of faith, thou 
art as truly justified as he who is of the high- 
est stature in Christ. 

Position 3. Whosoever God justifies, he 
sanctifies, 1 Cor. vi. 11, " But ye are sancti- 
fied, but ye are justified." The papists ca- 
lumniate the protestants ; they report, we 
hold that men continuing in sin are justified ; 
whereas all our protestant writers affirm, 
that righteousness imputed, viz. Justification, 
— and righteousness inherent, viz. Sanctifi- 
cation, — must be inseparably united. Holi- 
ness indeed is not the cause of our justifica- 
tion, but it is the concomitant ; the heat in 
the sun is not the cause of its light, but it is 
the concomitant. It is absurd to imagine 
that God should justify a people, and they 
go on in sin. If God should justify a people 
and not sanctify them, he should justify a 
people whom he could not glorify. God, as 
he is a holy God, cannot lay a sinner in his 
bosom. The metal is first refined, before the 
U 



king's stamp is put upon it ; first the soul is 
refined with holiness, before God puts the 
royal stamp of justification upon it. 

Position 4. Justification is inamissibilis, 
— it is a fixed permanent thing, it can never 
be lost. The Arminians hold an apostacy 
from justification : to-day justified, to-mor- 
row unjustified ; to-day a Peter, to-morrow 
a Judas ; to-day a member of Christ, to-mor- 
row a limb of Satan ; a most uncomfortable 
doctrine. Indeed justified persons may fall 
from degrees of grace, — they may leave their 
first love, — they may lose God's favour for a 
time, — but not lose their justification. If 
they are justified then they are elected ; they 
can no more fall from their justification than 
from their election. If they are justified, 
then they have union with Christ : and can 
a member of Christ be broken off'? If one 
justified person may fall away from Christ, 
they all may, and so Christ should be a head 
without a body. 

Use 1st. See from hence that there is no- 
thing within us could justify us but some- 
thing without us ; not any righteousness in- 
herent, but imputed ; we may as well look for 
a star in the earth as for justification in our 
own righteousness. The papists say we are 
justified by works. But the apostle confutes 
it, " not of works, lest any man should boast," 
Eph. ii. 9. But the papists say ** the works 
done by an unregenerate man indeed cannot 
justify him, but works done by a regenerate 
man may justify." This is most false, as 
may be proved both by example and reason. 

1. By example. Abraham was a regene- 
rate man, but Abraham was not justified by 
works, but by faith, Rom. iv. 3, Abraham 
" believed God, and it was counted to him for , 
righteousness." 

2. By reason. How can those works jus- 
tify us, which defile us 1 Isa. lxiv. 6, 1 1 Our 
righteousness are as filthy rags." Bona 
opera non pracedunt justificationem, sed 
sequuntur justificatum, — good works are not 
an usher to go before justification, but a hand- 
maid to follow it. 

Obj. But doth not the apostle James say 
Abraham was justified by works ? 

A. The answer is easy : works declare us 
to be righteous before men, but they do not 



154 



OF JUSTIFICATION. 



make us righteous before God. Works are 
evidences of our justification, not causes. 
This name only must be graven upon the 
golden plate of our high priest Christ, The 
Lord our Righteousness. 

Use 2d. Of exhortation. Branch 1. Adore 
the infinite wisdom and goodness of God, to 
find out such a way to justify us by " rich 
grace and precious blood." We were all in- 
volved in guilt ; none of us could plead, not 
guilty, and being guilty, we lay under a sen- 
tence of death ; now that the judge himself 
should find out a way to justify us, and the 
creditor himself contrive a way to have the 
debt paid and not distress the debtor, this 
may fill us with wonder and love. The an- 
gels admire the mystery of free grace in this 
new way of justifying and saving lost man, 
1 Pet. i. 12, and should not we, who are 
nearly concerned in it, and on whom the be- 
nefit is devolved, cry out with the apostle, 
" O the depth of the riches both of the wis- 
dom and knowledge of God !" &c. 

Branch 2. Labour for this high privilege 
of justification. There is balm in Gilead ; 
Christ hath laid down the price of our justi- 
fication, viz. his blood ; and he offers himself 
and all his merits to us, to justify ; he invites 
us to come to him ; he hath promised to give 
his Spirit, to enable us to do what is required. 
Why then, sinners, will ye not look after this 
great privilege of justification 1 Do not 
starve in the midst of plenty ; do not perish 
when there is remedy to save you. Would 
not he be thought to be distracted, who hav- 
ing a pardon offered him, only upon the ac- 
knowledgement of his fault, and promising 
amendment, should bid the prince keep his 
pardon to himself ; for his part, he was in 
love with his chains and fetters, and would 
die 1 Thou who neglectest justification of- 
fered thee freely by Christ in the gospel, art 
this distracted person. Is the love of Christ 
to be slighted ] Is thy soul and heaven worth 
nothing ! O then look after justification 
through Christ's blood ! 

Consider, 1. The necessity of being jus- 
tified. If we are not justified, we cannot be 
glorified, Rom. viii. 30, " Whom he justified, 
them he also glorified." He who is out- 
lawed, and all his goods confiscated, must be 



brought into favour with his prince, before he 
can be restored to his former rights and liber- 
ties : so, we must first have our sins forgiv en 
and be brought into God's favour by justifica- 
tion, before we can be restored to the liberty 
of the sons of God, and have right to that 
happiness we forfeited in Adam. 

2. The utility and benefit : by justification 
we enjoy peace in our conscience, — a richer 
jewel than any prince wears in his crown : 
Rom. v. 1., " Being justified by faith, we 
have peace with God." Peace can sweeten! 
all our afflictions, it turns our water intol 
wine. How happy is a justified person \ 
who hath the power of God to guard him, 
and the peace of God to comfort him ! 
Peace flowing from justification, is an anti- 
dote against the fear of death and hell, 
Rom. viii. 33, " It is God that justifies, who 
is he that condemneth ?" Therefore labour 
for this justification by Christ. This privi- 
lege is obtained by believing in Christ, Acts 
xiii. 39, " By him all that believe are justi- 
fied." And Rom. iii. 25, " Whom God hath 
set forth to be a propitiation through faith in 
his blood." Faith unites us to Christ ; and 
having union with his person, we partake of 
his merits, and the glorious salvation which 
comes by him. 

Use 3d. Comfort to the justified. 1. It is 
comfort in case of failings. Alas ! how de- 
fective are the godly. They come short in 
every duty ; but though believers should be 
humbled under their defects, yet not de- 
spond ; they are not to be justified by their 
duties or graces, but the righteousness of 
Christ. Their duties are mixed with sin, 
but that righteousness which justifies them 
is a perfect righteousness. — 2. Comfort in 
case of hard censures ; the world censures 
the people of God as proud and hypocriti- 
cal, and the troublers of Israel ; but though 
men censure and condemn the godly, yet 
God hath justified them ; and as he hath 
now justified them, so at the day of judg- 
ment he will openly justify them, and pro- 
nounce them righteous before men and an- 
gels. And God is so just and holy a judge, 
that having once justified his people, he 
will never condemn them. Pilate justified 
Christ, " I find no fault in him," yet after 



OF ADOPTION. 



155 



this he condemned him; but God having 
publicly justified his saints, he will never 



condemn them : " whom he justified, them he 



also glorified.' 



OF ADOPTION. 
John i. 12. To them he gave power to become the sons of God. 



Having spoken of the great points of faith 
and justification, the next is adoption. 

1. The qualification of the persons : " as 
many as received him." Receiving is put 
for believing, as is clear by the last words, 
" to them that believe in his name." 

2. The specification of the privileges: 
" to them he gave power to become the sons 
of God." The Greek word for power, exusia, 
signifies dignity and prerogative ; he digni- 
fied them to become the sons of God. 

Our sonship differs from Christ's sonship ; 
Christ was the Son of God by eternal gene- 
ration, — a Son before time, — but our sonship 
is, 1. By creation, Acts xvii. 28, " We are 
his offspring." This is no privilege ; men 
may have God for their Father by creation, 
yet have the devil for their father. — 2. Our 
sonship is by adoption ; so in the text, " He 
gave them power to become the sons of 
God." Adoption is twofold. 

1. External and federal : so those who live 
in a visible church, and make a profession of 
God. are sons, Matt. viii. 12, " The children 
of the kingdom shall be cast out." 

2. Real and gracious : so they are sons, 
who are God's favourites, and are heirs of 
glory. Before I proceed to the questions, I 
shall lay down three positions. 

Position 1. Adoption takes in all nations : 
at first adoption was confined to the people 
of the Jews, they only were grafted into the 
true olive, and were dignified with glorious 
privileges, Rom. ix. 4, " Who are Israelites, 
to whom pertaineth the adoption and the 
glory." But now, in the time of the gospel, 
the charter is enlarged, and the believing 
Gentiles are within the line of communica- 
tion and have a right to the privileges of adop- 
tion as well as the Jews, Acts x. 35, " In every 
nation he that feareth God, and worketh 
righteousness, is accepted with him." 

Position 2. Adoption takes in both sexes, 



females as well as males, 2 Cor. vi. 18, "I 
will be a father unto you, and ye shall be my 
sons and daughters." I have read that in 
some countries, females are excluded from 
the supreme dignity, — as by the Salique law 
in France no woman can inherit a crown : but 
if we speak of spiritual privileges, females are 
as capable as males. Every gracious soul, of 
whatever sex, lays claim to adoption, and 
hath an interest in God as a father ; " ye 
shall be my sons and daughters, saith the 
Lord Almighty." 

Position 3. Adoption is an act of pure 
grace, Eph. i. 5, "Having predestinated us 
unto the adoption of children, according to 
the good pleasure of his will." Adoption is 
a mercy spun out of the bowels of free grace ; 
all by nature are strangers, therefore have no 
right to sonship, only God is pleased to adopt 
one, and not another, to make one a vessel 
of glory, another a vessel of wrath. The 
adopted heir may cry out, " Lord, how is it, 
that thou wilt show thyself to rae, and not 
unto the world?" 

Quest. What this filiation or adoption is? 

Ans. Adoption is the taking a stranger into 
the relation of a son and heir : so Moses was 
the adopted son of king Pharaoh's daughter, 
Exod. ii. 10; and Esther was the adopted 
child of her uncle Mordecai, Esth. ii. 7. Thus 
God adopts us into the family of heaven ; and 
God, in adopting us, doth two things : 

1. He ennobles us with his name : he who 
is adopted, bears his name who adopts him, 
Rev. iii. 12, "I will write on him the name 
of my God." 

2. God consecrates us with his Spirit; 
whom he adopts, he anoints ; whom he makes 
sons, he makes saints. When a man adopts 
another for his son and heir, he may put his 
name upon him, but he cannot put his dispo- 
sition into him ; if he be of a morose rugged 
nature, he cannot alter it, but whom God 



158 



OF ADOPTION. 



adopts he sanctifies ; he doth not only give 
them a new name but a new nature, 2 Pet. i. 
4. God turns the wolf into a lamb ; he makes 
the heart humble and gracious ; he works 
such a change as if another soul did dwell in 
the same body. 

Quest. From what state doth God take 
us when he adopts us 1 

Ans. From a state of sin and misery. 
King Pharaoh's daughter took Moses out of 
the ark of bulrushes in the water, and adopt- 
ed him for her son. God did not take us out 
of the water, but out of our blood, and adopt- 
ed us, Ezek. xvi. God adopted us from slave- 
ry ; it is a mercy to redeem a slave, but it is 
more to adopt him. 

Quest. To what God adopts us ? 

Ans. He adopts us to a state of excellen- 
cy. It were much for God to take a clod of 
dust and make it a star ; it is more for God 
to take a piece of clay and sin and adopt it 
for his heir. 

1st. God adopts us to a state of liberty. 
Adoption is a state of freedom ; a slave being 
adopted, is made a free man, Gal. iv. 7, 
" Thou art no more a servant, but a son." 

Quest. How is an adopted son free ? 

Ans. 1. Not to do what he lists : he is free 
from the dominion of sin, the tyranny of Sa- 
tan, the curse of the law. 

A. 2. He is free in the manner of worship ; 
he hath God's free Spirit, which makes 
him free and cheerful in the service of God ; 
he is "joyful in the house of prayer," 
Isa. lvi. 7. 

2d. God adopts us to a state of dignity. 
God makes us heirs of promise ; God in- 
stalls us into honour, Tsa. xliii. 4, "Since 
thou wast precious in my sight, thou hast 
been honourable." The adopted are God's 
treasure, Exod. xix. 5 ; his jewels, Mai. 
iii. 17; his first-born, Heb. xii. 23; they 
have angels for their life-guard, Heb. i. 14; 
they are of the blood royal of heaven, 
1 John iii. 9. The scripture hath set forth 
their spiritual heraldry ; they have their 
escutcheon or coat-armour ; sometimes they 
give the lion for their courage, Prov. xxviii. 
1 ; sometimes the dove for their meekness, 
Cant. ii. 14 ; sometimes the eagle for their 
sublimeness, Isa. xl. 31. Thus you see their 



coat of arms displayed : but what is ho- 
nour without inheritance ? God adopts all 
his sons to an inheritance, Luke xii. 32, 
" It is your Father's good pleasure to give 
you the kingdom." It is no disparagement 
to be the sons of God. To reproach the 
saints, is as if Shimei had reproached David 
when he was going to be made king ; adopt- 
ion ends in coronation. The kingdom God 
gives his adopted sons and heirs, excels all 
earthly monarchies. 

1. In riches, Rev. xxi. 21. The gates are 
of pearl, and the streets of pure gold, and as 
it were transparent glass. 

2. In tranquillity. It is peaceable ; the 
white lily of peace is the best flower in a 
prince's crown, — Pax una triumphis innu- 
meris melior. No divisions at home, or in- 
vasions abroad ; no more the noise of the drum 
or cannon, but the voice of harpers harping, 
the hieroglyphic of peace, Rev. xiv. 2. 

3. In stability. Other kingdoms are cor- 
ruptible ; though they have heads of gold, 
yet feet of clay ; but this kingdom, into 
which the saints are adopted, runs parallel 
with eternity ; it is " a kingdom that cannot 
be moved," Heb. xii. 28. The heirs of hea- 
ven reign for ever and ever. Rev. xxii. 5. 

Quest. What is the organical or instru- 
mental cause of adoption ? 

Ans. Faith interests us in the privilege of 
adoption, Gal. iii. 26, " Ye are all the chil- 
dren of God by faith in Christ Jesus." Be- 
fore faith be wrought, we are spiritually ille- 
gitimate, we have no relation to God as a 
father ; an unbeliever may call God judge, 
but not father ; faith is the filiating grace, it 
confers upon us the title of sonship, and 
gives us right to inherit, 

Quest. Why is faith the instrument of 
adoption more than any other grace 7 

Ans. 1. Faith is a quickening grace, it is 
the vital artery of the soul, Heb. ii. 4, " The 
just shall live by his faith." Life makes us 
capable of adoption, dead children are never 
adopted. 

A. 2. Faith makes us Christ's brethren, 
and so God comes to be our father. 

Use 1st. Branch 1. See the amazing 
love of God in making us his sons. Plato 
gave God thanks that he had made him a 



OF ADOPTION. 



157 



man, and not only a man but a philosopher : 
but it is infinitely more that he should invest 
us with the prerogative of sons. It is love in 
God to feed us, but more to adopt us, 1 John 
iii. 1, " Behold what manner of love the Fa- 
ther hath bestowed upon us, that we should 
be called the sons of God !" It is an ecce ad- 
mirantis, — a behold of wonder. The wonder 
of God's love in adopting us, will appear the 
more if we consider these six things. 

1. That God should adopt us when he had 
a Son of his own. Men adopt because they 
want children, and desire to have some to 
bear their name : but that God should adopt 
us when he had a son of his own, the Lord 
Jesus, — here is the wonder of love. Christ 
is called "God's dear Son," Col. i. 13 ; a 
Son more worthy than the angels, Heb. i. 4, 
" Being made so much better than the an- 
gels." Now, when God had a Son of his 
own, — such a Son, — here is the wonder of 
God's love in adopting us. We needed a 
Father, but he did not need sons. 

2. Consider what we were before God did 
adopt us ; we were very deformed ; a man 
will scarce adopt him for his heir that is 
crooked and ill-favoured, but that hath some 
beauty. Mordecai adopted Esther, because 
she was fair. But we were in our blood, 
and then God adopted us, Ezek, xvi. 6, 
** When I saw thee polluted in thy blood, it 
•was the time of love." God did not adopt 
us when we were bespangled with the jewels 
of holiness, and had the angels' glory upon 
us ; but when we were black as Ethiopians, 
diseased as lepers, then it was the time of 
love. 

-3. That God should be at so great expense 
in adopting us : when men adopt, they have 
only some deed sealed, and the thing is 
effected ; but when God adopts, it puts him 
to a far greater expense, it sets his wisdom 
a-work to find out a way to adopt us ; it was 
no easy thing to make the heirs of wrath, 
heirs of the promise. And when God had 
found out a way to adopt, it was no easy 
way ; our adoption was purchased at a dear 
rate ; when God was about to make us sons 
and heirs, he could not seal the deed but by 
the blood of his own Son. Here is the won- 
der of God's love in adopting us, that he 



should be at all this expense to bring this 
work about. 

4. That God should adopt his enemies ; if 
a man adopts another for his heir, he will not 
adopt his mortal enemy, but that God should 
adopt us, when we were not only strangers, 
but enemies, — here is the wonder of love ; 
for God to have pardoned his enemies, had 
been much, but to adopt them for his heirs, 
this sets the angels in heaven a wondering. 

5. That God should take great numbers out 
of the devil's family, and adopt them into the 
family of heaven. Christ is said to bring many 
sons to glory, Heb. ii. 10. Men adopt usually 
but one heir, but God is resolved to increase 
his family, he brings many sons to glory. 
God's adopting millions, is the wonder of 
love. Had but one been adopted, all of us 
might have despaired ; but he brings many 
sons to glory, this opens a door of hope to us. 

6. That God should confer so great ho- 
nour upon us in adopting us. David thought 
it no small honour that he should be a king's 
son-in-law, 1 Sam. xviii. 18. But what ho- 
nour to be the sons of the high God ! And 
the more honour God hath put upon us in 
adopting us, the more he hath magnified his 
love towards us. What honour that God 
hath made us so near in alliance to him, — 
sons of God the Father, — members of God 
the Son, — temples of God the Holy Ghost ! 
That he hath made us as the angels, Matt, 
xxii. 30 ; nay, in some sense, superior to the 
angels ; all this proclaims the wonder of 
God's love in adopting us. 

Branch 2. See the sad condition of such 
as live and die in unbelief. They are not 
the sons of God : " To as many as received 
him, he gave power to become the sons of 
God, even to them that believe in his name." 
No faith, no sonship ; unbelievers have no 
sign of sonship, they know not God; all 
God's children know their Father, but the 
wicked do not know him, Jer. ix. 3, " They 
proceed from evil to evil, and know not me, 
saith the Lord." Unbelievers are " dead in 
trespasses," Eph. ii. 1. God hath no dead 
children ; and not being children, they have 
no right to inherit. 

Use 2d. Of trial. Try whether we are 
adopted. All the world is divided into these 



153 



OF ADOPTION. 



two ranks, either the sons of God, or the 
heirs of hell : John i. 12, " To them he gave 
power to become the sons of God." Let us 
put ourselves on a trial. It is no sign we are 
adopted sons, because we are sons of godly- 
parents. The Jews boasted that they were 
of Abraham's seed, John viii. 33, they thought 
they must needs be good, because they came 
of such a holy line. But adoption doth not 
come by blood ; we see many godly parents 
have wicked sons ; Abraham had an Ishmael, 
— Isaac an Esau. The corn that is sown pure 
yet brings forth grain with a husk ; he who 
himself is holy, yet the child that springs 
from his loins is unholy. So that, as Hierom, 
non nascimur jilii, — we are not God's sons 
as we are born of godly parents, but by adop- 
tion and grace. Well, then, let us try if we 
are the adopted sons and daughters of God. 

1st. First sign of adoption, obedience. A 
son obeys his Father, Jer. xxxv. 5, " I set be- 
fore the sons of the house of the Rechabites, 
pots full of wine, and cups, and said unto 
them, drink ye wine. But they said, we 
will drink no wine : for Jonadab, the son of 
Rechab our father commanded us, saying, ye 
shall drink no wine." So, when God saith, 
" drink not in sin's enchanted cup ;" an 
adopted child saith, " my heavenly Father 
hath commanded me, I dare not drink." A 
gracious soul doth not only believe God's 
promise, but obey his command. And true 
childlike obedience must be regular, which 
implies three things : 

1. It must be done by a right rule. Obe- 
dience must have the word for its rule, — 
Lydius lapis, Isa. viii. 20, " To the law and 
to the testimony." If our obedience be not 
according to the word, it is offering up strange 
fire ; it is will-worship, and God will say, who 
hath required this at your hand ? The apostle 
condemns worshipping of angels which had a 
show of humility, Col. ii. 18. The Jews might 
say that they were loath to be so bold as to go 
to God in their own persons ; they would be 
more humble, and prostrate themselves before 
the angels, desiring them to be their media- 
tors to God. Here was a show of humility in 
their angel-worship ; but it was abominable, 
because they had no word of God to warrant 
it : it was not obedience^ but idolatry. Child- 



like obedience is that which is consonant to 
our Father's revealed will. 

2. It must be done from a right principle, 
i. e. the noble principle of faith, Rom. xvi. 26, 
' The obedience of faith.' Quicquid decorum 
est ex fide proficiscitur, Aug. A crab-tree 
may bear fruit fair to the eye, but it is sour 
because it doth not come from a good root. 
A moral person may give God outward obe- 
dience, and to the eyes of others it seems 
glorious, but his obedience is sour because it 
comes not from that sweet and pleasant root! 
of faith. A child of God gives him the obe- I 
dience of faith, and that meliorates and 
sweetens his services, and makes them come 
off with a better relish, Heb. xi. 4, " By faith 
Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacri- 
fice than Cain." 

3. It must be done to a right end : Finis 
specificat actionem, — the end of obedience is 
glorifying God. That which hath spoiled 
many glorious services, is, when the end hath 
been wrong, Matt. vi. 2, " When thou dost 
thine alms, do not sound a trumpet, as the 
hypocrites do, that they may have glory of 
men." Good works should shine, but not 
blaze. " If I give my body to be burnt, and 
have not charity, it profits me nothing," 1 Cor. 
xiii. 3. The same I may say of a sincere aim ; 
if I obey never so much, and have not a sin- 
cere aim, it profits me nothing. True obe- 
dience looks at God in all, Phil. i. 20, " Christ 
shall be magnified." Though a child of God 
shoots short, yet he takes a right aim. 

True childlike obedience is uniform. A 
child of God makes conscience of one com- 
mand as well as another. Quicquid propter 
Deumfit, cequaliterfit. All God's commands 
have the same stamp of divine authority upon 
them ; and if I obey one precept because my 
heavenly Father commands me, then by the 
same rule I must obey all ; as the blood runs 
through all the veins of the body, and the sun 
in the firmament runs through all the signs of 
the zodiac, so true childlike obedience runs 
through the first and second table, Ps. cxix. 
6, "When I have respect unto all thy 
commandments." To obey God in some 
things of religion, and not in others, shows 
an unsound heart ; like Esau, who obeyed 
his father in bringing him venison, but not 



OF ADOPTION. 



159 



in a greater matter, viz. the choice of his 
wife. Childlike obedience moves towards 
every command of God, as the needle points 
that way which the loadstone draws. If 
God call to duties which are cross to flesh 
and blood, if we are children, we obey our 
Father. 

Quest. But who can obey God in all 
things ? 

Ans. An adopted heir of heaven, though 
he cannot obey every precept perfectly, yet 
he doth evangelically: 1. He approves of 
every command, Rom. vii. 16, " I consent 
to the law, that it is good." — 2. A child of 
God delights in every command, Ps. cxix. 97, 
" O how love I thy law !" — 3. His desire is 
to obey every command, Ps. cxix. 5, " O 
that my ways were directed to keep thy 
statutes !" — 4. Wherein he comes short, he 
looks up to Christ's blood to make supply for 
his defects. This is evangelical obedience ; 
which, though it be not to satisfaction, it is 
to acceptation. 

True childlike obedience is constant, Ps. 
cvi. 3. Blessed is he that doth righteous- 
ness at all times. Childlike obedience is not 
like a high colour in a fit which is soon 
over ; but like a right sanguine complexion, 
it abides ; it is like the fire on the altar, 
which was kept always burning, Lev. vi. 13. 

Second sign of adoption, to love to be in 
our Father's presence. The child who 
loves his father, is never so well as when 
he is near his father. Are we children'? 
we love the presence of God in his ordi- 
nances. In prayer we speak to God, in the 
preaching of his word he speaks to us ; 
and how doth every child of God delight 
to hear his Father's voice ! Ps. Ixiii. 1, 2, 
" My soul thirsteth for thee, to see thy 
power and glory so as I have seen thee in 
the sanctuary." Such as disregard ordi- 
nances, are not God's children, because 
they care not to be in God's presence : 
Gen. iv. 16, " Cain went out from the pre- 
sence of the Lord." Not that he could go 
out of God's sight, but the meaning is, 
" Cain went out from the church and people 
of God, where the Lord gave visible tokens 
of his presence." 

Third sign of adoption, to have the con- 



duct of God's Spirit, Rom. viii. 14, "As 
many as are led by the Spirit of God, are the 
sons of God." It is not enough that the child 
have life, but it must be led every step by the 
nurse : so the adopted child must not only 
be born of God, but have the manuduction of 
the Spirit to lead him in a course of holiness, 
Hos. xi. 3, " I taught Ephraim also to go, 
taking them by their arms." As Israel was 
led by the pillar of fire, so God's children are 
led by the conduct of his Spirit ; the adopted 
ones need God's Spirit to lead them, they are 
apt to go wrong. The fleshly part inclines 
to sin ; the understanding and conscience are 
to guide the will, but the will is imperious 
and rebels ; therefore God's children need the 
Spirit to check corruption, and lead them in 
the right way. As wicked men are led by 
the evil spirit ; the spirit of Satan led Herod 
to incest, Ahab to murder, Judas to treason : 
so the good Spirit leads God's children into 
virtuous actions. 

Obj. But enthusiasts pretend to be led by 
the Spirit, when it is an ignis fatuus, — a de- 
lusion. 

A. The Spirit's conduct is agreeable to 
the word ; enthusiasts leave the word, " The 
word is truth," John xvi. 13; and, "The 
Spirit guides into all truth," John xvi. 13. 
The word's teaching and the Spirit's leading 
agree together. 

Fourth sign, if we are adopted, we have 
an entire love to all God's children, 1 Pet. 
ii. 17, "Love the brotherhood." We bear 
affection to God's children, though they have 
some infirmities, there are the spots of God's 
children, Deut. xxxii. 5. But we must love 
the beautiful face of holiness, though it hath 
a scar in it. If we are adopted, we love the 
good we see in God's children, we admire 
their graces, we pass by their imprudencies ; 
if we cannot love them because they have 
some failings, how do we think God can love 
us 1 Can we plead exemption 1 By these 
signs we know our adoption. 

Quest. What are the benefits which ac- 
crue to God's children ? 

Ans. They have great immunities. Kings' 
children have great privileges and freedoms ; 
they do not pay custom, Matt, xviii. 6. God's 
children are privileged persons, they are pri- 



160 



OF SANCTIFICATION. 



vileged from the hurt of every thing, Luke x. 
19, " Nothing shall by any means hurt you." 
Hit you it may, not hurt you, Ps. xci. 10, 
" There shall no evil befall thee." God saith 
not, No affliction shall befall his children, but, 
No evil ; the hurt and poison of it is taken 
away. Affliction to a wicked man hath evil 
in it, it makes him worse ; it makes him curse 
and blaspheme, Rev. xvi. 9, "Men were 
scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the 
name of God." But no evil befalls a child of 
God, he is bettered by affliction, Heb. xii. 10. 
The furnace makes gold purer. Again, no 
evil befalls the adopted, because no condemna- 
tion, Rom. viii. 33, " It is God that justifieth, 
who is he that condemneth ]" What a bless- 
ed privilege is this to be freed from the sting 
of affliction, and the curse of the law ! To 
be in such a condition, that nothing can hurt 
one ! When the dragon hath poisoned the 
water, the unicorn with his horn doth ex- 
tract and draw out the poison : so Jesus 
Christ hath drawn out the poison of every af- 
fliction, that it cannot prejudice the saints. 

Second benefit, if we are adopted, then 
we have an interest in all the promises : 
the promises are children's bread, " Be- 
lievers are heirs of the promises," Heb. vi. 
17. The promises are sure : God's truth, 
which is the brightest pearl in his crown, is 
laid to pawn in a promise. The promises 
are suitable like a physic-garden, there is no 
disease but there is some herb in the physic- 
garden to cure it. In the dark night of de- 



sertion, God hath promised to be a sun ; in 
temptation, to tread down Satan, Rom. xvi. 
20. Doth sin prevail 1 he hath promised to 
take away its kingly power, Rom. vi. 14. O 
the heavenly comforts which are distilled 
from the limbeck of the promises ! But who 
hath a right to these ? Believers only are 
heirs of the promise. There is never a pro- 
mise in the Bible, but a believer may say r 
this is mine. 

Use ult. Extol and magnify God's mercy, 
who hath adopted you into his family ; who, 
of slaves, hath made you sons ; of heirs of 
hell, heirs of the promise. Adoption is a 
free gift. He gave them power, or dignity, 
to become the sons of God. As a thread of 
silver runs through the whole piece of work, 
so free grace runs through this whole privi- 
lege of adoption. Adoption is a greater 
mercy than Adam had in paradise ; he was 
a son by creation, but here is a further son- 
ship by adoption. To make us thankful, 
consider, in civil adoption there is some 
worth and excellency in the person to be 
adopted ; but there was no worth in us, nei- 
ther beauty, nor parentage, nor virtue ; no- 
thing in us to move God to bestow the pre- 
rogative of sonship upon us. We have 
enough in us to move God to correct us, but 
nothing to move him to adopt us, therefore 
exalt free grace, begin the work of angels 
here ; bless him with your praises who hath 
blessed you in making you his sons and 
daughters ! 



OF SANCTIFICATION. 



1 Thess. iv. 3. For this is the will of God, even your sanctijication. 



The notion of the word sanctijication 
signifies to consecrate and set apart to a 
holy use : thus they are sanctified persons, 
who are separated from the world, and set 
apart for God's service. Sanctification hath 
a privative and a positive part. 

1. A privative part, mortification, which 
lies in the purging out of sin. Sin is com- 
pared to leaven which sours ; and to leprosy 



which defiles ; sanctification doth purge out 
" the old leaven," 1 Cor. v. 7. Though it 
takes not away the life, yet it takes away 
the love of sin. 

2. A positive part, vivification, which is 
the spiritual refining of the soul, which in 
Scripture is called a "renewing of your 
mind," Rom. xii. 2, and a "partaking 
of the divine nature," 2 Pet. i. 4. The 



OF SANCTIFICATION. 



161 



priests in the law not only were washed in 
the great laver, but adorned with glorious 
apparel, Exod. xxviii. 2, so sanctification not 
only washes from sin, but adorns with purity. 
Quest. What is sanctification ? 
Ans. It is a principle of grace savingly 
wrought, whereby the heart becomes holy, 

ij and is made after God's own heart. A sanc- 
tified person bears not only God's name, but 
image. For the opening the nature of sanc- 

, tification, I shall lay down these seven po- 

i sitions. 

1. Sanctification is a supernatural thing : 
it is divinely infused. We are naturally pol- 

I luted ; and to cleanse, God takes to be his 
prerogative ; Lev. xxi. 8, " I the Lord which 
sanctifieth you." Weeds grow of themselves. 
Flowers are planted. Sanctification is a 
flower of the Spirit's planting, therefore it is 
called, "The sanctification of the Spirit," 
1 Pet. i. 2. 

2. Sanctification is an intrinsical thing ; 
1 it lies chiefly in the heart.' It is called the 
adorning "the hidden man of the heart," 
1 Pet. iii. 4. The dew wets the leaf, the sap 
is hid in the root : the religion of some con- 
sists only in externals, but sanctification is 
deeply rooted in the soul, Ps. li. 6, " In the 
hidden part thou shalt make me to know 
wisdom." 

3. Sanctification is an extensive thing : it 
spreads into the whole man, 1 Thess. v. 23, 
" The very God of peace sanctify you 
wholly." As original corruption hath de- 
praved all the faculties, « the whole head is 
sick, the whole heart faint,' no part sound, 
as if the whole mass of blood were corrupted, 
so sanctification goes over the whole soul. 
After the fall, there was ignorance in the 
mind ; now in sanctification, we are ' light in 
the Lord,' Eph. v. 8. After the fall, the will 
was depraved ; there was not only impotency 
to good, but obstinacy ; now, in sanctification, 
there is a blessed pliableness in the will, it 
doth symbolize and comport with the will of 
God. After the fall, the affections were mis- 
placed on wrong objects ; in sanctification, 
they are turned into a sweet order and har- 
mony, — the grief placed on sin, the love on 
God, — the joy on heaven. Thus sanctifica- 
tion spreads itself as far as original corrup- 

X 



tion : it goes over the whole soul, " the God 
of peace sanctify you wholly." He is not a 
sanctified person who is good only in some 
part, but who is all over sanctified, therefore 
in scripture grace is called " a new man," 
Col. iii. 10, not a new eye or a new tongue, 
but a " new man." A good Christian, 
though he be sanctified but in part, yet in 
every part. 

4. Sanctification is an intense ardent 
thing, Qualitates sunt in subjecto intensive, 
Rom. xii. 11, " Fervent in spirit." Sancti- 
fication is not a dead form, but it is inflamed 
into zeal. We call water hot, when it is so 
in the third or fourth degree : he is holy, 
whose religion is heated to some degree, and 
his heart boils over in love to God. 

5. Sanctification is a beautiful thing ; it 
makes God and angels fall in love with us, 
Ps. ex. 3, " The beauties of holiness." As 
the sun is to the world, so is sanctification 
to the soul, beautifying and bespangling it in 
God's eyes. That which makes God glorious, 
must needs make us so. Holiness is the 
most sparkling jewel in the Godhead, Exod. 
xv. 11, " Glorious in holiness." Sanctifica- 
tion is the first fruit of the Spirit ; it is hea- 
ven begun in the soul ; sanctification and 
glory differ only in degree, — sanctification is 
glory in the seed, and glory is sanctification 
in the flower. Holiness is the quintessence 
of happiness. 

6. Sanctification is an abiding thing, 1 John 
iii. 9, " His seed remaineth in him." He who 
is truly sanctified, cannot fall from that state. 
Indeed seeming holiness may be lost, colours 
may wash off, sanctification may suffer an 
eclipse, Rev. ii. 4, " Thou hast left thy first 
love :" but true sanctification is a blossom of 
eternity, 1 John ii. 27, " The anointing 
which ye have received of him abideth in 
you." He who is truly sanctified, can no 
more fall away, than the angels which are 
fixed in their heavenly orbs. 

7. Sanctification is a progressive thing, it 
is growing; it is compared to seed which 
grows, — first the blade springs up, — then the 
ear, — then the ripe corn in the ear ; such as 
are already sanctified, may be more sancti- 
fied, 2 Cor. vii. 1. Justification doth not 
admit of degrees : a believer cannot be more 



162 



OF SANCTIFICATION. 



elected or justified than he is. but he may be 
more sanctified than he is ; sanctification is 
still increasing, like the morning sun, which 
grows brighter to the full meridian. Know- 
ledge is said to increase, Col. i. 10, and faith 
to increase, 2 Cor. x. 15. A Christian is 
continually adding a cubit to his spiritual 
stature. It is not with us as it was with 
Christ, who received the Spirit without mea- 
sure ; Christ could not be more holy than he 
was. But we have the Spirit only in mea- 
sure, and may be still augmenting our grace ; 
as Apelles, when he had drawn a picture, he 
would be still mending it with his pencil. 
The image of God is drawn but imperfectly 
in us, therefore we must be still mending it, 
and drawing it in more lively colours ; sanc- 
tification is progressive ; if it doth not grow, 
it is because it doth not live. Thus you see 
the nature of sanctification. 

Quest. What are the counterfeits of 
sanctification 1 

Ans. There is something looks like sanc- 
tification, which is not. 

1. The first counterfeit of sanctification is 
moral virtue. To be just, temperate, to be 
of a fair deportment, not having one's scut- 
cheon blotted with ignominious scandal, this 
is good, but not enough : this is not sanctifi- 
cation. A field-flower differs from a garden- 
flower. 1. Heathens have attained to mo- 
rality ; Cato, Socrates, Aristides. Civility 
is but nature refined; there is nothing of 
Christ there ; the heart may be foul and im- 
pure, under these fair leaves of civility, the 
worm of unbelief may be hid. 2. A moral 
person hath a secret antipathy against grace ; 
he hates vice, and he hates grace as much as 
vice. The snake hath a fine colour, but a 
sting. A person adorned and cultivated with 
moral virtue hath a secret spleen against 
sanctity : those Stoics, which were the chief 
of the moralized heathens, were the bitterest 
enemies St Paul had, Acts xvii. 18. 

2. The second counterfeit of sanctification 
is superstitious devotion : this abounds in 
popery; adorations, images, altars, vestments, 
holy water, which I look upon as a religious 
frenzy : this is far from sanctification. 1. It 
doth not put any intrinsical goodness into a 
man, it doth not make a man better. If the 



legal purifications and washings, which were 
of God's own appointing, did not make them 
that used them more holy, (the priests, who 
wore holy garments, and had holy oil pour- 
ed on them, were never the more holy, 
without the anointing of the Spirit), then 
surely those superstitious innovations in re- 
ligion which God never appointed, Cannot 
contribute any holiness to men. 2. A super- 
stitious holiness costs no great labour ; there 
is nothing of the heart in it ; if to tell over a 
few beads, or bow to an image, or sprinkle 
themselves with holy water, if this were 
sanctification, and were all that were re- 
quired of them that should be saved, then 
hell would be empty, none would come 
there. 

3. The third counterfeit of sanctification 
is hypocrisy ; when men make a pretence 
of that holiness which they have not. A 
comet may shine like a star ; such a lustfe 
shines from their profession, as dazzleth the 
eyes of the beholders, 2 Tim. iii. 5, " Hav- 
ing a form of godliness, but denying the 
power." These are lamps without oil ; 
whited sepulchres, like the Egyptian tem- 
ples, which had fair outsides, but within spi- 
ders and apes. The apostle speaks of true 
holiness, Eph. iv. 24, Implying that there is 
holiness which is spurious and feigned, Rev. 
iii. 1, " Thou hast a name that thou livest 
but art dead :" like pictures and statues 
which are destitute of a vital principle, Jude 
12, " Clouds without water." They pretend 
to be full of the Spirit, but are empty 
clouds. This show of sanctification (when 
it is nothing else) is self-delusion. He 
who takes copper instead of gold, wrongs 
himself ; the most counterfeit saint de- 
ceives others while he lives, but deceives 
himself when he dies. To pretend holi- 
ness, when there is none, is a vain thing. 
What were the foolish virgins better for 
their blazing lamps, when they wanted 
oil 1 What is the lamp of profession with- 
out the oil of saving grace 1 What com- 
fort will a show of holiness yield at last 1 
Will painted gold enrich, — -painted wine 
refresh him that is thirsty? Will paint- 
ed holiness be a cordial at the hour of 
death 1 A pretence of sanctification is not 



OF SANCTIFICATION. 



163 



to be rested in. Many ships, that have had 
the name of the Hope, the Safeguard, the 
Triumph, yet have been cast away upon the 
rocks ; so, many who have had the name of 
saintship, have been cast into hell. 

4. The fourth counterfeit of sanctification 
is restraining grace. When men forbear 
vice, though they do not hate it, this may be 
the sinner's motto, 'Fain I would, but I 
dare not.' The dog hath a mind to the bone 
but is afraid of the cudgel ; men have a mind 
to lust, but conscience stands as the angel, 
with a flaming sword, and affrights; they 
have a mind to revenge, but the fear of hell 
is a curb-bit to check them. Here is no 
change of heart ; sin is curbed, but not cured ; 
a lion may be in chains, but is a lion still. 

5. The fifth counterfeit of sanctification, 
is common grace, which is a slight, transient 
work of the Spirit, but doth not amount to 
conversion. There is some light in the judg- 
ment, but it is not humbling, — some checks 
in the conscience but they are not awaken- 
ing : this looks like sanctification, but is not. 
Men have convictions wrought in them, but 
they break loose from them again, like the 
deer, which, being shot, shakes out the 
arrow; after conviction, men go into the 
house of mirth, take the harp to drive away 
the spirit of sadness, and so all dies and 
comes to nothing. 

Quest. Wherein appears the necessity 
of sanctification ? 

Ans. In six things, 1. God hath called us 
to it, 2 Pet. i. 3, " Who hath called us to 
glory and virtue ;" to virtue, as well as glory. 
M God hath not called us to uncleanness, but 
unto holiness," 1 Thess. iv. 7. We have no 
call to sin, we may have a temptation, but 
no call ; no call to be proud, or unclean ; but 
we have a call to be holy. 

2. The necessity appears in this : without 
sanctification there is no evidencing our 
justification ; justification and sanctification 
go together, 1 Cor. vi. 11, " But ye are 
sanctified, but ye are justified ;" Mic. vii. 18, 
" Pardoneth iniquity," there is justification ; 
v. 19, " He will subdue our iniquities," there 
is sanctification. Out of Christ's side came 
blood and water, 1 John v. 6. Blood, viz. 
justification ; water, viz. sanctification. Such 



as have not the water out of Christ's side to 
cleanse them, shall never have the blood out 
of his side to save them. 

3. Without sanctification we have no title 
to the new covenant. The covenant of grace 
is our charter for heaven ; the tenure of the 
covenant, is, That God will be our God (the 
crowning blessing). But who are interested 
in the covenant, and may plead the benefit of 
it 1 Only sanctified persons; Ezek. xxxvi. 
26, " A new heart also will I give you, and 
I will put my Spirit within you," and I will 
be your God. If a man make a will, and 
settles his estate upon such persons as he 
names in the will, none else but they can 
lay claim to the will : so God makes a will 
and testament, but it is restrained and limit- 
ed to such as are sanctified ; and it is high 
presumption for any else to lay claim to the 
will. 

4. There is no going to heaven without 
sanctification, Heb. xii. 14, " Without holi- 
ness no man shall see the Lord." God is a 
holy God, and he will suffer no unholy crea- 
ture to come near him ; a king will not suffer 
a man with plague-sores to approach into 
his presence. Heaven is not like Noah's 
ark, where the clean beasts and the unclean 
entered, no unclean beasts come into the 
heavenly ark ; though God suffer the wicked 
to live a while on the earth, he will never 
suffer heaven to be pestered with such 
vermin. Are they fit to see God, who wal- 
low in wickedness 1 Will God ever lay such 
vipers in his bosom 1 " Without holiness no 
man shall see the Lord." It must be a clear 
eye that sees a bright object ; only a holy 
heart can see God in his glory. Sinners may 
see God as an enemy, but not as a friend ; 
may have an affrighting vision of God, but 
not a beatifical vision : they may see the 
flaming sword, but not the mercy-seat. O 
then what need is there of sanctification ! 

5. Without sanctification all our holy 
things are defiled, Tit. i. 15, " Unto them 
that are defiled, is nothing pure." Under the 
law, if a man who was unclean by a dead 
body, had carried a piece of holy flesh in his 
skirt, the holy flesh had not cleansed him, 
but he had polluted that, Hag. i. 12, 13. An 
emblem of a sinner's polluting his holy offer- 



164 



OF SANCTIFICATION. 



ing. A foul stomach turns the best food into 
ill humours; an unsanctified heart pollutes 
prayers, alms, sacraments. This evinceth 
the necessity of sanctification: sanctification 
makes our holy things accepted ; a holy heart 
is the altar which sanctifies the offering ; his 
duties, though they are not to satisfaction, 
yet to acceptation. 

6. Without sanctification we can show no 
sign of our election, 2 Thess. ii. 13. Elec- 
tion is the cause of our salvation, sanctifica- 
tion is our evidence; sanctification is the 
ear-mark of Christ's elect sheep. 

Quest. What are the signs of sanctifica- 
tion ? 

Ans. 1. Such as are sanctified, can re- 
member a time when they were unsanctified, 
Tit. iii. 3. We were in our blood, and then 
God washed us with water, and anointed us 
with oil, Ezek. xvi. 9. Those trees of right- 
eousness that blossom and bear almonds can 
remember when they were like Aaron's dry 
rod, not one blossom of holiness growing ; a 
sanctified soul can remember when he was 
estranged from God through ignorance and 
vanity, and when free grace planted this 
flower of holiness in him. 

Second sign of sanctification is the in- 
dwelling of the Spirit, 2 Tim. i. 14, " The 
Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us." As the 
unclean spirit dwells in the wicked and car- 
ries them to pride, lust, revenge ; the devil 
hath entered into these swine, Acts v. 3 ; so 
the Spirit of God dwells in the elect, as their 
guide and comforter. The Spirit possesseth 
the saints. God's Spirit sanctifies the fancy, 
causing it to mint holy thoughts ; it sanctifies 
the will, putting a new bias upon it, whereby 
it is inclined to good. He who is sanctified, 
hath the influence of the Spirit, though not 
the essence. 

Third sign of sanctification is an antipathy 
against sin, Ps. cxix. 104, a hypocrite may 
leave sin, yet love it, as a serpent casts its 
coat, but keeps its sting: but a sanctified 
person can say, he not only leaves sin, but 
loathes it. As there are antipathies in na- 
ture, between the vine and laurel, so in a 
sanctified soul there is a holy antipathy 
against sin ; and antipathies can never be 
reconciled. Because he hath an antipathy 



against sin, he cannot but oppose it, and 
seek the destruction of it. 

Fourth sign of sanctification is, the spi- 
ritual performance of duties, viz. with the 
heart, and from a principle of love. The 
sanctified soul prays out of a love to prayer, 
he " calls the sabbath a delight," Isa. lviii. 
13. A man may have gifts to admiration, 
he may speak as an angel dropped out of 
heaven, yet may be carnal in spiritual things ; 
his services do not come from a renewed 
principle, nor is he carried upon the wings 
of delight in duty. A sanctified soul wor- 
ships God in the spirit, 1 Pet. ii. 5. God doth 
not judge of our duties by the length, but by 
the love. 

Fifth sign, a well ordered life, 1 Pet. i. 15, 
" Be ye holy in all manner of conversation :" 
Where the heart is sanctified, the life will be 
so too : the temple had gold without as well 
as within. As in a piece of coin, there is 
not only the king's image within the ring, 
but his superscription too without ; so where 
there is sanctification, there is not only God's 
image in the heart, but a superscription of 
holiness written in the life. Some say they 
have good hearts, but their lives are vicious, 
Prov. xxx. 12, " There is a generation that 
are pure in their own eyes, yet is not washed 
from their filthiness." If the water be foul 
in the bucket, it cannot be clean in the well, 
Ps. xlv. 13, " The king's daughter is all 
glorious within," — there is holiness of heart : 
"Her clothing is of wrought gold,"-— holi- 
ness of life. Grace is most beautiful when 
its light doth so shine, that others may see it ; 
this adorns religion, and makes proselytes to 
the faith. 

Sixth sign, steadfast resolution. He is 
resolved never to part with his holiness ; let 
others reproach it, he loves it the more ; let 
water be sprinkled on the fire, it burns the 
more. He saith, as David, when Michael 
reproached him for dancing before the ark, 
2 Sam. vi. 22, If this be to the vile, " I will 
yet be more vile." Let others persecute 
him for his holiness, he saith as Paul, Acts 
xx. 24, " None of those things move me :" 
he prefers sanctity before safety; and had 
rather keep his conscience pure than his 
skin whole. He saith as Job, "my right- 



OF SANCTIFICATION. 



165 



eousness I hold fast, and will not let it go," 
| ch. xxvii. 6. He will rather part with his 
life than his conscience. 

Use 1st. See what is the main thing a 
Christian should look after, viz. sanctifica- 
tion ; this is the unum necessarium — the one 
thing needful. Sanctification is our purest 
complexion, — it makes us as the heaven, 
bespangled with stars, — it is our nobility, by- 
it we are born of God, and partake of the 
divine nature, — it is our riches, therefore 
compared to rows of jewels, and chains of 
gold, Cant. i. 10. It is our best certificate 
for heaven : what evidence have we else to 
show'? Have we knowledge 1 ? so hath the 
devil. Do we profess religion ? Satan often 
appears in Samuel's mantle, and transforms 
himself into an an angel of light. But here 
is our certificate to show for heaven, sanctifi- 
cation. Sanctification is the first fruits of 
the Spirit, — the only coin that will pass cur- 
rent in the other world. Sanctification is the 
evidence of God's love ; we cannot guess of 
God's love by giving us health, riches, suc- 
cess, but by drawing his image of sanctifica- 
tion on us by the pencil of the Holy Ghost. 

Branch 2. It shows the misery of such as 
are destitute of a principle of sanctification ; 
they are spiritually dead, Eph. ii. 1. Though 
they breathe, yet they do not live. The great- 
est part of the world remain unsanctified, 1 
John v. 19, "The world lies in wickedness," 
that is, the major part of the world. Many 
call themselves Christians, yet blot out the 
word saints ; you may as well call him a man 
who wants reason, as him a Christian who 
wants grace ; nay, which is worse, some are 
buoyed up to such a height of wickedness, 
that they hate and deride sanctification : 1. 
They hate it ; it is bad to want it, it is worse 
to hate it : they embrace the form of religion, 
but hate the power. The vulture hates sweet 
smells, so do they the perfumes of holiness. 
2. Deride it : ' These are your holy ones !' 
To deride sanctification, argues a high de- 
gree of atheism, and is a black brand of re- 
probation : scoffing Ishmael was cast out of 
Abraham's family, Gen. xxi. 9, such as scoff 
at holiness shall be cast out of heaven. 

Use 2d. Of exhortation. Above all things 
pursue after sanctification ; seek grace more 



than gold, Prov. iv. 13, " Keep her, for she 
is thy life." 

Quest. What are the chief inducements 
to sanctification 1 

Ans. 1st. It is the will of God that we 
should be holy : in the text, " This is the 
will of God, your sanctification." As God's 
word must be the rule, so his will, the rea- 
son of our actions : this is the will of God, 
our sanctification. Perhaps it is not the 
will of God we should be rich, but it is his 
will that we should be holy. God's will is 
our warrant. 

2dly. Jesus Christ hath died for our sanc- 
tification. Christ shed his blood to wash off 
our impurity. The cross was both an altar 
and a laver, Tit. ii. 14, " Who gave himself 
for us, that he might redeem us from all ini- 
quity." If we could be saved without holi- 
ness, Christ needed not have died. Christ 
died, not only to save us from wrath, but 
from sin. 

Sdly. Sanctification makes us resemble 
God. It was Adam's sin that he aspired to 
be like God in omnisciency, but we must en- 
deavour to be like him in sanctity. It is only 
a clear glass in which we can see a face ; it 
is only a holy heart in which something of 
God can be seen ; there's nothing of God to 
be seen in an unsanctified man ; you may see 
Satan's picture in him ; envy is the devil's 
eye, hypocrisy his cloven foot, but nothing of 
God's image can be seen in him. You can see 
no more of God in him than you can see a 
man's face in a glass that is dusty and foul. 

4:thly. Sanctification is that which God 
bears a great love to. Not any outward or- 
naments, high blood, or worldly grandeur, 
draws God's love, but a heart embellished 
with holiness. Christ never admired any 
thing but the beauty of holiness ; he slighted 
the glorious buildings of the temple, but ad- 
mired the woman's faith, " O woman, great 
is thy faith," Amor fundator similitudine. 
A king delights to see his image upon a 
piece of coin : where God sees his likeness, 
there he gives his love. The Lord hath two 
heavens he dwells in, and the holy heart is 
one of them. 

hthly. Sanctification is the only thing doth 
difference us from the wicked : God's people 



166 



OF SANCTIFICATION. 



have his seal upon them, 2 Tim. ii. 19, 
" The foundation of God standeth sure, hav- 
ing this seal, the Lord knoweth them that are 
his : and let every one that nameth the name 
of Christ depart from iniquity." The godly 
are sealed with a double seal : 1. A seal of 
election, " The Lord knoweth who are his :" 
2. A seal of sanetification, " Let every one 
that nameth the name of Christ depart from 
iniquity." This is the name by which God's 
people are known, Isa. lxiii. 18, " The peo- 
ple of thy holiness." As chastity distin- 
guished! a virtuous woman from a harlot, so 
sanetification distinguished God's people 
from others, 1 John ii. 20, "Ye have an 
unction from the Holy One." 

6thly. It is as great a shame to have the 
name of a Christian, yet want sanctity, as 
to have the name of steward and yet want 
fidelity; the name of a virgin, yet want 
chastity. It exposeth religion to reproach, 
to be baptised into the name of Christ, yet 
unholy; to have eyes full of tears on a 
sabbath, and on a week-day eyes full of 
adultery, 2 Pet. ii. 15. To be so devout at 
the Lord's table as if men were stepping 
into heaven, and so profane the week after 
as if they came out of hell. To have the 
name of Christians, yet unholy, is a scandal 
to religion, and makes the ways of God evil 
spoken of. 

lihly. Sanetification fits for heaven, 2 
Pet. i. 8, " Who hath .called us to glory and 
virtue ;" glory is the throne, and sanetifica- 
tion is the step by which we ascend to it. 
First, you cleanse the vessel, and then you 
pour in the wine ; first God cleanseth us by 
sanetification, and then pours in the wine of 
glory. Solomon was first anointed with oil, 
and then he was a king, 1 Kings i. 39. First 
God anoints us with the holy oil of his Spirit, 
and then he sets the crown of happiness 
upon our head. Pureness of heart and see- 
ing God are linked together, Matt. v. 8. 

Quest. How may sanetification be at- 
tained to ? 

Ans. 1. Be conversant in the word of 
God, John xvii. 17, " Sanctify them through 
thy truth." The word is both a glass to 
show us the spots of our soul, and a laver to 
wash them away ; the word hath a trans- 



forming virtue in it, it irradiates the mind, 
and consecrates the heart. 

A. 2. Get faith in Christ's blood, Acts xv. 
9, " Purifying their hearts by faith." She in 
the gospel that touched the hem of Christ's 
garment was healed : a touch of faith puri- 
fies. Nothing can have a greater force upon 
the heart, to sanctify it, than faith ; if I be- 
lieve Christ and his merits are mine, how 
can I sin against him'? Justifying faith doth 
that in a spiritual sense, which miraculous 
faith doth, it removes mountains, the moun- 
tains of pride, lust, envy. Faith and the 
love of sin are inconsistent. 

A. 3. Breathe after the Spirit ; it is called 
" the sanetification of the Spirit," 2 Thess. 
ii. 13. The Spirit sanctifies the heart, as 
lightning purifies the air, as fire refines me- 
tals. Omne agens generat sibi simile. 
The Spirit stamps the impression of its own 
sanctity upon the heart, as the seal prints its 
effigies and likeness upon the wax. The 
Spirit of God in a man perfumes him with ho- 
liness, and makes his heart a map of heaven. 

A. 4. Associate with sanctified persons. 
They may, by their counsel, prayers, holy ex- 
ample, be a means to make you holy : as the 
communion of saints is in our creed, so it 
should be in our company, Prov. xiii. 20, 
" He that walketh with wise men, shall be 
wise." Association begets assimilation. 

A. 5. Pray for sanetification. Job pro- 
pounds a question, " Who can bring a clean 
thing out of an unclean V 9 Job xiv. 4. God 
can do it. Out of an unholy heart he can 
produce grace. O! make David's prayer, 
Psal. Ii. 10, " Create in me a clean heart, O 
God." Lay thy heart before the Lord, and 
say, " Lord, my unsanctified heart pollutes 
all it toucheth. I am not fit to live with such 
a heart, for I cannot honour thee ; nor die 
with such a heart, for I cannot see thee. O 
create in me a new heart ; Lord consecrate 
my heart, and make it thy temple, and thy 
praises shall be sung there for ever !" 

Use 3d. Of thankfulness. Hath God 
brought a clean thing out of an unclean, — 
hath he sanctified you 1 wear this jewel of 
sanetification with thankfulness, Col. i. 12, 
" Giving thanks to the Father, which hath 
made us meet to be partakers of the inheri- 



OF ASSURANCE. 



167 



tance," &c. Christian thou couldest defile 
thyself, but not sanctify thyself ; but God 
hath done it, he hath not only chained up sin, 
but changed thy nature, and made thee as a 
king's daughter, all glorious within. He hath 
put upon thee the breastplate of holiness, 
which, though it may be shot at, can never 
be shot through. Are there any here that are 
sanctified 1 God hath done more for you than 
millions : they may be illuminated, but not 



sanctified. He hath done more for you, than 
if he had made you the sons of princes, and 
caused you to ride upon the high places of 
the earth. Are you sanctified ] heaven is be- 
gun in you ; happiness is nothing but the quin- 
tessence of holiness. O how thankful should 
you be to God ! Do as that blind man in the 
gospel, after he had received his sight, " He 
followed Christ, glorifying God," Luke xviii. 
43. Make heaven ring of God's praises i 



OF ASSURANCE. 



Quest. XXXVI. What are the benefits 
which flow from sanctification 1 

Ans. Assurance of God's- love, peace of 
conscience, joy in the Holy Ghost, increase 
of grace, and perseverance therein to the end. 

The first benefit flowing from sanctifica- 
tion, is assurance of God's love. 

2 Pet. i. 10, " Give diligence to make your 
calling and election sure." Sanctification is 
the seed, assurance is the flower which grows 
out of it : assurance is a consequent of sanc- 
tification, the saints of old had it, 1 John ii. 
3, " We know that we know him," 2 Tim. 
i. 12, " I know whom I have believed," — 
here was sensus fides, — the reflex act of 
faith ; and Gal. ii. 20, " Christ hath loved 
me," — here was faith flourishing into assu- 
rance. iEcolampadias, when he was sick, 
pointed to his heart, saying, Hie sat lucis, 
— 4 Here I have light enough,' meaning com- 
fort and assurance. 

Quest. 1. Have all sanctified persons as- 
surance ? 

Ans. They have a right to it, and I do in- 
cline to believe that all have it in some de- 
gree before their last expiring ; though their 
comfort may not be so strong, and their vital 
spirits so weak, that they cannot express 
what they feel. But I dare not positively 
affirm that all have assurance in the first mo- 
ment of their sanctification ; a letter may be 
written, when it is not sealed, — so grace 
may be written in the heart, yet the Spirit 
may not set the seal of assurance to it. God 
is a free agent, and may give or suspend as- 
surance pro licito as he pleases. Where 



there is the sanctifying work of the Spirit, he 
may withhold the sealing work, partly to keep 
the soul humble, partly to punish our careless 
walking ; we neglect our spiritual watch, 
grow remiss in duty, and then walk under a 
cloud ; we quench the graces of the Spirit, 
and God withholds the comforts : and partly 
to put a difference between earth and heaven. 
This I the rather speak, to bear up the hearts 
of God's people who are dejected because 
they have no assurance ; you may have the 
water of the Spirit poured on you in sancti- 
fication, though not the oil of gladness in as- 
surance ; there may be faith of adherence, 
and not of evidence ; there may be life in 
the root, when there is no fruit in the 
branches to be seen ; so faith in the heart, 
when no fruit of assurance. 

Quest. 2. What is assurance ? 

Ans. It is not vocal, any audible voice, or 
brought to us by the help of an angel or re- 
velation. Assurance consists of a practical 
syllogism, where the word of God makes the 
major, — conscience the minor, — the Spirit of 
God the conclusion. The word saith, ' He 
that fears and loves God, is loved of God 
there is the major proposition ; then con- 
science makes the minor, 1 but I fear and love 
God ;' then the Spirit makes the conclusion, 
' therefore thou art loved of God,' and this is 
that which the apostle calls, " The witness- 
ing of the Spirit with our spirits, that we are 
his children," Rom. viii. 16. 

Quest. 3. Whether hath a sanctified 
soul such an assurance as excludes all 
doublings ? 



OF ASSURANCE. 



A.ns. lie hath that which bears up his 
heart from sinking,— he hath such an earnest 
of the Spirit, that he would not part with it 
for the richest prize, — but his assurance, 
though it be infallible, it is not perfect. 
There will be sometimes a trepidation or 
trembling ; he is safe, yet not without fears 
and doubts : as a ship lies safe at anchor, yet 
may be a little shaken by the wind. If a 
Christian had no doubtings, there would be no 
unbelief in him ; had he no doubtings there 
would be no difference between grace mili- 
tant and grace triumphant. Had not David 
his ebbings sometimes as well as flowings 1 
Like the mariner, who sometimes cries out, 
stcllam video, — * I see a star ;' sometimes 
the star is out of sight. Sometimes we hear 
David say, "Thy loving-kindness is before 
mine eyes," Ps. xxvi. 3; but at another time 
he was at a loss, Ps. Ixxxix. 49, "Lord, 
where are thy former loving-kindnesses V* 
And there may fall out an eclipse in a Chris- 
tian's assurance, to put him upon longing 
after heaven, — then there shall not be the 
least doubting, — then the banner of God's 
love shall be always displayed upon the soul, 
— then the light of God's face shall be with- 
out clouds, and have no sun-setting, — then 
the saints shall have an uninterrupted assu- 
rance, and be ever with the Lord. 

Quest. 4. What are the differences be- 
tween true assurance and -presumption ? 

Ans. 1. They differ in the method or man- 
ner of working : divine assurance flows from 
humiliation for sin, I speak not of the mea- 
sure of humiliation, but the truth. There are 
in Palermo, reeds growing, in which there is 
a sugared juice : a soul humbled for sin is 
the bruised reed, in which grows this sweet 
assurance. God's Spirit is a spirit of bond- 
age, before it be a spirit of adoption ; but 
presumption ariseth without any humbling 
word of the Spirit : < How earnest thou by the 
venison so soon.' The plough goes before 
the seed be sown ; the heart must be plough- 
ed up by humiliation and repentance, before 
God sow the seed of assurance. 

A. 2. He who hath a real assurance, will 
take heed of that which will weaken and 
darken his assurance ; he is fearful of the 
forbidden fruit ; he knows, though he cannot 



sin away his soul, yet he may sin away his 
assurance ; but he who hath the ignis fatuus 
of presumption, doth not fear defiling his 
garments, he is bold in sin, Jer. iii. 4, 5, 
" Wilt thou not cry unto me, my Father? 
Behold, Thou hast done evil things as thou 
couldst !" Balaam said, My God, yet was a 
sorcerer. It is a sign he hath no money 
about him, who fears not to travel all hours 
in the night ; 'tis a sign he hath not the 
jewel of assurance, who fears not the works 
of darkness. 

A. 3. True assurance is built upon a scrip- 
ture basis ; the word saith, " The effect of 
righteousness shall be quietness and assu- 
rance for ever," Isa. xxxii. 17. A Chris- 
tian's assurance is built upon this scripture ; 
God hath sown the seed of righteousness in 
his soul, and this seed hath brought forth the 
harvest of assurance ; but presumption is a 
spurious thing, it hath not scripture to show 
for its warrant, — it is like a will without seal 
and witnesses, which is null and void in law, 
— presumption wants both the witness of the 
word, and the seal of the Spirit. 

A. 4. Assurance flowing from sanctifica- 
tion always keeps the heart in a lowly pos- 
ture : 4 Lord,' saith the soul, * what am I, 
that, passing by so many, the golden beams 
of thy love should shine upon me V St Paul 
had assurance : is he proud of this jewel 1 
No, Eph. iii. 8, " To me who am less than 
the least of all saints." The more love a 
Christian receives from God, the more he sees 
himself a debtor to free grace, and the 
sense of his debt keeps his heart humble ; 
but presumption is bred of pride. He who 
presumes, disdains ; he thinks himself bet- 
ter than others, Luke xviii. 11, " God, I 
thank thee, I am not as other men are, 
nor as this Publican." Feathers fly up, 
but gold descends ; he who hath this gol- 
den assurance, his heart descends in hu- 
mility. 

Quest. 5. What is it may excite us to 
look after assurance? 

Ans. To consider how sweet it is, and the 
noble and excellent effects it produceth : 

1. How sweet it is. This is the manna 
m the golden pot,— the white stone,— the 
wine of paradise which cheers the heart, 



OF ASSURANCE. 



169 



How comfortable is God's smile ! The sun is 
more refreshing when it shines out, than 
when it is hid in a cloud, — -it is a prselibation 
and a foretaste of glory, — it puts a man in 
heaven before his time ; none can know how 
delicious and ravishing it is, but such as have 
felt it, as none can know how sweet honey 
is, but they who have tasted it. 

2. The noble and excellent effects it pro- 
duceth : 1. Assurance will make us love 
God, and praise him : (1.) Love him. Love 
is the soul of religion, — the fat of the sacri- 
fice, — and who can love God so, as he who 
hath assurance? The sun reflecting its 
beams on a burning-glass, makes the glass 
burn that which is near to it : so assurance 
(which is the reflection of God's love upon 
the soul) makes it burn in love to God. St 
Paul was assured of Christ's love to him, 
Gal. ii. 20, " Who loved me :" and how was 
his heart fired with love? he valued and ad- 
mired nothing but Christ, Phil. iii. 8. As 
Christ was fastened to the cross, so he was 
fastened to Paul's heart. (2.) Praise him. 
Praise is the quit-rent we pay to the crown 
of heaven. Who but he who hath assur- 
ance of his justification, can bless God, and 
give him the glory of what he hath done for 
him ! Can a man in a swoon or apoplexy, 
praise God that he is alive ? Can a Christian, 
staggering with fears about his spiritual con- 
dition, praise God that he is elected and jus- 
tified ? No : " The living, the living, he 
shall praise thee," Isa. xxxviii. 19. Such 
as are enlivened with assurance, they are 
the fittest persons to sound forth God's 
praise. 

Effect 2. Assurance would drop sweetness 
into all our creature- enjoyments ; it would 
be as sugar to wine, an earnest of more ; it 
gives a blessing with the venison ; as guilt 
embitters our comforts, it is like drinking out 
of a wormwood cup, so assurance would in- 
dulcerate and sweeten all health, and the as- 
surances of God's love are sweet riches, and 
with the assurance of a kingdom are delect- 
able, nay, a dinner of green herbs, with the 
assurance of God's love, is princely fare. 

Effect 3. Assurance would make us ac- 
tive and lively in God's service ; it would 
excite prayer, quicken obedience. As dili- 
Y 



gence begets assurance, so assurance begets 
diligence. Assurance will not (as the Pa- 
pists say) breed security in the soul, but in- 
dustry ; doubting does discourage us in God's 
service, but the assurance of his favour breeds 
joy, ''For the joy of the Lord is your 
strength," Neh. viii. 10. Assurance makes 
us mount up to heaven, as eagles, in holy du- 
ties ; it is like the Spirit in Ezekiel's wheels, 
that moved them, and lifted them up. Faith 
would make us walk, but assurance would 
make us run : we should never think we could 
do enough for God. Assurance would be as 
wings to the bird, — as weights to the clock, 
to set all the wheels of obedience a-running. 

Effect 4. Assurance would be a golden 
shield to beat back temptation : assurance 
triumphs over temptation. There are two 
sorts of temptations Satan useth: 1, He 
tempts to draw us to sin ; now the being as- 
sured of our justification would make this 
temptation vanish. ' What, Satan ? shall I sin 
against him who hath loved me, and washed 
me in his blood ! Shall I return to folly after 
God hath spoken peace ? Shall I weaken my 
assurance, wound my conscience, grieve my 
Comforter? Avoid, Satan, tempt no more !' 
2. Satan would make us question our inter- 
est in God ; he tells us we are hypocrites, 
and God doth not love us. Now there is no 
such shield against this temptation as assur- 
ance. What, Satan ? Have I a real work of 
grace in my heart, and the seal of the Spirit 
to witness it, and dost thou tell me God doth 
not love me ? Now I know thou art an im- 
postor, who goest about to disprove what I 
sensibly feel. If faith resists the devil, as- 
surance would put him to flight. 

Effect 5. Assurance would make us con- 
tented though we have but a little in the 
world ; he who hath enough is content ; he 
who hath sun-light is content though he 
want torch-light. A man that hath assur- 
ance, hath enough, in uno salvatore omnes 
florent gemma ad salutem. He hath the 
riches of Christ's merit, — a pledge of his 
love, — an earnest of his glory ; he is filled 
with the fulness of God, — here is enough, 
and having enough he is content, Ps. xvi. 5, 
" The Lord is the portion of my inherit- 
ance ;" " the lines are fallen to me in plea- 



170 



OF ASSURANCE. 



sant places, and I have a goodly heritage." 
Assurance will rock the heart quiet; the 
reason of discontent, is either because men 
have no interest in God, or do not know 
their interest. St Paul saith, " I know 
whom I have believed," 2 Tim. i. 12. There 
was the assurance of his interest. And, 2 
Cor. vi. 10, " As sorrowful, yet always re- 
joicing," &c. There was his contentment. 
Get but assurance, and you will be out of 
the weekly bill of murmurers, you will be 
discontented no more. Nothing can come 
amiss to him that hath assurance ] God is 
his. Hath he lost a friend ? his father lives. 
Hath he lost his only child ? God hath given 
him his only Son. Hath he scarcity of 
bread? God hath given him the finest of 
the wheat, the bread of life. Are his com- 
forts gone? he hath the Comforter. Doth 
he meet with storms on the sea ] he knows 
where to put in for harbour, — God is his por- 
tion, and heaven is his haven. This assu- 
rance gives sweet contentment in every con- 
dition. 

Effect 6. Assurance would bear up the 
heart in sufferings, it would make a Chris- 
tian endure troubles with patience and cheer- 
fulness. With patience, Heb. x. 36, " Ye 
have need of patience." There are some 
meats (we say) are hard of digestion, and 
only a good stomach will concoct them ; af- 
fliction is a meat hard of digestion, but pa- 
tience (like a good stomach) will be able to 
digest it ; and whence comes patience but 
from assurance? Rom. v. 3, "Tribulation 
worketh patience," v. 5, " because the love of 
God is shed abroad in our hearts," with 
cheerfulness. Assurance is like the mariner's 
lantern on the deck, which gives light in a 
dark night. Assurance gives the light of 
comfort in affliction, Heb. x. 34, Ye " took 
joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing 
in yourselves," & c . there was assurance. 
He that hath assurance, can rejoice in tribu- 
lation ; he can gather grapes of thorns, and 
honey out of the lion's carcase. Latimer 
said, « When I sit alone, and can have a set- 
tled assurance of the state of my soul, and 
know that God is mine, I can laugh at all 
troubles, and nothing can daunt me." 

Effect 7. Assurance would pacify a trou- 



bled conscience : he who hath a disturbed 
vexatious conscience, carries a hell about 
him, Eheu quis intus scorpia ! but assurance 
cures the agony, and allays the fury of con- 
science ; conscience, that before was turned 
into a serpent, now is like a bee that hath 
honey in its mouth, — it speaks peace, — tran- 
quillus Deus, tranquillat omnia, Tertul. 
When God is pacified toward us, then con- 
science is pacified. If the heavens are quiet, 
and there are no winds stirring thence, the 
sea is quiet and calm ; so if there be no anger 
in God's heart, — if the tempest of his wrath 
do not blow, — conscience is quiet and serene. 

Effect 8. Assurance would strengthen us 
against the fears of death. Such as want 
it, cannot die with comfort; they are in 
cequilibrio, — they hang in a doubtful sus- 
pense what should become of them after 
death, — but he who hath assurance hath a 
happy and joyful passage out of the world, 
he knows he is passed from death to life, he 
is carried full sail to heaven ! Though he 
cannot resist death, yet he overcomes it. 

Quest. 6. What shall they do that want 
assurance 1 

Ans. 1st. Such as want assurance, let them 
labour to find grace. When the sun denies 
light to the earth, it may give forth its influ- 
ence ; when God denies the light of his coun- 
tenance, he may give the influence of his grace. 

Quest. How shall we know we have a 
real work of grace, and so have a right to 
assurance ? 

Ans. If we can resolve two queries, 1. 
Have we high appreciations of Jesus Christ? 
1 Pet. ii. 7, " To you that believe he is pre- 
cious." Christ is all made up of beauties and 
delights ; our praises fall short of his worth, 
and is like spreading canvas upon cloth of 
gold. How precious is his blood and incense ! 
The one pacifies our conscience, the other per- 
fumes our prayers. Can we say we have en- 
dearing thoughts of Christ ? Do we esteem 
him our pearl of price, our bright morning- 
star ? Do we count all our earthly enjoyments 
but as dung in comparison of Christ? Phil, 
iii. 8. Do we prefer the worst things of Christ,' 
before the best things of the world ; the re- 
proaches of Christ before the world's em- 
braces? Heb. xi. 26.-Query 2. Have we 



OF ASSURANCE. 



171 



the indwelling of the Spirit ] 2 Tim. i. 14, 
" The Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us." 

Quest. How may we know that we have 
the indwelling presence of the Spirit ? 

Ans. Not by having sometimes good mo- 
tions stirred up in us by the Spirit, he may 
work in us yet not dwell, but by the sanctify- 
ing power of the Spirit in our heart ; the 
Spirit infuseth divinum indolem, — a divine 
nature, it stamps its own impress and effigies 
on the soul, making the complexion of it 
holy. The Spirit ennobles and raiseth the 
heart above the world. When Nebuchad- 
nezzar had his understanding given him, he 
grazed no longer among the beasts, but re- 
turned to his throne, and minded the affairs 
of his kingdom : when "the Spirit of God 
dwells in a man, it carries his heart above 
the visible orbs, it makes him superna anhe- 
lare, — thirst after Christ and glory. If we 
can find this, then we have grace, and so 
have a right to assurance. 

Ans. 2d. If you want assurance, wait for 
it. If the figures are graven on the dial, it is 
but waiting a while, and the sun shines ; 
when grace is engraven in the heart, it is 
but waiting a while and we shall have the 
sunshine of assurance, " He that believeth 
shall not make haste," Isa. xxviii. 16. He 
will stay God's leisure. Say not, God hath 
forsaken you, he will never lift up the light 
of his countenance ; but rather say as the 
church, Isa. viii. 17, "I will wait upon the 
Lord, that hideth his face from the house of 
Jacob." — 1. Hath God waited for your con- 
version and will not you wait for his conso- 
lation ! How long did he come a wooing to 
you by his Spirit ] He waited till his head 
was filled with dew : he cried, as Jer. xiii. 27, 
" Wilt thou not be made clean ! when shall 
it once be V 1 O ! Christian, did God wait for 
thy love, and canst thou not wait for his 1 — 
2. Assurance is so sweet and precious, that 
it is worth waiting for ; the price of it is above 
rubies, it cannot be valued with the gold of 
Ophir. Assurance of God's love is a pledge of 
election, it is the angel's banquet : what other 
joy have they ! as Micah said, Judg. xviii. 24, 
" What have I more ;" so, when God assures 
the soul of his eternal purposes of love, what 
hath he more to give 1 Whom God kisseth he 
crowns. Assurance is the first fruits of para- 



dise : one smile of God's face, one glance of 
his eye, one crumb of the hidden manna is so 
sweet and delicious, that it deserves our wait- 
ing. — 3. God hath given a promise that we 
should not wait in vain, Isa. xlix. 23, " They 
shall not be ashamed that wait for me." Per- 
haps God reserves this cordial of assurance for 
a fainting time ; he keeps sometimes his best 
wine till last. Assurance shall be reserved as 
an ingredient to sweeten the bitter cup of 
death. 

Quest. 7. How may deserted souls be 
comforted who are cast down for want of as- 
surance ? They have the day-star of grace 
risen in their souls ; but as Job complains, "I 
went mourning without the sun" Job. xxx. 
28. They go mourning for want of the sun- 
light of God's face ; their joy is eclipsed, 
they walk in darkness, and see no light, Isa. 
1. 18. How shall we comfort such as lie bleed- 
ing in desertion, and are cast down for want 
of assurance ? 

Ans. 1. Want of assurance shall not hin- 
der the success of the saint's prayers. Sin 
lived in, doth put a bar to our prayer ; but 
want of assurance doth not hinder prayer ; 
we may go to God still in a humble, fiducial 
manner. A Christian perhaps may think, be- 
cause he doth not see God's smiling face, 
therefore God will not hear him ; this is a mis- 
take, Ps. xxxi. 22, " I said in my haste, I am 
cut off from before thine eyes, nevertheless 
thou heardest the voice of my supplication." 
If we pour out sighs to heaven, God hears 
every groan ; though he doth not show us his 
face, he may lend us his ear. 

A. 2. Faith may be strongest when assu- 
rance is weakest ; the woman of Canaan had 
no assurance but a glorious faith : " O woman, 
great is thy faith !" Matt. xv. 28. ' Rachel 
was more fair, but Leah was more fruitful.' 
Assurance is more fair and lovely to look 
upon, but a fruitful faith God seeth it better 
for us, John xx. 28, " Blessed are they that 
believe and feel not." 

A. 3. When God is out of sight, yet he is not 
out of covenant, Ps. lxxxix. 28, " My covenant 
shall stand fast." Though a wife doth not see 
her husband's face in many years, yet the 
marriage relation holds, and he will come 
again to her after a long voyage. God may 
be gone from the soul in desertion, but the 



172 



OF ASSURANCE. 



covenant stands fast. Isa. liv. 10, » The co- 
venant of my peace shall not be removed.' — 
Quer. But this promise was made to the 
Jews, and doth not belong to us, Yes, v. 17, 
u This is the heritage of the servants of the 
Lord." This is made to all the servants of 
God, those who are now living, as well as 
those who lived in the time of the Jews. 

Quest. 8. What should we do to get as- 
surance ? 

Ans. 1. Keep a pure conscience ; let no 
guilt lie upon the conscience unrepented of; 
God seals no pardons before repentance. God 
will not pour in the wine of assurance into a 
foul vessel, Heb. x. 22, " Let us draw near in 
full assurance of faith, having our hearts 
sprinkled from an evil conscience I" Guilt 
clips the wings of comfort ; he who is con- 
scious to himself of secret sins, cannot draw 
near to God in full assurance, — he cannot 
call God father, but judge ; keep conscience 
as clear as your eye, that no dust of sin fall 
into it. 

A. 2. If you would have assurance, be 
much in the actings of grace, 1 Tim. iv. 7, 
»■ Exercise thyself rather unto godliness." 
Men grow rich by trading; by trading in 
grace we grow rich in assurance, 2 Pet. i. 10, 
w Make your election sure." How 1 " Add to 
your faith virtue, and to virtue knowledge." 
Keep grace upon the wing, it is the lively 
faith fiourisheth into assurance. No man will 
set up a great sail into a small boat, but in a 
large vessel : God sets up the sail of assu- 
rance in a heart enlarged with grace. 

A. 3. If you would have assurance, cherish 
the Holy Spirit of God. When David would 
have assurance, he prays, " take not thy Holy 
Spirit from me," Ps. li. 11. He knew that 
it was the Spirit only that could make him 
hear the voice of joy : the Spirit is the Com- 
forter, he seals up assurance, 2 Cor. i. 22. 
Therefore make much of the Spirit, do not 
grieve it : as Noah opened the ark to receive 
the dove, so should we open our hearts to 
receive the Spirit, this is the blessed dove 
which brings an olive branch of assurance in 
its mouth. 

A. 4. Let us lie at the pool of the ordi- 
nances, frequent the word and sacrament, 
Cant. ii. 2, " He brought me to the banquet- 
ing-house. and his banner over me was love." 



The blessed ordinances are the banqueting- 
house where God displays the banner of 
assurance. The sacrament is a sealing ordi- 
nance ; Christ made himself known to his 
disciples in the breaking of bread : so, in the 
holy supper, in the breaking of bread God 
makes himself known to us, to be our God 
and portion. 

Quest. 9. How should they carry them- 
selves who have assurance ? 

Ans. 1. If you have assurance of your jus- 
tification, do not abuse assurance : 1. It is an 
abusing of assurance, when we grow more 
remiss in duty ; as the musician, having mo- 
ney thrown him, leaves off playing. By re- 
missness, or intermitting the exercises of 
religion, we grieve the Spirit, and that is the 
way to have an embargo laid upon our spiri- 
tual comforts. — 2. We abuse assurance, when 
we grow presumptuous and less fearful of 
sin. What ! because a father gives his son 
an assurance of his love, and tells him he will 
entail his land upon him, shall the son there- 
fore be wanton and dissolute? This were 
the way to lose his father's affection, and 
make him cut off the entail ; it was an aggra- 
vation of Solomon's sin, " his heart was 
turned away from the Lord, after he had ap- 
peared to him twice," 1 Kings xi. 9. It is 
bad to sin when one wants assurance, but it 
is worse to sin when one hath it, Hath the 
Lord sealed his love with a kiss 1 Hath he 
left a pledge of heaven in your hand, and do 
you thus requite the Lord? Will you sin 
with manna in your mouth ? Doth God 
give you the sweet clusters of assurance to 
feed on, and will you return him wild grapes'? 
It much pleaseth Satan, either to see us want 
assurance, or abuse it : this is to abuse assu- 
rance, when the pulse of our soul beats faster 
in sin, and slower in duty. 

A..2. If you have assurance, admire this 
stupendous mercy. You deserved that God 
should give you gall and vinegar to drink, 
and hath he made the honey-comb of his 
love to drop upon you ? O fall down and 
adore his goodness ! Say, Lord, how is it 
that thou shouldest manifest thyself to me, 
and not to other believers ! those whom 
thou lovest as the apple of thine eye, yet 
thou holdest them in suspense, and givest 
them no assurance of thy love ; though 



OF ASSURANCE. 



173 



thou hast given them the new name, yet not 
the white stone ; though they have the seed 
of grace, yet not the oil of gladness ; though 
they have the Holy Ghost, the sanctifier, yet 
not the Holy Ghost, the comforter ! Lord, 
whence is it that thou shouldest manifest 
thyself to me, and make my golden beams of 
assurance shine upon my soul? O admire 
God ! this will be the work of heaven. 

A. 3. Let your hearts be endeared in love 
to God. If God gives his people correction, 
they must love him ; much more when he 
gives them assurance, Ps. xxxi. 23, " O love 
the Lord, ye his saints." Hath God brought 
you to the borders of Canaan, — given you a 
bunch of grapes, — crowned you with loving- 
kindness, — confirmed your pardon under the 
broad seal of heaven 1 How can you be frozen 
at such a fire ] How can you choose but be 
turned into seraphims burning in divine love ! 
Say as St Austin, animam meam in odio 
haberem, — ' I would hate my own soul,' if I 
did not find it loving God. Give God the cream 
and quintessence of your love, and show your 
love by being willing to lose all for his sake. 

A. 4. If you have assurance, improve it 
for God's glory, several ways : 1. By en- 
couraging such as are yet unconverted ; tell 
them how sweet this hidden manna is ; tell 
them what a good master you serve, what 
gales you have had ; tell them God hath car- 
ried you to the hill of myrrh, to the mountains 
of spices, he hath given you not only a pros- 
pect of heaven, but an earnest. O persuade 
sinners, by all the love and mercy of God, that 
they would enrol their names in his family, 
and cast themselves upon him for salvation ! 
Tell them, God hath met with you, and un- 
locked the secrets of free grace, and assured 
you of a land flowing with those infinite de- 
lights which eye hath not seen. Thus, by 
telling others what God hath done for your 
soul, you may make them in love with the 
ways of God, and cause them to turn prose- 
lytes to religion. — 2. Improve assurance, by 
eomforting such as want it : Be as the good 
Samaritan, pour wine and oil into their 
wounds. You who have assurance, are got- 
ten, as it were to the haven, you are sure of 
your happiness : but do you not see others 
who are struggling with the waves of tempta- 



tion and desertion, and are ready to sink? O 
now sympathize with them, and do what you 
can to comfort them when they are in this 
deep ocean ! 2 Cor. i. 6, " Whether we be 
comforted, it is for your consolation." The 
comfortable experience of one Christian, be- 
ing communicated to another doth much re- 
vive and bear up his fainting heart : " Our 
comfort," saith the apostle, "is for your con- 
solation." — 3. Improve assurance by walking 
more heavenly. You should scorn these 
things below ; you who have an earnest of 
heaven, should not be too earnest for the 
earth : you have angels' food, and it becomes 
not you with the serpent to lick the dust. 
The wicked are all for corn, wine, and oil, 
but you have that which is better : God hath 
lifted up the light of his countenance ; will 
you hanker after the world, when you have 
been feeding upon the grapes and pome- 
granates of the holy land ? Do you now lust 
after the garlic and onions of Egypt ? When 
you are clothed with the sun, will you set 
the moon and stars above you ? O ! let them 
scramble for the world, who have nothing 
else but husks to feed on, have you assur- 
ance of heaven, and is not that enough? 
Will not a kingdom satisfy you ? Such as are 
high in assurance, should be in the altitudes, 
live above the world. — 4. Improve assurance 
by a cheerful walking. It is for condemned 
persons to go hanging down their heads : but 
hast thou thy absolution? Doth thy God 
smile on thee ? Cheer up, 2 Sam. xiii. 4, 
" Why art thou, being the king's son, lean V* 
Art thou the king's son, — hath God assured 
thee of thy adoption, and art thou sad? As- 
surance should be an antidote against all 
trouble. What though the world hate thee, 
yet thou art assured that thou art one of 
God's favourites. What though there is but 
little oil in the cruse, and thou art low in the 
world, yet thou art high in assurance. O then 
rejoice ! How musical is the bird, — how doth 
it chirp and sing, that knows not where to 
pick up the next crumb ! and shall they be 
sad and discontented, who have God's bond 
to assure them of their daily bread, and his 
love to assure them of heaven ? But certainly 
those who have assurance, cannot but be of 
a sanguine complexion. 



174 



OF PEACE. 



A. 5. If you have an assurance of salva- 
tioD, let this make you long after a glorified 
state. He who hath an earnest in his hand, 
desires the whole sum to be paid ; that soul 
who hath tasted how sweet the Lord is, 
should long for a fuller enjoyment of him in 
heaven. Hath Christ put this ring of as- 
surance on thy hand, and so espoused thee 
to himself; how shouldest thou long for 
the marriage-supper of the Lamb] Rev. 
xix. 9. O Christian, think with thyself, 
if a glimpse of heaven, a smile of God's 
face be so sweet, what will it be, to be ever 
running thyself in the light of God's counte- 
nance ! Certainly, you who have an assur- 
ance of your title to heaven, cannot but de- 



sire possession. Be content to live, but will- 
ing to die. 

A. 6. If you have assurance, be careful 
you do not lose it ; keep it, for it is your 
life, viz. Bene esse, — the comfort of your 
life. Keep assurance, 1st, By prayer, Ps. 
xxxvi. 10, "O continue thy loving-kind- 
ness:" Lord, continue assurance; do noti 
take away this privy seal from me. 2dly, | 
Keep assurance by humility ; pride estrangeth 
God from the soul ; when you are high in 
assurance, be low in humility. St Paul had 
assurance, and he baptizeth himself with this 
name, " Chief of sinners," lTim.i.15. The 
jewel of assurance is best kept in the cabinet 
of an humble heart. 



OF PEACE. 



1 Pet. i. 2. Grace unto you and peace be multiplied. 



Having spoken of the first fruit of sancti- 
fication, assurance, I proceed to the second, 
viz. Peace, "Peace be multiplied." 

Quest. What are the several species or 
kiiids of Peace 1 

Ans. Peace, in scripture, is compared to 
a river, Isa. lxvi. 12, this river parts itself 
into two silver streams. 

1st. There is an external peace, and that is, 
1. Economical, peace in a family. 2. Politi- 
cal, peace in the state. Peace is the nurse of 
plenty, Ps. cxlvii. 14, " He maketh peace in 
thy borders, and filleth thee with the finest 
of the wheat." How pleasant is it when the 
waters of blood begin to assuage, and we can 
see the windows of our ark open, and the 
dove returning with an olive branch of peace ! 
3. Ecclesiastical, peace in the church. Unity 
in Trinity is the greatest mystery in heaven, 
and Unity in verity the greatest mercy on 
earth. Peace ecclesiastical stands in opposi- 
tion to schism and persecution. 

2t%, A spiritual peace, which is twofold, 
—peace above us, or peace with God, — and 
peace within us, or peace with conscience. 
This is superlative ; other peace may be last- 
ing, but this is everlasting. 

Quest. 2. Whence comes this peace ? 

Ans. This peace hath the whole Trinity for 



its author, 1. God the Father is "the God of 
peace," 1 Thess. v. 23. 2. God the Son is the 
" Prince of peace," Isa. ix. 6. 3. Peace is 
said to be the " fruit of the Spirit," Gal. v. 22. 

1. God the Father is the God of peace. 
As he is the God of order, 1 Cor. xiv. 33, 
so the God of peace, Phil. iv. 9. This was 
the form of the priest's blessing the people, 
Numb. vi. 26, " The Lord give thee peace." 

2. God the Son is the purchaser of peace. 
He had made peace by his blood, Col. i. 20, 
" Having made peace through the blood of 
his cross." The atonement Aaron made for 
the people when he entered into the holy of 
holies with blood, was a type of Christ our 
high priest, who hath by his sacrifice pacified 
his angry Father, and made atonement for 
us. Christ purchased our peace upon hard 
terms ; his soul was in an agony, while he 
was travailing to bring forth peace to the 
world. 

3. Peace is a fruit of the Spirit. He seals 
up peace to the conscience. The Spirit 
clears up the work of grace in the heart 
from whence ariseth peace. There was a 
well of water near Hagar, but she did not 
see it, therefore wept: a Christian hath 
grace, but doth not see it, therefore weeps. 
Now the Spirit discovers this well of water, 



OF PEACE. 



175 



it enables conscience to witness to a man that 
hath the real work of grace, and so peace 
flows into the soul. Thus you see whence this 
peace comes : the Father decrees it, the Son 
purchaseth it, the Holy Ghost applies it. 

Quest. 3. Whether such as are destitute 
of grace may have peace ? 

Ans. No. Peace flows from sanctification, 
but they being unregenerate, have nothing to 
do with peace, Isa. lvii. 21, " There is no 
peace, saith my God, to the wicked." They 
may have a truce, but no peace. God may 
forbear the wicked a while, and stop the roar- 
ing of his cannon ; but though there be a 
truce, yet no peace. The wicked may have 
something which looks like peace, but it is 
not. They may be fearless and stupid ; but 
there is a great difference between a stupified 
conscience, and a pacified conscience, Luke 
xi. 21, " When a strong man armed keepeth 
his palace, his goods are in peace." This is 
the devil's peace ; he rocks men in the cradle 
of security ; he cries, ' peace ! peace !' when 
men are on the precipice of hell. The seem- 
ing peace a sinner hath, is not from the 
knowledge of his happiness, but the igno- 
rance of his danger. 

Quest. 4. What are the signs of a false 
peace ? 

Ans. 1. A false peace hath much confidence 
in it, but this confidence is conceit. The sin- 
ner doth not doubt of God's mercy; from 
which presumptuous confidence ariseth some 
kind of quiet in the mind. The same word in 
the Hebrew (cassal) signifies both confidence 
and folly. Indeed a sinner's confidence is 
folly; how confident were the foolish virgins ! 

A. 2. False peace separates those things 
which God hath joined together : God joins 
holiness and peace, but he who hath a false 
peace, separates these two. He lays claim 
to peace, but banisheth holiness, Deut. xxix. 
19, " I shall have peace, though I walk in 
the imagination of my heart, to add drunk- 
enness to thirst." The wicked are loose 
and vain, and yet thank God that they have 
peace, — a delusion. You may as well suck 
health out of poison, as peace out of sin. 

A. 3. False peace is not willing to be tried ; 
a sign they are bad wares which will not en- 
dure the light; a sign a man hath stolen 
goods, when he will not have his house search- 



ed. A false peace cannot endure to be tried 
by the word. The word speaks of an hum- 
bling and refining work upon the soul before 
peace ; false peace cannot endure to hear of 
this ; the least trouble will shake this peace, 
it will end in despair. In a false peace, con- 
science is asleep ; but, when this lion of con- 
science shall be awakened at death, then it 
will roar upon a man, he will be a terror to 
himself, and be ready to lay violent hands 
upon himself. 

Quest 5. How shall we know that ours 
is a true peace ? 

Ans. 1. True peace flows from union with 
Christ. Communio fundatur in unione. 
The graft or scion must first be innoculated 
into the tree before it can receive sap or 
nourishment from it ; so we must first be in- 
grafted into Christ, before we can receive 
peace from him. Have we faith 1 By holi- 
ness we are made like Christ ; by believing 
we are made one with Christ, and being in 
Christ we have peace, John xvi. 33. 

A. 2. True peace flows from subjection to 
Christ ; where Christ gives peace, there he 
sets up his government in the heart, Isa. ix. 
7, " Of his government and peace there shall 
be no end." Christ is called a " priest upon 
his throne," Zech. vi. 13. Christ as a priest 
makes peace ; but he will be a priest upon 
his throne, he brings the heart in subjection 
to him. If Christ be our peace, he is our 
prince, Isa. ix. 6. Whenever Christ pacifies 
the conscience, he subdues the lust. 

A. 3. True peace is after trouble. First, 
God lets loose a spirit of bondage, he con- 
vinceth and humbleth the soul; then he 
speaks peace. Many say they have peace, 
but is this peace before a storm, or after it? 
True peace is after trouble. First there was 
the earthquake, and then the fire, and then 
the still small voice, 1 Kings xix. 11. Thou 
who never hadst any legal bruisings, mayest 
suspect thy peace ; God pours the golden oil 
of peace into broken hearts. 

Quest. 6. Whether have all sanctified 
persons this peace 1 

Ans. They have a title to it ; they have 
the ground of it ; grace is the seed of peace, 
and it will in time turn to peace, as the blos- 
soms of a tree to fruit, milk to cream. They 
have a promise of it, Ps. xxix. 11, " The 



176 



OF PEACE. 



Lord will bless his people with peace." They 
may have peace with God, though not peace 
in their own conscience ; they have the ini- 
tials and beginnings of peace. There is a 
secret peace the heart hath in serving God ; 
such meltings and enlargements in duty as do 
revive the soul, and bear it up from sinking. 

Quest. 7. But why have not all believers 
the full enjoyment and possession of peace? 
Why is not this flower of peacefully ripe 
and blown ? 

Ans. Some of the godly may not have so 
full a degree of peace. 1. Through the fury 
of temptation. The devil, if he cannot de- 
stroy us, he will disturb us. Satan disputes 
against our adoption; he would make us 
question the work of grace in our hearts, 
and so troubles the waters of our peace : Sa- 
tan is like a subtle cheater, who, if he can- 
not make a man's title to his land void, yet 
he will put him to many troublesome suits in 
law. If Satan cannot make us ungodly, he 
will make us unquiet : violent winds make 
the sea rough and stormy ; the winds of 
temptation blowing, disturb peace of spirit, 
and put the soul into a commotion. — 2. The 
godly may not enjoy peace, through mistake 
and misapprehension about sin. They find 
so much corruption, that sure, if there were 
grace, there would not be such strong work- 
ing of corruption : whereas this should be so 
far from discouraging Christians, and hin- 
dering their peace, that it is an argument 
for them. Let me ask, Whence is it that 
you feel sin ? No man can feel sin but by 
grace. A wicked man is insensible ; lay a 
hundred weight upon a dead man, he doth 
not complain, but the being sensible of cor- 
ruption argues a gracious principle, Rom. vii. 
21. Again, Whence is it that there is a com- 
bat with sin, but from the life of grace? Gai. 
v. 17. Dead things cannot combat. Whence 
is it that the saints weep for sin 1 what are 
these tears but seeds of faith 3 The not un- 
derstanding of this, hinders a Christian's 
peace. — 3. The godly may not enjoy peace, 
through remissness in duty ; they leave their 
first love. When Christians abate their fer- 
vency, God abates their peace ; if you slacken 
the strings of a viol, the music is spoiled, if 
Christians slack in duty, they spoil the sweet 



music of peace in their souls. As the fire 
decays, so the cold increaseth ; as fervency 
in duty abates, so our peace cools. 

Use 1st. Labour for this blessed peace, — 
peace with God and conscience. Peace with 
neighbour-nations is sweet, Pax una tri- 
umphis inurneris melior. The Hebrew word 
schalom, ' peace,' comprehends all blessings, 
it is the glory of a kingdom ; a prince's crown 
is more beautiful when it is hung with the 
white lily of peace, than when it is set with 
the red roses of a bloody war. O then, how 
sweet is peace of conscience ! It is a bul- 
wark against the enemy, Phil. iv. 7, it shall 
keep you as in a garrison ; you may throw 
out the gauntlet and bid defiance to the ene- 
mies ; it is the golden pot and the manna ; it 
is the first fruits of paradise. It is still mu- 
sic ; for want of this a Christian is in con- 
tinual fear, he doth not take that comfort in 
ordinances. Hannah went up to the feast at 
Jerusalem, but " she wept and did not eat," 
1 Sam. i. 7. So, a poor dejected soul goes 
to an ordinance, but doth not eat of the 
feast ; he weeps and doth not eat. He can- 
not take that comfort in worldly blessings, 
health, estate, relations ; he wants that in- 
ward peace, which should be a sauce to 
sweeten his comforts. O therefore labour 
for this blessed peace ! Consider the noble 
and excellent effects of it : 1. It gives bold- 
ness at the throne of grace ; guilt of con- 
science clips the wings of prayer, — it makes 
the face blush, and the heart faint, — but 
when a Christian hath some lively apprehen- 
sions of God's love, and the Spirit whisper- 
ing peace, then he goes to God with bold- 
ness, as a child to his father, Ps. xxv. 1, 
"Unto thee, O Lord, I lift up my soul." 
Time was when David's soul was bowed 
down, Ps. xxxviii. 6, "I am bowed down 
greatly ;" but now the case is altered, he 
will lift up his soul to God in a way of tri- 
umph, whence was this 1 God hath spoken 
peace to his soul, Ps. xxvi. 3, " Thy loving- 
kindness is before mine eyes." 2. This 

divine peace fires the heart with love to 
Christ. Peace is the result of pardon; he 
who hath a pardon sealed cannot choose 
but love his prince. How endeared is Christ 
to the soul! Now Christ is precious in- 



OF PEACE. 



177 



deed. ' O, saith the soul, how sweet is this 
rose of Sharon ! Hath Christ waded through 
a sea of blood and wrath, to purchase my 
peace ? Hath he not only made peace, but 
spoke peace to me ? How should my heart 
ascend in a fiery chariot of love ! How wil- 
ling- should I be to do and suffer for Christ !' 
— 3. This peace quiets the heart in trouble, 
Mic. v. 5, " This man shall be the peace, 
when the Assyrian shall come into our land, 
and tread in our palaces." The enemy may 
invade our palaces, but not our peace ; this 
man Christ shall be the peace. When the 
head aches, the heart may be well ; when 
worldly troubles assault a Christian, his mind 
may be in peace and quiet, Ps. iv. 8, " I will 
lay me down in peace, and sleep." 'Twas 
now a sad time with David, he was fleeing 
for his life from Absalom ; it was no small 
affliction to think that his own son should 
seek to take away his Father's life and 
crown ; David wept and covered his face, 
2 Sam. xv. 30, yet at this time, saith he, " I 
will lay me down in peace and sleep." He 
had trouble from his son, but peace from his 
conscience ; David could sleep upon the soft 
pillow of a good conscience ; this is a peace 
worth getting. 

Quest. 8. What shall we do to attain 
this blessed peace ? 

Ans. 1. Let us ask it of God. He is the 
God of peace, he beats back the roaring lion, 
he stills the raging of conscience ; if we could 
call all the angels out of heaven, they could 
not speak peace without God. The stars 
cannot make day without the sun ; none can 
make day in a dark deserted soul, but the 
Sun of Righteousness. As the wilderness 
cannoj} water itself, but remains dry and 
parched till the clouds drop their moisture : 
so our hearts cannot have peace till he in- 
fuse it, and drop it upon us by his Spirit. 
Therefore pray, " Lord, thou who art the 
God of peace, create peace ; thou who art 
the Prince of peace, command it. Give me 
that peace which may sweeten trouble, yea, 
the bitter cup of death." 

A. 2. If you would have peace, make war 
with sin. Sin is the Achan that troubles us, 
—the Trojan horse,— 2 Kings ix. 22, " When 
Joram saw Jehu, he said, Is it peace, Jehu 1 
Z 



And he answered, What peace, so long as 
the whoredoms of thy mother Jezebel and her 
witchcrafts are so many V What peace, so 
long as sin remains unmortified ] If you 
would have peace with God, break the league 
with sin, — give battle to sin, it is a most just 
war, God hath proclaimed it, nay, he hath 
promised us victory, " Sin shall not have do- 
minion," Rom. vi. 14. No way to peace, 
but by maintaining a war with sin. Pax 
nostra helium contra damonem, Tekt. 
When Samson had slain the lion, there came 
honey out of the lion : by slaying sin, we get 
this honey of peace. 

A. 3. Go to Christ's blood for peace. Some 
go to fetch their peace from their own right- 
eousness, not Christ's ; they go for peace to 
their holy life, not Christ's deatfe ; if con- 
science be troubled, they strive -to quiet it 
with their duties. This is not the right way 
to peace ; duties must not be neglected, nor 
yet idolized. Look up to the blood of sprink- 
ling, Heb. xii. 24. That blood of Christ 
which pacified God, must pacify conscience ; 
Christ's blood being sucked in by faith, gives 
peace, Rom. v. 1, " Being justified by faith, 
we have peace with God." No balm to cure 
a wounded conscience, but the blood of Christ. 

A. 4. Walk closely with God. Peace 
flows from purity, Gal. vi. 16, " As many as 
walk according to this rule, peace be on 
them." In the text, grace and peace are put 
together ; grace is the root, and peace is the 
flower. As balm-water drops from the lim- 
bec, so divine peace comes out of the limbec 
of a gracipus heart. Walk very holily : God's 
Spirit is first a refiner before a com- 
forter. 

Use 2d. You who have this peace, — peace 
above, — peace within,— labour to keep it; it 
is a precious jewel, do not lose it ; it is sad 
to have the league of national peace broken, 
but it is worse to have the peace of conscience 
broken : Oh preserve this peace ! First, take 
heed of relapses. Hath God spoken peace 1 
do not turn again to folly, Ps. lxxxv. 8. Be- 
sides the ingratitude, there's folly in relapses. 
It was long ere God was reconciled and the 
breach made up, and will you again eclipse 
and forfeit your peace ! Hath God healed 
the wound of conscience, and will you tear 



OF JOY. 



it open again ! Will you break another 
vein 1 Will you cut a new artery? this is 
returning indeed to folly. What madness is 
it to meddle again with that sin, which will 
breed the worm of conscience ! Secondly, 
Make up your spiritual accounts daily; see 
how matters stand between God and your 
souls, Ps. lxxvii. 6, "I commune with my 
own heart." Often reckonings keep God 



I and conscience friends ; do with your hearts 
I as you do with your watches, wind them up 
every morning by prayer, and at night exa- 
mine whether your hearts have gone true all 
that day, whether the wheels of your affec- 
tions have moved swiftly toward heaven. Oh 
call yourselves often to account ; keep your 
reckonings even, and that is the way to keep 
your peace. 



OF JOY. 

Gal. v. 22. The fruit of the Spirit is joy. 



The third fruit of justification, adoption, 
and sanctification, is joy in the Holy Ghost. 
Joy is the setting the soul upon the top of a 
pinnacle, 'tis the cream of the sincere milk 
of the word. 

Quest. What is this joy ? 

Ans. Spiritual joy is a sweet and delight- 
ful passion, arising from the apprehension 
and feeling of some good, whereby the soul 
is supported under present troubles, and 
fenced against future fear. 

1. It is a delightful passion. So it is con- 
trary to sorrow, which is a perturbation of 
mind, whereby the heart is perplexed and 
cast down. Joy is a sweet and pleasant af- 
fection, which eases the mind, exhilarates 
and comforts the spirits. 

2. It ariseth from the feeling of some 
good. Joy is not a fancy, or bred of conceit ; 
but is rational, and ariseth from the feeling 
of some good, viz. the sense of God's love 
and favour. Joy is so real a thing that it 
makes a sudden change in a person ; it turns 
mourning into melody. As in the spring- 
time, when the sun comes to our horizon, it 
makes a sudden alteration in the face of the 
universe,— the birds sing, — the flowers ap- 
pear,— the fig-tree puts forth her. green figs, 
—every thing seems to rejoice and put off 
its mourning, as being revived with the sweet 
influence of the sun : so, when the Sun of 
Righteousness ariseth on the soul, it makes 
a sudden alteration, and the soul is infinitely 
rejoiced with the golden beams of God's love. 

: <- By it the soul is supported under pre- 



sent troubles. Joy stupifies and swallows 
up troubles ; it carries the heart above them, 
as the oil swims above the water. 

4. The heart is fenced against future fear. 
Joy is both a cordial and an antidote ; it is a 
cordial which gives present relief to the spi- 
rits, when they are sad; and an antidote, 
it fenceth off fear of approaching danger, Ps. 
xxiii. 4, " I will fear no evil ; for thou art 
with me, thy rod and thy staff comfort me." 

Quest. How is this joy wrought ? 

Ans. 1. It ariseth partly from the promise ; 
as the bee lies at the breast of the flower, 
and sucks out the sweetness from it, so faith 
lies at the breast of a promise and sucks out 
the quintessence of joy, Ps. xciv. 19, " Thy 
comforts delight my soul ;" that is, the com- 
forts which distil from the limbeck of the 
promises. 

A. 2. The Spirit of God (who is called the 
« Comforter,' John xiv. 26,) doth sometimes 
drop in this g-olden oil of joy into the soul ; 
the Spirit whispers to a believer the remis- 
sion of his sin, and sheds God's love abroad 
into the heart, Rom. v. 5, whence flows in- 
finite joy and delight. 

Quest. What are the seasons when God 
doth usually give his people these divine joys? 

Ans. Five seasons : 1st Season. Some- 
times at the blessed supper ; the soul oft 
comes weeping after Christ in the sacra- 
ment, and God sends it away weeping for 
joy. The Jews had a custom at their feasts, 
they poured ointment on their guests, and 
kissed them: in the* Eucharist, God often 



OF JOY. 



179 



pours the oil of gladness on the saints, and 
kisseth them with the kisses of his lips. 
There are two grand ends of the sacrament, 
the strengthening of faith, and the flourishing 
of joy. Here in this ordinance, God displays 
the banner of his love ; here believers taste 
not only sacramental bread, but hidden man- 
na. Caution, not that God always meets the 
soul with joy. He may give 1 increase of grace, 
when not increase of joy ; but oftentimes he 
pours in the oil of gladness, and gives the 
soul a privy seal of his love, as Christ made 
himself known in the breaking of bread. 

2d Season. Before God calls his people 
to suffering, Acts xxiii. 11, "Be of good 
cheer, Paul." When God was about to give 
Paul a cup of blood to drink, he spiced it 
with joy, 2 Cor. i. 5, " As the sufferings of 
Christ abound in us, so our consolation also 
aboundeth:" this made the martyrs' flames 
beds of roses, when Stephen was stoning, he 
saw heaven open, and the Sun of righteous- 
ness shined in his face. God candies our 
wormwood with sugar. 

3d Season. After sore conflicts with Sa- 
tan. Satan is the red dragon who troubleth 
the waters; he puts the soul into frights, 
makes it believe that it hath no grace, and 
that God doth not love it ; though Satan can- 
not blot out a Christian's evidence, yet he 
may cast such a mist before his eyes, that he 
cannot read it. Now, when the soul hath 
been bruised with temptations, God will com- 
fort this bruised reed : he now gives joy, 
ad corroborandum titulum, — to confirm a 
Christian's title to heaven. After Satan's 
fiery darts, comes the white stone ; no better 
balm to heal a tempted soul, than the oil of 
gladness : as after Christ was tempted, then 
came an angel to comfort him. 

4th Season. After desertion : desertion is 
a poisoned arrow which shoots to the heart, 
Job vi. 4. God is called a fire and a light : 
the deserted soul feels the fire, but doth not 
see the light; it cries out, as Asaph, Ps. 
lxxvii. 8, " Is his mercy clean gone V Now, 
when the soul is in this case, and ready to 
faint away in despair, God shines upon the 
soul, and gives it some apprehension of his fa- 
vour, and turns the shadow of death into the 
light of the morning. God keeps his cordials 



for a time of fainting. Joy after desertion 
is like a resurrection from the dead. 

5th Season. At the hour of death, such 
as have had no joy in their lifetime, God puts 
in this sugar in the bottom of the cup, to 
make their death sweet. Now, at the last 
hour, when all other comforts are gone, God 
sends the Comforter ; and when their appe- 
tite to meat fails, God feeds them with hid- 
den manna. Sure, as the wicked, before they 
die, have some apprehensions of hell and 
wrath in their conscience ; so the godly have 
some foretastes of God's everlasting favour, 
though sometimes their diseases may be 
such, and their animal spirits so oppressed, 
that they cannot express what they feel. Ja- 
cob laid himself to sleep on a stone, where 
he saw a vision, a ladder, and the angels 
ascending and descending: so, when the 
saints lay themselves down to sleep the sleep 
of death, they have often a vision ; they see 
the light of God's face, and have the evi- 
dences of his love sealed up to them for ever. 

Quest. 4. What are the differences be- 
tween worldly joys and spiritual ? 

Ans. The gleanings of the one are better 
than the vintage of the other. 1. Spiritual 
joys help to make us better, worldly joys do 
often make us worse, Jer. xxii. 21, " I spake 
unto thee in thy prosperity, but thou saidst, 
I will not hear." Pride and luxury are the 
two worms bred of worldly pleasures, Hos. 
iv. 11, " Wine takes away the heart ;" it is 
/omentum libidinis, ' the inflamer of lust.' 
Aug. As Satan entered in the sop, so often 
in the cup ! but spiritual joy makes one bet- 
ter ; it is like cordial water, which (as physi- 
cians say) doth not only cheer the heart, but 
purges out the noxious humours ; so divine 
joy is a cordial water, which doth not only 
comfort but cleanse ; it makes a Christian 
more holy,— it causeth an antipathy against 
sin, — it infuseth strength to do and suffer, 
Neh. viii. 10, " The joy of the Lord is your 
strength." As some colours do not only de- 
light the eye, but strengthen the sight : so 
the joys of God do not only refresh the soul, 
but strengthen it. " The joy of the Lord is 
your strength." 

A. 2. Spiritual joys are inward,— they are 
heart joys, John xvi. 22, " Your heart shall 



1-0 



OF JOY. 



rejoice." Seneca saith, true joy latet in 
prof undo,— it is Jiidden within ; worldly joy 
is in svperficic, — it lies on the outside, like 
the dew that wets the leaf, 2 Cor. v. 12, who 
"glory in appearance," (in the Greek) in 
the face. It goes no farther than the face, — 
it is not within, — in 'laughter the heart is 
sad.' Like a house which hath a gilded 
frontispiece, but all the rooms within are 
hung in mourning. But spiritual joy lies 
most within, ' Your heart shall rejoice.' Di 
vine joy is like a spring of water which runs 
under ground : a Christian, others can see 
his sufferings, but they see not his joy, Prov. 
xiv. 10, " A stranger intermeddleth not with 
his joy." This joy is hidden manna, hid 
from the eye of the world : he hath still mu- 
sic which others hear not ; the marrow lies 
within, the best joy is within the heart. 

A. 3. Spiritual joys are sweeter than 
others, better than wine, Cant. i. 2. They 
are a Christian's festival ; they are the golden 
pot and the manna ; they are so sweet, that 
they make every thing else sweet, — sweeten 
health, estate, as sweet water poured on 
flowers makes them more fragrant and aroma 
tical. Divine joys are so delicious and ra 
vishing, that they do very much put our mouth 
out of taste to earthly delights ; as he who 
hath been drinking spirits of alkermes, tastes 
little sweetness in water. St Paul had tast- 
ed these divine joys, and his mouth was out 
of taste to worldly things : the world was 
crucified to him, Gal. vi. 14. It was like a 
dead thing, he could find no sweetness in it. 

A. 4. Spiritual joys are more pure, they 
are not tempered with any bitter ingredi- 
ents ; a sinner's joy is mixed with dregs, it 
is embittered with fear and guilt; the°wolf 
feeds in the breasts of his joy, he drinks 
wormwood wine, but spiritual joy is not 
muddied with guilt, but like a crystal stream, 
runs pure; it is all spirits and quintes- 
sence,— it is joy and nothing but joy,— it is 
a rose without prickles,— it is honeywithout 
the wax. 

A. 5. These are satisfying and filling joys, 

lull. Worldly joys can no more fill the 
heart, than a drop can fill a cistern \ they 
may please the palate or fancy, (Plato calls 



them 1 pictures of joy') not satisfy the soul, 
Eccl. i. 8, " The eye is not satisfied with 
seeing, nor the ear with hearing ;" but the 
joys of God satisfy, Ps. xciv. 19, " Thy com- 
forts delight my soul." There is as much 
difference between spiritual joys and earthly, 
as between a banquet that is eaten, and one 
that is painted on the wall. 

A. 6. These are stronger joys than world- 
ly, Heb. vi. 18, " Strong consolation." They 
are strong indeed, that can bear up a Chris, 
tian's heart in trials and afflictions, 1 ThessJ 
i. 6, " Having received the word in much af-l 
fliction, with joy." These are roses that 
grow in winter, these joys can sweeten the 
waters of Marah, he that hath these can ga- 
ther grapes of thorns, and fetch honey out 
of the carcass of a lion, 2 Cor. vi. 10, " As 
sorrowing, yet always rejoicing." At the 
end of the rod a Christian tastes honey. 

A. 7. These are unwearied joys : other 
joys, when in excess, oft cause a loathing,— 
we are apt to surfeit on them,— too much 
honey nauseates,— one may be tired with 
pleasure as well as labour,— Xerxes offered a 
reward to him that could find out a new plea- 
sure : but the joys of God, though they satis- 
fy, yet they never surfeit: a drop of joy is 
sweet, but the more of this wine the better; 
such as drink of the joys of heaven are never 
cloyed ; the satiety is without loathing, be- 
cause they still desire the joy wherewith they 
are satiated. 

A. 8. These are more abidingjoys. World- 
ly joys are soon gone ; such as crown them- 
selves with rose-buds, and bathe in the per- 
fumed waters of pleasure, yet these joys which 
seem to be sweet are swift, like meteors, they 
give a bright and sudden flash, and then disap- 
pear ; but the joys which believers have are 
abiding; they are a blossom of eternity, a 
pledge and earnest of those rivers of pleasure 
which run at God's right hand for evermore. 

Quest. 5. Why is this joy to be laboured 
for? 

Ans. 1. Because this joy is self-existent, 
—it can subsist in the want of all other 
carnal joy. This joy depends not upon 
outward things. As the philosophers once 
said, when the musicians came to them, 
" philosophers can be merry without music ;" 



OF JOY. 



181 



he that hath this joy can be cheerful in the 
deficiency of carnal joys ; he can rejoice in 
God, in sure hope of glory, " though the fig- 
tree doth not flourish," Hab. iii. 17. Spiritual 
joy can go without silver crutches to support 
it. Spiritual joy is higher built than upon 
creatures, it is built on the love of God ; on 
the promises ; on the blood of Christ. 

A. 2. Because spiritual joy carries the 
soul through duty cheerfully ; the sabbath is 
a delight, religion is a recreation. Fear and 
sorrow hinder us in the discharge of duty ; 
but a Christian serves God with activity, 
when he serves him with joy. The oil of 
joy makes the wheels of obedience move 
faster. How fervently did they pray whom 
God made joyful in the house of prayer 1 Isa. 
lvi. 7. 

A. 3. It is called the kingdom of God, 
Rom. xiv. 27, because it is a taste of that 
which the saints have in the kingdom of 
God. What is the heaven of the angels but 
the smiles of God's face, — the sensible per- 
ception and feeling of those joys, which are 
infinitely ravishing and full of glory ? And 
to encourage and quicken us in seeking after 
them, consider, that Christ died to purchase 
this joy for his saints : he was a man of sor- 
rows, that we may be full of joy, he prays 
that the saints may have this divine joy, 
John xvii. 13, " And now I come to thee, 
that they may have my joy fulfilled in them- 
selves." And this prayer he now prays over 
in heaven ; he knows we never love him so 
as when we feel his love : which may encou- 
rage us to seek after this joy ; we pray for 
that which Christ himself is praying for, that 
his joy may be fulfilled in us. 

Quest. 6. What shall we do to obtain this 
spiritual joy 1 

Ans. Walk accurately and heavenly ; God 
gives it after a long and close walking with 
him. 1. Observe your hours ; set time every 
day apart for God. 2. Mourn for sin : 
mourning is the seed (as Basil saith) out of 
which the flower of spiritual joy grows, Isa. 
lvii. 18, "I'll restore comfort to his mourn- 
ers." 3. Keep the book of conscience fair 
written : do not by presumptuous sins blur 
your evidences : a good conscience is the ark 
where God puts the hidden manna. 4. Be 



often upon your knees, pray with life and 
fervency. The same Spirit that fills the heart 
with sighs, fills it with joys. The same Spi- 
rit that indites the prayer, seals it. When 
Hannah had prayed, her countenance was no 
more sad, 1 Sam. i. 18. Praying Christians 
have much intercourse with God, and none 
are so like to have the secrets of his love 
imparted, as those who hold correspondence 
with him ; by a close walking with God, 
we get these bunches of grapes by the way, 
which are an earnest of future happiness. 

Quest. 7. How shall we comfort them 
that want joy ? 

Ans. Such as walk in close communion 
with God have more than others. 

1. Initial joy, joy in semine, — in the seed, 
Ps. xcvii. 11, " Light (a metaphor for joy) 
is sown for the righteous." Grace in the 
heart is a seed of joy ; though a Christian 
wants the sun, he hath a daystar in his 
heart. 

2. A believer hath real, though not royal 
comforts ; he hath, as Aquinas saith, gau- 
dinm in Deo, though not a Deo, — joy ' in 
God,' though not ' from God.' Joy in God 
is the delight and complacency the soul takes 
in God, Ps. civ. 34, " I will be glad in the 
Lord." He that is truly gracious, is so far 
joyful as to take comfort in God ; though he 
cannot say, God rejoiceth in him, yet he can 
say, he rejoiceth in God. 

3. He hath supporting, though not trans- 
porting comforts ; he hath so much, that 
keeps him from sinking, Ps. cxxxviii. 3, 
"Thou strengthenedst me with strength in 
my soul." If a Christian hath not God's 
arm to embrace him, yet to uphold him : 
thus a Christian, who walks with God, hath 
something that bears up his heart from sink- 
ing, and it is but waiting a while, and he is 
sure of those joys which are unspeakable, and 
full of glory. 

Use 1st. Then see that religion is no me- 
lancholy thing ; it brings joy ; the fruit of 
the Spirit is joy, — Mutatur non tolitur. A 
poor Christian that feeds on bread and water 
may have purer joy than the greatest mo- 
narch ; though he fares hard, he feeds high ; 
he hath a table spread from heaven, — angels' 
food, — hidden manna ; he hath sometimes 



L82 



OF GROWTH IN GRACE. 



those sweet raptures of joy, as a cause of 
jubilation of spirit, 2 Cor. xii. 3, he hath that 
winch is better felt than can be expressed. 

Use 2d. If God gives his people such joy in 
this life : O then what glorious joy will he 
._rno (hem in heaven ! Matt. xxv. 21, " En- 
ter thou into the joy of thy Lord." Here joy 
begins to enter into us, there we shall enter 
into joy; God keeps his best wine till last. 
Heliogabalus bathed himself in sweet per- 
fumed waters : what joy when the soul 



shall for ever bathe itself in the pure and 
pleasant fountain of God's love ? What 
joy to see the orient brightness of Christ's 
face, and have the kisses of those lips 
which drop sweet smelling myrrh ? LcBta- 
bitur sponsa in amplexibus Domini, Aug. 
O ! if a cluster of grapes here be so sweet, 
what will the full vintage be 1 How may 
this set us all a longing for that place 
where sorrow cannot live, and where joy 
cannot die ! 



OF GROWTH IN GRACE. 
2 Pet. iii. 18. But grow in grace. 



The fourth fruit. Growth of grace. True 
grace is progressive, — of a spreading, grow- 
ing nature. It is with grace as with the 
light : first, there is the crepusculum, or day- 
break, then it shines brighter to the full me- 
ridian. A good Christian is like the croco- 
dile, quamdiu vivet crescit, — he hath never 
done growing. The saints are not only 
compared to stars for their light, but to trees 
for their growth, Isa. Ixi. 3, Hos. xiv. 5. A 
good Christian is not like Hezekiah's sun 
that went backward, nor Joshua's sun that 
stood still, but is always advancing in holi- 
ness, and increasing with the increase of God, 
Col. ii. 16. Now to amplify and illustrate 
this : 

Quest. 1. How many ways may a Chris- 
tian be said to grow in grace ? 

Ans. 1. He grows vigore, — in the exer- 
cise of grace ; his lamp is burning and shin- 
ing, therefore we read of a lively hope, 1 Pet. 
i. 3. Here is the activity of grace ; the 
church prays for the blowing of the Spirit, 
that her spices might flow forth, Cant. iv. 16. 

A. 2. A Christian grows gradu, — in the 
degree of grace ; he goes from strength to 
strength, Ps. lxxxiv. 7, viz. from one degree 
of grace to another. A saint goes from 
'faith to faith,' Rom. i. 17, and his love 
abounds more and more, Phil. i. 6. Here is 
growing in the degree. 

Quest. 2. What is the right manner of 
a Christian's growth ? 



Ans. 1. The right manner of growth, is to 
grow less in one's own eyes, Ps. xxii. 6, " I 
am a worm and no man." The sight of cor- 
ruption and ignorance makes a Christian 
grow into a dislike of himself, he doth vanish 
in his own eyes. Job abhorred himself in 
the dust, ch. xlii. 6. This is good, to grow 
out of conceit with one's self. 

A. 2. The right manner of growth is to 
grow proportionably, when a Christian grows 
in one grace as well as another, 2 Pet. i. 5. 
To grow in knowledge, but not in meekness, 
brotherly love, good works, this is not the 
right growth ; a thing may swell and not 
grow, — a man may be swelled with know- 
ledge, yet may have no spiritual growth, — 
the right manner of growth is uniform, 
growing in one grace as well as another. 
As the beauty of the body is, when there 
is a symmetry of parts, not only the head 
grows, but the arms and breast ; so spiri- 
tual growth is most beautiful, when there 
is a symmetry and proportion, every grace 
thrives. 

A. 3. The right manner of growth is, 
when a Christian hath grace suitable to his 
several employments and occasions; when 
corruptions are strong, and he hath grace 
able to give check to them,— burthens are 
heavy, and he hath patience able to bear 
them,— -temptations fierce, and he hath faith 
able to resist them, — here is grace growing 
in the right manner. 



OF GROWTH IN GRACE. 



183 



Quest. 3. Whence is it that true grace 
cannot but grow ? 

Ans. 1. It is proper for grace to grow : it 
is semen manens, the seed of God, 1 John, 
iii. 9. It is the nature of seed to grow ; 
grace doth not lie in the heart, as a stone in 
the earth, but as seed in the earth, which 
will spring up, first the blade and then the 
ear, and then the full corn in the ear. 

A. 2. Grace cannot but grow, from the 
sweetness and excellency of it ; he that hath 
grace, is never weary of it, but still would 
have more. The delight he hath in it, caus- 
eth thirst ; grace is the image of God, and a 
Christian thinks he can never be enough like 
God. Grace instills peace ; therefore a 
Christian cannot but strive to increase in 
grace, because, as grace grows, so peace 
grows. 

A. 3. Grace cannot but grow, from a be- 
liever's ingrafting into Christ ; ^e who is a 
scion, ingrafted into this noble, generous 
stock, cannot but grow. Christ is so full of 
sap, and vivifical influence, that he makes 
all inoculated into him grow fruitful, Hos. 
xiv. 8, " From me is thy fruit found." 

Quest. 4. What motives or incentives 
are there to make us grow in grace ? 

Ans. 1. Growth is the end of the ordi- 
nances. Why doth a man lay out cost on 
ground, manure and water it, but that it may 
grow 1 The sincere milk of the word is given, 
that we may grow thereby, 1 Pet. ii. 2. The 
table of the Lord is on purpose for our spiri- 
tual nourishment and increase of grace. 

A. 2. The growth of grace is the best evi- 
dence of the truth of it. Things that have 
no life will not grow ; a picture will not 
grow, a stake in the hedge will not grow, but 
a plant that hath a vegetative life grows. 
The growing of grace shows it to be alive 
in the soul. 

A. 3. Growth in grace is the beauty of a 
Christian. The more a child grows, the 
more it comes to its favour and complexion, 
and looks more ruddy ; so, the more a 
Christian grows in grace, the more he comes 
to his spiritual complexion, he looks fairer. 
Abraham's faith was beautiful when in its 
infancy, but at last it grew so vigorous and 
eminent, that God himself was in love with 



it, and crowned Abraham with this honour, 
to be the ' father of the faithful.' 

A. 4. The more we grow in grace, the 
more glory we bring to God. God's glory 
is more worth than the salvation of all men's 
souls. This should be our design, to raise 
the trophies of God's glory ; and how can we 
do it more, than by growing in grace 1 John 
xv. 8, " Hereby is my Father glorified, that 
ye bear much fruit." Though the least 
drachm of grace will bring salvation to us, yet 
it will not bring so much glory to God, Phil, 
i. 11, " Filled with the fruits of righteousness, 
which are to the praise of his glory." It 
commends the skill of the husbandman, when 
his plants grow and thrive ; it is a praise and 
honour to God, when we thrive in grace. 

A. 5. The more we grow in grace, the 
more will God love us. Is it not that we 
pray for 1 The more growth, the more God 
will love us. The husbandman loves his 
thriving plants ; the thriving Christian is 
God's Hephzibah, or chief delight. Christ 
loves to see the vine flourishing, and the 
pomegranates budding, Cant. vi. 11. Christ 
accepts the truth of grace, but commends the 
growth of grace, Matt. viii. 10, " I have not 
found so great faith, no not in Israel." 
Would you be as the beloved disciple that 
lay in Christ's bosom ? Would you have 
much love from Christ 1 labour for much 
growth, let faith flourish with good works, 
and love increase into zeal. 

A. 6. What need have we to grow in 
grace. There is still something lacking in 
our faith, 1 Thess. iii. 10. Grace is but in 
its infancy and minority, and we must still 
be adding a cubit to our spiritual stature ; 
the apostles said, " Lord increase our faith," 
Luke xvii. 5. Grace is but weak, 2 Sam. iii. 
39, "I am this day weak, though anoint- 
ed king." So, though we are anointed with 
grace, yet we are but weak, and had need 
arrive at further degrees of sanctity. 

A. 7. The growth of grace will hinder the 
growth of corruption. The more health 
grows, the more the distempers of the body 
abate ; so it is in spirituals, — the more hu- 
mility grows, the more the swelling of pride 
is assuaged, — the more purity of heart grows, 
the more the fire of lust is abated. The 



184 



OF GROWTH IN GRACE. 



growth of flowers in the garden doth not 
hinder the growing of weeds, but the grow- 
ing of this flower of grace hinders the sprout- 
ing of corruption. As some plants have an 
nntijKithy, and will not thrive if they grow 
near together, as the vine and the bay tree : 
so. where grace grows, sin will not thrive so 
fast. 

A. 8. We cannot grow too much in grace : 
there is no nimium, — no excess there. The 
body may grow too great, as in the dropsy ; 
but faith cannot grow too great, 2 Thess. i. 
3, " Your faith groweth exceedingly ;" here 
was exceeding, yet not excess. As a man 
cannot have too much health, so not too 
much grace. Grace is the beauty of holiness, 
Ps\ ex. 3. We cannot have too much spiri- 
tual beauty ; it will be the only trouble at 
death, that we have grown no more in grace. 

A. 9. Such as do not grow in grace, decay 
in grace. Non progredi in via est regredi, 
Bern. There is no standing at a stay in 
religion, either we go forward or backward 
if faith do not grow, unbelief will ; if heaven 
ly mindedness doth not grow, covetousness 
will. A ma.n that doth not increase his 
stock, diminisheth it ; if you do not improve 
your stock of grace, your stock will decay. 
The angels on Jacob's ladder were either 
ascendingor descending; ifyou do not ascend 
in religion, you descend. 

A. 10. The more we grow in grace, the 
more we shall flourish in glory. Though 
every vessel of glory shall be full, yet some 
vessels hold more ; he whose pound gained 
ten, was made ruler over ten cities, Luke 
xix. 17. Such as do not grow much, though 
they do not lose their glory, yet they lessen 
their glory. If any shall follow the Lamb 
in whiter and larger robes of glory than 
others, they shall be such as have shone most 
in grace here. 

Use. Lament we may the want of growth 
religion in many is grown only into a form 
and profession ; this is to grow in leaves, not 
in fruit. Many Christians are like a body in 
atrophy, which doth not thrive ; they are not 
nourished by the sermons they hear ; like the 
angels who assumed bodies, they did eat, but 
did not grow. It is very suspicious where 
there is no growth, there wants a vital prin- 



ciple. Some, instead of growing better, 
grow worse ; they grow more earthly, more 
profane, 2 Tim. iii. 13. Evil men proficient 
in pejus, — ' shall wax worse and worse.' 
Many grow hellward, — they grow past shame, 
Eph. ii. 3, 5— they are like some watered 
stuffs, which grow more rotten. 

Quest. 5. How shall we know whether 
we grow in grace 1 

Ans. For the deciding of this question, I 
shall, First, Show the signs of our not grow- 
ing ; Secondly, Of our growing. 

1st. The signs of our not growing in grace, 
but rather falling into a spiritual consump- 
tion. 

Sign 1. When we have lost our spiritual 
appetite. A consumptive person hath not 
that stomach to his meat as formerly. Per- 
haps, Christian, thou canst remember the 
time when thou didst hunger and thirst after 
righteousness, thou didst come to the ordi- 
nances with such a stomach as to a feast, 
but now it is otherwise, Christ is not so 
prized, nor his ordinances so loved : a sad 
presage, grace is on the declining hand, — 
thou art in a deep consumption. A sign 
David was near his grave, when he covered 
him with clothes, and got no heat, 1 Kings i. 
1 : so, when a person is plied with hot 
clothes, I mean ordinances, yet he hath no 
heat of affection to spiritual things, this is a 
sign he is declining in grace. 

Sign 2. When we grow more worldly. 
Perhaps once we were mounted into higher 
orbs, — we did set our hearts on things above, 
and speak the language of Canaan,— but now 
our minds are taken off heaven, we dig our 
comfort out of these lower mines, and with 
Satan compass the earth : a sign we are 
going down the hill apace, and our grace is 
in a consumption. It is observable when 
nature decays, and people are near dying, 
they grow more stooping : and truly, when 
men's hearts grow more stooping to the 
earth, and they can hardly lift up themselves 
to a heavenly thought, if grace be not dead, 
yet it is ready to die, Rev. iii. 2. 

Sign 3. When we are less troubled about 
sin. Time was when the least sin did 
grieve us, as the least hair makes the eye 
weep : but now we can digest sin without 



OF GROWTH IN GRACE. 



185 



remorse. Time was when a Christian was 
troubled if he neglected closet-prayer : now 
he can omit family. prayer. Time was when 
vain thoughts did trouble him : now he is not 
troubled for loose practices. Here is a sad 
declension in religion ; and truly grace is so 
far from growing, that we can hardly per- 
ceive its pulse to beat. 

2dly. The signs of our growing in grace. 

Sign 1. The first sign of our growing is 
when we* are got beyond our former mea- 
sures of grace : a sign a child thrives, when 
he hath outgrown his clothes, his clothes are 
too little for him. That knowledge which 
would serve us before, will not serve us now, 
— we have a deeper insight into religion, — 
our light is clearer, — our spark of love is in- 
creased into a flame : there is a sign of growth. 
That competency of grace we once had, is too 
scanty for us ; we have outgrown ourselves. 

Sign 2. When we are more firmly rooted 
in religion, Col. ii. 7, Rooted in him, and es- 
tablished : the spreading of the root shows 
the growth of the tree. When we are so 
strongly fastened on Christ, that we cannot 
be blown down with the breath of heretics, a 
blessed sign of growth. Athanasius was call- 
ed Adamus ecclesice, an adamant that could 
not be removed from the love of the truth. 

Sign 3. The third sign of growth : when 
we have a more spiritual frame of heart. 
1st, We are more spiritual in our principles ; 
we oppose sin out of love to God, and as it 
strikes at his holiness. 2dly, We are more 
spiritual in our affections ; we grieve for the 
first rising of corruption, for the bubbling up 
of vain thoughts, the spring that runs under 
ground. We mourn not only for the penalty 
of sin, but the pollution ; it is not only a coal 
that burns, but blacks. Sdly, We are spiri- 
tual in the performance of duty ; we are more 
serious, reverent, fervent ; we have more life 
in prayer, we put fire to the sacrifice, Rom. 
xii. "Fervent in spirit." We serve God 
with more love, which ripens and mellows 
our duty, and makes it come off with a bet- 
ter relish. 

Sign 4. The fourth sign of growth : when 
grace gets ground by opposition. The fire, 
by an antiperistasis, burns hottest in the 
coldest season. Peter's courage increased 
2 A 



by the opposition of the high priest and the 
rulers, Acts iv. 8, 11. The martyrs' zeal 
was increased by persecution. Here was 
grace of the first magnitude. 

Quest. 6. What shall we do to grow in 
grace 7 

Ans. 1. Take heed of that which will hin- 
der its growth, — the love of any sin. The 
body may as well thrive in a fever, as grace 
can when any sin is cherished. 

A. 2. Use all means for growth in grace. 
1st, " Exercise yourselves to godliness," 1 
Tim. iv. 7. The body grows stronger by ex- 
ercise. Trading of money makes men grow 
rich ; the more we trade our faith in the pro- 
mises, the richer in faith we grow. 2dly, If 
you would be growing Christians, be humble 
Christians. It is observed in some countries, 
(as in France,) the best and largest grapes, 
which they make their wine of, grow on the 
lower sort of vines ; the humble saints grow 
most in grace, 1 Pet. v. 5, " God giveth grace to 
the humble." Sdly, Pray to God for spiritual 
growth. Some pray that they may grow in 
gifts. It is better to grow in grace than 
gifts ; gifts are for ornament, grace is for 
nourishment, — to edify others, to save our- 
selves. Some pray that they may grow rich, 
but a fruitful heart is better than a full 
purse. Pray that God would make you grow 
in grace, though it be by affliction, Heb. xii. 
10. The vine grows by pruning. God's 
pruning-knife is to make us grow more in 
grace. 

Quest. 7. How may we comfort such as 
complain they do not grow in grace 1 

Ans. They may mistake ; they may grow, 
when they think they do not, Prov. xiii. 7, 
"There is that maketh himself poor, yet 
he is rich." The sight Christians have of 
their defects in grace, and their thirst after 
greater measures of grace, makes them think 
they do not grow when they do. He who 
covets a great estate, because he hath not 
so much as he desires, therefore he thinks 
himself to be poor. Indeed Christians 
should seek after the grace they want, but 
they must not therefore overlook the grace 
they have. Let Christians be thankful for 
the least growth ; if you do not grow so 
much in assurance, bless God if you grow 



I Mi 



OF PERSEVERANCE. 



in sincerity ; if you do not grow so much 
in knowledge, bless God if you grow in 
humility 



If a tree grows in the root, it is 



a true growth; if you grow in the root- 
grace of humility, it is as needful for you as 
any other growth. 



OF PERSEVERANCE. 



1 Pet. i. Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation. 



The fifth and last fruit of sanctification is 
perseverance in grace. The heavenly in- 
heritance is kept for the saints, 1 Pet. i. 4 ; 
and they are kept to the inheritance ; in my 
text, " Who are kept by the power of God 
through faith unto salvation." The apostle 
asserts a saint's stability and permanency in 
grace. The saints' perseverance is much 
oppugned by Papists and Arminians ; but it 
is not the less true because it is opposed. A 
Christian's main comfort depends upon this 
doctrine of perseverance ; take away this, 
and you much prejudice religion, and cut the 
sinews of all cheerful endeavours. Before I 
come to the full handling and discussing this 
great point, let me first clear the sense of it, 
which I shall do by way of concession or grant. 

When I say, believers do persevere : 1st, I 
grant that such as are so only in profession, 
may fall away, 2 Tim. iv. 10, " Demas hath 
forsaken me." Blazing comets soon evapo- 
rate. A building on sand will fall, Mat. vii 
20, Seeming grace may be lost. No wonder 
to see a bough fall from a tree that is only 
tied on ! Hypocrites are only tied on Christ 
by an external profession, they are not in- 
grafted. Who ever thought artificial mo- 
tions would hold long? The hypocrite's 
motion is only artificial, not vital. All blos- 
soms do not ripen into fruit. 

2(%, I grant that, if believers were left to 
stand upon their own legs, they might fall 
finally. Some of the angels, who were stars 
full of light and glory, yet did actually lose 
their grace; and if those pure angels fell 
from grace, much more would the godly, 
who have so much sin to betray them, if 
they were not upheld by a superior power. 

Zdly, I grant, true believers, though they 
do not fall away actually, and lose all their 
grace, yet their grace may fail in the degree, 



and they may make a great breach upon their 
sanctification. Grace maybe moritura, non 
mortua, — ' dying, but not dead,' Rev. iii. 2, 
Strengthen the things which are ready to 
die." Grace may be like fire in the embers : 
though not quenched, yet the flame is gone 
out. This decay of grace 1 shall show in two 
particulars. 1. The lively actings of grace 
may be suspended, Rev. ii. 4, " Thou hast left 
thy first love." Grace may be like a sleepy 
habit ; the godly may act faintly in religion, 
— the pulse of their afFections may beat low. 
The wise virgins slumbered, Mat. xxv. 5. The 
exercise of grace may be hindered ; as when 
the course of water is stopped, and doth not 
run. 2. Instead of grace exercising in the 
godly, corruption may exercise, — instead of 
patience, murmuring, — instead of heavenli- 
ness, earthliness. How did pride put forth 
itself in the disciples when they strove who 
should be the greatest ! How did lust put forth 
itself in David ! Thus lively and vigorous may 
corruption be in the regenerate ; they may fall 
into enormous sins. But though all this be 
granted, yet they do not, penitus exeidere, — 
fall away finally from grace. David did not 
quite lose his grace ; for then, why did he 
pray, " Take not away thy Holy Spirit from 
me ?" He had not quite lost the Spirit. As 
Eutychus, when he fell from a window, Acts 
xx., and all thought he was dead : No, saith 
Paul, "his life is in him." So David fell 
foully, but there was the life of grace in 
him. Though the saints may come to that 
pass, they have but little faith, yet not to 
have no faith ; though their grace may be 
drawn low, yet not drawn dry; though 
grace may be abated, not abolished ; though 
the wise virgins slumbered, yet their lamps 
were not quite gone out. Grace, when it 
is at the lowest, shall revive and flourish; 



OF PERSEVERANCE. 



187 



as when Samson had lost his strength, his 
hair grew again, and he renewed his strength. 
Having thus explained the proposition, I 
come now to the amplifying this great doc- 
trine of the saints' perseverance. 

Quest. 1. By what means do Christians 
come to persevere ? 

Ans. 1. By the manuduction and help of 
ordinances, prayer, word, sacraments. Chris- 
tians do not arrive at perseverance when 
they sit still and do nothing. It is not with 
us as with passengers in a ship, who are car- 
ried to the end of their voyage, and they sit 
still in the ship ; or, as it is with noblemen, 
who have their rents brought in without their 
toil or labour ; but we arrive at salvation in 
the use of means, — as a man comes to the 
end of a race by running, — to a victory by 
fighting, Matt. xxvi. 41, " Watch and pray." 
As Paul said, Acts xxvii. 31, " Except ye 
abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved." Be- 
lievers shall come to shore at last, — arrive at 
heaven ; but " except they abide in the ship," 
viz. in the use of ordinances, " they cannot 
be saved." The ordinances cherish grace ; 
as they beget grace, so they are the breast- 
milk by which it is nourished and preserved 
to eternity. 

A. 2. Auxilio spiritus, — by the sacred in- 
fluence and concurrence of the Spirit. The 
Spirit of God is continually at work in the 
heart of a believer to carry on grace to per- 
severance ; it drops in fresh oil to keep the 
lamp of grace burning. The Spirit excites, 
strengthens, increaseth grace, and makes a 
Christian go from one step of faith to another, 
till he comes to the end of his -faith, salva- 
tion, 1 Pet. i. 9. It is a fine expression of 
the apostle, 2 Tim. i. 14, " The Holy Ghost 
which dwelleth in us." He who dwells in a 
house, keeps the house in repair : the Spirit 
dwelling in a believer, keeps grace in repair. 
Grace is compared to a river of the water of 
life, John vii. 38. This river can never be 
dried up, because God's Spirit is a spring 
which continually feeds it. 

A. 3. Grace is carried on to perseverance, 
by Christ's daily intercession. As the Spirit 
is at work in the heart, so is Christ at work 
in heaven. Christ is ever praying that the 
saint's grace may hold out, John xvii. 11, 



Conserva illos, — Father, " keep those whom 
thou hast given me," — keep them as the stars 
in their orbs, — keep them as jewels, that they 
may not be lost. " Father keep them." That 
prayer Christ made for Peter, was the copy of 
his prayer he now makes for believers, Luke 
xxii. 32, " I have prayed for thee, that thy 
faith fail not," that it be not totally eclipsed ; 
how can the children of such prayers perish 1 

Quest. 2. By what arguments may we 
prove the saints' perseverance ? 

Ans. 1. A veritate Dei, — 'from the truth 
of God.' God hath both asserted it, and pro- 
mised it: 1. God hath asserted it, 1 John ii. 
9, " His seed remaineth in him." 1 John ii. 
27, " The anointing ye have received of him 
abideth in you." — 2. As God hath asserted 
it, so he hath promised it : the truth of God, 
the most orient pearl of his crown, is laid a 
pawn in the promise, John x. 28, " I will 
give unto them eternal life, and they shall 
never perish." Jer. xxxii. 40, " I will make 
an everlasting covenant with them, that I 
will not turn away from them to do them 
good, but I will put my fear in their hearts, 
that they shall not depart from me." God 
will so love his people that he will not for- 
sake them ; and they shall so fear him, that 
they shall not forsake him. If a believer 
should not persevere, God should break his 
promise, Hos. ii. 19, " I will betroth thee 
unto me for ever, in righteousness and loving- 
kindness." God doth not marry his people 
unto himself, and then divorce them ; he 
hates putting away, Mai. ii. 16. God's love 
ties the marriage-knot so fast that neither 
death nor hell can break it asunder. 

2. The second argument is, a potentia Dei, 
— from the power of God. In the text, we 
" are kept by the power of God unto salva- 
tion." Every person in the Trinity hath a 
hand in making a believer persevere. God 
the Father establisheth, 1 Cor. i. 21. God 
the Son confirms, 1 Cor. i. 8. God the Holy 
Ghost seals, Eph. i. 13 ; so that it is the 
power of God that keeps us. Alas, we are 
not kept by our own power ! The Pelagians 
held, that man, by his own power, might 
overcome temptation and persevere. But St 
Austin confutes them. "Man," saith he, 
"prays unto God for perseverance, which 



1HS 



OF PERSEVERANCE. 



would be absurd, if he had power of himself 
to persevere." And, saith St Austin, "if all 
the power be inherent in a man's self, then 
why should not one persevere as well as an- 
other / Why not Judas as well as Peter?" 
So that it is not by any other than the power 
of God that we are kept. As the Lord pre- 
served Israel from perishing in the wilder- 
ness, till he brought them to Canaan: the 
same care will he take, if not in a miraculous 
manner, yet in a spiritual invisible manner, in 
preserving his people in a state of grace, till 
he bring them to the celestial Canaan. As 
the heathens feigned of Atlas, that he did 
bear up the heavens from falling, the power 
of God is that Atlas which bears up the saints 
from falling. It is disputed, whether grace 
of itself may not perish, as Adam's ; yet sure 
I am, grace kept by the power of God cannot 
perish. 

3. The third argument is taken ab elec- 
tione, — from God's electing love. Such as 
God hath from all eternity elected to glory 
cannot fall away finally ; but every true be- 
liever is elected to glory, therefore he cannot 
fall away. What can frustrate election, or 
make God's decree void? This argument 
stands like Mount Sion, which cannot be 
moved ; insomuch that some of the Papists 
hold, that those who have absolute election 
cannot fall away, 2 Tim. ii. 19, " The founda- 
tion of God standeth sure, having this seal, 
The Lord knoweth them that are his." The 
foundation of God is nothing else but God's 
decree in election ; and this stands sure, God 
will not alter it, others cannot. 

4. The fourth argument is taken, ab unione 
run, ( 'hristo,— from believers' union with 
Christ. They are knit to Christ, as the 
members to the head, by the nerves and liga- 
ments of faith, so that they cannot be broken 
Off, Eph. iii. What was once said of Christ's 
natural body, is true of his mystical " A 
bone of it shall not be broken." As it is not 
possible to sever the leaven and the dough 
when they are once mingled and kneaded 
together, so it is impossible, when Christ 
and believers are once united, ever to be 
separated : Christ and his members make 
one ody. Now, is it possible that any part 
of Chnrt should perish? How can Christ 



lose any member of his body mystical, and 
be perfect ? In short, Si unus excidat quare 
non et alter 1 If one believer may be broken 
off from Christ, then, by the same rule, why 
not another? Why not all? And so Christ 
should be a head without a body. 

5. The fifth argument is taken ab emp- 
tione, — from the nature of a purchase. A 
man will not lay down his money for a pur- 
chase which may be lost, and the fee-simple 
alienated. Christ died, that he might pur- 
chase us as a people to himself for ever, 
Heb. ix. 12, "Having obtained eternal re- 
demption for us." Would Christ, think 
ye, have shed his blood that we might be- 
lieve in him for a while, and then fall 
away? Do we think Christ will lose his 
purchase ? 

6. The sixth argument is, a victoria supra 
mundum, — from a believer's 1 victory over 
the world.' The argument stands thus : He 
who overcomes the world, doth persevere in 
grace; but a believer doth overcome the 
world, therefore he perseveres in grace, 
1 John v. 4, " This is the victory that over- 
cometh the world, even our faith." A man 
may lose a single battle in the field, yet at 
last win the victory. A child of God may 
be foiled in a single battle against tempta- 
tion (as Peter was) but at last he is victori- 
ous. Now, if a saint be crowned victor,— if 
the world be conquered by him, — he must 
needs persevere. I come next to answer 
some objections of the Arminians. 

1st, The first objection of Arminians, is, 
If a believer shall persevere in grace, then, 
to what purpose are all those admonitions 
in scripture? "Let him take heed lest he 
fall," 1 Cor. x. 12. And Heb. iv. 1, " Let us 
fear, lest any of you seem to come short." 
These admonitions seem to be superfluous 
if a saint shall certainly per- 



and vain, 
severe. 

Ans. No, these counsels and admonitions 
necessary to caution believers against 
they are as goads and spurs 
a greater diligence in 
working out their salvation. These admo- 
nitions do not imply the saints can fall 
away, but they are preservatives to keep 
them from falling away. Christ told some 



are 

carelessness 
to quicken them to 



OF PERSEVERANCE. 



189 



of his disciples, they should abide in him, yet 
he exhorts them to abide in him, John xv. 
His exhorting them was not in the least to 
question their abiding in him, but to awaken 
their diligence, and make them pray the 
harder that they might abide in him. 

2dly, The second objection is, Heb. vi. 4, 
" It is impossible for those who were once 
enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly 
gift, and were made partakers of the Holy K 
Ghost, and have tasted the good work of 
God and the powers of the world to come, if 
they shall fall away, to renew them again 
unto repentance." 

Ans. This place of scripture hath no force 
in it, for the apostle here speaks of hypocrites. 
He shows how far they may go, yet fall 
away. 1. " They who were once enlighten- 
ed :" Men may have great illuminations, yet 
fall away. Was not Judas enlightened ? 2. 
They have been made " partakers of the 
Holy Ghost," — the common gifts of the Spi- 
rit, not the special grace. 3. They have 
" tasted the good word of God." Tasting 
here is opposed to eating ; the hypocrite 



may have a kind of taste of the sweetness 
of religion, but his taste doth not nourish. 
There is a great deal of difference between 
one that takes a gargle and a cordial : the 
gargle only washeth his mouth, — he tastes it, 
and puts it out again, — but a cordial is drunk 
down which nourisheth and cherisheth the 
spirits. The hypocrite, who hath only some 
smack or taste of religion (as one tastes a 
gargle), may fall away. 4. And have felt 
" the powers of the world to come :" that is, 
they may have such apprehensions of the 
glory of heaven, as to be affected with it, 
and seem to have some joy in the thoughts 
of it, yet fall away : as in the parable of the 
stony ground, Matt. xiii. 20. All this is 
spoken of the hypocrite ; but it doth not 
therefore prove, that the true believer, who 
is effectually wrought upon, can fall away. 
Though meteors fall, it doth not therefore 
follow, that true stars fall. /That this scrip- 
ture speaks not of sound believers, is clear 
from ver. 9, " But we are persuaded better 
things of you, and things that accompany 
salvation." 



OF PERSEVERANCE. 



1 Pet. i. 5. Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation. 



Use 1st. See the excellency of grace, it 
perseveres : other things are but for a season, 
— health and riches are sweet, but they are 
but for a season, — but grace is a blossom of 
eternity. The seed of God remains, 1 John 
iii. 9. Grace may suffer an eclipse, not a 
dissolution. It is called substance, for its 
solidity, Prov. viii. 21 ; and durable riches, 
for its permanency, Prov. viii. 18. It lasts 
as long as the soul, — as heaven lasts. Grace 
is not like a lease which soon expires, but it 
runs parallel with eternity. 

Branch 2. See here that which may excite 
in the saints everlasting love and gratitude to 
God. What can make us love God more 
than the fixedness of his love to us 1 He is 
not only the author of grace, but finisher ; 
his love is perpetuated and carried on to our 
salvation, John x. 27, " My sheep hear my 



voice, and I know them, and they follow me : 
and I give unto them eternal life." " My 
sheep," there is election ; " hear my voice," 
there is vocation ; " and I know them," 
there is justification ; " and I give unto them 
eternal life," there is glorification, How 
may this make us love God, and set up the 
monuments and trophies of his praise ! How 
much have we done to cause God to with- 
draw his Spirit, and suffer us to fall finally ! 
yet that he should keep us, let his name 
be blessed, and his memorial eternized, who 
keepeth the feet of his saints, 1 Sam. ii. 9. 

Branch 3. See whence it is that saints do 
persevere in holiness : it is solely to be 
ascribed to the power of God. We are kept 
by his power, — kept as in a garrison. It 
is a wonder any Christian perseveres, if you 
consider, — 1. Corruption within. The tares 



190 



OF PERSEVERANCE. 



arc mingled with the wheat,— there is more 
sin than grace,— yet grace is habitually pre- 
dominant. Grace is like a spark in the sea, 
I wonder it is not quenched,— a wonder sin 
doth not destroy grace ; that it doth not do, 
as sometimes the nurse to the infant, over- 
lay it, and it dies ; so that this infant of 
grace is not smothered by corruption. 2. 
Temptations without. Satan envies us hap- 
piness, and he raiseth his militia, stirs up 
persecution ; he shoots his fiery darts of 
temptations ; they are called darts for their 
swiftness, fiery for their terribleness. We 
are every day beset with devils ; as it was a 
wonder Daniel was kept alive in the midst of 
the roaring lions : so, that there are many 
roaring devils about us, and yet we are not 
torn in pieces. Now, whence is it we stand 
against these powerful temptations ? We 
are kept by the power of God. 3. The 
world's golden snares, riches and pleasure. 
Luke xviii. 24, " How hardly shall they that 
have riches enter into the kingdom of God ?" 
How many have been cast away upon these 
golden sands, 2 Tim. iv. 10, as Demas ? 
What a wonder any soul perseveres in re- 
ligion, that the earth doth not choke the 
fire of all good affections 1 Whence is this 
but from the power of God 1 We are kept 
by his power. 

Use 2d. Consolation. , This doctrine of 
perseverance is as a Bezoar stone ; it is a 
sovereign cordial to keep up the spirits of 
the godly from fainting. There is nothing 
doth more trouble a child of God than this, 
he fears he shall never hold out ; these weak 
legs of mine will never carry me to heaven. 
But perseverance is an inseparable fruit of 
sanctification. Once in Christ, and for ever 
in Christ. A believer may fall from some 
degrees of grace, but not from the state of 
grace ; an Israelite could never wholly sell or 
alienate his land of inheritance, Luke xv. 
-i.'i. A type of our heavenly inheritance, 
which cannot be wholly alienated from us. 
How despairing is the Arminian doctrine of 
falling from grace 1 To-day a saint,— to- 
morrow a reprobate ; to-day a Peter,— to- 
morrow a Judas. This must needs cut the 
sinews of a Christian's endeavour, and be as 
the boring a hole in the vessel, to make all 



the wine of his joy run out. Were the Ar- 
minian doctrine true, how could the apostle 
say, the seed of God remains in him, 1 John 
iii. 9, and the anointing of God abides 1 ? 
1 John ii. 27. What comfort were it to 
have one's name written in the book of life, 
if it might be blotted out again? But, be 
assured, for your comfort, grace, if true, 
though never so weak, shall persevere ; 
though a Christian hath but little grace to 
trade with, yet he need not fear breaking, 
because God doth not only give him a stock 
of grace, but will keep his stock for him. 
Gratia concutitur, non excutitur, Aug. 
Grace may be shaken with fears and doubts, 
but it cannot be plucked up by the roots. 
Fear not falling away. If any thing should 
hinder the saints' perseverance, then it must 
be either sin or temptation ; but neither of 
these. 1. Not the sin of believers. That 
which humbles them shall not damn them ; 
but their sins are a mean to humble them, 
they gather grapes off thorns ; from the thorn 
of sin they gather the grape of humility. 2. 
Not temptation. The devil lays the train of 
his temptation to blow up the fort of a saint's 
grace : but this cannot do it. Temptation is 
a medicine for security ; the more Satan 
tempts, the more the saints pray. When 
Paul had the messenger of Satan to buffet 
him, 2 Cor. xii. 8, " For this I besought the 
Lord thrice that it might depart from me." 
Thus nothing can break off a believer from 
Christ, or hinder his perseverance. Let this 
wine be given to such as are of a heavy 
heart : this perseverance is comfort. 1. In 
the loss of worldly comforts. When our 
goods may be taken away, our grace cannot, 
Luke x. 42, " Mary hath chosen the better 
part which cannot be taken from her." 2. 
In the hour of death. When all things fail, 
friends take their farewell of us, yet still 
grace remains. Death may separate all 
things else from us but grace : a Christian 
may say on his deathbed, as Olevan, once, 
" Sight is gone,— speech and hearing are de- 
parting,— but the loving-kindness of God will 
never depart." 

Quest. 1. What motives and incentives 
are there to make Christians persevere ? 

Ans. 1. It is the crown and glory of a 



OF PERSEVERANCE. 



191 



Christian to persevere, In Christianis non 
initia sed fide laudantur. Prov. xvi. 31, 
" The hoary head is a crown of glory, if 
found in the way of righteousness." When 
gray hairs shine with golden virtues, this is a 
crown of glory. The church of Thyatira 
was best at last, Rev. ii. 19, " I know thy 
patience and thy works, and the last to be 
more than the first." The excellency of a 
building is not in having the first stone laid, 
but when it is finished. The glory and excel- 
lency of a Christian is, when he hath finished 
the work of faith. 

A. 2. You are within a few days' march of 
heaven. Salvation is near to you, Rom. xiii. 
11, "Now is our salvation nearer than when 
we believed." Christians, it is but a little 
while and you will have done weeping and 
praying, and be triumphing ; you shall put off 
your mourning, and put on white robes ; you 
shall put off your armour, and put on a victo- 
rious crown ; you who have made a good pro- 
gress in religion, you are almost ready to 
commence and take your degree of glory ; 
now is your salvation nearer than when you 
began to believe. When a man is almost at 
the end of a race, will he now tire, or faint 
away ] O labour to persevere, — your salva- 
tion is now nearer, — you have but a little 
way to go, and you will set your foot in 
heaven ! Though the way be up-hill and 
full of thorns, viz. sufferings, yet you have 
gone the greatest part of your way, and short- 
ly you shall rest from your labours. 

A. 3. How sad is it not to persevere in 
holiness 1 You expose yourselves to the re- 
proaches of men, and the rebukes of God. 
First, to the reproaches of men. They will 
deride both you and your profession, Luke 
xiv. 30, " This man began to build, and was 
not able to finish." Such is he who begins 
in religion, and does not persevere : he is the 
ludibrium, and derision of all. Secondly, to 
the rebukes of God. God is most severe 
against such as fall of, because they bring an 
evil report upon religion. Apostacy breeds 
a bitter worm in conscience ; what a worm 
did Spira feel ! And it brings swift damna- 
tion ; it is a drawing back to perdition, Heb. 
x. 39. God will make his sword drunk with 
the blood of apostates. 



A. 4. The promises of mercy are annexed 
only to perseverance, Rev. iii. 5, " He that 
overcometh, shall be clothed in white rai- 
ment, and 1 will not blot out his name out of 
the book of life," Nonpugnanti sedvincenti 
daubitur corona, Aug. The promise is not 
to him that fights, but that overcomes, Luke 
xxii. 28, " Ye are they which have continued 
with me, and I appoint unto you a kingdom." 
The promise of a kingdom, saith Chrysostom, 
is not made to them that heard Christ or fol- 
lowed him, but that continued with him. 
Perseverance carries away the garland ; no 
man hath the crown set upon his head, but he 
who holds out to the end of the race. O 
therefore, by all this, be persuaded to perse- 
vere ! God makes no account of such as do 
not persevere. Who esteems of corn that 
sheds before harvest, or fruit that falls from 
the tree before it be ripe 1 

Quest. 2. What expedients or means may 
be used for a Christian's perseverance? 

Ans. 1. Take heed of those things which 
will make you desist and fall away. 1st, 
Take heed of presumption. Do not presume 
upon your own strength ; exercise a holy 
fear and jealousy over your own hearts, Rom. 
xi. 20, " Be not high-minded, but fear," 1 
Cor. x. 12, " Let him that thinketh he stand- 
eth, take heed lest he fall." It was Peter's 
sin, he leaned more upon his grace than upon 
Christ, and then he fell. A Christian hath 
cause to fear lest the lust and deceit of his 
heart betray him ; take heed of presuming $ 
fear begets prayer, — prayer begets strength, 
and strength begets steadiness. 2dly, Take 
heed of hypocrisy. Judas was first a sly hy- 
pocrite, and then a traitor, Ps. Ixxviii. 37*. 
" Their heart was not right with God, nei- 
ther were they steadfast in his covenant." If 
there be any venom or malignity in the blood, 
it will break forth into a plague-sore. The 
venom of hypocrisy is in danger of breaking 
out into the plague-sore of scandal. 3dly, 
Beware of a vile heart of unbelief, Heb. iii.. 
12, " Take heed lest there be in any of you< 
an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from 
the living God." Whence is apostacy but 
from incredulity % Men do not believe the 
truth, and then they fall from the truth. 
Unbelieving and unstable go together, Ps. 



OF PERSEVERANCE. 



Ixxviii. 22, "They believed not in God;" 
ver. 41, " They turned back." 

A. 2. If you would be pillars in the temple 
of God, and persevere in sanctity, 

First, Look that you enter into religion 
upon a right ground ; be well grounded in the 
distinct knowledge of God ; you must know 
the love of the Father, the merit of the Son, 
and the efficacy of the Holy Ghost. Such as 
know not God aright, will by degrees fall off. 
The Samaritans sometimes sided with the 
Jews when they were in favour, but afterwards 
disclaimed all kindred with them, whenAnti- 
ochus persecuted the Jews ; and no wonder 
the Samaritans were no more fixed in reli- 
gion, if you consider what Christ saith of the 
Samaritans, John iv. 22, "Ye worship ye 
know not what ;" they were ignorant of the 
true God. Let your knowledge of God be 
clear, and serve him purely out of choice, 
and then you will persevere, Ps. cxix. 30,31, 
M I have chosen the way of truth, I have 
stuck unto thy testimonies." 

Secondly, Get a real work of grace in your 
heart, Heb. xiii. 9, " It is a good thing that 
the heart be established with grace." No- 
thing will hold out but grace ; it is only this 
anointing abides ; paint will fall off. Get a 
heart-changing work, 1 Cor. vi. 11, " But ye 
are washed, but ye are sanctified." Be not 
content with the baptism of water, without 
baptism of the Spirit ; the reason men perse- 
vere not in religion, is for want of a vital 
principle ; a branch must needs wither, that 
hath no root to grow upon. 

Thirdly, If you would persevere, be very 
sincere. Perseverance grows only upon the 
root of sincerity, Ps. xxv. 21, » Let integrity 
and uprightness preserve me." The breast- 
plate of sincerity can never be shot through. 
How many storms was Job in ? the devil set 
against him,— his wife tempted him to curse 
God,— his friends accused him of being a hy- 
pocrite,— here was enough, one would think-, 
to have made him to desist from religion : yet 
for all this, he perseveres. What preserved 
him 1 It was his sincerity, Job xxvii. 6, " My 
righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it 
go ; my heart shall not reproach me so lon ff 
as I live." S 

Fourthly, If you would persevere, be hum- 
ble, St Chrysostom calls humility the mo- 



ther of all the graces. God lets a poor, hum- 
ble Christian stand, when others of higher 
parts, and who have higher thoughts of them- 
selves, fall off by apostacy. They are likest 
to persevere, whom God will give most grace 
to : " But he gives grace to the humble," 1 
Pet. v. 5. They are likest to persevere, who 
have God dwelling in them : But God dwells 
in the humble soul, Isa. lvii. 15. Non requi- 
escet Spiritus Sanctus nisi super humilem, 
Bern. The lower the tree roots in the earth, 
the firmer it is ; the more the soul is rooted , 
in humility, the more established it is, and is ' 
in less danger of falling away. 

Fifthly, Would you persevere, cherish the 
grace of faith. Faith doth stabilere animum, 
2 Cor. i. 24, " By faith ye stand." 1. Faith 
knits us to Christ, as the members are knit 
to the head by nerves and sinews. 2. Faith 
fills us with love to God, — it works by love, 
Gal. v. 6 ; and he who loves God, will ra- 
ther die than desert him. The soldier who 
loves his general, will die in his service. 
8. Faith gives us a prospect of heaven, it 
shows an invisible glory ; and he who hath 
Christ in his heart, and a crown in his eye, 
will not faint away. O cherish faith ! Keep 
your faith, and your faith will keep you ; 
while the pilot keeps his ship, his ship keeps 
him. 

Sixthly, Would we persevere, let us seek 
God's power to help us ; we are kept by the 
power of God. The child is safest when it 
is held in .the nurse's arms ; so are we, when 
we are held in the arms of free grace. It is 
not our holding God, but his holding us, pre- 
serves us. When a boat is tied to a rock, 
it is secure ; so when we are fast tied to the 
Rock of Ages, then we are impregnable. 
O engage God's power to help us to perse- 
vere ! We engage his power by prayer ; let 
us pray to him to keep us, Ps. xvii. 5, 
" Hold up my goings in thy path, that my 
footsteps slip not." It was a good prayer 
of Beza, Domine quod cepisti perfici, ne in 
portu naufragium accidat, — < Lord perfect 
what thou hast begun in me, that I may not 
suffer shipwreck when I am almost at the 
haven.' 

Seventhly, If you would persevere, set be- 
fore your eyes the noble examples of those 
who have persevered in religion. Quot mar- 



A BELIEVER'S PRIVILEGE AT DEATH. 



193 



tyres, quot jideles in cazlis,jam triumphant ? 
What a glorious army of saints and martyrs 
have gone before us ! How constant to the 
death was St Paul? Acts xxi. 13. How 
persevering in the faith were Ignatius, Po- 
lycarp, Athanasius 1 These were stars in 
their orbs, — pillars in the temple of God. 



Let us look on their zeal and courage, and be 
animated, Heb. xii. 1, " Seeing we also are 
compassed about with so great a cloud of 
witnesses, let us run with patience the race 
that is set before us." The crown is set at 
the end of the race ; if we win the race, we 
shall wear the crown. 



A BELIEVER'S PRIVILEGE AT DEATH. 



Phil. i. 21. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 



Saint Paul was a great admirer of Christ, 
— he desired to know nothing- but Christ and 
him crucified, 1 Cor. ii. 2. No medicine like 
the blood of Christ ; and in the text, " To me 
to live is Christ, and to die is gain." 

I. " For me to live is Christ." We must 
understand Paul of a spiritual life. " For 
me to live is Christ," i. e. Christ is my life : 
so Greg. Nyssen ; or thus, my life is made 
up of Christ ; as a wicked man's life is made 
up of sin, so Paul's life was made up of 
Christ, he was full of Christ. But that I 
may give you the sense of the text more 
fully, take it in these three particulars ; 

1. Christ is the principle of my life. 

2. Christ is the end of my life. 

3. Christ is the joy of my life. 

1. " For me to live is Christ," i. e. Christ 
is the principle of my life. I fetch my spiri- 
tual life from Christ, as the branch fetcheth 
its sap from the root, Gal. ii. 20, " Christ 
liveth in me." Jesus Christ is a head of 
influence ; he sends forth life and spirits 
into me, to quicken me to every holy action. 
Thus, " For me to live is Christ ;" Christ 
is the principle of my life ; from his ful- 
ness I live, as the vine-branch lives from the 
root. 

2. " For me to live is Christ," i. e. Christ 
is the end of my life, — I live not to myself 
but to Christ. So Grotius and Causabon, 
Christio servio. " For me to live is Christ :" 
all my living is to do service to Christ ; Rom. 
xiv. 8, "Whether we live, we live unto the 
Lord," when we lay out ourselves wholly 
for Christ. As the factor trades for the mer- 
chant, so we trade for Christ's interest, we 

2 B 



propagate his gospel : the design of our life 
is to exalt Christ, and make the crown upon 
his head nourish. Now, it may be said, 
" For us to live is Christ," — our whole life 
is a living to Christ. 

3. " For me to live is Christ," i. e. Christ 
is the joy of my life, Ps. xliii. 4, " God my 
exceeding joy," or the cream of my joy. A 
Christian rejoiceth in Christ's righteousness ; 
he can rejoice in Christ, when worldly joys 
are gone ; when the tulip in a garden withers, 
a man rejoiceth in his jewels : when rela- 
tions die, a saint can rejoice in Christ the 
pearl of price. In this sense, " For me to 
live is Christ," he is the joy of my life ; if 
Christ were gone, my life would be a death 
to me. 

Use. It should exhort us all to labour to 
say as the apostle, " For me to live is Christ." 
Christ is the principle of my life, the end of 
my life, the joy of my life. " For me to live 
is Christ ;" and then we may comfortably 
conclude, that to die shall be gain. 

II. And that brings me to the second part 
of the text, " And to die is gain." 

Doct. To a believer death is great gain. 
A saint can tell what his losses for Christ 
are, but he cannot tell how great his gains 
are at death, " To me to die is gain." Death 
to a believer is crepusculum gloria, — the 
day-break of eternal brightness. To show 
fully what a believer's gains are at death, 
were a task too great for an angel, — all hy- 
perboles fall short, — the reward of glory ex- 
ceeds our very faith : only let me give you 
some dark views and imperfect lineaments 
of that infinite glory the saints shall gain 



104 



A BELIEVER'S PRIVILEGE AT DEATH. 



at the hour of 
gain " 



death ; " To me to die is 



1. Believers at death shall gain a writ of 
ease from all sins and troubles ; they shall be 
in a state of impeccability. Sin expires with 
their life. I think sometimes what a happy 
state that will be, never to have a sinful 
thought more ; and they shall have a quietus 
est from their troubles. Here David cried 
out, " My life is spent with grief, and my 
years with sighing," Ps. xxxi. 10. Quid est 
diu vivere, nisi diu torqueri, Aug. Life 
begins with a cry, and ends with a groan ; 
but at death all troubles die. 

2. Believers at death shall gain the glo- 
rious sight of God. They shall see him, 1st, 
Intellectually with the eyes of their mind, 
which divines call the beatifical vision ; if 
there were not such an intellectual sight of 
God, how do the spirits of just men, made 
perfect, see him 1 — 2e%, They shall behold 
the glorified body of Jesus Christ ; and if it be 
pleasant to behold the sun, then how blessed 
a sight will it be to see Christ the Sun of 
Righteousness clothed with our human na- 
ture, shining in glory above the angels ] 
Through Christ's flesh, as through a trans- 
parent glass, some bright rays and beams of 
the Godhead shall display themselves to glo- 
rified eyes ; the sight of God through Christ 
will be very complacential and delightful ; the 
terror of God's essence will be taken away ; 
God's majesty will be mixed with beauty, and 
sweetened with clemency ; it will be infinite- 
ly delightful to the saints to see the amiable 
aspects and smiles of God's face. Which 
brings me to the third thing. 

3. The saints at death shall not only have 
a sight of God, but shall enjoy the love of 
God ; there shall be no more a veil on God's 
face, nor his smiles chequered with frowns, 
but God's love shall discover itself in all its 
orient beauty and fragrant sweetness. Here 
the saints pray for God's love, and they have 
a few drops, but there they shall have as much 
as their vessel can receive. To know this 
love that passeth knowledge, this will cause 
jubilation of spirit, and create such holy rap- 
tures of joy in the saints as are superlative, 
and would soon overwhelm them if God did 
not make them able to bear. 



4. Believers at death shall gain a celestial 
palace,— a house not made with hands, 2 Cor. 
v. 1. Here the saints are straitened for 
room, they have but mean cottages to live in, 
— but they shall have a royal palace to live 
in ; here is but their sojourning house, — 
there in heaven is their mansion-house, — a 
house built high above all the visible orbs, — 
a house bespangled with light, Col. i. 12, — 
enriched with pearls and precious stones, 
Rev. xxi. 19. And this is not their landlord's 
house, but their Father's house, John xiv. 2 ; 
and this house stands all upon consecrated 
ground ; it is set out by transparent glass to 
show the holiness of it, Rev. xxi. 27. 

5. Believers at death shall gain the sweet 
society of glorified saints and angels : this 
will add something to the felicity of heaven, 
as every star adds some lustre to the firma- 
ment. 1st, The society of the glorified saints; 
we shall see them in their souls, as well as 
in their bodies ; their bodies shall be so clear 
and bright, that we shall see their souls shin- 
ing through their bodies, as the wine through 
the glass ; and believers at death shall have 
converse with the saints glorified. And how 
delightful will that be, when they shall be 
freed from all their sinful corruptions, pride, 
envy, passion, censoriousness, which are 
scars upon them here to disfigure them 1 In 
heaven there shall be perfect love among 
the saints ; they shall, as the olive and myr- 
tle, sweetly embrace each other ; the saints 
shall know one another, as Luther speaks. 
If in the transfiguration Peter knew Moses 
and Elias, w r hom he never saw before, Matt, 
xvii. 3, then much more, in the glorified state, 
the saints shall perfectly know one another, 
though they never saw them before. 2dly, 
The saints at death shall behold the angels 
with the glorified eye of their understand- 
ing. The wings of the cherubim (repre- 
senting the angels) were made of fine gold 
to denote both their sanctity and splen- 
dour ; the angels are compared to lightning, 
Matt, xxviii. 3, because of those sparkling 
beams of majesty, which as lightning shoot 
from them, And when saints and angels 
shall meet and sing together in concert in the 
heavenly choir, what divine harmony, what 
joyful triumphs will it create ! 



A BELIEVER'S PRIVILEGE AT DEATH. 



195 



6. Believers at death shall gain perfection 
of holiness. Here grace was but in cunabuli, 
— in its cradle, very imperfect ; we cannot 
write a copy of holiness without blotting; 
believers are said to receive but primitias 
Spiritus, — 1 the first fruits of the Spirit,' 
Rom. viii. 22. But at death the saints shall 
arrive at perfection, — their knowledge clear, 
— their sanctity perfect, — their sun shall be 
in its full meridian splendour. They need 
not then pray for increase of grace ; they 
shall love God as much as they would love 
him, and as much as he desires to have them 
love him ; they shall be then, in respect of 
holiness, as the angels of God. 

7. At death the saints shall gain a royal 
magnificent feast. I told you before what a 
glorious palace they shall have ; but a man 
may starve in a house, if there be no cheer. 
The saints at death shall have a royal ban- 
quet, shadowed out in scripture by a mar- 
riage-supper, Rev. xix. 9. Bullinger and 
Gregory the Great understand by that mar- 
riage-supper of the Lamb, the stately, mag- 
nificent festival the saints shall have in hea- 
ven ; they shall feed on the tree of life, Rev. 
xxii. They shall have the heavenly nectar 
and ambrosia, — "the spiced wine, and the 
juice of the pomegranate," Cant. viii. 2. 
This royal supper of the Lamb will not only 
satisfy hunger but prevent it, Rev. vii. 16, 
" They shall hunger no more." Nor can 
there be any surfeit at this feast, because a 
fresh course will be continually serving; 
new and fresh delights will spring from God ; 
therefore the tree of life in paradise is said 
to bear twelve sorts of fruit, Rev. xxii. 2. 

8. Believers at death shall gain honour 
and dignity, they shall reign as kings ; there- 
fore we read of the ensigns of their royalty, 
their white robes and crowns celestial, 1 Tim. 
iv. 7. We read that the doors of the holy 
of holies were made " of palm-trees and open 
flowers, covered with gold," 1 Kings vi. 35 : 
an emblem of that victory and triumph, and 
that golden garland of honour wherewith 
God hath invested the saints glorified. When 
all worldly honour shall lie in the dust, — the 
mace, the star, the robe of ermine, the im- 
perial diadem, — then shall the saints' honour 
remain ; not one jewel shall be plucked out 



of their crown ; they shall gain at death a 
blessed eternity. If the saints could have 
the least suspicion or fear of losing their 
glory, it would much cool and imbitter their 
joy ; but their crown fadeth not away, 1 Pet. 
v. 4. As the wicked have a worm that never 
dies, so the elect have a crown that never 
fades. Ever, is a short word, but hath no 
ending. Injine erit gaudium sine fine, 
Bern. 2 Cor. iv. 18, " The things which 
are not seen are eternal." Ps. xvi. 11, "At 
thy right hand are pleasures for evermore." 
Who can span eternity'? Millions of ages 
stand but for cyphers in eternity. This is 
the elah, or highest strain of the saint's 
glory ; ever in Christ's bosom. 

Quest. How come the saints to have all 
this gain ? 

Ans. Believers have a right to all this gain 
at death upon divers accounts : by virtue of 
the Father's donation, — the Son's purchase, 
— the Holy Ghost's earnest, — and faith's 
acceptance. Therefore the state of future 
glory is called the saint's proper inheritance, 
Col. i. 12. They are heirs of God, and have 
a right to inherit. 

Use 1st. See the great difference between 
the death of the godly and the wicked ; the 
godly are gainers at death, the wicked are 
great losers at death. They lose four things : 

(1) . They lose the world, and that is a 
great loss to the wicked ; they laid up their 
treasure upon earth, and to be turned out of 
it all at once is a great loss. 

(2) . They lose their souls, Matt. xvi. 26, 
27. The soul was at first a noble piece of 
coin, which God stamped his own image 
upon ; this celestial spark is more precious 
than the whole globe of the world, but the 
sinner's soul is lost ; not that the souls of 
the wicked are annihilated at death, but 
damnified. 

(3) . They lose heaven. Heaven is sedes 
beatorum, — the royal seat of the blessed ; it 
is the region of happiness, the map of perfec- 
tion. There is that manna which is angels' 
food ; there is the garden of spices, the bed 
of perfumes, the river of pleasure. Sinners, 
at death, lose all this. 

(4) . They lose their hopes; for though 
they lived wickedly, yet they hoped God was 



190 



A BELIEVER'S PRIVILEGE AT DEATH. 



merciful, and they hoped that they should go 
to heaven. Their hope was not an anchor, 
but a spider's web. Now, at death they lose 
their hopes, they see they did but flatter 
themselves into hell, Job viii. 14, » Whose 
hope shall be cut off." That is sad, to have 
a man's life and his hope cut off together. 

Use 2d. If the saints gain such glorious 
things at death ; then how may they desire 
death] Doth not every one desire prefer- 
ment? Nemo ante funera felix. Faith 
gives a title to heaven, death a possession. 
Though we should be desirous of doing ser- 
vice here, yet we should be ambitious of be- 
ing with Christ, Phil. i. 23. We should be 
content to live, but willing to die. Is it not 
a blessed thing to be freed from sin, and to 
lie for ever in the bosom of divine love ] Is 
it not a blessed thing to meet our godly re- 
lations in heaven, and to be singing divine 
anthems of praise among the angels 1 Doth 
not the bride desire the marriage day, espe- 
cially if she were to be matched unto the 
crown 1 What is the place we now live in, 
but a place of banishment from God? We 
are in a wilderness, while the angels live at 
court. Here we are combating with Satan, 
and should not we desire to be out of the 
bloody field, where the bullets of temptation 
fly so fast, and to receive a victorious crown ] 
Think what it will be to have always a smil- 
ing aspect from Christ's face, — to be brought 
into the banqueting-house, and have the ban- 
ner of his love displayed over you ! O ye 



saints, desire death ; it is your ascension-day 
to heaven ! Egredere, anima egredere ! said 
Hilarion on his death-bed : " Go forth, my 
soul, what fearest thou ?" Another holy man 
said, " Lord, lead me to that glory which I 
have seen as through a glass ; haste, Lord, 
and do not tarry !" Some plants thrive best 
when they are transplanted : believers, when 
they are by death transplanted, cannot choose 
but thrive, because they have Christ's sweet 
sunbeams shining upon them. And what 
though the passage through the valley of the 
shadow of death be troublesome 1 who would 
not be willing to pass a tempestuous sea, if 
he were sure to be crowned so soon as he 
came to shore. 

Use 3d. Comfort in the loss of our dear 
and pious relations. They, when they die, 
are not only taken away from the evil to 
come, but they are great gainers by death, — 
they leave a wilderness, and go to a paradise, 
— they change their complaints into thanks- 
givings, — they leave their sorrows behind, 
and enter into the joy of their Lord. Why 
should we weep for their preferment 1 Be- 
lievers have not their portion paid till the 
day of their death : God's promise is his 
bond to make over heaven in reversion to 
them ; but though they have his bond, they 
do not receive their portion till the day of 
death. O rejoice to think of their happiness 
who die in the Lord ! To them " to die is 
gain ;" they are as rich as heaven can make 
them. 



A BELIEVER'S PRIVILEGE AT DEATH. 



Phil. i. 21. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 



Hope is a Christian's anchor which he 
casts within the veil, Rom. xii. 12, "Re- 
joicing in hope." A Christian's hope is not 
in this life, but he " hath hope in his death." 
Prov. xiv. 32. The best of a saint's com- 
fort begins when his life ends ; the wicked 
have all their heaven here, Luke vi. 24, 
" Wo unto you, rich, you have received 
your consolation." You may make your 
acquittance, and write, "Received in full 



payment ;" Luke xvi. 25, " Son, remember 
that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good 
things ;" but a saint's happiness is in rever- 
sion ; " The righteous hath hope in his 
death." God keeps the best wine till last. 
If Cato the heathen said, " To me to die is 
gain," he saw mortality to be a mercy : 
then, what may a believer say 1 Eccl. vii. 1, 
" The day of death is better than the day 
of one's birth." Nemo ante funera felix, 



A BELIEVER'S PRIVILEGE AT DEATH. 



197 



Solon. A queen of this land said, she pre- 
ferred her coffin before her cradle. 

Quest. 1. What benefits do believers 
receive at death ? 

Ans. 1. They have great immunities.— 2. 
Their bodies are united to Christ in the grave 
till the resurrection. — 3. They pass imme- 
diately into a state of glory. 

I. The saints at death have great immuni- 
ties and freedoms. An apprentice when out 
of his time is made free : when the saints are 
out of their time of living, then they are made 
free, — not made free till death. 1. At death 
they are freed from a body of sin. There are 
in the best reliquim peccati, — some remain- 
ders and relics of corruption, Rom. vii. 24, 
" O wretched man that I am, who shall de- 
liver me from this body of death?" By the 
body of death is meant the congeries, — the 
mass and lump of sin. It may well be called 
a body for its weightiness, and a body of 
death for its noisomeness. (1). It weighs 
us down ; sin hinders us from doing good. 
A Christian is like a bird that would be flying 
up, but hath a string tied to its legs to hinder 
it ; so he would be flying up to heaven with 
the wings of desire, but sin hinders him, Rom. 
vii. 15, " For what I would, that I do not." 
A Christian is like a ship that is under sail, 
and at anchor ; grace would sail forward, but 
sin is the anchor that holds it back. (2). 
Sin is more active in its sphere than grace. 
How stirring was lust in David, when his 
grace lay dormant ! (3). Sin sometimes gets 
the mastery and leads a saint captive, Rom. 
vii. 19, "The evil that I would not, that I do." 
Paul was like a man carried down the stream, 
and could not bear up against it. How oft is 
a child of God overpowered with pride and 
passion ! Therefore Paul calls sin, a law in 
his members, Rom. vii. 24 ; it binds as a law ; 
it hath a kind of jurisdiction over the soul as 
Csesar had over the senate. (4). Sin defiles 
the soul, — it is like a stain to beauty, — it 
turns the soul's azure brightness into sable. 
(5). Sin debilitates us, — it disarms us of our 
strength, 2 Sam. iii. 39, " I am this day weak, 
though anointed king :" so, though a saint be 
crowned with grace, yet he is weak, though 
anointed a spiritual king. (6). Sin is ever 
restless, Gal. v. 17, " The flesh lusts against 



the Spirit." It is an inmate that is always 
quarrelling ; like Marcellus, that Roman cap- 
tain, of whom Hannibal said, whether he did 
beat or was beaten, he would never be quiet. 
(7). Sin adheres to us, we cannot get rid of 
it ; it may be compared to a wild fig-tree 
growing on a wall, though the roots are pulled 
up, yet there are some fibres, some strings of 
it in the joints of the stone-work, which can- 
not be gotten out. (8). Sin mingles with 
our duties and graces ; we cannot write a 
copy of holiness without blotting. This 
makes a child of God weary of his life, and 
makes him water his couch with his tears, to 
think sin so strong a party, and he should 
often offend that God whom he loves ; this 
made Paul cry out Miser ego homo! ' O 
wretched man that 1 am !' Hence Paul did 
not cry out of his affliction, of his prison- 
chain, but of the body of sin. Now a believer 
at death shall be freed from sin ; he is not 
taken away in, but from his' sins ; he shall 
never have a vain, proud thought more ; he 
shall never grieve the spirit of God any more ; 
sin brought death into the wc rid, and death 
shall carry sin out of the world. The Per- 
sians had a certain day in the year in which 
they killed all serpents and venomous crea- 
tures : such a day will the day of death be to 
a believer, it will destroy all his sins, which, 
like so many serpents have stung him. Death 
smites a believer as the angel did Peter, he 
made his chains fall off, so death makes all 
the chains of sin fall off, Acts xii. 7. Be- 
lievers at death are made perfect in holiness, 
Heb. xii. 23, " The spirits of just men made 
perfect." At death the souls of believers 
recover their virgin purity. O what a blessed 
privilege is this, to be sine macula et ruga, — 
without spot or wrinkle, Eph. v. 27, — to be 
purer than the sunbeams, — to be as free from 
sin as the angels ! This makes a believer so 
desirous to have his pass to be gone ; he 
would fain live in that pure air where no 
black vapours of sin arise. 

2. At death the saints shall be freed from 
all the troubles and incumbrances to which 
this life is subject. " Sin is the seed sown, 
and trouble is the harvest reaped." Eurip. 
Life and trouble are married together ; there 
is more in life to wean us than to tempt us. 



196 



A BELIEVER'S PRIVILEGE AT DEATH. 



Parents divide a portion of sorrow to their 
children, and yet leave enough for themselves, 
Job v. 7, " Man is horn to trouble,"— he is 
heir to it,— it is his birthright,— you may as 
well separate weight from lead as trouble 
from the life of man, Quid est diu vivere, 
nisi diu torqueri ? Auo. King Henry's em- 
blem, a crown hung in a bush of thorns ; 
there is a far greater proportion of bitterness 
than pleasure in this life, Prov. vii. 17, " I 
have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes and 
cinnamon." For one sweet ingredient there 
were two bitter ; for the cinnamon, there 
were myrrh and aloes. A man's grace will 
not exempt him from troubles, Gen. xlvii. 9, 
" Few and evil have the days of the years of 
my life been." Though he was a godly pa- 
triarch, — though he had met with God, Gen. 
xxxii. 30,— he named "the name of the place 
Pcniel, for I have seen God face to face," 
— yet he had his troubles ; " Few and evil," 
&c. There are many things to imbitter life 
and cause trouble, and death frees us from all. 
— 1. Care. The mind is full of perplexed 
thoughts, how to bring about such a design, 
— how to prevent such an evil : the Greek 
word for care, comes from a primitive in the 
Greek, that signifies 'to cut the heart in 
pieces.' Care doth discruciate the mind, 
waste the spirits ; no such bitter bread as the 
bread of carefulness, Ezek. xii. 19. Care is a 
spiritual canker which eats out the comfort of 
life ; death is the cure of care.— 2. Fear. Fear 
is the ague of the soul which sets it a shak- 
ing ; 1 John iv. 18, "There is torment in 
fear." Fear is like Prometheus's vulture, it 
gnaws upon the heart. There is a mistrust- 
ful fear,— a fear of want ; and a distracting 
t.vir.— a fear of danger ; and a discouraging 
fear,— a fear God doth not love us. These 
fears leave sad impressions upon the mind ; 
now at death a believer is freed from these 
torturing fears ; he now knows he is passed 
from death to life ; he is as far from fear, as 
the damned are from hope ; the grave buries a 
Christian's fear.— 3. Labour, Eccl. i. 8, " All 
things are full of labour." Some labour in 
the mine ; others among the Muses ; God 
hath made a law, « In the sweat of thy face 
thou shalt eat bread," but death gives a be- 
liever a quietus est. ; it takes him off from his 
day-labour, Rev. xiv. 13, « Blessed are the 



dead that die in the Lord, they rest from their 
labours." What needs working when they 
have their reward? What needs fighting, 
when the crown is set on their head 1 They 
rest from their labours. — 4. Suffering. Be- 
lievers are as a lily among thorns ; as the 
dove among the birds of prey. The wicked 
have an antipathy against the righteous, and 
secret hatred will break forth into open vio- 
lence, Gal. iv. 29, " He that was born after the 
flesh, persecuted him that was born after the 
Spirit." The dragon is described with seven 
heads and ten horns, Rev. xii. 3. He plot- 
teth with the one, and pusheth with the other. 
But at death the godly shall be freed from 
the molestations of the wicked ; they shall 
never be pestered with these vermin more, 
Job iii. 17, " There (viz. in the grave) the 
wicked cease from troubling." Death doth 
to a believer, as Joseph of Arimathea did to 
Christ, it takes him down from the cross, and 
gives him a writ of ease ; the eagle that flies 
high, cannot be stung with the serpent ; death 
gives the soul the wings of the eagle, that it 
flies above all these venomous serpents here 
below.— 5. Temptation. Though Satan be a 
conquered enemy, yet he is a restless enemy, 
1 Pet. v. 8. He walketh about ; the devil is 
always going his diocese, he hath his snares 
and his darts ; one he tempts with riches, 
another with beauty. It is no small trouble 
to be continually followed with temptations ; 
it is as bad as for a virgin to have her chastity 
daily assaulted ; but death will free a child of 
God from temptation, he shall never be 
vexed more with the old serpent. After 
death hath shot its darts at us, the devil 
shall have done shooting his ; though grace 
puts a believer out of the devil's possession, 
only death frees him from the devil's tempta- 
tion.— 6. Sorrow. A Cloud of sorrow ga- 
thers in the heart, and drops into tears, Ps. 
xxxi. 10, « My life is spent with grief, and 
my years with sighing." It was a curse, 
Gen. iii. 16, " In sorrow thou shalt bring 
forth." Many things occasion sorrow ; sick- 
ness, law-suits, treachery of friends, dis- 
appointment of hopes, loss of estate, Ruth 
i- 20, " Call me not Naomi, call me Ma- 
ra:" " I went out full, and the Lord hath 
brought me home again empty." Sorrow 
is the evil spirit that haunts us ; the world 



A BELIEVER'S PRIVILEGE AT DEATH. 



199 



is a Bochim ; Rachel wept for her children ; 
some grieve that they have no children, and 
others grieve that their children are unduti- 
ful. Thus we spend our years with sighing; 
it is a valley of tears, but death is the funeral 
of all our sorrows, Rev. vii. 17, " And God 
shall wipe away all tears." Then Christ's 
spouse puts off her mourning ; how can the 
children of the bride-chamber mourn, when 
the bridegroom shall be with them 1 Matt. ix. 
15. Thus death gives a believer his quietus 
est ; it frees him from sin and trouble ; though 
the apostle calls death the last enemy, 1 Cor. 
xv. 11, yet it is the best friend : " To me to 
die is gain." 

Use 1st. See here that wliich may make a 
true saint willing to die ; death will set him 
out of gun-shot, — free him from sin and 
trouble ; there is no cause of weeping to 
leave a valley of tears ; the world is a stage 
on which sin and misery are acted. Be- 
lievers are here in a strange country, why 
then should they not be willing to go out of 
it 1 Death beats off their fetters of sin, and 
sets them free. Who goes weeping from a 
gaol? Besides our own sins, ,the sins of 
others. The world is a place where Satan's 
seat is ; a place where we see God daily dis- 
honoured. Lot — who was a bright star in a 
dark night — his righteous soul was vexed 
with the unclean conversation of the wicked, 
2 Pet. iii. 7. To see God's sabbaths broken, 
his truths adulterated, his glory eclipsed, is 
that which wounds a godly heart. This 
made David cry out, Ps. cxx. 5, " Wo is, me 
that I dwell in Mesech, that I sojourn in 
the tents of Kedar !" Kedar was Arabia, 
where were lshmael's posterity ; this was 
a cut to David's heart to dwell there. O 
then be willing to depart out of the tents of 
Kedar ! 

II. The bodies of believers are united to 
Christ in the grave, and shall rest there till 
the resurrection. They are said to sleep in 
Jesus, 1 Thess. iv. 14. The dust of believers 
is part of Christ's body mystical. The grave 



is a dormitory or place of rest to the saints, 
where their bodies quietly sleep in Christ, 
till they are awakened out of their sleep by 
the trumpet of the archangel. 

Quest. 2. But how shall we know that 
we shall gain all this at death, to be freed 
from sin and trouble, and to have our bodies 
united to Christ in the grave 1 

Ans. If we are believers, then we gain all 
this at death. " To me," saith Paul, " to 
die is gain :" to me, quatenus, a believer. 
Are we such ? Have we this blessed faith 1 
Faith, wherever it is, is operative. Lapida- 
ries say there is no precious stone but hath 
virtutem insitam, — some hidden virtue in it : 
so I may say of faith, it hath some secret 
virtue in it, — it anchors the soul on Christ, — 
it hath both a justifying and sanctifying vir- 
tue in it, — it fetcheth blood out of Christ's 
sides to pardon, and water out of his sides to 
purge, — it works by love, — it constrains to 
duty, — it makes the head study for Christ, 
the tongue confess him, the hands work for 
him. I have read of a father who had three 
sons, and, being to die, left in his will all his 
estate to that son who could find his ring 
with the jewel which had a healing virtue. 
The case was brought before the judges ; the 
two elder sons counterfeited a ring, but the 
younger son brought the true ring, which 
was proved by the virtue of it, whereupon 
his Father's estate went to him. To this 
ring I may compare faith : there is a counter- 
feit faith in the world, but if we can find this 
ring of faith which hath the healing virtue in 
it to purify the heart, this is the true faith 
which gives us an interest in Christ, and 
entitles us to all these privileges at death, 
to be freed from sin and sorrow, and to have 
our bodies united to Christ while they are in 
the grave. 

3. I should now come to the third privilege 
at death, the souls of believers pass imme- 
diately into glory. Where I shall lead you ; 
to the top of mount Pisgah, and give you a 
short view of the glory of heaven. 



A BELIEVER'S PRIVILEGE AT DEATH. 



A BELIEVER'S PRIVILEGE AT DEATH. 



Phil. i. 21. And to die is {rain. 



III. At death the souls of believers pass 
into glory. Death brings malorum omnium 
ademptionem, — omnium adeptionem ; death 
is the daybreak of eternal brightness. And 
here I shall lead you to the top of Mount Pis- 
gah, and give you a glimpse of the holy land. 

Quest. 1. What is comprehended in glory? 

Ans. Glory is status omnium bonorum 
aggregatione perfectus, Boetius. It is a 
perfect state of bliss which consists in the 
accumulation and heaping together all those 
good things which immortal souls are capable 
of. And truly here I am at a loss ; all that I 
can say falls short of the celestial glory ! 
Apelles's pencil cannot delineate it, — angels' 
tongues cannot express it, — we shall never 
understand glory fully, till we are in heaven, 
— only let me give you some dark views, 
and some imperfect lineaments of that state 
of glory saints shall arrive at after death. 

1. The first and most sublime part of the 
glory of heaven is the full and sweet fruition 
of God : ipse Deus sufjicit ad prcemium, 
Auo. We are apt to think the happiness of 
heaven is in being free from pain and misery, 
but the very quintessence of happiness, is the 
enjoyment and fruition of God ; this is the 
diamond ring of glory. God is an infinite 
inexhaustible fountain of joy; and to have 



men made perfect see God. This sight of 
God will be very glorious, as when a king 
on his coronation-day shows himself in all 
his royalty and magnificence. 

A. 2. We shall corporally behold the glori- 
fied body of Jesus Christ : and if it be a pleas- 
ant thing to behold the sun, Eccl. xi. 7, then, 
how blessed a sight will it be to behold the 
Sun of Righteousness, — to see Christ clothed 
in our human nature, sitting in glory above 
the angels ! Solomon saith, " the eye is not 
satisfied with seeing," Eccl. i. 8, but sure the 
eyes of saints will be satisfied with seeing 
that orient brightness which shall shine from 
the beautiful body of Christ. It must needs 
be satisfying, because through Christ's flesh 
some rays and beams of the Godhead shall 
gloriously display themselves. God's ex- 
cellent majesty would overwhelm us ; but 
through the veil of Christ's flesh we shall 
behold the divine glory. 

A. 3. Our seeing God will be transforming. 
We shall so see him as to be in some measure 
assimilated and changed into his image, 
1 John iii. 2, " We shall be like him." If, 
when Moses was with God on the mount, 
and had but some imperfect sight of his 
glory, < Moses' face shined,' Exod. xxxiv. 35, 
how shall the saints glorified shine, being 



him, is to have all. Now the enjoyment of I always in God's presence, and having some 



God implies three things 

1. It implies our seeing of God. 

2. Our loving of God. 

3. God's loving us. 

1st. The enjoying of God implies our see- 
ing of God, 1 John iii. 2, " We shall see him 
as he is :" Here we see him as he is not : 
mutable, mortal ; there as he is. 

Quest. 2. How shall we see God? 

Ans. 1. We shall see him intellectually, 
with the eyes of our mind. This divines call 
the beatifical vision : we shall have a full 
knowledge of God, though not know him 
fully. If there were not such an intellectual 
sight of God, then how do the spirits of just 



beams of his glory put upon them 1 " We 
shall be like him." One that is deformed, 
may look on beauty, and not be made beauti- 
ful ; but the saints shall so see God, as that 
sight shall transform them into his likeness, 
Ps. xvii. 15, "When I awake, I shall be 
satisfied with thy likeness." Not that the 
saints shall partake of God's essence : for as 
the iron in the fire is made fiery, yet remains 
iron still, so the saints, by beholding God's 
majesty, shall be made glorious creatures, 
but yet creatures still. 

A. 4. Our seeing of God in heaven will 
be unweariable. Let a man see the rarest 
sight that is, he will soon be cloyed ; when 



A BELIEVER'S PRIVILEGE AT DEATH. 



201 



he comes into a garden, and sees delicious 
walks, fair arbours, pleasant flowers, within 
a little while he grows weary, but it is not so 
in heaven, there is no surfeit, — ibi nec 
fames nec fastidium, Bern. The saints 
will never be weary of their prospect, viz. of 
seeing God ; for, God being infinite, there 
shall be every moment new and fresh delight 
springing from God into the souls of the glo- 
rified. 

2d. The second thing implied in our enjoy- 
ing God, is our loving of God. It is a saint's 
grief that his heart is like the frozen ocean, — 
that he can melt no more in love to God : 
but in heaven the saints shall be like sera- 
phims, burning in divine love ; love is a plea- 
sant affection ; " fear hath a torment in it," 
1 John iv. 18 ; love hath joy in it. To love 
beauty is delightful : God's amazing beauty 
will attract the saint's love, and it will be 
their heaven to love him. 

3d. The third thing implied in enjoying 
God, is God's loving us. Were there glory 
in God, yet, if there were not love, it would 
much eclipse the joys of heaven : but " God 
is love," 1 John iv. 16. The saints glorified 
cannot love so much as they are loved. What 
is their love to God's 1 What is their star to 
this sun ? God doth love his people on earth, 
when they are black as well as comely ; they 
have their imperfections ; O how entirely will 
he love them, when they are without " spot 
or wrinkle !" Eph. v. 27. 

1. This is the felicity of heaven, to be in 
the sweet embraces of God's love; to be 
the Hephzibah, — the delight of the King of 
Glory; to be sunning ourselves in the light 
of God's countenance. Then the saints 
shall know " the love of Christ which pass- 
eth knowledge," Eph. iii. 19. From this 
glorious manifestation of God's love, will 
flow infinite joy into the souls of the bless- 
ed : therefore heaven is called "entering 
into the joy of our Lord," Matt. xxv. 12. 
The seeing of God, the loving of God, and 
being beloved of God, will cause a jubila- 
tion of spirit, and create such holy raptures 
of joy in the saints, as is unspeakable and 
full of glory, 1 Pet. i. 8. In Deo quadam 
dulcidene delectatur anima, irao rapitur, 
Aug. Now the saints spend their years with 
2 C 



sighing, they weep over their sins and afflic- 
tions,^ — then their water shall be turned into 
wine,— -then the vessels of mercy shall be 
filled and run over with joy,— then they shall 
have their palm-branches and harps in their 
hands, Rev. xiv. 2, in token of their triumphs 
and rejoicing. 

2. The second thing comprehended in 
glory, is the good society there. First, There 
are the angels ; every star adds to the light, 
— those blessed cherubims will welcome us to 
paradise. If the angels rejoiced so at the 
conversion of the elect, how will they rejoice 
at their coronation ! Secondly, There is the 
company of the saints, Heb. xii. 23, " The 
spirits of the just men made perfect." 

Quest. 3. Whether shall the saints in 
glory know each other ? 

Ans. Certainly they shall ; for our know- 
ledge in heaven shall not be diminished but 
increased. We shall not only know our 
friends and godly relations, but those glori- 
fied saints which we never saw before ; it must 
be so ; for society without acquaintance is 
not comfortable, and of this opinion were St 
Austin, Anslem, Luther. And indeed the 
scripture seems to hint so much to us ; for, if 
Peter in the transfiguration knew Moses and 
Elias, whom he never saw before, Mat. xvii. 
4, then surely in heaven the saints shall know 
one another, and be infinitely delighted in 
each other's company. 

3. The third thing comprehended in glory, 
is perfection in holiness. Holiness is the 
beauty of God and angels ; it makes heaven ; 
what is happiness but the quintessence of 
holiness 1 Here a Christian's grace is imper- 
fect, he cannot write a copy of holiness 
without blotting. He is said to receive but 
primitias Spiritus, — the 4 first fruits of the 
Spirit,' grace in fieri, Rom. viii. 23 ; but at 
death believers shall arrive at perfection of 
grace ; then this sun shall be in its meridian 
splendour ; then shall they not need to pray 
for increase of grace, for they shall be as the 
angels, their light shall be clear as well as 
their joy full. 

4. The fourth thing in glory, is dignity and 
honour ; they shall reign as kings ; therefore 
the saints glorified are said to have their in- 
signia regalia, their ensigns of royalty, their 



209 



\ BELIEVER'S PRIVILEGE AT DEATH. 



white robes and their crown, 2 Tim. iv. 7. 
Cifsar, after his victories, in token of ho- 
nour, had a chair of ivory set for him in the 
senate, and a throne in the theatre ; the saints, 
ha\ mg obtained their victories over sin .and 
Satan, shall be enthroned with Christ in the 
empyrean heaven. To sit with Christ de- 
notes safety ; to sit on the throne, dignity, 
Ps. cxlix. 9, " This honour have all the 
saints." 

5. The fifth thing in glory, is the harmony 
and union among the heavenly inhabitants. 
The devil cannot got his cloven foot into hea- 
ven ; he cannot conjure up any storms of con- 
tent ion there; there shall be perfect union ; 
there Calvin and Luther are agreed; there is 
no jarring string in the heavenly music; there 
is nothing to make any difference, no pride 
or envy there. Though one star may differ 
from another, one may have a greater degree 
of glory, yet every vessel shall be full : there 
shall the saints and angels sit as olive-plants 
round about their Father's table in love and 
unity. Then shall they join together in con- 
cert,— then shall the loud anthems of praise 
be sung in the heavenly choir. 

6. The sixth thing in glory, is a blessed 
rest, Heb. iv. 9, " There remaineth therefore 
a rest." Felix transitus a labor e ad requiem. 
Here we can have no rest, tossed and turned 
as a bail on racket, 2 Cor. iv. 8, " We are 
troubled on every side." How can a ship rest 
m a storm I But after death the saints get 
into their haven. Every thing is quiet in the 
centre ; God is centrum quietativum animce, 
as the schoolmen, « the centre where the soul 
doth sweetly acquiesce." A Christian, after 
us weary marches and battles, shall put off 
his bloody armour, and rest himself upon the 
bosom of Jesus, that bed of perfume; when 
death hath g,ven the saints the win^s f a 
dove then they shall fly away to paradise 
and be at rest. 

7. The seventh thing in glory, is eternity, 

i "'• An et <™al weight of glory."- 

Cory is a weight: the Hebrew word for 
glory ( q uod signifies pondus) is a weight- 

doth not breed worms. If the saints' glory 
-heaven were but for a time, and they tve Z 



in fear of losing it, it would eclipse and em- 
bitter the joys of heaven ; but eternity is writ- 
ten upon their joys ; the garland made of 
flowers of paradise fades not, 1 Pet. v. 4. I 
have read of a river which they call the day- 
river, in which time it runs with a full tor- 
rent, but at night it is dried up ; such are all | 
earthly comforts, they run with a full stream 
all the day-time of life, but at the night of 
death they are dried up ; but the saints glori- 
fied shall drink of the rivers of pleasure for 
evermore, Ps. xvi. 11. Eternity is the 
heaven of heavens ; in fine gaudium erit sine 
fine, Bern. The joys of heaven as overflow- 
ing, so everflowing. 

Quest. 4. When do believers enter upon 
possession of glory ? 

Ans. They pass immediately after death 
into glory. Some hold, with the Platonists 
and Lucianists, that the soul dies ; but many 
of the sober heathens believed the soul's im- 
mortality. The Romans, when their great 
men died, caused an eagle to be let loose, and 
fly about in the air, signifying hereby that the 
soul was immortal, and did not die with the 
body. Christ tells us the soul is not capable 
of killing, Luke xii. 4, therefore not of dying. 
And as the soul doth not die, so neither doth 
it sleep in the body for a time ; if the soul be 
at death absent from the body, 2 Cor. v. 8, 
then it cannot sleep in the body. There is 
an immediate passage from death to glory; 
it is but winking, and we shall see God, Luke 
xxiii. 43, « To-day shalt thou be with me in 
paradise." By paradise is meant heaven. 
The third heaven into which Paul was rapt, 
(which all hold to be the heaven of the bless- 
ed) was called paradise, 2 Cor. xii. 4. Now 
saith Christ to the thief on the cross, « To- 
day shalt thou be with me in paradise." His 
body could not be there, for it was laid in 
the grave ; but it was spoken of his soul, that 
it should be immediately after death in hea- 
ven. Let none be so vain as to talk of pur- 
gatory; a soul purged by Christ's blood, 
needs no fire of purgatory, but goes imme- 
diately from a deathbed into a glorified 
state. 

Use 1st See what little cause believers 
have to fear death, when it brings such glo- 
rious benefits; "to me to die is gain !" 



OF THE RESURRECTION. 



203 



Why should the saints fear their preferment 1 
Is it not a blessed thing to see God, to love 
God, and to lie for ever in the bosom of di- 
vine love 1 Is it not a blessed thing to meet 
our godly relations in heaven 1 Why should 
the saints be afraid of their blessings ? Is a 
virgin afraid to be matched unto the crown 1 
Now is but the contract — at death is the mar- 
riage supper of the Lamb, Rev. xix. 9. What 
hurt doth death, but take us from among fiery 
serpents, and place us among angels ] What 
hurt doth it do, but to clothe us with a robe 
of immortality 1 Hath he any wrong done 
him that hath his sackcloth pulled off, and 
hath cloth of gold put upon him 1 Fear not 
dying, y e wno cannot live- but by dying ! 

Use 2d. You who are real saints, whose 
hearts are purified by faith, spend much time 
in musing upon these glorious benefits which 
you shall have by Christ at death. Thus 
might you by a contemplative life, begin the 
life of angels here, and be in heaven before 
your time. Eudoxius was so affected with 
the glory of the sun, that he thought he was 
born only to behold it. What should we con- 
template but celestial glory, when we shall 
see God face to face ; David was got above 
the ordinary sort of men, he was in the alti- 
tudes, Ps. cxxxix. 18, " I am still with thee." 
A true saint every day takes a turn in heaven ; 
his thoughts and desires are like cherubims 
flying up to paradise. Can men of the world 
so delight in looking upon their bags of gold, 



and fields of corn, and shall not the heirs of 
heaven take more delight in contemplating 
their glory in reversion 1 Could we send forth 
faith as a spy, and every day view the glory of 
the Jerusalem above, how would it rejoice us, 
as it doth the heir to think of the inheritance 
which is to come into his hand shortly ? 

Use 3d. Consolation. This is that which 
may comfort the saints in two cases. — 1. 
Under their wants ; they abound only in 
wants, — the meal is almost spent in the bar- 
rel, — but be patient till death, and you shall 
have a supply of all your wants, you shall 
have a kingdom, and be as rich as heaven 
can make you. He who hath the promise 
of an estate, after the expiring of a few 
years, though at present he hath nothing to 
help himself, yet comforts himself with this, 
that shortly he shall have an estate come 
into his hand, 1 John iii. 2, " It doth not yet 
appear what we shall be." We shall be en- 
amelled with glory, and be as rich as the 
angels. 2. A true saint is, (as Luther) hares 
cruris; but this may make us go cheerfully 
through our sufferings ; there are great things 
laid up in store, — there is glory coming, which 
eye hath not seen, — we shall drink of the 
fruit of the vine in the kingdom of heaven. 
Though now we drink in a wormwood-cup, 
yet here is sugar to sweeten it : we shall taste 
of those joys of paradise which exceed our 
faith, and may be better felt than they can be 
expressed. 



OF THE RESURRECTION. 

John v. 28, 29. Marvel not at this : for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the 
graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the 
resurrection of life ; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. 



Quest. XXXVIII. What benefits shall 
believers receive from Christ at the resur- 
rection ? 

Ans. 1. Their bodies shall be raised up to 
glory. 

A. 2. They shall be openly acquitted at 
the day of judgment ; and shall be made per- 
fectly blessed in the full enjoyment of God 
for ever. 

I. The bodies of believers shall be raised up 



to glory. The doctrine of the resurrection is 
a fundamental article of our faith ; the apostle 
puts it among the principles of the doctrine of 
Christ, Heb. vi. 2. The body shall rise again ; 
we are not so sure to rise out of our beds as 
we are to rise out of our graves. The ran- 
somed body shall rise again. Some hold that 
the soul shall be clothed with a new body ; but 
then it were improper to call it a resurrec- 
tion, it would be rather a creation, Job xix. 



204 



OF THE RESURRECTION. 



26, " Though worms destroy this body, yet 
in my flesh, shall I see God." Not in ano- 
ther flesh, but my flesh, 1 Cor. xv. 53, " This 
corruptible mast put on incorruption." 

Quest. By what arguments may the re- 
surrection be proved 1 

Argument 1. By scripture, John vi. 44, "I 
will raise him up at the last day." Isa. xxv. 
8, " He will swallow up death in victory." 
That is, by delivering- our bodies from the 
captivity of the grave wherein death for a 
time had power over them, 1 Thess. iv. 14, 
" Them which sleep in Jesus, will God bring 
with him." 

Arg. 2. Christ is risen : therefore the bodies 
of the saints must rise. Christ did not rise 
from the dead as a private person, but as the 
public head of the church ; and the head being 
raised, the rest of the body shall' not always 
lie in the grave. Christ's rising is a pledge 
of our resurrection, 2 Cor. iv. 14, " Knowing 
that he which raised up the Lord Jesus, shall 
raise us up also by Jesus." Christ is called the 
first-fruits of them that sleep, 1 Cor. xv. 20. 
As the first fruits is a sure evidence that 
the harvest is coming on, so the resurrection 
of Christ is a sure evidence of the rising of 
our bodies out of the grave. Christ cannot 
be perfect as he is Christ mystical, unless his 
members be raised with him. 

Arg. 3. In respect of God's justice. If 
God be a just God, then he will reward the 
bodies of the saints as well their souls. It 
cannot be imagined that the souls of believers 
should be glorified, and not their bodies ; they 
have served God with their bodies, — their 
bodies have been members of holiness, — their 
eyes have dropped tears for sin, — their hands 
have relieved the poor, — their tongues have 
set forth God's praise ; therefore justice and 
equity require that their bodies should be 
crowned as well as their souls : and how can 
that be, unless they are raised from the dead 1 

Arg. 4. If the body did not rise again, then , 
a believer should not be completely happy : 
for though the soul can subsist without the 
body, yet it hath appetiumunionis—d. desire 
of re-union with the body, and it is not fully 
happy till it be clothed with the body: 
therefore undoubtedly the body shall rise 
again. If the soul should go to heaven, and 



not the body, then a believer should be only 
half-saved. 

Obj. 1. But some say, as the Virgin Mary 
to the angel, " How can this be V* so, how 
can it be, that the body which is consumed 
to ashes should rise again ! 

Ans. It doth not oppose reason, but tran- 
scend it ; there are some resemblances of the 
resurrection in nature. The corn, which is 
sown in the ground, dies before it springs up, 
1 Cor. xv. 36, " That which thou sowest is 
not quickened, except it die." In winter the 
fruits of the earth die, in spring there is a 
resurrection of them ; Noah's olive tree 
springing after the flood was a lively em- 
blem of the resurrection. After the passion 
of our Lord, "many bodies of the saints 
which slept in the grave arose," Matt, xxvii. 
52. God can more easily raise the body out 
of the grave, than we can awake a man out 
of sleep. 

Obj. 2. But when the dust of many are 
mingled together ; how is it possible that a 
separation should be made and the same nu- 
merical body arise. 

Ans. If we believe God can create, then 
he can distinguish the dust of one body from 
another; do not we see the chymist can, out 
of several metals mingled together, as gold, 
silver, alchymy, extract the one from the 
other, — the silver from the gold, — the alchy- 
my from silver, — and can reduce every metal 
to its own kind 1 And shall we not much 
more believe, that when our bodies are min- 
gled and confounded with other substances, 
the wise God is able to make an extraction, 
and re-invest every soul with its own body 1 

Quest. 3. Shall none but the bodies of 
the righteous be raised? 

Ans. Yes, all that are in the graves shall 
hear Christ's voice, and shall come forth, 
Acts xxiv. 15. There shall be a resurrection 
of the dead both of the just and unjust: Rev, 
xx. 12, " 1 saw the dead, both small and great, 
stand before God." But though all shall be 
raised out of their graves, yet all shall not be 
raised alike. 

1. The bodies of the wicked shall be 
raised with ignominy; those bodies which 
on the earth did tempt and allure others 
with their beauty, shall be at the resurrec- 



OF THE RESURRECTION 



205 



tion loathsome to behold ; they shall be ghast- 
ly spectacles, as the phrase is, Isa. lxvi. 24, 
" They shall be an abhorring unto all flesh." 
But the bodies of the saints shall be raised 
with honour, 1 Cor. xv. 43, "It is sown in 
dishonour, it is raised in glory." The saints' 
bodies then shall shine as sparkling diamonds, 
Matt. xiii. 43, " Then shall the righteous 
shine forth as the sun." 

2. The bodies of the saints shall arise out 
of their graves with triumph ; the bodies of 
the wicked shall come out of the grave with 
trembling, as being to receive their fatal 
doom, but the godly, when they awake out 
of the dust shall sing for joy, Isa. xxvi. 19, 
" Awake and sing, ye that dwell in the dust." 
When the archangel's trumpet sounds, then 
the saints shall sing ; the bodies of believers 
shall come out of the grave to be made happy, 
as the chief butler came out of the prison, 
and was restored to all his dignity at the 
court ; but the bodies of the wicked shall 
come out of the grave, as the chief baker out 
of prison, to be executed, Gen. xl. 22. 

Use 1st. Believe this doctrine of the resur- 
rection ; and that the same body that dies 
shall rise again, and with the soul be crown- 
ed. Without the belief of this, tota corruit 
religio, 1 all religion falls to the ground,' 
1 Cor. xv. 14, If the dead rise not, then Christ 
is not risen, and then our faith is vain. 

Use 2d. Comfort. The body shall rise 
again 1 this was Job's comfort, Job xix. 26, 
" Though w^orms destroy this body, yet in 
my flesh shall I see God." The body is sen- 
sible of joy as well as the soul ; and indeed 
we shall not be in all our glory, till our bo- 
dies are re-united to our souls. O consider 
what joy there will be at the re-uniting of the 
body and the soul at the resurrection ! Look 
what sweet embraces of joy were between 
old Jacob and Joseph, when they first saw 
one another, Gen. xlvi. 29, such, and infi- 
nitely more, will there be, when the body and 
soul of a saint shall meet together at the re- 
surrection ! How will the body and soul 
greet one another ! What a welcome will 
the soul give to the body ! O blessed body ! 
when I prayed, thou didst attend my prayers 
with hands lifted up, and knees bowed down ; 
thou wert willing to suffer with me, and now 



thou shalt reign with me ; thou wert sown in 
dishonour, but now art raised in glory. O 
my dear body ! I will enter into thee again, 
and be eternally married to thee. 

Use 3d!. The resurrection of the body is a 
cordial when a Christian lies a-dying. Thy 
body, though it drop into the sepulchre, it 
shall revive and flourish as an herb in the 
resurrection : the grave is a bed of dust where 
the bodies of saints sleep ; but they shall be 
awakened by the trump of the archangel. 
The grave is your long home, but not your 
last home : though death strip you of your 
beauty, yet at the resurrection you shall 
have it restored again. As David, when 
he found Saul asleep, took away his spear 
and cruse of water, but when he awoke, 
he restored them again, 1 Sam. xxvi. 22, 
so, though at death all our strength and 
beauty be taken away, yet at the resurrection 
God will restore all again in a more glorious 
manner. 

Quest. 4. But how shall we knovj that 
our bodies shall be raised to a glorious re- 
surrection! 

Ans. If we have a part in the first resur- 
rection, Rev. xx. 6, " Blessed and holy is he 
that hath a part in the first resurrection." 
Q,. What is meant by this ? A. It is a ris- 
ing by repentance out of the grave of sin ; he 
who lies buried in sin, can have little hope 
of a joyful resurrection ; his body shall be 
raised but not in glory. O then ! ask con- 
science, have you a part in the first resurrec- 
tion 1 hath the Spirit entered into you, and 
lifted you up 1 Hath he raised you out of 
your unbelief? Hath he raised your hearts 
above the earth ? This is the first resurrec- 
tion ; and if your souls are thus spiritually 
raised, then your bodies shall be gloriously 
raised, and shall shine as stars in the king- 
dom of heaven. Regeneration makes way 
for a glorious resurrection. 

Use. Seeing you expect your bodies should 
arise to glory, keep your bodies unspotted 
from sin. Shall a drunken body rise to 
glory 1 Shall an unclean body rise to glory 1 
Shall a thievish body steal into heaven 1 O 
keep your bodies pure, — keep your eyes from 
unchaste glances, — your hands from bribes, — 
your tongues from slander ; defile not your 



206 



OF THE RESURRECTION. 



bodies, which you hope shall rise one day to 
glory. Your bodies are the members of 
Christ : and hear what the apostle saith, 
1 Cor. vi. 15, " Shall I then take the mem- 
bers of Christ, and make them the members 
of a harlot 1 God forbid." O keep your 
bodies unspotted, let them be instruments of 
righteousness, 1 Cor. vi. 20, " Glorify God in 
your body !" If your bodies glorify God, 
God will glorify your bodies. 

Quest. 5. But seeing our bodies must be 
laid in the grave, and they may lie many 
years rotting there before the resurrection ; 
what may support and comfort us in this case? 

Ans. 1. That God will not leave his people 
in the grave. Our friends bring us to the 
grave and leave us there, but God will not ; 
God will go to the grave with us, and watch 
over our dead bodies, and take care of our 
ashes. Rizpah w 7 atched over the dead bo- 
dies of the sons of Saul, and guarded them 
against the ravenous fowls of the air, 2 Sam. 
xxi. 10. Thus the Lord watcheth over the 
dead bodies of the saints, and looks to it, that 
none of their dust be missing. Christian, 
thou hast a God to watch over thy body 
when thou art dead ! 

A. 2. The bodies of the saints in the grave, 
though separated from their souls, are united 
to Christ. The dust of a believer is part of 
Christ's mystical body. 

A. 3. When the bodies of the saints are in 
the sepulchre, their souls are in paradise ; the 
soul doth not sleep in the body, "but the 
spirit shall return to God that gave it," Eccl. 
xii. 7. The soul immediately partakes of 
those joys the blessed angels do ; when the 
body returns to dust, the soul returns to rest ; 
when the body is sleeping, the soul is tri- 
umphing ; when the body is buried, the soul 
is crowned ; as the spies were sent before to 
taste of the fruits of the land, Numb, xiii., so 
at death the soul is sent before into heaven, 
to taste of the fruit of the holy land. 

A. 4. When God's time is come, the 
' graves shall deliver up their dead,' Rev. xx. 
13, when the judge sends, the jailor must 
deliver up his prisoners ; as God said to Ja- 
cob, Gen. xlvi. 4, " I will go down with thee 
into Egypt, and I will surely bring thee up 
again," so the Lord will go down with us 



into the grave, and will surely bring ufe 
again. 

A. 5. Though the bodies of the saints shajl 
rot and be loathsome in the grave, yet after- 
wards they shall be made illustrious and glo- 
rious. Concerning this, consider, 

1. The bodies of the saints, when they 
arise, shall be comely and beautiful. The 
body of a saint in this life may be deformed : 
those whose minds are adorned with virtue, 
yet may have mis-shapen bodies ; as the finest 
cloth may have the coarsest list : but this 
deformed body shall be amiable and beauti- 
ful. This beauty consists in two things : 1. 
Perfection of parts. There shall be a full 
proportion of all the members ; in this life 
there is oft a defect of members ; the eye is 
lost, the arm is cut off, but in the resurrec- 
tion all parts of the body shall be restored 
again ; therefore the resurrection is called 
the time of restoring all things, Acts iii. 19. 
Malchus' ear cut, restituit. — 2. Clarity and 
splendour. The bodies of the saints shall 
have a graceful majesty in them ; they shall 
be like Stephen whose face shone as if it had 
been the face of an angel, Acts vi. 15. Nay, 
they shall be made like Christ's glorious 
body, Phil. iii. 21. 

2. The bodies of the saints, when they 
arise, shall be free from the necessities of 
nature, as hunger and thirst, Rev. vii. 16, 
"They shall hunger no more." Moses on 
the mount was so filled with the glory of God, 
that he needed not the recruits of nature. 
Much more in heaven shall the bodies of the 
saints, so filled with God's glory, be upheld 
without food. 

3. The bodies of the saints, when they 
arise, shall be swift and nimble. Our bodies 
on earth are dull and heavy in their motion ; 
then they shall be swift, and made fit to 
ascend, as the body of Elias in the air. Now 
the body is a clog ; in heaven it shall be a 
wing. We shall be as the angels, Matt. xxii. 
30. And how nimble are they 1 The angel- 
Gabriel in a short time came from heaven to 
the earth, Dan. ix. 21. As the helm turns 
the ship instantly whither the steersman will ; 
so the body in an instant will move which 
way the soul will. 

4. The bodies of the saints, at the resur- 



OF THE DAY OF JUDGMENT. 



207 



rection, shall be very firm and strong, 1 Cor. 
xv. 43, " It is raised in power." Through 
frequent labour and sickness, the strongest 
body begins to languish : but at the resurrec- 
tion we shall be of a strong constitution ; 
then there will be no weariness in the body, 
nor faintness in the spirits. This may com- 
fort you who now conflict with many bodily 
weaknesses. This weak body shall be raised 
in power ; the body, which is now a weak 
reed, shall be like a rock. 

5. The bodies of the saints at the resur- 
rection shall be immortal, 1 Cor. xv. 53, 



"This mortal must put on immortality 
our bodies shall run parallel with eternity, 
Luke xx. 36, "Neither can they die any 
more." Heaven is a healthful climate, — 
there is no bill of mortality there. If a 
physician could give you a receipt to keep 
you from dying, what sums of money would 
you give 1 At the resurrection Christ shall 
give the saints such a receipt, Rev. xxi. 4, 
"There shall be no more death." 

II. The second privilege believers shall 
have at the resurrection, is, They shall be 
openly acquitted at the day of judgment. 



OF THE DAY OF JUDGMENT. 



Quest. XXXVIII. What benefits do be- 
lievers receive from Christ at the resurrec- 
tion ? 

Ans. Their bodies shall be raised up to 
glory, and shall be openly acquitted at the 
day of judgment, and crowned with the full 
"and perfect enjoyment of God to all eternity. 

II. They shall be openly acquitted at the 
day of judgment. This is to be laid down 
for a position, that there shall be a day of 
judgment, Rom. xiv. 10, " For we shall all 
stand before the judgment-seat of Christ." 
This is the grand assizes, — the greatest ap- 
pearance that ever was. Now Adam shall 
see all his posterity at once. We must all 
appear ; the greatness of men's persons doth 
not exempt them from Christ's tribunal ; 
kings and captains are brought in trembling 
before the Lamb's throne, Rev. vi. 15. We 
must all appear, and appear in our own 
persons, not by a proxy. 

Quest. 1. How doth it appear that there 
shall be a day of judgment'} 

Ans. Two ways. 1. By the suffrage of 
scripture, Eccl. xii. 9, 12, 14, " For God shall 
bring every work into judgment, with every 
secret thing." Ps. xcvi. 13, " For he cometh, 
for he cometh to judge the earth." The re- 
duplication denotes the certainty, Dan. vii. 9, 
10, " I beheld till the thrones were cast down, 
and the Ancient of days did sit, whose gar- 
ment was white as snow." " The judgment 
was set, and the books were opened." — 2. It 



appears from the petty sessions kept in a 
man's own conscience ; when a man doth 
virtuously, conscience doth excuse him, when 
evil, conscience doth arraign and condemn 
him. Now, what is this private session kept 
in the court of conscience, but a certain fore- 
runner of that general day of judgment when 
all the world shall be summoned to God's 
tribunal I 

Quest. 2. Why must there be a day of 
judgment ? 

Ans. That there may be a day of retribu- 
tion, when God may render to every one 
according to his work. Things seem to be 
carried very unequally in the world; the 
wicked do so prosper as if they were re- 
warded for doing evil ; and the godly do so 
suffer as if they were punished for being good- 
Therefore for the vindicating of God's justice,, 
there must be a day, wherein there shall be a 
righteous distribution of punishments and re- 
wards to men, according to their actions. 

Quest. 3. Who shall be judge 1 

Ans. The Lord Jesus Christ, John v. 22, 
" The Father hath committed all judgment to 
the Son." It is an article of our creed, that, 
Christ " shall come to judge the quick and the 
dead." It is a great honour put upon Christ % 
he who was himself judged, shall now be judge; 
he who once hung upon the cross, shall sit 
upon the bench. Christ is fit to be judge, as he 
partakes both of the manhood and Godhead. 

1. Of the manhood : being clothed with 



208 



OF THE DAY OF JUDGMENT. 



the human nature, he may be visibly seen of 
all. It is requisite the judge should be seen, 
Rev. i. 7, " Behold, he cometh with clouds, 
and every eye shall see him." 

2. As he partakes of the Godhead : he is 
of infinite prudence to understand all causes 
brought before him, and of infinite power to 
execute offenders. He is described with 
seven eyes, Zech. iii. 9, to denote his pru- 
dence ; and a rod of iron, Ps. ii., to denote his 
power. He is so wise that he cannot be de- 
luded; and so strong that he cannot be 
resisted. 

Quest. 4. When will the court sit, when 
will the time of judgment be ? 

Ans. For the quando, or the time of the 
general judgment, it is a secret kept from the 
angels, Matt. xxiv. 36, " Of that day and 
hour knoweth no man, no not the angels of 
heaven." But this is sure, it cannot be far 
off ; one great sign of the approach of the 
day of judgment, is, ' That iniquity shall 
abound,' Matt, xxiv, sure then this day is 
near at hand, for iniquity did never more 
abound than in this age, and lust grows hot, 
and love grows cold. This is certain, when 
the elect are all converted, then Christ will 
come to judgment ; as he that rows a ferry- 
boat, stays till all the passengers are taken 
into his boat, and then he rows away, so 
Christ stays till all the elect are gathered in, 
and then he will hasten away to judgment. 

Quest. 5. What shall be the modus or 
manner of trial ? 

Ans. 1. The citing of men to the court. 
The dead are cited as well as the living. 
Men, when they die, avoid the censure of 
our law-courts ; but at the last day, the dead 
are cited to God's tribunal, Rev. xx. 12, " I 
saw the dead small and great stand before 
God." This citing of men will be by the 
sound of a trumpet, 1 Thess. iv. 16, and this 
trumpet will sound so loud, that it will raise 
men out of their graves, Matt. xxiv. 31. 
Such as will not hear the trumpet of the gos- 
pel sound in their ears repent and believe, 
shall hear the trumpet of the archangel 
sounding, arise and be judged. 

A. 2. The approach of the judge to the 
bench. 

First, This will be terrible to the wicked. 



How can a guilty prisoner endure the sight 
of the judge 1 Tf Felix trembled when Paul 
preached of judgment, Acts xxiv. 25, how will 
sinners tremble when they shall see Christ 
come to judgment? Christ is described (sit- 
ting in judgment) with a fiery stream issuing 
from him, Dan. vii. 10. Now the Lamb of ; 
God will be turned into a lion ; the sight of j 
Christ will strike terror into sinners. As 
when Joseph said to his brethren, "lam 
Joseph whom ye mto Egypt, they were 
troubled at his presence," Gen. xlv. 4 : now,! 
how did their hearts smite them for their sin 1\ 
so, when Christ shall come to judgment, and | 
say, " I am Jesus whom ye sinned against, — | 
I am Jesus whose laws ye have broken, whose 
blood ye despised, — I am now come to judge 
you," O what horror and amazement will 
take hold of sinners ! They will be troubled 
at the presence of their judge. 

Secondly, The approach of Christ to the 
bench of judicature will be comfortable to the 
righteous. 1. Christ will come in splendour 
and great glory. His first coming in the flesh 
was obscure, Isa. liii. 2. He was like a prince 
in disguise ; but his second coming will be 
illustrious, " he shall come in the glory of his 
Father, with the holy angels," Matt. xvi. 27. 
O what a bright day will that be, when such a 
number of angels, those morning-stars, shall 
appear in the air, and Christ the Sun of 
Righteousness shall shine in splendour above 
the brightest cherub ! 2. Christ will come as 
a friend. Indeed, if the saints' judge were 
their enemy, they might fear condemning; 
but he who loves them, and prayed for them, 
is their judge ; he who is their husband is 
their judge, therefore they need not fear but 
all things shall go well on their side. 

Thirdly, The trial itself, which hath a 
dark and a light side. 1. A dark side. It 
will fall heavy on the wicked : the judge 
being set, the books are opened, Rev. xx. 
12, — the book of conscience, — and the book 
of God's remembrance. And now the sin- 
ner's charge being read, and all their sins 
laid open, — their murder, drunkenness, un- 
cleanness, — Christ will say, " Sinners, what 
can you plead for yourselves that the sen- 
tence of death should not pass ?" The 
wicked being convicted will be speechless. 



OF THE DAY OF JUDGMENT. 



209 



Then follows that dismal sentence, Matt. xxv. 
41, Ite maledicti, — " Depart from me, ye 
cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the 
devil and his angels !" He that said to God, 
" depart from me ;" Job xxi. 14, and to reli- 
gion, " depart from me ;" must now hear 
that word pronounced from his judge, " de- 
part from me ;" — a dreadful sentence, but 
righteous ! Ps. li. 4. The sinner himself 
shall cry, Guilty ! Though the wicked have 
a sea of wrath, yet not one drop of injustice. 
And when once the sentence is past, it is ir- 
reversible, there is no appealing to a higher 
court. 2. The trial hath a light side : it will 
be for increasing the joy and happiness of 
the righteous. The day of judgment will be 
a day of jubilee to them. 

1st. At that day Christ their judge will 
own them by name. Those whom the world 
scorned, and looked upon as precisians and 
fools, Christ will take by the hand, and 
openly acknowledge them to be his favourites. 
What is Christ's confessing of men, Luke xii. 
8, but his openly acknowledging them to be 
precious in his eyes 1 

2d. Christ as judge will plead for them. 
It is not usual to be both judge and advocate, 
to sit on the bench and plead : but it shall be 
so at the day of judgment. 

1. Christ will plead his own blood for the 
saints. " These persons I have paid a price 
for, they are the travail of my soul ; they 
have sinned, but my soul was made an offer- 
ing for their sin." 

2. Christ will vindicate them from all un- 
just censures. Here they were strangely 
misrepresented to the world, as proud, hypo- 
critical, factious ; Paul was called a seditious 
man, the head of a faction, Acts xxiv. 5 ; but 
at the day of judgment Christ will clear the 
saints' innocency, then he will " bring forth 
their righteousness as the light," Ps. xxxvii. 
6. As he will wipe off tears from their eyes, 
so dust from their name. Moses, when he 
was charged with ambition that he took too 
much upon him, comforted himself with this, 
" To-morrow will the Lord show who are 
his," Numb. xvi. 5. So may the saints, 
when reproached, comfort themselves with 
the day of judgment ; then will Christ say 
who are his ; then shall the saints come 

2 D 



forth as the wings of a dove covered with 
silver. 

3. Christ as judge will absolve them before 
men and angels ; as Pilate said of Christ, " I 
find no fault in this man," Luke xxiii. 4, so 
will Christ say of the elect, " I find no fault 
in them, I pronounce them righteous." Then 
follows, " come ye blessed of my Father, in- 
herit the kingdom," Matt. xxv. 34. As if 
Christ should say, " O ye happy ones, the 
delight of my soul, the fruit of my sufferings, 
stand no longer at the bar ! Ye are heirs- 
apparent of the crown of heaven, enter and 
take possession." At the hearing of this 
sentence, with what ravishing joy will the 
saints be filled % This word, " Come, ye 
blessed," will be music to their ear, and a 
cordial to their heart. 

4. Christ will mention before men and 
angels all the good deeds the saints have 
done, Matt. xxv. 35, "I was an hungered, 
and ye gave me meat ; I was thirsty, and ye 
gave me drink." You that have wept in 
secret for sin, — that have shown any love for 
Christ's name, — that have been rich in good 
works, — Christ will take notice of it at the 
last day, and say, " well done, good and 
faithful servants." He himself will be the 
herald to proclaim your praises ; thus it shall 
be done to the man whom Christ delights to 
honour. 

5. Christ will call his saints from the bar, 
to sit upon the bench with him to judge the 
world, Jude 14, " Behold the Lord cometh 
with ten thousand of his saints, to execute 
judgment upon all;" 1 Cor. vi. 2,. "Do ye 
not know that the saints shall judge the 
world 1" The saints shall sit with Christ in 
judicature, as justices of peace with the judge, 
— they shall applaud Christ's righteous sen- 
tence on the wicked, and, as it were, vote 
with Christ. This, as it is a great honour to 
the saints, so it must needs add to the sorrows 
of the wicked, to see those whom they once 
hated and derided, sit as judges upon them. 

6. The saints shall be fully crowned with 
the enjoyment of God for ever. They shall 
be in his sweet presence, " in whose presence 
is fulness of joy," Ps. xvi. 11 ; and this shall 
be for ever. The bamier of God's love shall 
be eternally displayed ; the joys of heaven 



210 



OF THE DAY OF JUDGMENT. 



are without intermission and expiration, 
1 Thess. iv. 17, " And so shall we be ever 
with the Lord." 

Use. As it is sad news to the wicked. — 
They shall " not stand in judgment," Ps. i. 
5. They shall come to judgment, but they 
shall not stand in judgment, viz. they shall 
not stand acquitted, — they shall not stand 
with boldness, but sneak and hang down 
their head, and not be able to look their judge 
in the face : so it is great consolation to the 
godly. When the apostle had said, "The 
Lord shall descend from heaven with a shout, 
with the voice of the arch-angel, and the 
trump of God ;" he presently adds, " Where- 
fore comfort one another with these words," 
1 Thess. iv. 16, 18.— 1. The day of judgment 
is comfort, in respect of weakness of grace. 
A Christian is ready to be troubled, to see 
his grace so minute and imperfect ; but, at 
the last day, if Christ find but a drachm of 
true grace, it shall be accepted. If thine be 
true gold, though it be many grains too light, 
Christ will put his merits into the scales, and 
make it pass current. — 2. It is a comfort to 
such of the saints who have met with un- 
righteous judgment in the world, — who have 
been wronged of their estates in law-suits, or 
had their lives taken away by an unrighteous 
sentence, — Christ will judge things over 
again, and will give a righteous sentence. If 
your estates have been taken away wrong- 
fully, you shall be restored a thousand-fold 
at the day of judgment. If you have lost 
your lives for Christ, yet you shall not lose 
your crown ; you shall wear a garland made 
of the flowers of paradise, which fade not 
away. 

Branch 1st. Meditate much upon the day 
of judgment. Feathers swim upon the water, 
but gold sinks into it ; light feathery Chris- 
tians float in vanity, they mind not the day of 
judgment, but serious spirits sink deep into 
the thoughts of it.— 1. The meditation of 
this last day would make us very sincere. 
We would then labour to approve our hearts 
to God the great judge and umpire of the 
world. It is easy to carry it fair before men, 
but there is no dissembling or prevaricating 
with God ; he sees what the heart is, and will 
accordingly pass his verdict.— 2. The medi- 



tation of Christ's coming to judge us, would 
keep us from judging our brethren. We are 
apt to judge others as to their final state ; 
which is for men to step into Christ's place, 
and take his work out of his hand, James iv. 
12, " Who art thou that judgest another V 1 
Thou that passest a rash sentence upon an- 
other, thou must come thyself shortly to be 
judged, and then perhaps he maybe acquitted, 
and thou condemned. 

Branch 2d. So demean and carry your- 
selves, that, at the day of judgment, you may 
be sure to be acquitted, and have those glori- 
ous privileges the saints shall be crowned 
with. 

Quest. How is that ? 

Ans. 1. If you would stand acquitted at the 
day of judgment, then, 1st, Labour to get into 
Christ. Phil. iii. 9, " That I may be found 
in him." Faith implants us into Christ, — it 
engarrisons us in him, and then " there's no 
condemnation," Rom. viii. 1. There's no 
standing before Christ, but by being in Christ. 
2dly, Labour for humility. It is a kind of 
self-annihilation, 2 Cor. xii. 11, "Though I 
be nothing." Christian, hast thou parts and 
abilities, and dost thou cover them with the 
veil of humility 1 as Moses, when his face 
shone, put a veil over it. If thou art humble, 
thou shalt be acquitted at the day of judgment, 
Job xxii. 29, " He shall save the humble 
person." An humble man judgeth himself for 
his sins, and Christ will acquit them who 
judge themselves. 

A. 2. If you would stand acquitted at the 
last day, then keep a clear conscience. Do not 
load yourselves with guilt, and furnish your 
judge with matter against you. " The Lord," 
saith Paul, " hath appointed a day in which he 
will judge the world," Acts xvii. 31. And how 
would Paul fit himself for that day 1 Acts xxiv. 
16, " Herein I exercise myself to have always 
a conscience void of offence, towards God 
and towards man." Be careful of the first and 
second table ; be holy and just. Have hearts 
without false aims, and hands without false 
weights. Keep conscience as clear as your 
eye, that no dust of sin fall into it. They 
that sin against conscience, will be shy of 
their judge : such as take in prohibited goods, 
cannot endure to see the searchers that are 



OF OBEDIENCE TO GOD'S REVEALED WILL. 



211 



appointed to open their packs. Christian, 
thy pack will be opened at the last day, — I 
mean, thy conscience ; and Christ is the 
searcher, to see what sins, what prohibited 
goods thou hast taken in ; and then he pro- 
ceeds to judgment. O be sure to keep a good 
conscience ; this is the best way to stand with 
boldness at the day of judgment ! The voice 
of conscience is the voice of God ; if con- 
science doth upon just grounds acquit us, 
God will acquit us, 1 John iii. 21, " If our 
heart condemn us not, then have we confi- 
dence toward God." 

A. 3. If you would stand acquitted at the 
last day, then trade your talents for God's 
glory; lay out yourselves for God, honour 
him with your substance; relieve Christ's 
members ; this is the way to be acquitted. 
He that had five talents traded with them, 



and made them five talents more, " his lord 
said unto him, well done good and faithful 
servant," Matt. xxv. 21. 

A. 4. If you would stand acquitted at the 
day of judgment, get an entire love to the 
saints, 1 John iii. 14, " We know we are 
passed from death to life," &c. Love is the 
truest touch-stone of sincerity. To love 
grace for grace, shows the Spirit of God 
to be in a man. Doth conscience witness 
for you ] Are you perfumed with this sweet 
spice of love 1 Do you delight most in those 
in whom the image of God shines 1 Do you 
reverence their graces 1 Do you bear with 
their infirmities ! A blessed evidence that 
you shall be acquitted in the day of judg- 
ment. " We know that we have passed 
from death to life, because we love the bre- 
thren." 



OF OBEDIENCE TO GOD'S REVEALED WILL. 
Deut. xxvii. 9, 10. Take heed and hearken, O Israel, this day thou art become the peo- 
ple of the Lord thy God; thou shalt therefore obey the voice of the Lord thy God, and 
do his commandments. 



Quest. XXXIX. What is the, duty that 
God requireth of man ? 

Ans. Obedience to his revealed will. 

It Is not enough to hear God's voice, but 
we must obey. Obedience is a part of that 
honour we owe to God, Mai. i. 6, " If I be 
a Father, where is my honour V Obedience 
carries in it the life-blood of religion. " Obey 
the voice of the Lord God, and do his com- 
mandments." Obedience without know- 
ledge is blind, and knowledge without obe- 
dience is lame. Rachel was fair to look 
upon, but, being barren, said, " Give me 
children, or I die:" so, if knowledge doth 
not bring forth the child of obedience, it will 
die, 1 Sam. xv. 22, " To obey is better than 
sacrifice." Saul thought it was enough for 
him to offer sacrifices, though he disobeyed 
God's command: no, "to obey is better 
than sacrifice." God disclaims sacrifice, if 
obedience be wanting, Jer. vii. 22, "I spake 
not to your fathers concerning burnt-offerings, 
but this thing commanded I them, saying, 
obey my voice." Not but that God did en- 
join those religious rites of worship ; but the 



meaning is, God looked chiefly at obedience, 
without which, sacrifice was but devout folly. 
The end why God hath given us his laws, is 
obedience, Lev. xviii. 4, " Ye shall do my 
judgments, and keep my ordinances." Why 
doth a king publish an edict, but that it may 
be observed % 

Quest. 1. What is the rule of obedience ? 

Ans. The written word; that is proper 
obedience which the word requires ; our obe- 
dience must correspond with the word, as the 
copy with the original. To seem to be zeal- 
ous, if it be not according to the word, is not 
obedience,but will-worship. Popish traditions, 
which have no footing in the word, are abo- 
minable ; and God will say, Quis quasivit 
h(BC? "Who hath required this at your 
hand 1" Isa. i. 12. The apostle condemns 
the worshipping of angels, which had a show 
of humility, Col. ii. 18. The Jews might say 
they were loath to be so bold as to go to God 
in their own persons, — they would be more 
humble, and prostrate themselves before the 
angels, and desire them to present their pe- 
titions to God : this show of humility was 



212 



OF OBEDIENCE TO GOD'S REVEALED WILL. 



hateful to God, because there was no word to 
warrant it. 

Quest. 2. What are the right ingredients 
in our obedience to make it acceptable ? How 
must it be qualified 1 

Ans. 1. Obedience must be cum animi 
prolubio, — free and cheerful, else it is pen- 
ance, not sacrifice, Isa. i. 19, " If ye be will- 
ing and obedient." Though we serve God 
with weakness, let it be with willingness. 
You love to see your servants go cheerfully 
about your work. Under the law, God would 
have " a free-will offering," Deut. xvi. 10. 
Hypocrites obey God grudgingly, and against 
their will ; they do facere bonum, but not 
velle. Cain brought his sacrifice, but not his 
heart. 'Tis a true rule, Quicquid cor non 
facit, non fit, — < what the heart doth not do, 
is not done.' Willingness is the soul of obe- 
dience ; God sometimes accepts of willing- 
ness without the work, but never of the work 
without willingness. Cheerfulness shows 
that there is love in the duty ; and love doth 
to our services, as the sun doth to the fruit, 
mellow and ripen them, and make them come 
off with a better relish. 

A. 2. Obedience must be devout and fer- 
vent, Rom. xii. 11, " Fervent in spirit," &c. 
Qua ebullit prce ardore — it alludes to water 
that boils over — so the heart must boil over 
with hot affections in the service of God. 
The glorious angels — who, for their burning 
in fervour and devotion, are called Sera- 
phims — these God chooseth to serve him in 
heaven. The snail under the law was un- 
clean, because a dull slothful creature : obe- 
dience without fervency is like a sacrifice 
without fire. Why should not our obedience 
be lively and fervent] God deserves the 
flower and strength of our affections. Domi- 
tian would not have his statue carved in wood 
or iron, but in gold : lively affections make 
golden services. It is fervency makes obe- 
dience acceptable. Elijah was fervent in 
spirit, and his prayer opened and shut hea- 
ven ; and again he prayed, and fire fell on his 
enemies, 2 Kings i. 10. Elijah's prayer 
fetched fire from heaven, because, being fer- 
vent, it carried fire up to heaven : quicquid 
decorum ex fide proficitur, Aug. 

A. 3. Obedience must be extensive, — it 



must reach to all God's commands, Ps. cxix. 
6, " Then shall I not be ashamed, (or, as it 
is in the Hebrew, lo ehosh blush) when I have 
respect to all thy commandments." Quicquid 
propter Deumfit aqualiter fit. There is a 
stamp of divine authority upon all God's com- 
mands ; and, if 1 obey one precept because 
God commands, I must obey all. True obe- 
dience runs through all duties of religion, as 
the blood through all the veins, or the sun 
through all the signs of the zodiac. A good 
Christian makes gospel-piety and moral 
equity kiss each other. Herein some disco- 
ver their hypocrisy, they will obey God in 
some things which are more facile, and may 
raise their repute, but other things they leave 
undone, Mark x. 21, " One thing thou lack- 
est," — unum deest. Herod would hear John 
Baptist, but not leave his incest ; some will 
pray, but not give alms ; others will give 
alms, but not pray, Matt, xxiii. 23, " Ye pay 
tithe of mint and annise, and have neglected 
the weightier matters of the law, judgment, 
mercy and faith. The badger hath one 
foot shorter than the other : so these are 
shorter in some duties than in others. God 
likes not such partial servants, that will do 
some part of the work he sets them about, 
and leave the other undone. 

A. 4. Obedience must be sincere, viz. 
We must aim at the glory of God in it. 
Finis specificat actionem, — in religion the 
end is all. The end of our obedience must 
not to be to stop the mouth of conscience, or 
to gain applause or preferment, but that we 
may grow more like God, and bring more 
glory to God, 1 Cor. x. 31, " Do all to the 
glory of God." That which hath spoiled 
many glorious actions, and made them lose 
their reward, is, when men's aims have been 
wrong ; the Pharisees gave alms, but blew 
a trumpet that they might have glory of 
men, Matt. vi. 2, alms should shine, but not 
blaze. Jehu did well in destroying the 
Baal-worshippers, and God commended him 
for it ; but, because his aims were not good, 
(he aimed at settling himself in the kingdom,) 
therefore God looked upon it as no better 
than murder, Hos. i. 4, "I will avenge 
the blood of Jezreel upon the house of 
Jehu." O let us look to our ends in 



OF OBEDIENCE TO GOD'S REVEALED WILL. 



213 



obedience ! It is possible the action may be 
right, and not the heart, 2 Chron. xxv. 2, 
" Joash did that which was right in the sight 
of the Lord," but not with a perfect heart. 
Two things are chiefly to be eyed in obe- 
dience, the principle and the end : a child of 
God though he shoots short in his obedience, 
yet he takes a right aim. 

A. 5. Obedience must be in and through 
Christ, Eph. i. 6, " He made us accepted in 
the beloved." Not our obedience, but Christ's 
merits, procure acceptance ; we must, in 
every part of worship, tender up Christ to 
God in the arms of our faith ; unless we serve 
God thus, in hope and confidence of Christ's 
merits, we do rather provoke God, than please 
him. As, when king Uzziah would offer in- 
cense without a priest, God was angry with 
him, and struck him with leprosy, 2 Chron. 
xxvi. 16, so when we do not come to God 
in and through Christ, we offer up incense 
to God without a priest ; and what can we 
expect but severe rebukes 1 

A. 6. Obedience must be constant, Ps. 
cvi. 3, " Blessed is he who doth righteousness 
at all times." True obedience is not like a 
high colour in a fit, but it is a right sanguine ; 
it is like the fire on the altar, which was 
always kept burning, Lev. vi. 13. Hypo- 
crites' obedience is but for a season ; it is 
like plastering work, which is soon washed 
off ; but true obedience is constant ; though 
we meet with affliction, we must go on in 
our obedience, Job xvii. 9, " The righteous 
shall hold on his way." We have vowed 
constancy ; we have vowed to renounce the 
pomp and vanities of the world, and to fight 
under Christ's banner to death. When a 
servant hath entered into covenant with his 
master, and the indentures are sealed, then 
he cannot go back, he must serve out his 
time : there are indentures drawn in baptism, 
and in the Lord's supper the indentures are 
renewed and sealed on our part, that we will 
be faithful and constant in our obedience, 
therefore we must imitate Christ, who be- 
came obedient to the death, Phil. ii. 8. The 
crown is set upon the head of perseverance, 
Rev. ii. 26, 28, " He that keeps my words 
unto the end, to him will I give" "the 
morning star." 



Use 1st. This indicts such who live in a 
contradiction to this text : they have cast off 
the yoke of obedience, Jer. xliv. 16, " As for 
the word which thou hast spoken to us in the 
name of the Lord, we will not hearken unto 
thee." God bids men pray in their family, — 
they live in the total neglect of it : he bids 
them sanctify the sabbath, — they follow their 
pleasures on that day : God bids them abstain 
from the appearance of sin, — they do not 
abstain from the act, they live in the act of 
revenge, in the act of uncleanness. This is 
a high contempt of God ; it is rebellion, and 
rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft. 

Quest. Whence is it that men do not 
obey God ? They know their duty yet do it 
not? 

Ans. 1. The not obeying of God is for want 
of faith, Isa. liii. 1, Quis credidit f " Who 
hath believed our report?" Did men believe 
sin were so bitter that hell followed at the 
heels of it, would they ga on in sin 1 Did 
they believe there were such a reward for the 
righteous that godliness were gain, would 
they not pursue it ] But they are atheists, 
not fully captivated into the belief of these 
things ; hence it is they obey not. This is 
Satan's master-piece, — his draw-net by which 
he drags millions to hell, by keeping them in 
infidelity ; he knows, if he can but keep them 
from believing the truth, he is sure to keep 
them from obeying it. 

A. 2. The not obeying God is for want of 
self-denial. God commands one thing, and 
men's lusts command another, and they will 
rather die than deny their lusts ; now, if lust 
cannot be denied, God cannot be obeyed. 

Use 2d. Obey God's voice. This is the 
beauty of a Christian. 

Quest. What are the great arguments 
or incentives to obedience ? 

Ans. 1. Obedience makes us precious to 
God ; we shall be his favourites, Exod. xix. 
5, " If ye will obey my voice, ye shall be a 
peculiar treasure to me above all people ;" 
you shall be my portion, my jewels, the 
apple of mine eye, " I will give Egypt for 
thy ransom," Isa. xliii. 3. 

A. 2. There is nothing lost by obedience. 
To obey God's will is the way to have our 
will. 1. Would we have a blessing in our 



214 



OF OBEDIENCE TO GOD'S REVEALED WILL. 



estates, let us obey, Deut. xxviii. 1, 3, " If 
thou shalt hearken to the voice of the Lord, 
to do all his commandments, blessed shalt 
thou be in the field: blessed shall be thy 
basket and thy store." To obey, is the best 
way to thrive in our estates. — 2. Would we 
have a blessing in our souls, let us obey, Jer. 
vii. 23, " Obey my voice, and I will be your 
God." My Spirit shall be your guide, sanc- 
tifier, and comforter, Heb. v. 9, " Christ be- 
came the author of eternal salvation to all 
them that obey him." While we please God, 
we please ourselves ; while we give him the 
duty, he gives us the dowry. We are apt to 
say, as Amaziah, 2 Chron. xxv. 9, " What 
shall we do for the hundred talents V You 
see you lose nothing by obeying ; the obe- 
dient son hath the inheritance settled on him. 
Obey, and you shall have a kingdom, Luke 
xii. 32, " It is your Father's good pleasure to 
give you the kingdom." 

Use 3d. What a sin disobedience is ! 1st, 
It is an irrational sin. (1.) We are not able 
to stand it out in defiance against God, 1 Cor. 
x. 22, " Are we stronger than he V Will the 
sinner go to measure arms with God 1 He 
is the Father Almighty, who can command 
legions : if we have no strength to resist him, 
it is irrational to disobey him. (2.) It is 
irrational, as it is against all law and equity : 
we have our daily subsistence from God ; in 
him we live and move, is it not equal, that as 
we live by him, we should live to him 1 that 
as, God gives us our allowance, so we should 
give him our allegiance % 

2dly, It is a destructive sin, 2 Thess. i. 7, 
8, " The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from 
heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming 
fire, taking vengeance on them that obey not 
the gospel." He who refuseth to obey God's 
will in commanding, shall be sure to obey 
his will in punishing. The sinner, while he 
thinks to slip the knot of obedience, twists 
the cord of his own damnation ; he perisheth 
without excuse ; he hath no plea or apology 
to make for himself, Luke xii. 47, " The ser- 
vant which knew his lord's will, but did it not, 
shall be beaten with many stripes." God 
will say why did you not obey 1 You knew 



how to do good, but did it not; therefore 
your blood is upon your own head. 

Quest. What means shall we use that 
we may obey ? 

Ans. 1. Serious consideration. Consider, 
God's commands are not grievous : he com- 
mands nothing unreasonable, 1 John v. 3. It 
is easier to obey the commands of God than 
sin ; the commands of sin are burthensome ; 
let a man be under the power of any lust, 
how doth he tire himself? What hazards 
doth he run, even to the endangering of his 
health and soul, that he may satisfy his 
lusts 1 What tedious journeys did Antiochus 
Epiphanes take in persecuting the Jews] 
Jer. ix. 5, " They weary themselves to com- 
mit iniquity ;" and are not God's commands 
more easy to obey 1 Chrysostom saith, virtue 
is easier than vice, temperance is less bur- 
thensome than drunkenness. Some have gone 
with less pains to heaven, than others have 
to hell. — Consideration 2. God commands 
nothing but what is beneficial, Deut. x. 12, 
13, " O Israel, what doth the Lord require of 
thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, and to 
keep his statutes, which I command thee this 
day, for thy good V To obey God, is not so 
much our duty as our privilege ; his com- 
mands carry meat in the mouth of them. He 
bids us repent : and why 1 that our sins may 
be blotted out, Acts iii. 19. He commands 
us to believe : and why 1 that we may be 
saved, Acts xvi. 31. There is love in every 
command : as if a king should bid one of his 
subjects dig in a gold mine, then take the 
gold to himself. 

A. 2. Earnest supplication. Implore the 
help of the Spirit to carry us on in obe- 
dience : God's Spirit makes obedience easy 
and delightful. If the load-stone draw the 
iron, now it is not hard for the iron to move : 
if God's Spirit quicken and draw the heart, 
now it is not hard to obey. When a gale 
of the Spirit blows, now we go full sail in 
obedience. Turn that promise into a prayer, 
Ezek. xxxvi. 27, " I will put my Spirit within 
you, and cause you to walk in my statutes." 
The promise encourageth us, — the Spirit 
enables us to obedience. 



OF LOVE. 



215 



OF LOVE. 



The rule of obedience being the moral 
law, comprehended in the Ten Command- 
ments, the next question is, 

Quest. XLII. What is the sum of the 
Ten Commandments ? 

Ans. The sum of the Ten Commandments 
is, to love the lord our God with all our heart, 
with all our soul, with all our strength, and 
with all our mind, and our neighbour as our- 
selves. 

Deut. vi. 5, " Thou shalt love the Lord thy 
God, with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, 
and with all thy might." The duty called 
for is love, yea, the strength of love, " with 
all thy heart:" God will lose none of our 
love. Love is the soul of religion, and that 
which goes to the right constituting a Chris- 
tian ; love is the queen of the graces ; it 
shines and sparkles in God's eye, as the pre- 
cious stones did on the breast-plate of Aaron. 

Quest. 1. What is love? 

Ans. It is a holy fire kindled in the affec- 
tions, whereby a Christian is carried out 
strongly after God as the Supreme Good. 

Quest. 2. What is the antecedent of love 
to God? 

Ans. The antecedent of love is knowledge : 
the Spirit shines upon the understanding, and 
discovers these orient beauties in God, — his 
wisdom, holiness, mercy, — and these are the 
lenocinium, the loadstone to entice and draw 
out love to God. Ignoti nulla cupido, — 
such as know not God cannot love him ; if 
the sun be set in the understanding, there 
must needs be night in the affections. 

Quest. 3. Wherein doth the formal na- 
ture of love consist ? 

Ans. The nature of love is in delighting 
in the object : Complacentia amantis in 
amato, Aquin. This is our loving God, our 
taking delight in him, Ps. xxxvii. 4, "De- 
light thyself also in the Lord ;" as a bride 
delights herself in her jewels. Grace chang- 
eth a Christian's aims and delights. 

Quest. 4. How must our love to God be 
qualified ? 



Ans. 1. If it be a sincere love, we must 
love God with all our heart : in the text, 
" Thou shalt love the Lord thy God [Heb. 
Becol leuauca] with all thy heart." God will 
have the whole heart ; we must not divide 
our love between God and sin ; the true mo- 
ther would not have the child divided, nor 
will God have the heart divided ; it must be 
the whole heart. 

A. 2. We must love God propter se, — for 
himself, for his own intrinsic excellencies ; 
we must love him for his loveliness. Mere- 
tricius est amor plus annulum quam spon- 
sum amare ; " It is a harlot's love, to love 
the portion more than the person." Hypo- 
crites love God because he gives them corn 
and wine : we must love God for himself, for 
those shining perfections which are in him. 
Gold is loved for itself. 

A. 3. We must love God with all our might 
(in the Hebrew text our vehemency). We 
must love God, quoad posse, — as much as 
we are able. Christians should be like sera- 
phims burning in holy love ; we can never 
love God so much as he deserves ; the angels 
in heaven cannot love God so much as he 
deserves. 

A. 4. Love to God must be active in its 
sphere ; love is an industrious affection, it 
sets the head a-studying for God, — hands a- 
working, — feet a-running in the ways of his 
commandments, — it is called " the labour of 
love," 1 Thess. i. 3. Mary Magdalene loved 
Christ, and poured her ointments on him. 
We think we never do enough for the person 
whom we love. 

A. 5. Love to God must be superlative. 
God is the quintessence of beauty, a whole 
paradise of delight ; and he must have a pri- 
ority in our love. Our love to God must be 
above all things besides, as the oil swims 
above the water ; we must love God above 
estate, relations. Great is the love to rela- 
tions : there is a story in the French Acade- 
my, of a daughter, who, when her father was 
condemned to die by hunger, gave him suck 



216 



OF LOVE. 



with her own breasts. But our love to God 
must be above father and mother, Matt. x. 37. 
We may give the creature the milk of our love, 
God must have the cream ; the spouse keeps 
the juice of her pomegranates for Christ, 
Cant. viii. 2. 

A. 6. Our love to God must be constant, 
like the fire the Vestal virgins kept in Rome, 
which did not go out. Love must be like the 
motion of the pulse, it beats as long as there 
is life, Cant. viii. 7, " Many waters cannot 
quench love ;" not the waters of persecution. 
Eph. iii. 17, " Rooted in love." A branch 
withers that doth not grow on a root ; that 
love may not die, it must be well rooted. 

Quest. 5. What are the visible signs of 
our love to God ? 

Ans. 1. If we love God, then our desire is 
after him, Isa. xxvi. 8, " The desire of our 
soul is to thy name." He who loves God, 
breathes after communion with him, Ps. xlii. 
2, " My soul thirsteth for the living God." 
Persons in love desire to be often conferring 
together ; he who loves God, desires to be 
much in his presence ; he loves the ordi- 
nances, they are the glass where the glory 
of God is resplendent ; in the ordinances we 
meet with him whom our souls love, we have 
God's smiles and whispers, and some fore- 
tastes of heaven. Such as have no desire 
after ordinances, have no love to God, 

A. 2. The second visible sign : he who 
loves God cannot take contentment in any 
thing without him. A hypocrite who pre- 
tends to love God, give him but corn and wine, 
and he can be content without God : but a 
soul fired with love to God, cannot be without 
him ; lovers faint away, if they have not a 
sight of the object loved. A gracious soul can 
want health, but not want God, who is the 
health of his countenance, Ps. xliii. 5. If 
God should say to a soul that entirely loves 
him, 4 take thy ease, swim in pleasure, so- 
lace thyself in the delights of the world, but 
thou shalt not enjoy my presence,' — this 
would not content the soul. Nay, if God 
should say, ' I will let thee be taken up to hea- 
ven, but T will retire into a withdrawing-room, 
and thou shalt not see my face,' — this would 
not content the soul, it is a hell to want 
God. The philosopher saith there can be no 



gold without the influence of the sun : there 
can be no golden joy in the soul without God's 
sweet presence and influence. 

A. 3. The third visible sign : he who loves 
God, hates that which would separate be- 
tween him and God, and that is sin. Sin 
makes God hide his face ; it is like an incen- 
diary which parts chief friends ; therefore the 
keenness of a Christian's hatred is set against 
sin, Ps. cxix. 128, " I hate every false way." 
Antipathies can never be reconciled ; one can- 
not love health but he must hate poison ; so we 
cannot love God but we must hate sin, which 
would destroy our communion with him. 

A. 4. The fourth visible sign is sympathy ; , 
friends that love do grieve for the evils which 
befall each other. Homer describing Aga- 
memnon's grief when he was forced to sacri- 
fice his daughter, brings in all his friends 
weeping with him, and accompanying him to 
the sacrifice in mourning ; lovers grieve to- 
gether ; if we have true love in our heart to 
God, we cannot but grieve for those things 
which grieve him, — we shall lay to heart his 
dishonours, — the luxury, drunkenness, con- 
tempt of God and religion, Ps. cxix. 136, 
" Rivers of waters ran down mine eyes," &c. 
Some speak of the sins of others, and make 
a laughing at them : sure they have no love 
to God, who can laugh at that which grieves 
his Spirit. Doth he love his father, who can 
laugh to hear him reproached 1 

A. 5. The fifth visible sign : he who loves 
God, labours to render him lovely to others ; 
he not only admires God, but speaks in his 
praises, that he may allure and draw others 
to be in love with God. She that is in love 
will commend her lover : the love-sick spouse 
extols Christ, she makes a panegyrical ora- 
tion of his worth, that she might persuade 
others to be in love with him, Cant. v. 11. His 
head is as the most fine gold. True love to 
God cannot be silent ; it will be eloquent in 
setting forth God's renown ; no better sign of 
loving God, than by making him appear lovely, 
and so drawing proselytes to him. 

A. 6. The sixth visible sign : he who 
loves God, weeps bitterly for his absence. 
Mary comes weeping, " They have taken 
away the Lord," John xx. 2. One cries, 
my health is gone ; another, my estate is 



OF LOVE. 



217 



gone ; but he who is a lover of God, cries out, 
my God is gone, I cannot enjoy him whom I 
love ! What can all worldly comforts do, 
when once God is absent 1 It is like a fune- 
ral-banquet, where there is much meat but no 
cheer, Job xxx. 28, " I went mourning with- 
out the sun." If Rachel mourned so for the 
loss of her children, what veil or pencil can 
shadow out the sorrow of that Christian who 
hath lost God's sweet presence 1 such a soul 
pours forth floods of tears, and while it is 
lamenting, seems to say thus to God, 4 Lord, 
thou art in heaven, hearing the melodious 
songs and triumphs of angels, but I sit here 
in the valley of tears, weeping because thou 
art gone. O when wilt thou come to me, 
and revive me with the light of thy counte- 
nance !' Or, ' Lord, if thou wilt not come to 
me, let me come to thee, where I shall have 
a perpetual smile of thy face in heaven, and 
shall never more complain, " My beloved 
hath withdrawn himself." ' 

A. 7. The seventh visible sign : he who 
loves God, is willing to do and suffer for him. 
He subscribes to God's commands ; he sub- 
mits to his will. 1st, He subscribes to God's 
commands : if God bids him mortify sin, — 
love his enemies, — be crucified to the world, 
' — he obeys. It is a vain thing for a man to 
say he loves God, and slights his commands. 
2dly, He submits to God's will ; if God will 
have him suffer for him, he doth not dispute, 
but obey, 1 Cor. xiii. 7, Love " endureth all 
things." Love made Christ suffer for us, and 
love will make us suffer for him. It is true 
every Christian is not a martyr, but he hath a 
spirit of martyrdom in him ; he hath a dis- 
position of mind to suffer, if God call him 
to it, 2 Tim. iv. 6, " I am now ready to be 
offered up:" not only the sufferings were 
ready for Paul, but he was ready for the suf- 
ferings. Origen choosed rather to live de- 
spised in Alexandria, than with Plotinus to 
deny the faith, and be great in the prince's 
favour, Rev. xii. 11. Many say they love 
God, but will not suffer the loss of any thing 
for him. If Christ should have said to us, ' I 
love you well, you are dear to me, but I can- 
not suffer for you, I cannot lay down my life 
for you,' we should have questioned his love 
very much : and may not the Lord question 
2 E 



ours, when we pretend love to him, but will 
endure nothing for his sake 1 

Use 1st. What shall we say to them who 
have not a drachm of love in their hearts to 
God ) They have their life from him, yet do 
not love him. God spreads their table every 
day, yet they do not love him ; sinners dread 
God as a judge, but do not love him as a 
father. All the strength in the angels cannot 
make the heart love God ; judgments will not 
do it; only omnipotent grace can make a 
stony heart melt in love. How sad is it to 
be void of love to God ! When the body is 
cold, and hath no heat in it, it is a sign of 
death ; he is spiritually dead who hath no 
heat of love in his heart to God. Shall such 
live with God, that doth not love him ? Will 
God lay an enemy in his bosom 1 Such as 
will not be drawn with cords of love, shall 
be bound in chains of darkness. 

Use 2d. Let us be persuaded to love God 
with all our heart and might. O let us take 
our love off from other things, and place it 
upon God ! Love is the heart of religion, the 
fat of the offering ; it is the grace which 
Christ inquires most after, John xxi. 15, 
" Simon lovest thou me!" Love makes all 
our services acceptable, it is the musk that 
perfumes them. It is not so much duty, as 
love to duty, God delights in; therefore 
serving and loving God are put together, 
Isa. lvi. 6. It is better to love him than to 
serve him ; obedience without love is like 
wine without the spirit. O then, be per- 
suaded to love God with all your heart and 
might ! To persuade to this virgin-affection 
of love. 

1. It is nothing but your love God desires. 
The Lord might have demanded your chil- 
dren to be offered in sacrifice ; he might have 
bid you cut and lance yourselves, or lien in 
hell awhile ; but he only desires your love, 
he would only have this flower. Is this a 
hard request, to love God 1 Was ever any 
debt easier paid than this 1 Is it any labour 
for the wife to love her husband 1 Love is 
delightful. Non potest amor esse, et dulcis 
non esse, Bern. What is there in our love, 
that God should desire it 1 Why should a 
king desire the love of a woman that is in 
debt and diseased 1 God doth not want our 



218 



OF THE PREFACE TO THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 



love. There are angels enough in heaven 
to adore and love him. What is God the 
better for our love? It adds not the least 
cubit to his essential blessedness. God doth 
not need our love, yet seeks it. Why doth 
God desire us to give him our heart ] Prov. 
xxiii. 26. Not that he needs our heart, but 
that he may make it better. 

2. Great will be our advantage, if we love 
God. God doth not court our love, that we 
should lose it, 1 Cor. ii. 9, " Eye hath not 
seen, nor ear heard the things which God 
hath prepared for them that love him." If 
you will love God, you shall have such a re- 
ward as exceeds your faith. God will be- 
trothe you to himself in the dearest love, 
Hos. ii. 19, " I will betrothe thee unto me 
for ever, in loving-kindness and mercies ;" 
Zeph. iii. 17, " The Lord thy God will rejoice 
over thee with joy, he will rest in his love." 
If you love God, he will interest you in all 
his riches and dignities, he will give you 
heaven and earth for your dowry, he will set 
a crown on your head., Vespasian the em- 
peror gave a great reward to a woman who 
came to him, and professed she loved him ; 
God gives a crown of life to them that love 
him, James i. 12. 

3. Love is the only grace that shall live 
with us in heaven. In heaven we shall need 
no repentance, because we have no sin ; no 
faith, because we shall see God face to face : 
but love to God shall abide for ever, ' Love 
never faileth,' 1 Cor. xiii. 8. How shall we 
nourish this grace, which shall outlive all the 
graces, and run parallel with eternity ! 

4. Our love to God is a sign of his love to 
us, 1 John iv. 19, " We love him because he 
first loved us." By nature we have no love to 
God ; we have hearts of stone, Ezek. xxxvi. 



1. And how can any love be in hearts of 
stone 1 Our loving him is from his loving us. 
If the glass burn it is because the sun hath 
shined on it, else it could not burn ; if our 
hearts burn in love, it is a sign the Sun of 
Righteousness hath shined upon us. 

Quest. How shall we do to love God 
aright 1 

Ans. 1. Wait on the preaching of the 
word. As faith comes by hearing, so doth 
love ; the word sets forth God, in his in- 
comparable excellencies ; it doth decypher 
and pencil him out in all his glory, and a 
sight of his beauty inflames love. 

A. 2. Beg of God that he will give you 
a heart to love him. When king Solomon 
asked wisdom of God, " the speech pleased 
the Lord," 1 Kings iii. 10. So, when thou 
criest to God, « Lord, give me a heart to love 
thee, it is my grief I can love thee no more !' 
sure this prayer pleaseth the Lord, and he 
will pour out his Spirit upon thee, whose 
golden oil will make the lamp of thy love 
burn bright. 

A. 3. You who have love^to God, keep it 
flaming upon the altar of your heart. Love, 
as fire, will be ready to go out, Rev. ii. 4, 
" Thou hast left thy first love." Through 
neglect of duty, or too much love of the world, 
our love to God will cool. O preserve your 
love to God ! As you would be careful to 
preserve the natural heat in your body, so be 
careful to preserve the heat of love to God ! 
Love is like oil to the wheels, it quickens us 
in God's service. When you find your love 
abate and cool, use all means for quickening ; 
when the fire is going out, you throw on fuel : 
when the flame of love is going out, make 
use of the ordinances as sacred fuel to keep 
the fire of your love burning. 



OF THE PREFACE TO THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 

Exod. xx. 1, 2. And God spake all these words, saying, I am the Lord thy God, cf-c. 

Quest. XLIII. What is the preface to Where observe, 1. The preface to the pre- 

the Ten Commandments ? face, " God spake all these words, saying." 

Ans. The preface to the Ten Command- 2. The preface itself to the commandments, 

ments is, " I am the Lord thy God." " I am the Lord thy God." 



OF THE PREFACE TO THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 



219 



I. I begin with the first, the preface to the 
preface, " God spake all these words, say- 
ing," &c. This is like the sounding of a 
trumpet before a solemn proclamation, " God 
spake ;" other parts of the Bible are said to 
be uttered by the mouth of the holy prophets, 
Luke i. 70, but here God spake in his own 
person. 

Quest. How may we understand this 
[God spake], he hath no bodily parts or 
organs of speech 1 

Ans. God made some intelligible sound, or 
formed a voice in the air, which was to the 
Jews as God's very speaking to them. In 
the text, 1. The lawgiver, God, «' God spake." 
2. The law itself, " all these words." 

1. The lawgiver, " God spake." There 
are two things requisite in a lawgiver. 1st, 
Wisdom. Laws are founded upon reason ; 
and he must be wise that makes laws. God, 
in this respect, is most fit to be a lawgiver ; 
" he is wise in heart," Job ix. 4 ; he hath a 
monopoly of wisdom, 1 Tim. i. 17, " The 
only wise God." Therefore he is the fittest 
to enact and constitute laws. 2dly, The se- 
cond thing requisite in a lawgiver is authority. 
If a subject make laws, though never so wise, 
yet they want the stamp of authority. God 
hath the supreme power in his hand ; he de- 
rives a being to all ; and he who gives men 
their lives, hath most right to give them their 
laws. 

2. The law itself, " all these words f that 
is, all the words of the moral law, which is 
usually styled the decalogue or ten command- 
ments. It is called the moral law, because 
it is the rule of life and manners. 

St Chrysostom compares the scripture to 
a garden, — the moral law is a chief flower in 
it ; the scripture is a banquet, — the moral 
law the chief dish in it. 

(1) . The moral law is perfect, Ps. xix. 7, 
" The law of the Lord is perfect." It is an 
exact model and platform of religion ; it is 
the standard of truth, the judge of controver- 
sies, the pole star to direct us to heaven. 
Prov. vi. 23, " The commandment is a lamp." 
Though the moral law be not a Christ to 
justify us, yet it is a rule to instruct us. 

(2) . The moral law is unalterable ; it re- 
mains still in force. Though the ceremonial 



and judicial law are abrogated, yet the moral 
law, delivered by God's own mouth, is to be 
of perpetual use in the church. Therefore 
the law was written in tables of stond, to 
show the perpetuity of it. 

(3). The moral law is very illustrious and 
full of glory. God did put glory upon it in 
the manner of the promulgation of it. 1. The 
people, before the moral law was delivered 
were to wash their clothes, Exod. xix. 10, 
whereby as by a type, God required the sanc- 
tifying of their ears and hearts to receive the 
law. — 2. There were bounds set that none 
might touch the mount, Exod. xix. 12, which 
was to breed in the people reverence to the 
law. — 3. God wrote the law with his own 
finger, Exod. xxxi. 18, which was such an 
honour put upon the moral law as we read of 
no other written. God did by some mighty 
operation make the law legible in letters, as 
if it had been written with his own finger. — 

4. God's putting the law in the ark to be kept, 
was another signal mark of honour put upon 
it. The ark was the cabinet in which God 
put the ten commandments, as ten jewels. — 

5. At the delivery of the moral law, there 
was the attendance of many angels, Deut. 
xxxii. Here was a parliament of angels 
called, and God himself was the speaker. 

Use 1st. Here we may take notice of God's 
goodness, who hath not left us without a law : 
therefore the Lord doth often set it down as 
a demonstration of his love, in giving his 
commandments : Ps. cxlvii. 20, " He hath not 
dealt so with any nation, and as for his judg- 
ments they have not known them ;" Neh. ix. 
13, " Thou gavest them true laws, good sta- 
tutes and commandments." What a strange 
creature would man be if he had no law to 
direct him ! There would be no living in the 
world ; we should have none born but Ishmaels, 
every man's hand would be against his neigh- 
bour. Man would grow wild, if he had not af- 
fliction to tame him, and the moral law to 
guide him. The law of God is a hedge to keep 
us within the bounds of sobriety and piety. 

Use 2d. If God spake all these words of 
the moral law, then it condemns, 1st, The 
Marcionites, and Manichees, who speak slight- 
ly, yea, blasphemously of the moral law : they 
say, it is below a Christian, it is carnal, which 



220 



OF THE PREFACE TO THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 



the apostle confutes, when he saith, " The 
law is spiritual, but I am carnal." Rom. vii. 
14. 2dly, The Antinomians, who will not 
admit the moral law to be a rule to a believer. 
We say not he is under the curse of the law, 
but the command ; we say not the moral law 
is a Christ, but it is a star to lead one to 
Christ ; we say not it doth save, but it doth 
sanctify. They who cast God's law behind 
their backs, God will cast their prayers be- 
hind his back ; they who will not have the law 
to rule them, shall have the law to judge 
them. 3dly, The papists, who (as if God's law 
were imperfect, and when he spake all these 
words he did not speak enough) add their 
canons and traditions to the moral law. This 
is to tax God's wisdom, as if he knew not 
how to make his own law. And surely it is 
a high provoking sin, Rev. xxii. 18, " If any 
man shall add unto these things, God shall add 
unto him the plagues written in this book." 
As it is a great evil to add any thing to a 
man's sealed will, so much more to add any 
thing to that law God himself spake, and 
wrote with his own fingers. 

Use 3d. If God spake all these words, viz. 
of the moral law, then this presseth upon us 
several duties : 1. If God spake all these 
words, then we must hear all these words. 
The words which God speaks are too pre- 
cious to be lost. As we would have God 
hear all our words when we pray, so we must 
hear all his words when he speaks. We 
must not be as the deaf adder which stop- 
peth her ears : he that stops his ears when 
God cries, shall cry himself, and not be 
heard. 

2. If God spake all these words, then we 
must attend to them with reverence. Every 
word of the moral Jaw is an oracle from hea- 
ven ; God himself is the preacher ; this calls 
for reverence. If a judge gives a charge 
upon the bench, all attend with reverence. 
In the moral law God himself gives a charge, 
" God spake all these words." Therefore, 
with what veneration should we attend 1 
Moses put off his shoes from his feet, in 
token of reverence when God was about to 
speak to him, Exod. iii. 5, 6. 

3. If God spake all these words of the mo- 
ral law, then we must remember them. Sure 



all God speaks is worth remembering. Those 
words are weighty which concern salvation, 
Deut. xxxii. 47, " It is not a vain thing for 
you, because it is your life." Our memory 
should be like the chest in the ark where the 
law was kept : God's oracles are ornaments, 
and shall we forget them 7 Jer. ii. 32, " Can 
a maid forget her ornaments V 

4. If God spake all these words, then be- 
lieve them. See the name of God written 
upon every commandment. The heathens, 
that they might gain credit to their laws, re- 
ported that they were inspired by the gods at 
Rome. The moral law fetcheth its pedigree 
from heaven : ipse dixit, — God spake all 
these words. Shall we not give credit to the 
God of heaven 1 How would the angel con- 
firm the women in the resurrection of Christ, 
Matt, xxviii. 7, " Lo (saith he) I have told 
you ;" I speak in the word of an angel. Much 
more should the moral law be believed, when 
it comes to us in the word of God. " God 
spake all these words." Unbelief enervates 
the virtue of God's word, and makes it prove 
abortive, Heb. iv. 2, " The word did not profit 
them, not being mixed with faith." Eve 
gave more credit to the devil when he spake, 
than she did to God. 

5. If God spake all these words, then love 
the commandments, Ps. cxix. 97, " O how 
love I thy law ! it is my meditation all the 
day." " Consider how I love thy precepts," 
Ps. cxix. 159. The moral law is the copy of 
God's will, — our spiritual directory ; it shows 
us what sins to avoid, what duties to pursue ; 
the ten commandments are a chain of pearls 
to adorn us, they are our treasury to enrich us, 
they are more precious than lands of spices, or 
rocks of diamonds, Ps. cxix. 72, " The law of 
thy mouth is better to me than thousands of 
gold and silver." The law of God hath truth 
and goodness in it, Neh. ix. 13. Truth, for 
God spake it ; and goodness, for there is no- 
thing the commandment enjoins, but is for 
our good. O then let this command our love ! 

6. If God spake all these words, then 
teach your children the law of God, Deut. 
vi. 7, " These words which I command thee 
this day shall be in thy heart, and thou shalt 
teach them diligently to thy children." He 
who is godly, is both a diamond and a load- 



OF THE PREFACE TO THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 



221 



stone ; a diamond for the sparkling of his 
grace, and a loadstone for his attractive vir- 
tue in drawing others to the love of God's 
precepts, vir bonus magis aliis prodest quam 
sibi. You that are parents, discharge your 
duty; though you cannot impart grace to 
your children, yet you may impart know- 
ledge. Let your children know the com- 
mandments of God, Deut. xi. 19, "Ye shall 
teach them to your children. " You are care- 
ful to leave your children a portion ; leave 
the oracles of heaven with them ; instruct 
them in the law of God ; if God spake all 
these words, you may well speak them over 
again to your children. 

7. If God spake all these words, then the 
moral law must be obeyed. _ If a king speaks, 
his word commands allegiance, much more, 
when God speaks, all his words must be sub- 
scribed to. Some will obey partially, obey 
some commandments, not others, — like a 
plough, which when it comes to a stiff piece 
of earth, makes a baulk, — but God that spake 
all the words of the moral law, will have all 
obeyed : God will not dispense with the breach 
of one law. Indeed princes, for special rea- 
sons, dispense sometimes with penal statutes, 
and will not take the severity of the law : but 
God, who spake all these words, binds men 
with a subpoena to yield obedience to every 
law. 

This condemns the church of Rome, who 
instead of obeying the whole moral law, blot 
out one commandment, and dispense with 
others. — 1. They leave out the second com- 
mandment out of their catechises, because it 
makes against images ; and to fill up the num- 
ber of ten, they divide the tenth command- 
ment into two. Thus they run themselves 
into that dreadful premunire, Rev. xxii. 19, 
" If any man shall take away from the words 
of this book, God shall take away his part out 
of the book of life." — 2. As they blot out one 
commandment, and cut that knot which they 



cannot untie, so they dispense with other 
commandments ; they dispense with the sixth 
commandment, making murder meritorious, 
in case of propagating the Catholic cause ; 
they dispense with the seventh command- 
ment, wherein God forbids adultery, — the 
pope dispenseth with the sin of uncleanness, 
yea, incest, only paying such fines and sums 
of money into his coffer. No wonder the 
pope takes men off from their loyalty to kings 
and princes, when he teacheth them dis- 
loyalty to God! Some of the papists say 
expressly in their writings, that the pope 
hath power to dispense with the laws of 
God, and can give men a license to break the 
commandments of the Old and New Testa- 
ment. That such a religion ever get foot in 
England, the Lord in mercy prevent ! If God 
spake all the commandments, then we must 
obey all ; he who breaks this hedge of the 
commandments, a serpent shall bite him. 

Obj. But what man alive can obey all 
God's commandments ? 

Ans. To obey the law in a legal sense, viz. 
to do all the law requires, no man alive can ; 
sin hath cut the lock of original righteous- 
ness, where our strength lay ; but, in a true 
gospel-sense, we may so obey the moral law, 
as to find acceptance. Which gospel-obe- 
dience consists in a real endeavour to observe 
the whole moral law, Ps. cxix. 166, " 1 have 
done thy commandments ;" not, I have done 
all I should do, but I have done all I am able 
to do ; and wherein our obedience comes 
short, we look up to the perfect righteousness 
and obedience of Christ, and hope for pardon 
through his blood; this is evangelically to 
obey the moral law, which, though it be not 
to satisfaction, yet it is to acceptation. Thus 
I have done with the first, the preface to the 
preface, " God spake all these words :" I 
should now come to the second, the preface 
itself to the commandments, ' I am the Lord 
thy God,' &c. 



Exod. xx. 2. I am the Lord thy God, <$-c. 



II. The preface itself, which consists of 
three parts : 1. "lain the Lord thy God ;" 
2. " Which have brought thee out of the 



land of Egypt ;" 3. " Out of the house of 
bondage." 

First, " 1 am the Lord thv God." Where 



222 



OF THE PREFACE TO THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 



we have a description of God, 1. By his es- 
sential greatness, " 1 am the Lord 2. By 
his relative goodness, " thy God/' 1st, By 
his essential greatness, "I am the Lord," 
or, as it is in the Hebrew, Jehovah. By 
this great name God sets forth his majesty. 
Sanctius habitum fuit, saith Buxtorf. The 
name of Jehovah was had in more reverence 
among the Jews than any other name of God, 
it signifies God's self-sufficiency, eternity, 
independency, immutability, Mai. iii. 6. 

Use 1st. If God be Jehovah, — the fountain 
of being, who can do what he will, — let us 
fear this great Lord, Deut. xxviii. 58, " That 
thou mayest fear this glorious and fearful 
name, Jehovali." 

Use 2d. If God be Jehovah, the supreme 
Lord, then it condemns the blasphemous 
papists, who speak after this manner, ' Our 
Lord God the Pope.' Is it a wonder the 
pope lifts his triple crown above the head of 
kings and emperors, when he usurps God's 
title, " showing himself that he is God ?" 
2 Thess. ii. 4. The pope goes to make him- 
self Lord of heaven, — for he will canonize 
saints there ; Lord of earth, — for with his 
keys he doth bind and loose whom he pleaseth; 
Lord of hell, — for he can free men out of pur- 
gatory : but God will pull down these plumes 
of pride ; he will " consume this man of sin 
with the breath of his mouth, and the bright- 
ness of his coming." 2 Thess. ii. 8. 

2dly, God is described by his relative good- 
ness, " thy God." Had God only called him- 
self Jehovah, it might have terrified us, and 
made us flee from him, but when he said, 
" thy God," this may allure and draw us to 
him ; this, though a preface to the law, is 
pure gospel. This word Eloeha, ' thy God,' 
is so sweet, that we can never suck out all 
the honey in it. ' I am thy~ God,' not only 
by creation, but by election. This word, 
" thy God," though it was spoken to Israel, 
yet is a charter belongs to all the saints. 
For the further explication, here are three 
questions. 

Quest. 1. How God comes to be our 
God? 

Ans. Through Jesus Christ. Christ is a 
middle person in the Trinity ; he is Em- 
manuel, 'God with us:' he brings two dif- 



ferent parties together ; he makes our nature 
lovely to God, and God's nature lovely to us ; 
he, by his death, causeth friendship, yea, j 
union ; he brings us within the verge of the j 
covenant, and so God becomes our God. 

Quest. 2. What doth this imply, God 
being: our God? 

Ans. It is comprehensive of all good I 
things. God is our strong tower, — our foun- I 
tain of living water, — our salvation. More 
particularly, God being our God implies the 
sweetest relation. 

1. The relation of a father, 2 Cor. vi. 18, 
" I will be a Father unto you." A father is 
full of tender care for his child : whom doth ! 
he settle the inheritance upon, but his child? 
God being our God, will be a father to us : a i 
" Father of mercy," 1 Cor. i. 3 ; " The ever- 
lasting Father," Isa. ix. 6. If God be our 
God, we have a Father in heaven that never j 
dies. 

2. It imports the relation of a husband, 
Isa. liv. 5, " Thy Maker is thy husband." If 
God be our husband, he esteems us precious 
to him, as the apple of his eye, Zech. ii. 8. 
He imparts his secrets to us, Ps. xxv. 14. ; 
He bestows a kingdom upon us for our 
dowry, Luke xii. 32. 

Quest. 3. How may we come to know this 
covenant union, that God is our God? 

Ajfs. 1. By having his grace planted in us. 
Kings' children are known by their costly 
jewels : it is not having common gifts which 
shows we belong to God, many have the 
gifts of God without God 5 but it is grace 
gives us a true genuine title to God. In par- 
ticular, faith is vinculum unionis, — the grace 
of union ; by this we may spell out our in- 
terest in God. Faith doth not, as the mari* 
ner, cast its anchor downwards, but upwards ; 
it trusts in the mercy and blood of God, and 
trusting in God, engageth him to be our 
God ; other graces make us like God, faith 
makes us one with him. 

A. 2. We may know God is our God by 
having the earnest of his Spirit in our 
hearts, 2 Cor. i. 22. God often gives the 
purse to the wicked, but the Spirit only to 
such as he intends to make his heirs. (1). 
Have we had the consecration of the Spi- 
rit 1 If we have not had the sealing work 



OF THE PREFACE TO THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 



223 



of the Spirit, have we had the healing work 1 
1 John ii. 20, " Ye have an unction from the 
holy One." The Spirit, where it is, stamps 
the impress of its own holiness upon the 
heart ; it embroiders and bespangles the soul, 
and makes it all glorious within. (2). Have 
we had the attraction of the Spirit ] Cant. i. 
4, " Draw me, we will run after thee," Hath 
the Spirit, by its magnetic virtue, drawn our 
hearts to God 1 Can we say, as Cant. i. 7, 
" O thou whom my soul loveth !" Is God 
our paradise of delight ] our Segullah, our 
chief treasure 1 Are our hearts so chained to 
God, that no other object can enchant us, or 
draw us away from him ? (3). Have we had 
the elevation of the Spirit 1 Hath it raised 
our hearts above the world 1 Ezek. iii. 14, 
" The Spirit lifted me up." Hath the Spirit 
made us supremo, anhelare ? seek the things 
above where Christ is. Though our flesh is 
on earth, is our heart in heaven 1 Though 
we live here, trade we above ? Hath the 
Spirit thus lifted us up 1 By this we may 
come to know, that God is our God : where 
God gives his spirit for an earnest, there he 
gives himself for a portion. 

A. 3. We may know God is our God, if he 
hath given us the hearts of children. Have 
we obediential hearts ] Ps. xxvii. 8. Do we 
subscribe to God's commands, when his com- 
mands cross our will 1 A true saint is like 
the flower of the sun : it opens and shuts with 
the sun, he opens to God, and shuts to sin. 
If we have the hearts of children then God is 
our father. 

A. 4. We may know God is ours, and we 
have an interest in him, by our standing up 
for his interest. We will appear in his cause, 
and vindicate his truth, wherein his glory is 
so much concerned. Athanasius was the 
bulwark of truth ; he stood up for it, when 
most of the world were Arians. In former 
times the nobles of Polonia, when the gospel 
was read, did lay their hands upon their 
swords, signifying that they were ready to 
defend the faith, and hazard their lives for 
the gospel : no better sign of our having an 
interest in God, than by our standing up for 
his interest. 

A. 5. We may know God is ours, and we 
have an interest in hirn, by his having an 



interest in us, Cant. ii. 16, " My beloved is 
mine, and I am his." When God saith to 
the soul, " Thou art mine ;" the soul answers, 
" Lord 1 am thine ; all I have is at thy ser- 
vice ; my head shall be thine to study for 
thee ; my tongue shall be thine to praise 
thee." If God be our God by way of dona- 
tion, we are his by way of dedication ; we 
live to him, and are more his than we are 
our own. And thus we may come to know 
that God is our God. 

Use 1st. Above all things let us get this 
great charter confirmed, that God is our God. 
Deity is not comfortable without propriety. 
Tolle Deum, et title Deum, Aug. O let us 
labour to get sound evidences, that God is 
our God ! We cannot call health, liberty, 
estate, ours ; O let us be able to call God 
ours, and say as the church, Ps. lxvii. 6, 
"God, even our own God shall bless us!" 
Let every soul here labour to pronounce this 
Shibboleth, ' My God.' And that we may 
endeavour after this to have God for our God ; 
consider, 1. The misery of such as have not 
God for their God. In how sad a condition 
are they, when an hour of distress comes 1 
This was Saul's case, I Sam. xxviii. 15, " I 
am sore distressed ; for the Philistines make 
war against me, and the Lord is departed 
from me." A wicked man, in time of trou- 
ble, is like a vessel tossed on the sea without 
an anchor, it falls on rocks or sands ; a sin- 
ner, not having God to be his God, though 
he make a shift while health and estate last, 
yet, when these crutches which he leaned 
upon are broken his heart sinks. It is with 
a wicked man as it is with the old world, 
when the flood came ; the waters at first came 
to the valleys, but then the people would get 
to the hills and mountains, but when the 
waters came to the mountains, then there 
might be some trees on the high hills, and 
they would climb up to them ; ay, but then 
the waters did rise up to the tops of the trees, 
— now all hopes of being saved were gone, 
their hearts failed them. So it is with a 
man that hath not God to be his God : if one 
comfort be taken away, he hath another, — 
if he lose a child, he hath an estate, — ay, but 
when the waters rise higher death comes and 
takes away all ; now he hath nothing to help 



224 



OF THE PREFACE TO THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 



himself with, no God to go to, he must needs 
die despairing. 2. How great a privilege it 
is to have God for our God 1 Ps. cxliv. 15, 
" Happy are the people whose God is the 
Lord." Beatitude hominis est Deus, Aug. 
That you may see the privilege of this charter: 

1. If God be our God, then, though we may 
feel the stroke of evil, yet not the sting. He 
must needs be happy who is in such a con- 
dition that nothing can hurt him ; if he lose 
his name, — it is written in the book of life ; 
if he lose his liberty, — his conscience is free ; 
if he lose his estate, — he is possessed of the 
pearl of price ; if he meet with storms, — he 
knows where to put in for harbour ; God is 
his God, and heaven is his haven. 

2. If God be our God, then our soul is safe. 
The soul is the jewel, it is a blossom of eter- 
nity, Dan. vii. 15, " I was grieved in the 
midst of my body ;" in the Chaldee it is " in 
the midst of my sheath." The body is but 
the sheath ; the soul is the princely part of 
man which sways the sceptre of reason ; it is 
a celestial spark, as Damascene calls it. If 
God be our God, the soul is safe, as in a gar- 
rison. Death can do no more hurt to a vir- 
tuous heaven-born soul, than David did to 
Saul, when he cut off the lap of his garment ; 
the soul is safe, being hid in the promises, — 
hid in the wounds of Christ, — hid in God's 
decree. The soul is the pearl, and heaven 
is the cabinet where God will lock it up safe. 

3. If God be our God, then all that is in 
God is ours : the Lord saith to a saint in 
covenant, as the king of Israel to the king of 
Syria, 1 Kings xx. 4, " I am thine, and all 
that I have." So saith God, " I am thine." 
How happy is he who not only inherits the 
gift of God, but inherits God himself ! All 
that I have shall be thine ; my wisdom shall 
be thine, to teach thee ; my power shall be 
thine, to support thee ; my mercy shall be 
thine, to save thee. God is an infinite ocean 
of blessedness, and there is enough in him to 
fill us. If a thousand vessels be thrown into 
the sea, there is enough in the sea to fill 
them. 

4. If God be our God, he will entirely love 
us : propriety is the ground of love. God 
may give men kingdoms, and not love them ; 
but he cannot be our God, and not love 



us. He calls his covenanted saints, Jedi- 
duth Naphshi, " The dearly beloved of my 
soul," Jer. xii. 7. He rejoiceth over them 
with joy, and rests in his love, Zeph. hi. 17 ; 
they are his refined silver, Zech. xiii. 9 ; his 
jewels, Mai. iii. 17 ; his royal diadem, Isa. 
lxii. 3. He gives them the cream and flower 
of his love ; he not only opens his hand and 
fills them, Ps. cxlv. 16, but opens his heart 
and fills them. 

5. If God be our God, he will do more for 
us than all the world besides can. What is 
that 1 1. He will give us peace in trouble : 
when a storm without, he will make music 
within. The world can create trouble in 
peace, but God can create peace in trouble ; 
he will send the Comforter, who, as a dove, 
brings an olive-branch of peace in his mouth, 
John xiv. 16. 2. God will give us a crown 
of immortality : the world can give a crown 
of gold, but that crown hath thorns in it, and 
death in it : but God will give " a crown of 
glory that fadeth not away," 1 Pet. v. 4. 
The garland made of the flowers of paradise 
never withers. 

6. If God be our God, he will bear with 
many infirmities. God may respite sinners 
a while, but long forbearance is no acquit- 
tance ; he will throw them to hell for their 
sins ; but if God be our God, he will not for 
every failing destroy us ; he bears with his 
spouse as with the weaker vessel ; God may 
chastise, Ps. lxxxix. 32, he may use the rod 
and the pruning-knife, but not the bloody axe, 
Numb, xxiii. 21, " He hath not beheld iniqui- 
ty in Jacob :" he will not see sin in his peo- 
ple, so as to destroy them ; he sees their sins 
so as to pity them ; he sees them as a phy- 
sician sees a disease in his patient, to heal 
him, Isa. lvii. 18, " I have seen his ways, 
and I will heal him." Every failing doth not 
break the marriage-bond asunder. The dis- 
ciples had great failings, they all forsook 
Christ and fled ; but this did not break off 
their interest in God, therefore saith Christ, 
at his ascension, « Tell my disciples, I go to 
my God and to their God." 

7. If God be once our God, he is so for 
ever, Ps. xlviii. 14, " This God is our God 
for ever and ever." Whatever worldly 
comforts we have are but for a season, Heb. 



OF THE PREFACE TO THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 



225 



xi. 25; we must part with all. As Paul's 
friends did accompany him to the ship, and 
there left him, Acts xx. 28, so all our earthly 
comforts will but go with us to the grave, and 
there leave us. You cannot say you have 
health, and shall have it for ever ; you have 
a child, and shall have it for ever ; but if God 
be your God, you shall have him for ever ; 
" This God is our God for ever and ever." 
If God be our God, he will be a God to us as 
long as he is a God ! " You have taken away 
my gods," saith Micah, Judges xviii. 24. 
But it cannot be said to a believer, that his 
God is taken away ; he may lose all things 
else, but cannot lose his God. God is ours 
from everlasting in election, and to everlast- 
ing in glory. 



8. If God be our God, we shall enjoy all 
our godly relations with him in heaven. The 
great felicity on earth, is to enjoy relations ; 
a father sees his own picture in a child ; a 
wife sees a piece of herself in her husband ; 
we plant the flower of love among our rela- 
tions, and the loss of them is like the pulling 
off a limb from the body. But if God be ours, 
with enjoying God we shall enjoy all our 
pious relations in glory. The gracious child 
shall see his godly father, the virtuous wife 
shall see her religious husband in Christ's 
arms : and then there will be a dearer love to 
relations than ever was before, though in a 
far different manner; then relations shall 
meet and never part : " And so shall we be 
ever with the Lord," 1 Thess. iv. 17. 



Exod. xx. 2. I am the Lord thy God, <$c. 



To all such as can make out this covenant 
union, it exhorts to several things. 

1st. If God be our God, let us improve our 
interest in him, — cast all our burdens upon 
him — the burden of our fears, wants, sins, 
Ps. lv. 22, " Cast thy burden upon the Lord." 
Wicked men, who are a burden to God, have 
no right to cast their burden upon him ; but 
such as have God for their God, are called 
upon to cast their burden on him. Where 
should the child ease all its cares but in the 
bosom of its parent? Judges xix. 20, " Let 
all thy wants lie upon me." So God seems to 
say to his children, ' Let all your wants lie 
upon me.' Christian, what doth trouble thee ! 
Thou hast a God to pardon thy sins, to supply 
thy wants, — therefore roll your burden on the 
Lord : 1 Pet. v. 7, " Casting all your care on 
him." Whence are Christians so disquieted 
in their mind ] They are taking care, when 
they should be casting care away. 

2d. If God be our God, let us learn to be 
contented, though we have the less of other 
things. Contentment is a rare jewel ; it is 
the cure of care. If we have God to be our 
God, well may we be contented. " I know 
whom I have believed," 2 Tim. i. 12: there 
was Paul's interest in God ; 2 Cor. vi. 10, 
"As having nothing, yet possessing all:" 
2 F 



there was his content. That such who have 
covenant-union with God may be filled with 
contentation of spirit, consider what a rich 
blessing God is to the soul. 

1. God is bonum sujjiciens, — a sufficient 
good. He who hath God hath enough. If a 
man be thirsty bring him to a spring, and he 
is satisfied ; in God there is enough to fill 
the heaven-born soul ; " He gives grace and 
glory," Ps. lxxxiv. 11. There is in God not 
only a sufficiency, but a redundancy ; he is 
not only full as a vessel but as a spring. 
Other things can no more fill the soul than a 
mariner's breath can fill the sails of a ship ; 
but in God is a cornucopia, an infinite ful- 
ness ; he hath enough to fill the angels, there- 
fore enough to fill us. The heart is a trian- 
gle, which only the Trinity can fill. 

2. God is bonum sanctificans, — a sanctify- 
ing good. 1. He sanctifies all our comforts, 
and turns them into blessings. Health is 
blessed, estate is blessed, he gives with the 
venison a blessing, Ps. cxxxii. 15, " I wil 
abundantly bless her provision." He gives 
us that life we have tanquam arhabo, — as an 
earnest of more. He gives the little meal in 
the barrel, as an earnest of the royal feast in 
paradise. 2. He sanctifies all our crosses ; 
they shall not be destructive punishments, but 



226 



OF THE PREFACE TO THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 



medicines, — they shall corrode and eat out 
the venom of sin, — they shall polish and re- 
fine our grace. The more the diamond is cut 
it sparkles the more. God's stretching the 
strings of his viol, is to make the music better. 

3. God is bonum selectum, — a choice good. 
All things, sub sole, are but bona scabelli, as 
Austin, the blessings of the footstool ; but to 
have God himself to be ours, is the blessing of 
the throne. Abraham gave gifts to the sons of 
the concubines, but he settled the inheritance 
upon Isaac : Gen. xxv. 5, " Abraham gave all 
that he had to Isaac." God may send away the 
men of the world with gifts, a little gold and 
silver ; but, in giving us himself, he gives us 
the very quintessence, his grace, his love, his 
kingdom ; here is the crowning blessing. 

4. God is bonum summum, — the chief 
good, in the chief good there must be, First, 
delectability, it must have something that is 
delicious and sweet : and where can we suck 
those pure quintessential comforts, which 
ravish us with delight, but in God ? In Deo 
quadam dulcedine delectatur anima, imo 
rapitur; "At God's right hand are plea- 
sures," Ps. xvu 11. Secondly, In the chief 
good there must be transcendency, it must 
have a surpassing excellency. Thus God is 
infinitely better than all other things ; it is be- 
low the Deity to compare other things with it. 
Who would go to weigh a feather with a 
mountain of gold? God is fons et origo, — 
the spring of all entities, and the cause is 
more noble than the effect. It is God that 
bespangles the creation, — that puts light into 
the sun, — that fills the veins of the earth with 
silver; creatures do but maintain life, God 
gives life ; God infinitely outshines all sub- 
lunary glory ; he is better than the soul, than 
angels, than heaven. Thirdly, In the chief 
good, there must be not only fulness, but 
variety ; where variety is wanting we are apt 
to nauseate ; to feed only on honey, would 
breed loathing ; but in God is all variety of 
fulness, Col. i. 19. He is a universal good, 
commensurate to all our wants ; he is bonum 
in quo omnia bona, a son, a portion, a horn 
of salvation ; he is called the " God of all 
comfort," 2 Cor. i. 3. There is a complica- 
tion of all beauties and delights in him ; health 
hath not the comfort of beauty, nor beauty of 



riches, nor riches of wisdom, but God is the 
God of all comfort. Fourthly, In the chief 
good there must be eternity. God is a treasure 
that can neither be drawn low, nor drawn dry. 
Though the angels are still spending on him, 
he can never be spent ; he abides for ever. 
Eternity is a flower of his crown. Now, if 
God be our God, here is enough to let in full 
contentment into our souls. What though 
we want torch-light, if we have the sun? 
What if God deny us the flower, if he hathA 
given us the jewel 1 How should this rock a \ 
Christian's heart quiet? If we say God is 
our God, and we are not content, we have 
cause to question our interest in him. 

3d. If we can clear up this covenant-union 
that God is our God, let this cheer and revive 
us in all conditions. To be content with God, 
is not enough, but to be cheerful. What 
greater cordial can you have, than union with 
Deity? When Jesus Christ was ready to 
ascend, he could not leave a richer consola- 
tion with his disciples than this, Tell them, 
" I go to my God and your God," John xx. 17. 
Who should rejoice, if not they, who have an 
infinite, all-sufficient, eternal God to be their 
portion, who are as rich as heaven can make 
them? What though I want health? I have 
God "who is the health of my countenance, 
and my God," Ps. xlii. 11. What though I 
am low in the world ? if I have not the earth, 
I have him that made it. The philosopher 
comforted himself with this, though he had 
no music or vine-trees, yet here are the 
household gods with me : so, though we 
have not the vine or fig-tree, yet we have 
God with us. I cannot be poor, saith St 
Bernard, as long as God is rich: for his 
riches are mine. O let the saints rejoice 
in this covenant-union ! To say God is ours, 
is more than to say heaven is ours ; heaven 
would not be heaven without God. All 
the stars cannot make day without the sun ; 
all the angels, those morning-stars, cannot 
make heaven without Christ the Sun of 
Righteousness. And as to have God for 
our God is matter of rejoicing in life, so 
especially it will be at our death. Let a 
Christian think thus, I am going to my 
God. A child is glad when he is going 
home to his father. This was Christ's com- 



OF THE PREFACE TO THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 



227 



fort, when he was leaving the world, John 
xx. 17, " I go to my God." And this is a 
believer's death-bed cordial, I am going" to 
my God ; I shall change my place, but not 
my kindred ; I go to my God and my Father. 

4th. If God be our God, then let us break 
forth into doxology and praise, Ps. cxviii. 28, 
" Thou art my God, and I will praise thee." 
O infinite, astonishing mercy, that God should 
take dust and ashes into so near a bond of 
love as to be our God! As Micah said, 
Judges xviii. 24, " What have I more V 1 so, 
what hath God more ; what richer jewel hath 
he to bestow upon us than himself 1 what 
hath he more? That God should put off 
most of the world with riches and honour, — 
that he should pass over himself to us by a 
deed of gift, to be our God, and by virtue of 
this settle a kingdom upon us, — O let us 
praise him with the best instrument, our 
heart ; and let this instrument be screwed up 
to the highest pitch ; let us praise him with 
our whole heart ! See how David riseth by 
degrees, Ps. xxxii. 11, " Be glad in the Lord, 
and rejoice, and shout for joy." " Be glad," 
there is thankfulness ; " Rejoice," there is 



cheerfulness ; " Shout," there is triumph. 
Praise is called incense, because it is so 
sweet a sacrifice. Let the saints be choris- 
ters in God's praises. The deepest springs 
yield the sweetest water ; the more deeply 
sensible we are of God's covenant-love to us, 
the sweeter praises we should yield. We 
should begin here to eternize God's name, 
and do that work on earth which we shall be 
always doing in heaven, Ps. cxlvi. 2, " While 
I live, will I praise the Lord." 

5th. Let us carry ourselves as those who 
have God to be our God ; that is, when we 
walk so, that others may see there is some- 
thing of God in us. Live holily ; what have 
we to do with sin 1 Is it not this, that if it 
doth not break, yet it will weaken the inter- 
est? Hos. xiv. 8, " What have T to do any 
more with idols V So would a Christian 
say, " God is my God ; what have I to do 
any more with sin, with lust, pride, malice ! 
Bid me commit sin ! as well bid me drink 
poison ! Shall I forfeit my interest in God i 
Let me rather die, than willingly offend him 
who is the crown of my joy, the God of my 
salvation !" 



Exod. xx. 2. The land of Egypt, tfc. 



The second part of the preface, " which 
have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, 
out of the house of bondage." Egypt and 
the house of bondage are the same ; only 
they are represented to us under a different 
expression, or notion. I begin with the first 
expression, " Which have brought thee out 
of the land of Egypt." 

Quest. Why doth the Lord mention this 
deliverance of Israel out of Egypt ? 

Ans. 1. Because of the strangeness of the 
deliverance. God delivered his people Israel 
by strange signs and wonders, — by sending 
plague after plague upon Pharaoh, — blasting 
the fruits of the earth, — killing all the first- 
born in Egypt, Exod. xii. 29. And when 
Israel marched out of Egypt, God made the 
waters of the sea to part and become a wall 
to his people, while they went on dry ground ; 
and as he made the sea a causeway to Israel, 



so a grave to Pharaoh and his chariots. Well 
might the Lord mention his bringing them out 
of the land of Egypt, because of the strange- 
ness of the deliverance ! God wrought mira- 
cle upon miracle for their deliverance. 

A. 2. God mentions Israel's deliverance out 
of Egypt, because of the greatness of the de- 
liverance. God delivered Israel from the pol- 
lutions of Egypt ; Egypt was a bad air to live 
in, it was infected with idolatry ; the Egyp- 
tians were gross idolaters, they were guilty of 
that which the apostle speaks of, Rom. i. 23, 
" They changed the glory of the incorruptible 
God into an image made like to corruptible 
man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, 
and creeping things." The Egyptians wor- 
j shipped instead of the true God, First, cor- 
I ruptible man ; they deified their king Apis, 
forbidding all, under pain of death, to say 
'that he was a man. 2dly, They were wor- 



228 



OF THE PREFACE TO THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 



shippers of birds, they worshipped the hawk. 
3dly, They were worshippers of beasts, they 
worshipped the ox : thus they made the im- 
age of a beast to be their god. 4thly, They 
were worshippers of creeping things, they 
worshipped the crocodile, and the Indian 
mouse. Therefore God mentions this as a 
memorable and signal favour to Israel, that 
he brought them out of such an idolatrous 
country ; " I brought thee out of the land of 
Egypt." 

The thing I would note is this, That it is 
no small blessing to be delivered from places 
of idolatry. God speaks of it no less than 
ten times in the Old Testament, " I brought 
you out of the land of Egypt ;" an idolatrous 
place. Had there been no iron furnace in 
Egypt, yet there being so many altars there, 
and false gods, it was a great privilege to 
Israel to be delivered out of Egypt. Joshua 
reckons it among the chief and most memo- 
rable mercies of God to Abraham, that he 
brought him out of Ur of the Chaldees, where 
Abraham's ancestors served strange gods, 
Josh. xxiv. 2, 3. It is well for the plant that 
is set in a bad soil, to be transplanted to a 
better, where it may grow and flourish : so 
when any are planted among idolaters, it is a 
mercy when they are removed and transplant- 
ed into Zion, where are the silver drops of 
God's word to make them grow in holiness. 

Quest. Wherein doth it appear that it is 
such a great blessing to be delivered from 
places of idolatry ? 

Ans. 1. It is a great mercy, because our 
nature is so prone to idolatry. Israel began 
to be defiled with the idols of Egypt, Ezek. 
xxii. 3. Dry wood is not more prone to take 
fire, than our nature is to idolatry. The 
Jews made cakes to the queen of heaven, 
that is the moon, Jer. vii. 18. 

Quest. Whence is it that we are so prone 
to idolatry ? 

Ans. L Because we are led much by visi- 
ble objects, and love to have our senses 
pleased. Men naturally fancy a god that 
they may see ; though it be such a god that 
cannot see them, yet they would see it. The 
true God is invisible ; this makes the idolater 
worship something that he may see. 

A. 2. It is a mercy to be delivered from 



idolatrous places, because of the greatness 
of the sin of idolatry. It is giving that 
glory to an image, which is due to God. 
All divine worship God doth appropriate to 
himself; it is a flower of his crown. The 
fat of the sacrifice God laid claim to, Lev. 
iii. 3 : divine worship is the fat of the sacri- 
fice which God reserves for himself. The 
idolater devotes this worship to his idol, 
which the Lord will by no means endure, \ 
Isa. xlii. 8, " My glory will I not give to 
another, neither my praise to graven images." 
Idolatry is spiritual adultery, Ezek. xxiii. 
37, " With their idols have they committed 
adultery." To worship any other than God 
is to break wedlock ; this makes the Lord 
disclaim his interest in a people, Hos. ii. 2, 
" Plead with your mother, plead she is not 
my wife." And Exod. xxxii. 7, " Thy peo- 
ple have corrupted themselves ;" no more 
my people, but thy people. God calls idol- 
atry, blasphemy, Ezek. xx. 27, 31, " In this 
your fathers have blasphemed me." Idola- 
try is devil-worship, Deut. xxxii. 17, " They 
sacrificed to devils, not unto God ; to new 
gods." These new gods were old devils, 
Lev. xvii. 7, " And they shall no more offer 
their sacrifice unto devils ;" the Hebrew 
word lashegnirim, is ' the hairy ones,' be- 
cause the devils were hairy, and appeared in 
the forms of satyrs and goats. How dread- 
ful a sin is idolatry ; and what a signal mercy 
is it to be snatched out of an idolatrous place, 
as Lot was snatched by the angels out of 
Sodom ! 

A. 3. It is a mercy to be delivered out 
of idolatrous places, because idolatry is 
such a silly irrational religion. I may say, 
as Jer. viii. 9, " What wisdom is in them?" 
Is it not folly to refuse the best, and choose 
the worst"? The trees in the field of Jo- 
tham's parable, despised the vine-tree which 
cheers both God and man, and the olive which 
is full of fatness, and the fig-tree which is full 
of sweetness, and chose the bramble to reign 
over them ; this was a foolish choice, Judg. 
ix. : so, for us to refuse the living God, who 
hath power to save us, and to make choice of 
an idol, that hath eyes and sees not, feet but 
walks not, Ps. cxv. 5, 7, what a prodigy 
of madness is this 1 Therefore to be de- 



OF THE PREFACE TO THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 



229 



livered from committing such folly, is a 
mercy. 

A. 4. It is a mercy to be delivered from 
idolatrous places, because of the sad judg- 
ments inflicted upon idolaters. This is a sin 
which enrageth God, and makes the fury 
come up in his face, Ezek. xxxviii. 18. 
Search through the whole book of God, and 
you shall find no sin God hath followed with 
more plagues than idolatry, Ps.xvi. 4, " Their 
sorrows shall be multiplied, that hasten after 
another god." Ps. lxxviii. 58, 59, "They 
moved him to jealousy with their graven im- 
ages." When God heard this, " he was 
wroth, and greatly abhorred Israel ;" ver. 60, 
" So that he forsook the tabernacle of Shi- 
loh." Shiloh was a city belonging to the 
tribe of Ephraim ; there God set his name, 
Jer. vii. 12 ; but, for their idolatry God for- 
sook that place, gave his people up to the 
sword, caused his priests to be slain, his ark 
to be carried away captive, and it never re- 
turned to Shiloh any more. How severe 
was God against Israel, for worshipping the 
golden calf? Exod. xxxii. 27. The Jews 
say, that in every misery that befalls them, 
there is undo aurei vituli, — an ounce of the 
golden calf in it. Rev. xviii. 4, " Come out 
of her, my people, that ye be not partakers 
of her sins, and that ye receive not of her 
plagues." Idolatry, lived in, cuts men off 
from heaven, 1 Cor. vi. 9 ; so then it is no 
small mercy to be delivered out of idolatrous 
places. 

Use 1st. See the goodness of God to our 
nation, who hath brought us out of mystical 
Egypt, delivering us from popery, which is 
Romish idolatry, and hath caused the light of 
his truth to break forth gloriously among us. 
In former times, and more lately in the Marian 
days, England was overspread with idolatry, 
—we worshipped God after a false manner, 
that is idolatry, not only to worship a false 
God, but the true God in a false manner, — 
this was our case formerly, we had purgatory, 
indulgencies, the idolatrous mass, the Scrip- 
tures locked up in an unknown tongue, in- 
vocation of saints and angels, image-worship. 
Images are teachers of lies, Hab. ii. 18. 
Wherein do they teach lies 1 Because they 
represent God in a bodily shape, whereas he 



cannot be seen, Deut. iv. 12, " But saw no 
similitude, only ye heard a voice." Quod 
invisibile est, pingi non potest, Ambr. God 
cannot be pictured out by any finger ; you 
cannot picture the soul being a spirit, much 
less God, Isa. xl. 18, " To whom then will 
ye liken God 1 ?" The papists say, they wor- 
ship God by the image ; which hath a great 
absurdity in it, for if it be absurd to bow 
down to the picture of a king, when the king 
himself is present, then much more to bow 
down to the image of God, when God himself 
is present, Jer. xxiii. 24. What is the popish 
religion, but a bundle of ridiculous ceremo- 
nies 1 Their wax, flowers, pixes, agnus Dei, 
cream and oil, beads, crucifixes, — what are 
these but Satan's policy to dress up a carnal 
worship, fitted to carnal minds 1 O what 
cause have we to bless God, for delivering us 
from popery ! It was a mercy to be delivered 
from the Spanish invasion and the powder- 
treason ; but a far greater to be delivered 
from the popish religion, which would have 
made God give us a bill of divorce. 

Use 2d. If it be a great blessing to be de- 
livered from Egypt, popish idolatry ; then it 
shows their sin and folly, who, being brought 
out of Egypt, are willing to return into Egypt 
again ; having put off the yoke of Rome, 
would fain put it on again. The apostle 
saith, " Flee from idolatry," 1 Cor. x. 14. 
But these rather flee to idolatry ; herein we 
are like the people of Israel, who, notwith- 
standing all the idolatry and tyranny of 
Egypt, yet longed to go back to Egypt, Numb, 
xiv. 4, " Let us make a captain and let us 
return into Egypt." But how shall they go 
back into Egypt 1 How shall they have food 
in the wilderness ? Will God rain down 
manna any more upon such rebels 1 How 
will they get over the Red Sea ? Will God 
divide the water again by miracle, for such as 
leave his service, and go into idolatrous 
Egypt ? Yet say they, Let us make a cap- 
tain. And are there not such spirits amongst 
us, who say, " Let us make a captain, and go 
back to the Romish Egypt again V 9 And if 
we do, what shall we get by if? I am afraid 
the leeks and onions of Egypt will make us 
sick. Do we ever think, if we drink in the 
cup of fornication, we shall drink in the cup 



230 



OF THE PREFACE TO THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 



of salvation 1 O that any should so forfeit 
their reason, as to enslave themselves to the 
see of Rome ! That they should be willing 
to hold a candle to a mass-priest, and bow 
down to a strange god ! Let us not say we 
will make a captain ; but rather say as Ephra- 
im, Hos. xiv. 8, " What have I to do any 
more with idols f 

Use 2d. If it be a mercy to be brought out 
of Egypt, then it is not desirable or safe to 
plant one's self in an idolatrous place where 
it may be a capital crime to be seen with a 
Bible in one's hand. Some for secular gain 
thrust themselves among idolaters, and think 
there is no danger to live where Satan's seat 
is : but do you pray God would not lead you 
into temptation, and do you lead yourselves. 
You are in great danger of being polluted ; 
it is hard to be as the fish, which keeps fresh 
in salt waters. A man cannot dwell among 
the blackamoors, but he will be discoloured ; 
you will sooner be corrupted by idolaters, 
than they will be converted by you ; Joseph 
got no good by living in an idolatrous court ; 
he did not teach Pharaoh to pray, but Pha- 
raoh taught him to swear, Ps. cvi. 35, they 
" were mingled among the heathen, and 
served their idols." I fear this hath been 
the undoing of many ; they have seated them- 
selves amongst idolaters, for advancing their 
trade, and at last have not only traded with 
them in their commodities, but in their re- 
ligion. 

Use 4th. Is it a mercy to be brought out 
of the land of Egypt, — places which are de- 
filed, and where sin reigns] then it reproaches 
such parents as show little love to the souls 
of their children, whether it be in putting 
them out to service, or matching them. — 
1. In putting them out to service : their care 
is chiefly for their bodies, that they may be 
provided for, but care not what becomes of 
their souls ; their souls are in Egypt, in 
houses where there is drinking, swearing, 
sabbath-breaking, and where God's name is 
every day dishonoured.— 2. In matching their 
children, they look only at money, 2 Cor. vi. 
14, " Be not ye unequally yoked :" if their 
children be equally yoked for estate, they 
care not whether they be unequally yoked 
for religion : now, to such parents, (1). 



Think how precious the soul of your child 
is ; it is immortal, it is capable of commu- 
nion with God and angels : and will you let 
this soul be lost, by placing it in a bad 
family 1 If you had a horse you loved, you 
would not put him into a stable with other 
horses that were sick and diseased ; and 
do you not love your child better than 
your horse ? (2). God hath intrusted you 
with the souls of your children, you have a 
charge of souls. God saith, as 1 Kings xx. 
39, " Keep this man : if by any means he 
be missing, then thy life shall be for his 
life." So saith God, < If the soul of thy 
child miscarry by thy negligence, his blood 
will I require at thy hand.' Think of this, 
all ye parents ; take heed of placing your 
children in Egypt, in a wicked family ; do 
not put them in the devil's mouth : find out 
a sober, religious family, such a family as 
Joshua's, chap. xxiv. 15, " As for me and 
my house we will serve the Lord." Such a 
family as Cranmer's, which was pal&stra 
pietatis, — a nursery of piety ; such a family 
as is a Bethel, of which it may be said, as 
Col. iv. 15, " The church which is in his 
house." 

Use 5th. Let us pray that God would 
keep our English nation from the defile- 
ments of Egypt, that it may not be again 
overspread with superstition and idolatry. 
O sad religion ! not only to have our estates, 
our bodies enslaved, but our conscience. 
Pray that the true protestant religion may 
still flourish among us, that the sun of the 
gospel may still shine in our horizon. The 
gospel lifts a people up to heaven, it is co- 
lumna et corona regni, — ( the crown and 
glory of the kingdom if this be removed, 
then Ichabod, the glory is departed ! The 
top of the beech-tree being cut off, the whole 
body of the tree withers apace : the gospel is 
the top of all our blessings, if this top be cut, 
the whole body politic will soon wither. O 
pray that the Lord will continue the visible 
tokens of his presence among us, his ordi- 
nances, that England may be called, Jeho- 
vah Shammah, " The Lord is there !" Ezek. 
xlviii. 35. Pray that righteousness and peace 
may kiss each other, that so glory may dwell 
in our land ! 



OF THE PREFACE TO THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 



231 



Exod. xx. 2. Out of the House of Bondage. 



III. " Egypt," and " the house of bon- 
dage" are the same, only they are expressed 
under a different notion. By Egypt is meant 
a place of idolatry and superstition ; by the 
house of bondage, is meant a place of afflic- 
tion. Israel, while they were in Egypt, were 
under great tyranny; they had cruel task- 
masters set over them, who put them to hard 
labour, and set them to make brick, yet 
allowed them no straw ; therefore Egypt is 
called the iron furnace, Deut. iv. 20, and here 
the house of bondage. From this expression, 
" I brought thee out of the house of bon- 
dage," two things are to be noted : 1. God's 
children may sometimes be under sore afflic- 
tions, " In the house of bondage." That God 
will in his due time bring them out of their 
afflicted state, "I brought thee out of the 
house of bondage." 

1st. God's children may sometimes be un- 
der sore afflictions, In domo servitutis, — ' in 
the house of bondage.' God's people have 
no right of ease granted them, — no charter 
of exemption from trouble in this life ; while 
the wicked are kept in sugar, the godly are 
oft kept in brine. And indeed, how could 
God's power be seen in bringing them out of 
trouble, if he did not sometimes bring them 
into it 1 or how should God wipe away the 
tears from their eyes in heaven, if on earth 
they shed none ? Doubtless God sees there is 
need that his children should be sometimes in 
the house of bondage, 1 Pet. i. 6, " If need be, 
ye are in heaviness ;" the body sometimes 
doth more need a bitter potion than a 
julap. 

Quest. 1. Why God lets his people be in 
the house of bondage, in an afflicted state ? 

Ans. He doth it, 1. For probation or trial : 
Deut. viii. 16, " Who led thee through that 
terrible wilderness, that he might humble 
thee and prove thee." Affliction is the touch- 
stone of sincerity, Ps. Ixvi. 10, 11, " Thou, O 
God, hast proved us ; thou hast tried us as 
silver : thou laidst affliction upon our loins." 
Hypocrites may embrace the true religion in 
prosperity, and court this queen while she 



hath a jewel hung at her ear, but he is a good 
Christian who will keep close to God in a 
time of suffering, Ps. xliv. 17, " All this is 
come upon us, yet have we not forgotten 
thee." To love God in heaven, is no won- 
der : but to love God when he chastiseth us, 
this discovers sincerity. 

2. For purgation : to purge our corruption. 
Ardet palea, purgatur aurum, Isa. xxvii. 9, 
" And this is all the fruit, to take away his 
sin." The eye, though it be a tender part, 
yet when it is sore, we put sharp powders 
and waters into it, to eat out the pearl: 
though the people of God are dear to him, 
yet, when corruption begins to grow in them, 
he will apply the sharp powder of affliction, 
to eat out the pearl in the eye. Affliction is 
God's flail to thrash off our nusks ; it is a 
means God.useth to purge out sloth, luxury, 
pride and love of the world. " God's fire is 
in Zion," Isa. xxxi. 9. This is not to con- 
sume, but to refine ; what if we have more 
affliction, if by this means we have less sin. 

3. For augmentation : to increase the 
graces of the Spirit. Grace thrives most in 
the iron furnace ; sharp frosts nourish the 
corn, so do sharp afflictions grace ; grace in 
the saints is often as fire hid in the embers, 
affliction is the bellows to blow it up into a 
flame. The Lord makes the house of bon- 
dage a friend to our grace ; now faith and 
patience act their part ; the darkness of the 
night cannot hinder the brightness of a star, 
so, the more the diamond is cut the more it 
sparkles, and the more God afflicts us, the 
more our graces cast a sparkling lustre. 

4. For preparation : to fit and prepare the 
saints for glory, 2 Cor. iv. 17. These stones 
which are cut out for a building are first hewn 
and squared: the godly are called 'living 
stones,' 1 Pet. ii. 5. And God doth first hew 
and polish them by affliction that they may 
be fit for the heavenly building ; the house of 
bondage prepares for the "house not made 
with hands," 2 Cor. v. 1. The vessels of 
mercy are seasoned with affliction, and then 
the wine of glory is poured in. 



232 



OF THE PREFACE TO THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 



Quest. 2. How do the afflictions of the 
godly differ from the afflictions of the 
wicked? 

Ans. 1. These are but castigations, — those 
on the wicked are punishments ; these come 
from a father, — those from a judge. 

A. 2. Afflictions on the godly are fruits of 
covenant-mercy, 2 Sam. vii. 14. But afflic- 
tions on the wicked are effects of God's 
wrath, Eccl. v. 17, " He hath much wrath 
with his sickness." Afflictions on the wicked 
are the pledge and earnest of hell ; they are 
like the pinioning of a malefactor, which 
doth presage his execution. 

A. 3. Afflictions on the godly make them 
better, but afflictions on the wicked make 
them worse ; the godly pray more, Ps. cxxx. 
1, the wicked blaspheme more, Rev. xvi. 9, 
" Men were scorched with great heat, and 
blasphemed the name of God." Afflictions 
on the wicked make them more impenitent ; 
every plague upon Egypt increased the plague 
of hardness in Pharaoh's heart. To what a 
prodigy of wickedness do some persons come 
after great sickness 1 Affliction on the godly 
is like bruising of spices, which are most 
sweet and fragrant ; affliction on the wicked 
is like stamping of weeds with a pestle, 
which makes them more unsavoury. 

Use 1st. It shows us, that we are not to 
wonder to see Israel in the house of bondage, 
1 Pet. iv. 12. The holiness of the saints will 
not excuse them from sufferings. Christ was 
the holy one of God, yet he was in the iron 
furnace : Christ's spouse is a lily among 
thorns, Cant. ii. 2. His sheep, though they 
have the ear-mark of election upon them, yet 
may have their wool fleeced off; the godly 
have some good in them, therefore the devil 
afflicts them, and some evil in them, there- 
fore God afflicts them. While there are two 
seeds in the world, expect to be under the 
black rod. The gospel tells us of reigning, 
but first of suffering, 2 Tim. ii. 12. 

Branch 2. It informs us, that affliction is 
not always the sign of God's anger. Israel, 
the apple of God's eye, a peculiar treasure 
to him above all people, Exod. xix. 5, yet 
these were in the house of bondage. We 
are apt to judge and censure them who are in 
an afflicted state. When the Barbarians saw 



the viper on Paul's hand, they said, " No 
doubt this man is a murderer," Acts xxviii. 
4, so, when we see the viper of affliction 
fasten upon the godly, we are apt to censure 
them, and say, these are greater sinners than 
others, and God hates them ; this rash cen- 
suring is for want of wisdom. Were not 
Israel in the house of bondage 1 Jeremiah in 
the dungeon 1 Paul a night and a day in the 
deep 1 God's afflicting is so far from evidenc- 
ing hatred, that his not afflicting is, Hos. iv. 
14, "I will not punish your daughters when 
they commit whoredom." Deus maxime 
irascitur cum non irascitur, Bern. God 
punisheth most when he doth not punish; 
his hand is heaviest when it seems to be 
lightest ; the judge will not burn him in the 
hand whom he intends to execute. 

Branch 3. If God's own Israel may be in 
the house of bondage, then afflictions do not 
of themselves demonstrate a man miserable ; 
indeed sin unrepented of, makes one misera- 
ble ; but the cross doth not. If God hath a 
design in afflicting his children, to make 
them happy, then they are not miserable; 
but God's afflicting them is to make them 
happy, therefore they are not miserable, Job 
v. 17, " Happy is the man whom God cor- 
recteth." The world counts them happy 
who can keep out of affliction ; but the scrip- 
ture calls them happy who are afflicted. 

Quest. How are they happy 1 

Ans. 1. Because they are more holy, Heb. 
xii. 10. — 2. Because they are more in God's 
favour, Prov. iii. 12. The goldsmith loves 
his gold when in the furnace. — 3. Because 
they have more of God's sweet presence, Ps. 
xci. 15. And they cannot be unhappy that 
have God's powerful presence in supporting, 
his gracious presence in sanctifying their 
affliction. 4. Because, the more affliction 
they have, the more degrees of glory they 
shall have ; the lower they have been in the 
iron furnace, they shall sit upon the higher 
throne of glory : the heavier their crosses, 
the heavier shall be their crown. So then, 
if afflictions make a Christian happy, they 
cannot denominate him miserable. 

Branch 4. See the merciful providence of 
God to his children : though they may be 
in the house of bondage, and smart by af- 



OF THE PREFACE TO THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 



233 



fliction, yet they shall not be hurt by afflic- 
tion. What hurt doth the fan to the corn 1 
only separates the chaff from it. Or, the 
lance to the body 1 only lets out the impos- 
thume. The house of bondage doth that 
which sometimes ordinances will not do ; it 
doth humble and . reform, Job xxxvi. 8, 10, 
"If they be held in cords of affliction, he 
openeth their ear to discipline, and command- 
eth that they return from iniquity." O what 
a merciful providence is this, though God 
bruise his people, yet, while he is bruising 
them, he is doing them good ? As if one 
should throw a bag of money at another, and 
a little bruise him, yet it doth enrich him. 
Affliction enricheth the soul, and yields the 
sweet fruits of righteousness, Heb. xii. 11. 

Branch 5. If Israel be in the house of 
bondage, if the Lord deals so with his own 
children, then, how severely will he deal with 
the wicked 1 If God be so severe with them 
he loves, how severe will he be with them 
he hates ? If it be done in the green tree, 
what shall be done in the dry ] If they that 
pray and mourn for sin be so severely dealt 
with, what will become of them that swear 
and break the sabbath, and are unclean ? If 
Israel be in the iron furnace, the wicked shall 
lie in the fiery furnace of hell. It should be 
the saddest news to wicked men, to hear that 
the people of God are afflicted, let them think 
how dreadful will the case of sinners be, 1 Pet. 
iv. 17, " Judgment must begin at the house 
of God ; and if it first begin at us, what shall 
the end be of them that obey not the gos- 
pel?" If God thrash his wheat, he will 
burn the chaff. If the godly suffer castiga- 
tion, the wicked shall suffer condemnation. 
If he mingle his people's cup with wormwood 
he will mingle the wicked's cup with fire and 
brimstone. 

Use 2d. If Israel be in the house of bond- 
age, then, 1st, Do not entertain too hard 
thoughts of affliction. Christians are apt to 
look upon the cross and the iron furnace as 
frightful things, and do what they can to shun 
them. Nay, sometimes, to avoid affliction, 
they run themselves into sin. But do not 
think too hardly of affliction ; do not look 
upon it as through the multiplying-glass of 
fear ; the house of bondage is not hell. Con- 
2G 



sider, first, Whence doth affliction come 1 
even from a wise God, who prescribes what- 
ever befalls us. Persecutions are but like 
apothecaries. They give us that physic 
which God prescribes. Secondly, Affliction 
hath its light side, as well as its dark. God 
can sweeten our afflictions, candy our worm- 
wood, 2 Cor. i. 5, " As our sufferings abound, 
so doth also our consolation." Argerius 
dated his letters from the pleasant garden of 
the Leonine prison. God doth sometimes so 
revive his children in trouble, that they had 
rather bear their afflictions than want their 
comforts. Why then should Christians en- 
tertain such hard thoughts of afflictions ] Do 
not look at its grim face, but at the message 
it brings, which is to enrich us both with 
grace and comfort. 

2dly, If Israel be sometimes in the house 
of bondage, in an afflicted state, then think 
beforehand of affliction ; say not as Job xxix. 
18, " I shall die in my nest." In the house 
of mirth, think of the house of bondage ; you 
that are now Naomi, may be Marah, Ruth. i. 
20. How quickly may the scene turn, and 
the hyperbole of joy end in a catastrophe ! 
All outward things are upon the tropics, 
given to change. The forethoughts of afflic- 
tion would make us sober and moderate in 
the use of lawful delight ; it would cure a 
surfeit. Christ at a feast mentions his burial, 
— a good antidote against a surfeit. The 
forethoughts of affliction would make us pre- 
pare for it ; it would take us off the world, it 
would put us upon a search of our evidences, 
— We should see what oil we have in our 
lamp, what grace we can find, that we may 
be able to stand in the evil day. That sol- 
dier was imprudent who had his sword to 
whet, when he was just going to fight. He 
who forecasts sufferings, will have the shield 
of faith, and the sword of the Spirit ready, 
that he may not be surprised. 

Sdly, If afflictions do come, let us labour to 
deport ourselves wisely as Christians, that 
we may adorn our sufferings ; that is, let us 
endure with patience ; James v. 10, " Take 
my brethren the prophets for an example of 
enduring affliction and patience." Satan 
labours to take advantage of us in affliction, 
by making us either faint or murmur ; he 



234 



OF THE PREFACE TO THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 



blows the coals of passion and discontent, 
and then warms himself at the fire. Pa- 
tience adorns sufferings. A Christian should 
say as Jesus Christ, " Lord, not my will but 
thy will be done." And indeed, it is a sign 
the affliction is sanctified, when the heart is 



brought to a sweet submissive frame, and 
then God will remove the affliction ; he will 
take us out of the iron furnace. And that 
brings me to the second thing, God's deliver- 
ance of his people Israel, " I brought you out 
of the house of bondage." 



Exod. xx. 2. Which brought thee out of the house of bondage. 



We may consider these words, " Which 
brought thee out of the house of bondage ;" 
either, 1. Literally ; or, 2. Spiritually, and 
mystically. 1st. In the letter, " I brought 
thee out of the house of bondage ;" that is, I 
delivered you out of the misery and servitude 
you sustained in Egypt, where you were in 
the iron furnace. 2d. Spiritually and mys- 
tically, " I brought thee out of the house of 
bondage." So it is a type of our deliverance 
by Christ from sin and hell. 

First, Literally, in the letter, " I brought 
thee out of the house of bondage," viz. out of 
great misery and slavery in the iron furnace. 
The thing 1 note hence is, though God bring 
his people sometimes into trouble, yet he will 
bring them out again, Israel was in the house 
of bondage, but at last I brought you out of 
bondage. 1. That God doth deliver out of 
trouble. 2. In what manner. 3. When are 
the seasons. 4. Why God delivers. 5. How 
the deliverances of the godly and wicked out 
of trouble differ. 

1st, That God doth deliver his children out 
of troubles, Ps. xxii. 4, " Our fathers trusted 
in thee, they trusted, and thou didst deliver 
them ;" 2 Tim. iv. 17, " And I was delivered 
out of the mouth of the lion," viz. from Nero ; 
Ps. lxvi. 11, 12, " Thou laidst affliction upon 
our loins, but thou broughtest us out into 
a wealthy place ;" Ps. xxx. 5, " Heaviness 
may endure for a night, but joy cometh in 
the morning." God brought Daniel out of 
the lion's den, Zion out of Babylon. God, 
in his due time, gives an issue out of trouble, 
Ps. lxviii. 20. The tree which in the winter 
seems dead, in the spring revives : Post nu- 
bila Phoebus. Affliction may leap on us as 
the viper did on Paul, but at last this viper 



shall be shaken off. It is called a cup of 
affliction, Isa. li. 17. The wicked drink a 
sea of wrath, the godly drink only a cup of 
affliction, and God will say shortly, ' Let this 
cup pass away.' God will give his people a 
gaol-delivery. 

2dly, Quest. In what manner doth God 
deliver his people out of trouble ? 

Ans. He doth it like a God, in wisdom. — 
1. He doth it sometimes sudden]y. As the 
angel was caused to fly swiftly, Dan. ix. 21, 
so God sometimes makes a deliverance fly 
swiftly, upon the wing, and on a sudden he 
turns the shadow of death into the light of 
the morning. As God gives us mercies above 
what we can think, Eph. iii. 20, so some- 
times before we can think of them, Ps. cxxvi. 
1, " When the Lord turned the captivity of 
Sion, we were like them that dream ;" we 
were in a dream, we never thought of it. 
Joseph could not have thought of such a sud- 
den alteration, to be the same day freed out 
of prison, and made the chief ruler in the 
kingdom. Mercy sometimes does not stick 
long in the birth, but is brought forth on a 
sudden. — 2. God sometimes delivers his peo- 
ple strangely. Thus the whale which swal- 
lowed up Jonah was the means of bringing 
him safe to land. God sometimes delivers 
his people in that very way they think he will 
destroy ; in bringing Israel out of Egypt, God 
stirred up the heart of the Egyptians to hate 
them, Ps. cv. 24, and that was the means 
of their deliverance. He brought Paul to 
shore by a contrary wind, and upon the 
broken pieces of the ship, Acts xxvii. 44. 

Sdly, Quest. When are the times and 
seasons that God usually delivers his people 
out of the bondage of affliction ? 



* 

OF THE PREFACE TO THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 235 



Ans. 1. When they are in the greatest 
extremity. When Jonah was in the belly of 
hell, then, chap. ii. 5, " Thou hast brought up 
my life from corruption." When there is but 
a hair's breadth between the godly and death, 
then God ushers in deliverance. When the 
ship in the gospel was almost covered with 
waves, then Christ awoke and rebuked the 
wind. When Isaac was upon the altar, and 
the knife going to be put to his throat, then 
comes the angel, " Lay not thy hand upon 
the child." When Peter began to sink, then 
Christ took him by the hand. Cum dupli- 
canter lateres, venit Moses, — f when the tale 
of brick was doubled, then comes Moses' the 
temporal saviour. When the people of God 
are in the greatest danger,- then appears the 
morning-star of deliverance. When the pa- 
tient is ready to faint, then the cordial is given. 

A. 2. The second season is, when affliction 
hath done its work upon them : when it hath 
effected that which God hath sent it for. As, 
1. When it hath humbled them, Lam. iii. 19, 
20, " Remembering my affliction, the worm- 
wood and gall, my soul is humbled in me." 
When God's corrosive hath eaten out the 
proud flesh. 2. When it hath tamed their 
impatience. Before, they were proud and 
impatient, like froward children that would 
struggle with their parents, but when their 
cursed hearts are tamed, and they say as 
Micah vii. 9, " T will bear the indignation of 
the Lord, because I have sinned against him ;" 
and as Eli, " It is the Lord ; let him do what 
seemeth him good :" Let him hedge me with 
thorns, if he will plant me with grace. 

A. 3. When they are more partakers of 
God's holiness, Heb. xii. 10, they are more 
full of heavenly-mindedness. When the 
sharp frost of affliction hath brought forth 
the spring-flowers of grace, now the cross is 
sanctified, and God will bring them out of 
the house of bondage. Luctus in latitiam 
vertetur, cineres in corollas. When the 
metal is refined, then it is taken out of the 1 
furnace ; when affliction hath healed us, then i 
God takes off the smarting plaster. 

kthly, Quest. Why doth God bring his l 
people out of the house of bondage ? 

Ans. Hereby he makes way for his own i 
glory, God's glory is dearer to him than any 



; thing besides ; it is a crown-jewel. God by 
? raising his people, raiseth the trophies of his 
own honour ; he glorifies his attributes ; his 
power, goodness, and truth, do all ride in 
triumph. 

1. His power. If God did not sometimes 
bring his people into trouble, how would his 
power be seen in bringing them out? He 
brought Israel out of the house of bondage, 
with miracle upon miracle ; he saved them 
with an outstretched arm, Ps. cxiv. 5, " what 
aileth thee, O thou sea, that thou fleddest V 9 
&c. It is spoken of Israel's march out of 
Egypt, " When the sea fled, and the waters 
were parted each from other." Here was 
the power of God set forth, Jer. xxxii. 27, 
" Is there any thing too hard for me V God 
loves to help when things seem past hope ; 
he creates deliverance, Ps. cxxiv. 8. He 
brought Isaac out of a dead womb, and the 
Messiah out of a virgin's womb. O how 
doth his power shine forth, when he over- 
comes seeming impossibilities, and works a 
cure when things look desperate ! 

2. His truth. God hath made promises 
to his people, when they are under great 
pressures, to deliver them ; and his truth is 
engaged in his promise, Ps. 1. 15, " Call upon 
me in the day of trouble, I will deliver thee." 
Job v. 19, " He shall deliver thee in six trou- 
bles, yea in seven." How is the scripture 
bespangled with these promises as the firma- 
ment is with stars 1 Either God will deliver 
them from death, or by death ; he will make 
a way to escape, 1 Cor. x. 13. When pro- 
mises are verified, God's truth is magnified. 

3. His goodness. God is full of compas- 
sion to such as are in misery. The Hebrew 
word, racham, for mercy, signifies bowels. 
God hath " sounding of bowels," Isa. lxiii. 15. 
And this sympathy stirs up God to deliver, 
Isa. lxiii. 9, "In his love and pity he re- 
deemed them." This makes way for the 
triumph of God's goodness. For he is ten- 
der-hearted, he will not over afflict ; he cuts 
asunder the bars of iron, he breaks the yoke of 
the oppressor. Thus all his attributes ride in 
triumph, in saving his people out of trouble. 

5thly, Quest. How the deliverance of the 
godly and wicked out of trouble, differ ? 
Ans. 1. The deliverances of the godly are 



236 



OF THE PREFACE TO THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 



preservations ; of the wicked are reserva- 
tions, 2 Pet. ii. 9, " The Lord knows how to 
deliver the godly, and to reserve the unjust 
to be punished." A sinner may be delivered 
from dangerous sickness, and out of prison ; 
but all this is but a reservation to some 
greater evil. 

A. 2. God delivers the wicked (or rather 
spares them) in anger. Deliverances to the 
wicked are not given as pledges of God's 
love, but symptoms of displeasure, as quails 
were given to Israel in anger ; but deliver- 
ances of the godly are in love, 2 Sam. xxii. 
20, " He delivered me because he delighted 
in me." Isa. xxxviii. 17, " Thou hast, in 
love to my soul, delivered me from the pit of 
corruption ;" or as in the Hebrew, Chashiacta 
Naphshi, — thou hast loved me from the pit 
of corruption. A wicked man may say, Lord, 
thou hast delivered me out of the pit of cor- 
ruption ; but a godly man may say, Lord, 
thou hast loved me out of the pit of corrup- 
tion. It is one thing to have God's power 
deliver us, and another thing to have his love 
deliver us. O, saith Hezekiah, " Thou hast 
in love to my soul, delivered me from the pit 
of corruption." 

Quest. How may it be known that a de- 
liverance comes in love ? 

Ans. 1. When a deliverance makes our 
heart boil over in love to God, Ps. cxvi. 1, 
" I love the Lord because he hath heard my 
voice." It is one thing to love our mercies, 
another thing to love the Lord ; then a de- 
liverance is in love, when it causeth love. 

A. 2. Then a deliverance is in love, when 
we have hearts to improve it for God's glory. 
The wicked instead of improving their de- 
liverance for God's glory, improve their cor- 
ruption ; they grow worse after, as the metal 
when it is taken out of the fire grows harder; 
but then our deliverance is in love, when we 
improve it for God's glory. God raiseth us 
out of a low condition, and we lift him up in 
our praises, and honour him with our sub- 
stance, Prov. iii. 9. He recovers us from 
sickness, and we spend ourselves in his ser- 
vice, Mercy is not as the sun to the fire to 
dull it and put it out ; but as oil to the wheel, 
to make it move faster. 

A. 3, Then a deliverance comes in love, 



when it makes us more exemplary in holi- 
ness ; our lives are walking bibles. A thou- 
sand praises and doxologies do not honour 
God so much as the mortifying of one lust, 
Obadiah 17, " On mount Zion there shall be 
deliverances and holiness." When these 
two go together, — deliverance and holiness, 
— when being made monuments of mercy, we 
are patterns of piety, — now a deliverance 
comes in love, and we may say as Hezekiah, 
" Thou hast in love to my soul, delivered it 
from the pit of corruption." 

Use 1st. If God brings his people out of 
bondage, then let none despond in trouble. 
Say not " I shall sink under this burden ;" 
or as David, " I shall one day perish by the 
hand of Saul." God can make this text 
good, personally and nationally ; to bring 
his people out of the house of bondage when 
he sees a fit season, he will put forth his 
arm and save thern ; and he can do it with 
ease, 2 Chron. xiv. 11, "It is nothing with 
thee, Lord, to help." He that can turn 
tides, can turn the times ; he that raised 
Lazarus when he was dead, can raise thee 
when thou art sick, Isa. lxiii. 5, " I looked, 
and there was none to help ; therefore my 
own arm brought salvation." Do not de- 
spond ; believe in God's power; faith sets 
God on work to deliver us. 

Use 2d. Labour (if you are in trouble) to 
be fitted for deliverance ; many would have 
deliverance, but are not fitted for it. 

Quest. When are we fitted for deliver- 
ance 1 

Ans. When we are, by our afflictions, 
conformed to Christ : namely, when we have 
learned obedience ; Heb. v. 8, " Yet learned 
he obedience by the things which he suffer- 
ed ;" that is, he learned sweet submission to 
his Father's will. Luke xxii. 42, "Not my 
will but thine be done." When we have' 
thus learned obedience by our sufferings, we 
are willing to do what God would have us 
to do, and be what God would have us be. 
Now we are conformed to Christ, and are 
fitted for deliverance. 

Use 3d. If God hath brought you at any 
time out of the house of bondage, out of great 
and eminent troubles, be much in doxology 
and praise. Deliverance calls for praise, Ps« 



OF THE PREFACE TO THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 



237 



xxx. 11, 12, " Thou hast put off my sackloth : 
and girded me with gladness : to the end that 
my glory may sing praise to thee." " My 
glory," that is, my tongue, which is the in- 
strument of glorifying thee. The saints are 
temples of the Holy Ghost, 1 Cor. iii. 16. 
Where should God's praises be sounded but 
in his temple 1 Beneficium postulat eficium, 
— the deepest springs yield the sweetest 
water, and hearts deeply sensible of God's 
deliverances yield the sweetest praises. 
Moses tells Pharaoh, when he was going out 
of Egypt, " We will go with our sheep and 
our cattle," Exod. x. 9 : why so, because he 
might have sacrifices of thanksgiving ready 
to offer to God for their deliverance. To have 
a thankful heart for deliverance is a greater 
blessing than the deliverance itself, Luke 
xvii. 15, one of the lepers, " when he saw he 
was healed, turned back, and with a loud 
voice glorified God." The leper's thankful 
heart was a greater blessing than to be healed 
of his leprosy. Have any of you here been 
brought out of the house of bondage, — out of 
prison, sickness, or any death-threatening 
danger? do not forget to be thankful ; be not 
graves, but temples. And, that you may be 
the more thankful, observe every emphasis 
and circumstance in your deliverance ; as to 
be brought out of trouble when you were in 
articulo mortis, there was but a hair's breadth 
between you and death ; or to be brought out 
of affliction, without sin, you did not purchase 
your deliverance by the ensnaring of your 
consciences ; or, to be brought out of trouble 
upon the wings of prayer ; or, that those who 
were the occasions of bringing you into trou- 
ble, should be the instruments of bringing you 



out ; these circumstances, being well weighed, 
do heighten a deliverance, and should heighten 
our thankfulness. The cutting of a stone 
may be of more value than the stone itself ; 
and the circumstancing of a deliverance may 
be greater than the deliverance itself. 

Quest. 2. But how shall we praise God 
in a right manner for deliverance'} 

Ans. 1. Be holy persons. In the sacrifice 
of thanksgiving, whosoever did eat thereof, 
with their uncleanness upon them, were to 
be cut off, Lev. vii. 20 ; to typify how un- 
pleasing their praises and thank-offerings are 
who live in sin. 

A. 2. Praise God with humble hearts, ac- 
knowledge how unworthy you were of de- 
liverance. God's mercies are not debts, but 
legacies ; and that you should have a legacy 
given you, be humble, Rev. xi. 16, "The 
elders fell upon their faces (an expression of 
humility) and worshipped and praised God." 

A. 3. Praise God for deliverances cordially, 
Ps. cxi. 1, "I will praise the Lord with my 
whole heart." In religion there is no music 
but in concert, when heart and tongue join. 

A. 4. Praise God for deliverances constant- 
ly, Ps. cxlvi. 2/" While I live will I bless the 
Lord;" some will be thankful while the memory 
of a deliverance is fresh, and then they leave 
off, like the Carthaginians, who used at first 
to send the tenth of their yearly revenue to 
Hercules ; but by degrees they grew weary, 
and left off sending. But we must be con- 
stant in our eucharistical sacrifice or thank- 
offering ; the motion of our praise must be 
like the motion of our pulse, which beats as 
long as life lasts, Ps. cxlvi. 2, " I will sing 
praises to my God while I have a being." 



Exod. xx. 2. Out of 

Secondly, These words are to be under- 
stood mystically and spiritually. By Israel's 
deliverance from the house of bondage, is 
typified their spiritual deliverance from sin, 
Satan, and hell. 

I. From sin. The house of bondage was 
a type of Israel's deliverance from sin. Sin 
is the true bandage, it enslaves the soul. 



the house of bondage. 

Nihil durius servitute, Cicero. " Of all 
conditions, servitude is the worst." " I was 
held before conversion (saith Austin) not 
with an iron chain, but with the obstinacy of 
mine own will." Sin is the enslaver ; sin is 
called a law, Rom. vii. 23, because it hath 
such a binding power over a man ; and it is 
said to reign, Rom. vi. 12, because it exer- 



238 



OF THE PREFACE TO THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 



ciseth a tyrannical power ; and men are said 
to be the servants of sin, Rom. vi. 17, because 
they are so enslaved by it. Thus sin is the 
house of bondage. Israel was not so enslaved 
in the iron furnace as the sinner is by sin ; 
those are worse slaves and vassals who are 
under the power of sin, than those who are 
under the power of earthly tyrants. 

1. Other slaves have the tyrants only 
ruling over their bodies, — but the sinner 
hath his soul tyrannized over ; the soul, that 
princely thing, which sways the sceptre of 
reason, and was once crowned with perfect 
knowledge and holiness, this prince now goes 
on foot ; it is enslaved, and made a lackey to 
every base lust. 

2. Other slaves have some pity shown 
them, — the tyrant gives them meat, and lets 
them have hours for their rest ; but sin is a 
merciless tyrant, it will let men have no rest. 
Judas had no rest until he had betrayed 
Christ, and after that, he had less rest in his 
conscience. How doth a man hackney him- 
self out in the service of sin, waste his body, 
break his sleep, distract his mind 1 A wicked 
man is every day doing sin's drudgery- work. 

3. Other slaves, though they are set about 
servile work, yet about lawful : it is lawful 
to work in the galley, tug at the oar ; but all 
the laws and commands of sin are unlawful. 
Sin saith to one man, defraud ; to another, 
be unchaste ; to another, take revenge ; to 
another, take a false oath. Thus all sin's 
commands are unlawful; we cannot obey 
sin's law, but by breaking God's law. 

4. Other slaves are forced against their 
will ; Israel groaned under slavery, Exod. ii. 
23 ; but sinners are content to be under the 
command of sin, — they are willing to be 
slaves, — they love their chains, — they will 
not take their freedom ; they " glory as in 
their shame," Phil. iii. 19. They wear their 
sins, not as their fetters, but their ornaments ; 
they rejoice in iniquity, Jer. xi. 15. 

5. Other slaves are brought to correction, 
but sin's slaves are, without repentance, 
brought to condemnation ; other slaves lie 
in the iron furnace, sin's slaves lie in 
the fiery furnace. What freedom of will 
hath a sinner to his own confusion, when 
he can do nothing but what sin will have 



him 1 He is enslaved. Thus sinners are in 
the house of bondage, but God takes his 
elect out of this house of bondage ; he beats 
off the chains and fetters of sin ; he rescues 
them from their slavery; he makes them 
free, by bringing them into the glorious 
liberty of the children of God, Rom. viii. 
The law of love now commands, not the 
law of sin. Though the life of sin be pro- 
longed, yet not the dominion : as those 
beasts in Daniel had their lives prolonged 
for a season, but their dominion was taken 
away, Dan. vii. 12. The saints are made 
spiritual kings, to rule and conquer their cor- 
ruptions, — to "bind these kings in chains," 
Ps. cxlix. 8. This is matter of the highest 
praise and thanksgiving, to be thus taken 
out of the house of bondage, to be freed from 
enslaving lusts and made kings to reign in 
glory for ever. 

II. The bringing Israel out of the house 
of bondage was a type of their deliverance 
from Satan. Thus men naturally are in 
the house of bondage, they are enslaved to 
Satan. Satan is called the prince of this 
world, John xiv. 30, and the god of this 
world, 2 Cor. iv. 4, because he hath such 
power to command and enslave them. 
Though Satan shall one day be a close pri- 
soner in chains, yet now he doth insult and 
tyrannize over the souls of men ; sinners 
are under the rule of Satan, he exerciseth 
over them such a jurisdiction as Caesar did 
over the senate. The devil fills men's heads 
with error, and their hearts with malice, 
Acts v. 3, " Why hath Satan filled thine 
heart?" A sinner's heart is the devil's 
mansion-house, Matt. xii. 44, "I will re- 
turn into mine house." And sure that must 
needs be a house of bondage, which is the 
devil's mansion-house. Satan is a perfect 
tyrant : — 1. He rules men's minds, he blinds 
them with ignorance, 2 Cor. iv. 4, " The 
god of this world hath blinded the minds of 
them that believe not."- — 2. He rules their 
memories ; they shall remember that which 
is evil, and forget that which is good ; their 
memories are like a searcer or strainer, that 
lets go all the pure liquor, and retains only 
the dregs. — 3. He rules their wills ; though 
the devil cannot force the will yet he draws 



OF THE PREFACE TO THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 



239 



it, John viii. 34, " The lusts of your father 
you will do." He hath got your hearts, and 
him you will obey ; his strong temptations 
do more to draw men to evil, than all the 
promises of God can draw them to good. 
This is the state of every man by nature, he 
is in the house of bondage, the devil hath him 
in his power ; a sinner grinds in the devil's 
mill, he is at the command of Satan, as the 
ass is at the command of the driver. No 
wonder to see men oppress and persecute ! 
These slaves must do what the god of this 
world will have them. How could those 
swine but run, when the devil entered into 
them ] Matt. viii. 32. When the devil 
tempted Ananias to tell a lie, he could not 
but speak what Satan had put in his heart, 
Acts v. 3. When the devil entered into 
Judas, and bid him betray Christ, Judas 
would do it, though he hanged himself. This 
case is sad and dismal, to be thus in the 
house of bondage, under the power and 
tyranny of Satan. When David would curse 
the enemies of God, how did he pray against 
them 1 That Satan might be at their right 
hand, Ps. cix. 6. He knew he could lead them 
into any snare. If Satan be at the sinner's right 
hand, let the sinner take heed he be not set on 
God's left hand. Is not this a case to be be- 
wailed, to see men taken captive by Satan at 
his will 1 2 Tim. ii. 26, he leads sinners as 
slaves before him in triumph ; he possesseth 
them. If people should see but their beasts 
bewitched and possessed of the devil, they 
would be much troubled ; yet their souls are 
possessed by Satan, but they are not sensible. 
What can be worse than to be in the house of 
bondage, — to have the devil hurry men on in 
their lust to perdition 1 Sinners are willingly 
enslaved to Satan ; they love their gaoler ; are 
content to sit quietly under Satan's jurisdic- 
tion ; they choose this bramble to rule them,' 
though within a while, fire will come out of 
this bramble to devour them, Judges ix. Now, 
what an infinite mercy of God is it, when he 
brings poor souls out of this house of bondage, 
— when he gives them a gaol-delivery from 
the prince of darkness ! Jesus Christ re- 
deems captives, — he ransoms sinners by price, 
and rescues them by force. As David took a 
lamb out of the lion's mouth, 1 Sam. xvii. 34, 



so Christ rescues souls out of the mouth of 
this roaring lion. O what a mercy is it to be 
brought out of the house of bondage, to be 
taken from being made captives to the prince 
of the power of the air, and to be made sub- 
jects of the Prince of Peace ! And this is 
done by the preaching of the word, Acts xxvi. 
18, " To turn them from the power of Satan 
unto God." 

III. The bringing of Israel out of the house 
of bondage was a type of their being delivered 
from hell. Hell is domus servitutis, — a 
house of bondage ; a house built on purpose 
for sinners to lie in. 

1. That there is such a house of bondage 
where the damned lie, Ps. ix. 17, I The 
wicked shall be turned into hell." Matt, 
xxiii. 33, " How can ye escape the damna- 
tion of hell?" If any one shall ask where 
this house of bondage is, — where is the place 
of hell 1 I wish you may never know feel- 
ingly. " Let us not so much (saith Chrysos- 
tom) labour to know where hell is, as how to 
escape it." Yet to satisfy curiosity, hell is 
locus sabterraneus, — some place beneath, 
Prov. xv. 24, " Hell beneath." Hesiod saith, 
" Hell is as far under the earth, as heaven is 
above it " Luke viii. 31, "The devils be- 
sought Christ that he would not command 
them to go into the deep." Hell is in the deep. 

2. Quest. Why there must be this house 
of bondage 1 why a hell ? 

Ans. Because there must be a place for 
the execution of divine justice ; earthly rao- 
narchs have their prison for malefactors, and 
shall not God have his ; sinners are criminal 
persons, they have offended God ; and it 
would not consist with God's holiness and 
justice, to have his laws infringed, and not 
appoint penalties for the transgressors. 

3. The dreadfulness of this place. Could 
you but for one hour hear the groans and 
shrieks of the damned, it would confirm you 
in this truth, that hell is a house of bondage ; 
hell is the emphasis of misery. Besides the 
poena damni, — the punishment of loss, which 
is the exclusion of the soul from the glorified 
sight of God, which divines think the worst 
part of hell, I say besides this, there will be 
pmna sensus, — the punishment of sense. If, 
when God's wrath is kindled but a little, and 



240 



OF THE PREFACE TO THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. 



a spark of it flies into a man's conscience 
in this life, it is so terrible — as in the case 
of Spira — then what will hell itself be 1 
That I may describe this house of bondage, 

1. In hell there will be a plurality of tor- 
ments : 1. " Bonds and chains," 2 Pet. ii. 
4. 2. The worm, Mark ix. 44. This is 
the worm of conscience : and the lake of 
fire, Rev. xx. 15. Other fire is but painted 
to this. 

2. This house of hell is haunted with 
devils, Matt. xxv. 41. Anselm hath a say- 
ing, " I had rather endure all torments, than 
see the devil with bodily eyes." Such as go 
to hell must not only be forced to behold the 
devil, but must be shut up' in the den with 
this lion ; they must keep the devil company ; 
the devil is full of spite against mankind; 
this red dragon will spit fire in men's faces. 

3. The torments of hell abide for ever, 
Rev. xiv. 11, " The smoke of their torment 
ascendeth up for ever and ever," Mark ix. 
44. Time cannot finish it, tears cannot 
quench it ; the wicked are salamanders, who 
live always in the fire of hell, and are not 
consumed ; after sinners have lain millions 
of years in hell, their punishment is as far 
from ending, as it was at the beginning. 
If all the earth and sea were sand, and 
every thousandth year a bird should come, 
and take away one grain of this sand, it 
would be a long time ere that vast heap of 
sand were emptied ; yet, if after all that time 
the damned might come out of hell, there 
was some hope ; but this word EVER breaks 
the heart. 

Quest. But how doth this seem to stand 
with God's justice, for a sin committed in a 
moment to punish it with eternal torment ? 

Ans. 1. Because there is an eternity of 
sin in man's nature. 2. Because sin is cri- 
men Icesa majestatis, it is committed 

against an infinite majesty ; therefore the 
sin is infinite, and proportionably the punish- 
ment must be infinite. Now because a finite 
creature cannot bear infinite wrath, there- 
fore he must be eternally satisfying what he 
cannot satisfy at once. Now then, if hell be 
such a house of bondage, what infinite cause 
have they to bless God, who are delivered 
from it 1 1 Thess. i. 10, " Jesus delivered us 



from the wrath to come." Jesus Christ suf- 
fered the torments of hell in his soul, that 
believers should not suffer them. If we are 
thankful, when we are ransomed out of 
prison, or delivered from fire, O how should 
we bless God to be preserved from the wrath 
to come ! And that which may cause the 
more thankfulness, is because the most part 
go into this house of bondage, the most part 
go to hell ; therefore to be of the number of 
those few that are delivered from it, is mat- 
ter of infinite thankfulness. I say most go 
to this house of bondage when they die ; most 
go to hell, Matt. vii. 13, " Broad is the way 
which leadeth unto destruction, and many 
there be that go in thereat." The greatest 
part of the world lies in wickedness, 1 John 
v. 19. Divide the world, saith Brerewood 
into thirty-one parts, — nineteen parts of it 
are possessed by Jews and Turks, — seven 
parts by Heathens : so that there are but five 
parts of Christians, and among these Chris- 
tians so many seduced papists on the one 
hand, and so many formal protestants on 
the other, that we may conclude the major 
part of the world goes to hell. — 1. The 
scripture compares the wicked to briars, Isa. 
x. 17. There are but few lilies in your fields, 
but in every hedge thorns and briars.— 2. To 
" the mire in the streets," Isa. x. 6. Few 
jewels or precious stones in the street, but 
you cannot go a step but you meet with mire. 
The wicked are as common as the dirt in the 
street. Look into the generality of people, 
how many drunkards for one that is sober 1 
— how many adulterers for one that is chaste 1 
— how many hypocrites for one that is sin- 
cere 1 — The devil hath the harvest, and God 
only a few gleanings. O then, such as are 
delivered from the house of bondage, hell, 
have infinite cause to admire and bless God ! 
How should the vessels of mercy run over 
with thankfulness ? When most are carried 
prisoners to hell, they are delivered from 
wrath to come. 

Quest. How shall I know lam delivered 
from hell ? 

Ans. 1. Those whom Christ saves from 
hell he saves from sin, Matt. i. 21, " He 
shall save his people from their sins." 
Hath God delivered you from the power 



OF THE COMMANDMENTS. 



241 



of corruption, from pride, malice, lust 1 If he 
hath delivered you from the hell of sin, then 
he hath delivered you from the hell of tor- 
ment. 

A. 2. If you have got an interest in Christ, 
— prizing, confiding, loving him, — then you 
are delivered from hell and damnation, Rom. 
viii. 1, " No condemnation to them that are 



in Christ Jesus." If you are in Christ, then 
he hath put the garment of his righteousness 
over you, and hell-fire can never singe this 
garment. Pliny observes, nothing will so 
soon quench fire as salt and blood ; the salt 
tears of repentance and the blood of Christ 
will quench the fire of hell that it shall never 
kindle upon you. 



OF THE COMMANDMENTS. 



Exod. xx. 3. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 



Before I come to the commandments, I 
shall premise some things about the moral 
law : viz. answer questions, and lay down 
rules. 

Quest. 1. What is the difference between 
the moral law and the gospel ? 

Ans. 1. The law requires that we worship 
God as our Creator ; the gospel requires that 
we worship God in and through Christ. God 
in Christ is propitious ; out of Christ we may 
see God's power, justice, holiness, — in Christ 
we see his mercy displayed. 

A. 2. The moral law requires obedience, 
but gives no strength — as Pharaoh required 
brick but gave no straw — but the gospel gives 
strength ; the gospel bestows faith on the 
elect ; the gospel sweetens the law, it makes 
us serve God with delight. 

Quest. 2. Of what use then is the moral 
law to us ? 

Ans. The law is a glass to show us our 
sins, that so, seeing our pollution and misery, 
we may be forced to flee to Christ to satisfy 
for former guilt, and save from future wrath, 
Gal. iii. 24, " The law was our school-master 
to bring us to Christ." 

Quest. 3. But is the moral law still in 
force to believers ; is it not abolished to 
them ? 

Ans. In some sense it is abolished to be- 
lievers. 1. In respect of justification ; they 
are not justified by their obedience to the moral 
law. Believers are to make great use of the 
moral law — as I shall show — but they must 
trust only to Christ's righteousness for justi- 
fication ; as Noah's dove made use of her 
2H 



wings to fly, but trusted to the ark for safety. 
If the moral law could justify, what need 
were there of Christ's dying ] — 2. The moral 
law is abolished to believers, in respect of the 
malediction of it ; they are freed from the 
curse and damnatory power of it, Gal. iii. 13, 
" Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of 
the law, being made a curse for us." 

Quest. 4. How was Christ made a curse 
for us 1 

Ans. Christ may be considered, 1. As the 
Son of God, and so he was not made a curse. 
— 2. As our pledge and surety, Heb. vii. 
22, and so he was made a curse for us : 
this curse was not upon his Godhead, but 
upon his manhood. This curse was the 
wrath of God lying upon him ; and thus 
Christ hath taken away from believers the 
curse of the law, by being made a curse for 
them. But though the moral law is thus far 
abolished, yet it remains a perpetual rule to 
believers ; though the moral law be not their 
Saviour, yet it is their guide ; though it be 
not fozdus, a covenant of life, yet it is norma, 
a rule of living ; every Christian is bound to 
conform to the moral law, and write, as 
exactly as he can, after this copy, Rom. iii. 
31, " Do we then make void the law through 
faith, God forbid." Though a Christian is 
not under the condemning power of the law, 
yet he is under the commanding power : to 
love God, to reverence and obey him, this is 
a law always binds and will bind in heaven. 
This I urge against the Antinomians, who say 
the moral law is abrogated to believers ; 
which, as it contradicts scripture, so it is a 



242 



OF THE COMMANDMENTS. 



key to open the door to all licentiousness. 
They who will not have the law to rule 
them, shall never have the gospel to save 
them. Having answered these questions, 
I shall, in the next place, lay down some 
general rules for the right understanding of 
the Decalogue, or Ten Commandments : 
these rules may serve to give us some light 
into the sense and meaning of the command- 
ments. 

Rule 1. The commands and prohibitions 
of the moral law reach the heart. — 1. The 
commands of the moral law reach the heart : 
the commandments require not only outward 
actions but inward affections, — they require 
not only the outward act of obedience, but 
the inward affection of love, Deut. vi. 5, 
" Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with all 
thy heart." — 2. The threats and prohibitions 
of the moral law reach the heart ; the law of 
God forbids not only the act of sin, but the 
desire and inclination ; not only doth it for- 
bid adultery, but lusting, Matt. v. 28. Not 
only stealing, but coveting, Rom. vii. 7. Lex 
humana ligat manum, lex divina comprimet 
animam, — ' man's law binds only the hands, 
God's law binds the heart.' 

Rule 2. In the commandments there is a 
synechdoche, more is intended than is spoken. 

1. Where any duty is commanded, there the 
contrary sin is forbidden, &c. When we are 
commanded to keep the sabbath-day holy, 
there we are forbidden to break the sabbath ; 
when we are commanded to live in a calling, 
" Six days shalt thou labour," there we are 
forbidden to live idly, and out of a calling. — 

2. Where any sin is forbidden, there the 
contrary duty is commanded. When we are 
forbidden to take God's name in vain, the 
contrary duty is commanded, that we should 
reverence his name, Deut. xxviii. 58, " That 
thou mayest fear this glorious and fearful 
name, The Lord thy God." Where we are 
forbidden to wrong our neighbour, there is 
the contrary duty included, that we should 
do him all the good we can, by vindicating 
his name and supplying his wants. 

Rule 3. Where any sin is forbidden in the 
commandment, there the occasion of it is ' 
also forbidden. Where murder is forbidden, 
there envy and rash anger are forbidden, 



which may occasion it, Where adultery 
is forbidden in the commandment, there is 
forbidden all that may lead to it,— as wanton 
glances of the eye, — or coming into the 
company of a harlot, Prov. v. 8, " Come not 
nigh the door of her house ;" he who would 
be free from the plague, must not come 
near the infected house. Under the law 
the Nazarite was forbidden to drink wine ; 
nor might he eat grapes of which the wine 
was made. 

Rule 4. In relatio subintelligitur corre- 
latum, — where one relation is named in the 
commandment, there another relation is in- 
cluded. Where the child is named, there 
the father is included; where there is the 
duty of children to parents mentioned, there 
is included also the duty of parents to chil- 
dren; where the child is commanded to honour 
the parent, there is implied that the parent is 
also commanded to instruct, to love, to pro- 
vide for the child. 

Rule 5. Where greater sins are forbidden, 
there lesser sins are also forbidden. Though 
no sin in its own nature is little, yet compa- 
ratively one may be less than another ; where 
idolatry is forbidden, there is forbidden super- 
stition, or bringing any innovation into God's 
worship, which he hath not appointed. As the 
sons of Aaron were forbidden to worship an 
idol, so to sacrifice to God with strange fire, 
Lev. x. 1. Mixture in sacred things, is like a 
dash in the wine, which though it gives a co- 
lour, yet doth but debase and adulterate it. It 
is highly provoking to God to bring any su- 
perstitious ceremony into his worship which 
he hath not prescribed ; it is to tax God's wis- 
dom, as if he were not wise enough to ap- 
point the manner how he will be served. 

Rule 6. The law of God is copulative. 
Lex est copulativa. The first and second 
tables are knit together, — piety to God, and 
equity to our neighbour, these two tables 
which God hath joined together must not 
be put asunder. Try a moral man by the 
duties of the first table, — piety to God, — 
and there you will find him negligent ; try 
a hypocrite by the duties of the second 
table, — equity to his neighbour, — and there 
you will find him tardy. He who is strict 
in the second table but neglects the first. 



OF THE COMMANDMENTS. 



243 



or he who is zealous in the first table, but 
neglects the second, his heart is not right 
with God. The Pharisees were the highest 
pretenders to the first table, zeal and holi- 
ness ; but Christ detects their hypocrisy, 
Matt, xxiii. 23, " Ye have omitted judgment, 
mercy and faith." They were bad in the 
second table; they omitted judgment, that 
was, being just in their dealing ; mercy, in 
relieving the poor ; and faith, that is faithful- 
ness in their promises and contracts with 
men. God wrote both the tables, and our 
obedience must set a seal to both. 

Rule 7. God's law forbids not only the 
acting of sin in our own persons, but being 
accessory to, or having any hand in the sins 
of others. 

Quest. How and in what sense may we 
be said to partake of, and have a hand in the 
sins of others ? 

Ans. 1. By decreeing unrighteous decrees, 
and imposing on others that which is unlaw- 
ful. Jeroboam made the people of Israel to 
sin ; he was accessory to their idolatry, by 
setting up golden calves ; so David though 
he did not in his own person kill Uriah, yet 
because he wrote a letter to Joab, to set 
Uriah in the fore-front of the battle, and it 
was done by his command, therefore he was 
accessory to Uriah's death, and the murder 
of him was laid to David's charge by the 
prophet, 2 Sam. xii. 9, " Thou hast killed 
Uriah the Hittite with the sword." 

A. 2. We become accessory to the sins of 
others by not hindering them when it is in 
our power, Qui non prohibit cum potest, 
judet. If a master of a family see his ser- 
vant break the sabbath, or hear him swear, 
and let him alone, doth not use the power he 
hath to suppress him, he becomes accessory 
to his sin. Eli, for not punishing his sons 
when they made the offering of the Lord to 
be abhorred, made himself.guilty, 1 Sam. iii. 
14. He that suffers an offender to pass un- 
punished, makes himself an offender. 

A. 3. By counselling, abetting, or provok- 
ing others to sin. Ahithophel made himself 
guilty of the fact, by giving counsel to Absa- 
lom to go in and defile his father's concu- 
bines, 2 Sam. xvi. 21. He who shall tempt 
or solicit another to be drunk though himself 



be sober, yet being the occasion of another's 
sin, he is accessory to it, Hab. ii. 15, " Wo 
unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, 
that puttest thy bottle to him." 

A. 4. By consenting to another's sin. Saul 
did not cast one stone at Stephen, yet the 
scripture saith, " Saul was consenting to his 
death," Acts viii. 1. Thus he had a hand in 
it. If several did combine to murder a man, 
and they should tell another of their intent, 
and he should give his consent to it, he were 
guilty : though his hand were not in the 
murder, yet his heart was in it ; though he 
did not act it, yet he did approve it, so it 
became his sin. 

A. 5. By example, vivitur exemplis. Ex- 
amples are powerful and cogent ; setting a 
bad example occasions another to sin, and so 
a person becomes accessory. If the father 
swears, and the child by his example learn to 
swear, the father is accessory to the child's 
sin ; he taught him by his example. As there 
are diseases hereditary, so there are sins. 

Rule 8. The last rule about the command- 
ments is this, that though we cannot, by our 
own strength, fulfil all these commandments, 
yet doing quoad posse, — what we are able, 
the Lord hath provided encouragement for 
us. There is a threefold encouragement. 

1. That though we have not ability to 
obey any one command, yet God hath, in 
the new covenant, promised to work that 
in us, which he requires, Ezek. xxxvi. 27, 
" I will cause you to walk in my statutes." 
God commands us to love him. Alas how 
weak is our love ! it is like the herb that 
is yet only in the first degree ; but God hath 
promised to circumcise our hearts, that we 
shall love him, Deut. xxx. 6. He that doth 
command us, will enable us. God com- 
mands us to turn from sin, but alas ! we 
have not power to turn ; therefore God hath 
promised to turn us, — to put his Spirit 
within us, and turn the heart of stone into 
flesh, Ezek. xxxvi. 26. There is nothing in 
the command, but the same is in the pro- 
mise. Therefore, Christian, be not dis- 
couraged, though thou hast no strength of 
thy own, yet God will give thee this strength. 
The iron hath no power to move, but when 
the loadstone draws it, it can move, Isa. 



244 



OF THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 



xxvi. 12, " Thou also hast wrought all our 
works in us." 

2. Though we cannot exactly fulfil the 
moral law, yet God will, for Christ's sake, 
mitigate the rigour of the law, and accept of 
something less than he requires. God in the 
law requires exact obedience, yet he will 
accept of sincere obedience ; he will abate 
something of the degree, if there be truth in 
the inward parts ; God will see the faith, and 
pass by the failing ; the gospel remits some- 
thing of the severity of the moral law. 



3. Wherein our personal obedience comes 
short, God will be pleased to accept us in 
our surety, Eph. i. 6, " He hath made us 
accepted in the beloved." Though our obe- 
dience be imperfect, yet, through Christ 
our surety, God looks upon it as perfect. 
And that very service which God's law 
might condemn, God's mercy is pleased to 
crown, by virtue of the blood of our Media- 
tor. Having given you these rules about 
the commandments, I shall come next to the 
direct handling of them. 



OF THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 



Exod. xx. 3. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 



Quest. XLV. Why doth the command- 
ment run in the second 'person singular, 
Thou 1 Why doth not God say, You shall 
have no other gods, but, Thou I 

Ans. Because the commandment concerns 
every one, and God would have you take 
it as spoken to you by name. Though we 
are forward to take privileges to ourselves, 
yet we are apt to shift off duty from our- 
selves to others : therefore the command- 
ment runs in the second person, Thou and 
Thou, that every one may know, that the 
commandment is spoken to him, as it were, 
by name. And so I come to the command- 
ment, " Thou shalt have no other gods be- 
fore me." This commandment may well 
lead the van, and be set in the front of all 
the commandments, because it is the foun- 
dation of all true religion. The sum of this 
commandment is, that we should sanctify 
God in our hearts, and give him a pre- 
cedency above all created beings. There 
are two branches of this commandment : 
1. That we must have one God. 2. That 
we must have but one. Or thus, 1. That 
we must have God for our God. 2. That we 
must have no other. 

1. That we must have God for our God : 
it is manifest that we must have a God, and 
"who is God save the Lord?" 2 Sam. xxii. 
32. The Lord Jehovah (one God in three 
persons) is the true, living, eternal God ; and 
htm must we have for our God. 



Quest. 1. What is it to make God to be 
a God to us ? 

Ans. 1. To make God to be a God to us, is 
to acknowledge him for a God ; the gods of the 
heathens are idols, Ps. xcvi. 5, and we " know 
that an idol is nothing," 1 Cor. viii. 4, that 
is, it hath nothing of Deity in it ; if we cry, 
"Help, O Idol!" an idol cannot help; the 
idols were themselves carried into captivity, 
Isa. xlvi. 2, so that an idol is nothing ; vanity 
is ascribed to it, Jer. xiv. 22, we do not ac- 
knowledge it to be a God. But this is to make 
God to be a God to us, when we do, ex animo, 
acknowledge him to be God, 1 Kings xyiii. 
39, All the people fell on their faces and said, 
" The Lord he is the God ! the Lord he is the 
God !" Yea, we acknowledge God to be the 
only God, 2 Kings xix. 15, " O Lord God of 
Israel which dwellest between the cherubims, 
thou art the God, even thou alone !" Deity is 
a jewel that belongs only to his crown. Yet 
further, we acknowledge that there is no 
God like him, 1 Kings viii. 22, 23, " And 
Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord ; 
and he said Lord God of Israel, there is no 
god like thee." Ps. Ixxxix. 6, " For who 
in the heaven can be compared unto the 
Lord 1 Who among the sons of the mighty 
can be likened unto the Lord." In the 
Chaldee it is, Who among the angels. None 
can do as God: he brought the world out 
of nothing, "and hangeth the earth upon 
nothing," Job xxvi. 7. This is to make 



OF THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 



245 



God to be a God to us, when we are persuad- 
ed in our hearts, and confess with our tongues, 
and subscribe with our hand, that God is the 
only true God, and that there is none com- 
parable to him. 

A. 2. To make God to be a God to us, is to 
choose him, Josh. xxiv. 15, " Choose ye this 
day whom ye will serve ; but as for me and 
my house we will serve the Lord :" that is, 
we will choose the Lord to be our God. It 
is one thing for the judgment to approve of 
God, and another for the will to choose him. 
Religion is not a matter of chance, but choice. 

Quest. What is antecedent to, or goes 
before this choice ? 

Ans. 1. Before this choosing God for our 
God, there must be knowledge; we must 
know God, before we can choose him ; before 
one choose the person he will marry, he must 
first have some knowledge and cognizance of 
the person : so we must know God, before 
we can choose him for our God, 1 Chron. 
xxviii. 9, " Know thou the God of thy fa- 
thers." We must know God in his attri- 
butes, glorious in holiness, rich in mercy, 
faithful in promises. We must know God in 
his Son ; as in a glass a face is represented ; 
so in Christ, as in a transparent glass, we see 
God's beauty and love shine forth. This 
knowledge must go before our choosing of 
God. Lactantius said, all the learning of the 
philosophers was without a head, because it 
wanted the knowledge of God. — 2. Wherein 
our choosing of God consists. It is an act 
of mature deliberation ; a Christian having 
viewed the superlative excellencies in God, 
and being stricken into a holy admiration of 
his perfections, he singles out God from all 
other objects, to set his heart upon ; he saith 
as Jacob, Gen. xxviii. 21, " The Lord shall 
be my God." — 3. The effect of choosing 
God : the soul that chooseth God, devotes 
himself to God, Ps. cxix. 38, "Thy servant 
who is devoted to thy fear." As the vessels 
©f the sanctuary were consecrated and set 
apart from common to holy uses, so the 
soul who hath chosen God to be his God, hath 
dedicated and set himself apart for God, and 
will be no more for profane uses. 

A. 2. To make God to be a God to us, is to 
enter into a solemn covenant with him, that 



he shall be our God : after choice follows 
the marriage-covenant. As God makes a 
covenant with us, Isa. lv. 3, " I will make 
an everlasting covenant with you, even the 
sure mercies of David :" so we make a 
covenant with hirn, 2 Chron. xv. 12, " They 
entered into covenant to seek the Lord 
God of their fathers." And Isa. xliv. 5, 
" One shall say, I am the Lord's : and an- 
other shall subscribe with his hand tinto the 
Lord ;" like soldiers, that subscribe their 
names in the muster-roll. This covenant, 
" That God shall be our God," we have 
often renewed in the Lord's supper ; and it 
is like a seal to a bond, to bind us fast to 
God, and to keep us that we do not depart 
from him. 

A. 3. To make God to be a God to us, is 
to give him adoration : which consists, 1. 
In reverencing of him, Ps. lxxxix. 7, " God 
is to be had in reverence of all them that are 
about him." The seraphims, who stood 
about God's throne covered their faces, Isa. 
vi. and Elijah wrapt himself in a mantle, 
when the Lord passed by, in token of reve- 
rence. This reverence shows the high 
esteem we have of God's sacred majesty. — 
2. Adoration is in bowing to him, or wor- 
shipping him, Ps. xxix. 2, " Worship the 
Lord in the beauty of holiness." Neh. viii. 
6, " They bowed their heads, and worshipped 
the Lord with their faces to the ground." 
Divine worship is the peculiar honour belong- 
ing to the Godhead : this God is jealous of, 
and will have no creature share in, Isa. xlii. 
8, " My glory will I not give to another." 
Magistrates may have a civil respect or 
veneration, God only a religious adora- 
tion. 

A. 4. To make God to be a God to us, is 
to fear him, Deut. xxviii. 58, " That thou 
mayest fear this glorious and fearful name, 
The Lord thy God." This fearing of God 
is, 1. To have God always in our eye, Ps. 
xvi. 8, " I have set the Lord always before 
me." And Ps. xxv. 15, " Mine eyes are 
ever towards the Lord." He who fears God, 
imagines, that whatever he is doing, God 
looks on, and, as a judge, weighs all his ac- 
tions. 2. To fear God, is, when we have 
such a holy awe of God upon our hearts, that 



246 



OF THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 



we dare not sin, Ps. iv. 4, " Stand in awe 
and sin not." The wicked sin and fear not ; 
the godly fear and sin not, Gen. xxxix. 9, 
" How then can I do this great wickedness, 
and sin against God]" Bid me sin, bid me 
drink poison. It is a saying of Anselm, " If 
hell were on one side, and sin on the other, 
I would rather leap into hell, than willingly 
sin against my God." (1). This glorious 
and fearful name : he who fears God will not 
sin, though it be never so secret, Lev. xix. 
14, " Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put 
a stumbling-block before the blind, but shalt 
fear thy God." Suppose you should curse a 
deaf man, he cannot hear you curse him; 
or if you lay a block in a blind man's way, 
and make him fall, he cannot see you lay it ; 
ay, but the fear of God will make you for- 
sake these sins which can neither be heard 
nor seen by men. (2). Where the fear of 
God is, it destroys the fear of man ; the three 
children feared God, therefore they feared not 
the king's wrath, Dan. iii. 16. The greater 
noise drowns the less ; the noise of thunder 
drowns the noise of a river ; so when the 
fear of God is superintendent in the soul, it 
drowns all other carnal fear. This is to make 
God to be a God to us, when we have a 
holy filial fear of him ; " That thou mayest 
fear." 

A. 5. To make God to be a God to us, is 
to trust in him, Ps. cxli. 8, " Mine eyes are 
unto thee, O God the Lord : in thee is my 
trust." 2 Sam. xxii. 3, " The God of my 
rock, in him will I trust." There is nothing 
we can trust in but God ; all the creatures 
are a refuge of lies, — they are like the Egyp- 
tian reed, too weak to support us, but strong 
enough to wound us, Omnis motus fit super 
immobili. God only is a sufficient founda- 
tion to build our trust upon ; and then, when 
we trust, we make him a God to us ; else we 
make him an idol, if we do not trust in him. 
Trusting in God is when we rely on his power 
as a Creator, and on his love as a father. 
Trusting in God is, when we commit our 
chief treasure to him ; our soul is our chief 
treasure, we commit our soul to him, Ps. 
xxxi. 5, " Into thy hands I commit my spirit." 
As the orphan trusts his estate with his 
guardian, so we trust our souls with God ; 
this is to make him a God to us. 



Quest. 1. How shall we know that we 
trust in God aright ? 

Ans. If we trust in God aright, then we 
will trust in God at one time as well as an- 
other, Ps. lxii. 8, " Trust in him at all times." 
Can we trust God. 1. In our straits'? when 
the fig-tree doth not flourish, — when our 
earthly crutches are broken, — can we now 
lean upon God's promise 1 When the pipes 
are cut off that used to bring us comfort, can 
we live upon God, in whom are all our fresh 
springs 1 When we have no bread to eat but 
the bread of carefulness, Ezek. xix. 8, — 
when we have no water to drink unless tears, 
Ps. lxxx. 5, " Thou givest them tears to drink 
in great measure," — can we now trust in 
God's providence to make supply for us 1 A 
good Christian believes that if God feed the 
ravens, he will feed his children ; he lives 
upon God's all-sufficiency, not only for grace, 
but food ; he believes if God will give him 
heaven, he will give daily bread ; he trusts 
God's bond, Ps. xxxvii, 3, " Verily thou shalt 
be fed." 2. Can we trust God in our fears T 
fear is the age of the soul. When adver- 
saries begin to grow high, can we now dis- 
play the banner of faith ] Ps. lvi. 3, " What 
time I am afraid, I will trust in thee." Faith 
cures the trembling at the heart : faith gets 
above fear, as the oil swims above the water. 
This is to trust in God, and it is to make him 
to be a God to us. 

A. 6. To make God to be a God to us, is 
to love him ; in the godly, fear and love kiss 
each other. 

A. 7. To make him a God to us, is to obey 
him. But I forbear to speak of these, be- 
cause I shall be large upon them in the second 
commandment ; " Showing mercy unto thou- 
sands of them that love me and keep my 
commandments." 

Quest. Why must we cleave to the Lord 
as our God ? 

Ans. 1. From the equity of it : it is but equal 
we should cleave to him as our God, from 
whom we receive our being; who can have a 
better right to us than he that gives us our 
breath? Ps. c. 3, " For it is he that made us, 
and not we ourselves." It is unequal, yea 
ungrateful, to give away our love or worship 
to any but God. 

A. 2. From the utility. If we cleave to 



OF THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 



247 



the Lord as our God ; then, 1. He will bless 
us, Ps. Ixvii. 6, " God, even our own God, 
will bless us." He will bless us, (1.) In our 
estate, Deut. xxviii. 4, 5, " Blessed shall be 
the fruit of thy ground : blessed shall be thy 
basket and thy store ;" we shall not only 
have our sack full of corn, but it shall be 
blessed : here is money in the mouth of the 
sack. (2.) He will bless us with peace, Ps. 
xxix. 11, " The Lord will bless his people 
with peace:" outward peace, which is the 
nurse of plenty, Ps. cxlvii. 14, " He maketh 
peace in thy borders :" inward peace, a smil- 
ing conscience ; this is sweeter than the 
dropping honey. 2. God will turn all evils 
to our good, Rom. viii. He will make a 
treacle of poison. Joseph's imprisonment 
was a means for his advancement, Gen. 1. 20. 
Out of the bitterest drug God will distil his 
glory and our salvation. In short, God will 
be our guide to death, our comfort in death, 
our reward after death. So then the utility 
of it may make us cleave to the Lord as our 
God, Ps. cxliv. 15, " Happy is that people 
who have the Lord for their God." 

A. 3. From the necessity. 1st, If God be 
not our God, he will curse our blessings ; Mai. 
ii.2, and God's curse blasts wherever it comes. 
2dly, If God be not our God, we have none 
to help us in misery ; will God help his ene- 
mies ; will he assist them who disclaim him 1 
Sdly, If we do not make God to be our God, 
he will make himself to be our judge ; and if 
he condemns, there is no appealing to a 
higher court. So that there is a necessity 
of having God for our God, unless we intend 
to be eternally espoused to misery. 

Use 1st. If we must have one God, and 
the Lord Jehovah for our God, it condemns 
the Atheists who have no God, Ps. xiv. 1, 
" The fool hath said in his heart, There is no 
God." There is no God he believes in, or 
worships ; such Atheists were Diogoras and 
Theodorus. When Seneca had reproved 
Nero for his impieties, saith Nero, "Dost 
thou think I believe there is any God, when I 
do such things V 1 The duke of Silesia was so 
infatuated, that he affirmed, Neque inferos, 
neque superos esse, — ' that there was neither 
God nor devil.' We may see God in the 
works of his fingers. The creation is a great 



volume, in which we may read a Godhead, 
and he must needs put out his own eyes, that 
denies a God. Aristotle, though a heathen, 
did not only acknowledge God, when he cried 
out, " Thou Being of beings, have mercy on 
me !" but he thought, he that did not confess 
a Deity, was not worthy to live. They who 
will not believe a God, shall feel him. Heb. 
x. 31, " It is a fearful thing to fall into the 
hands of the living God." 

Use 2d. It condemns Christians, who pro- 
fess to own God for their God, yet they do 
not live as if he were their God. 1. They 
do not believe in him as a God ; when they 
look upon their sins, they are apt to say, 
can God pardon 1 when they look upon their 
wants, can God provide 1 can he prepare a 
table in the wilderness ? — 2. They do not 
love him as a God ; they do not give him the 
cream of their love, but are apt to love other 
things more than God ; they say they love 
God, but will part with nothing for him. — 
3. They do not worship him as a God ; they 
do not give him that reverence, nor pray 
with that devotion, as if they were praying 
to a God. How dead are their hearts ? If 
not dead in sin, yet dead in duty. 'Tis as 
if praying to a god that hath eyes and sees 
not, — ears, and hears not. In hearing the 
word, how much distraction, what regard- 
less hearts have many? they are thinking 
of their shops and drugs. Would a king 
take it well at our hands, if, when he is 
speaking to us, we should be playing with 
a feather? when God is speaking to us in 
his word, and our hearts are taken up with 
thoughts about the world, is not this playing 
with a feather? O how may this humble 
most of us, we do not make God to be a God 
to us 1 We do not believe in him, love him, 
worship him as a God. Many heathens have 
worshipped their false gods with more seri- 
ousness and devotion than some Christians 
do the true God. ' O let us chide ourselves ! 
Did I say chide ? let us abhor ourselves for 
our deadness and formality in religion, — how 
we have professed God, yet we have not 
worshipped him as God ! So much for the 
first, " We must have God fqr our God:" I 
should come to the second, " We must have 
no other God." 



248 



OF THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 



Exod. xx. 3. Thou shall have no other gods before me. 



1. That we must have " no other god :" 
" Thou shalt have no other gods before me." 

Quest. What is meant by this word, Be- 
fore me 1 

Ans. That is, before my face, — in con- 
spectu meo, — in my sight : Deut. xxvii. 15, 
" Cursed be he that makes a graven image, 
and puts it in a secret place." Some would 
not bow to the idol where others might see, 
but they would secretly bow to it ; but though 
this was out of man's sight, it was not out of 
God's sight : " Cursed therefore (saith God) 
be he that puts the image in a secret place." 
" Thou shalt have no other gods." 1. There 
is really no other god. 2. We must have no 
other. 

1. There is really no other god. The 
Valentinians held there were two Gods, the 
Polytheists that there were many ; the Per- 
sians worshipped the sun ; the Egyptians, the 
ox and elephant ; the Grecians, Jupiter ; but 
there is no other than the true God, Deut. iv. 
39, " Know therefore this day, and consider 
it in thine heart, that the Lord he is God in 
heaven above, and upon the earth beneath ; 
there is none other," For, 1. There is but one 
First Cause, that hath its being of itself, and 
on which all other beings depend ; as in the 
heavens the Primum Mobile moves all the 
other orbs, so God is the Great Mover, he 
gives life and motion to every thing existent. 
— 2. There is but one Omnipotent Power. 
If there be two omnipotents, then we must 
always suppose a contest between these two ; 
that which one would do, the other Power, 
being equal, would oppose, and so all things 
would be brought into a confusion. If a ship 
should have two pilots of equal power, one 
would be ever crossing the other ; when one 
would sail, the other would cast anchor; 
here were a confusion, and the ship must 
needs perish. The order and harmony in 
the world, the constant and uniform govern- 
ment of all things, is a clear argument that 
there is but one Omnipotent, one God that 
rules all : Isa. xliv. 6, " I am the first, and I 
am the last, and besides me there is no God." 



2. We must have no other God. " Thou 
shalt have no other gods before me :" this 
commandment forbids, 1. Serving a false 
God, and not the true, Jer. ii. 27, " saying to 
a stock, Thou art my father ; and to a stone, 
Thou hast brought me forth." Or, 2. Joining 
a false god with a true, 2 Kings xvii. 33, 
" They feared the Lord, and served their own 
gods." Both these are forbidden in the com- 
mandment ; we must adhere to the true God, 
and no other ; " God is a jealous God," and 
he will endure no co-rival. A wife cannot 
lawfully have two husbands at once : nor may 
we have two Gods, Exod. xxxiv. 14, " Thou 
shalt worship no other god, for the Lord is a 
jealous God." Ps. xvi. 4, " Their sorrows 
shall be multiplied that hasten after another 
god." The Lord interprets it a £ Forsaking 
of him,' to espouse any other god, Judges ii. 
12, " They forsook the Lord," and followed 
other gods. God would not have his people 
so much as make mention of idol gods, Exod. 
xxiii. 13, " Make no mention of the name of 
other gods, neither let it be heard out of thy 
mouth." God looks upon it as a breaking 
of the marriage-covenant, to go after other 
gods. Therefore, when Israel committed 
idolatry with the golden calf, God disclaims 
his interest in them, Exod. xxxii. 7, " Thy 
people have corrupted themselves." Be- 
fore, God called Israel his people ; but when 
they went after other gods, "Now (saith 
the Lord to Moses) they are no more my 
people but thy people." Hos. ii. 2, " Plead 
with your mother, plead ; for she is not my 
wife." She doth not keep faith with me ; 
she hath stained herself with idols, there- 
fore I will divorce her; "she is not my 
wife." To go after other gods, is what 
God cannot bear ; it makes the fury rise 
up in his face, Deut. xiii. 6, 8, 9, " If thy 
brother, or thy son, or the wife of thy 
bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine own 
soul, entice thee secretly, saying, let us go 
and serve other gods, thou shalt not con- 
sent unto him, neither shall thine eye pity 
him ; but thou shalt surely kill him ; thine 



OF THE FIRST 

hand shall be first upon him to put him to 
death, and afterwards the hand of all the 
people." 

Quest. But what is it to have other gods 
besides the true God ? I fear upon search, 
we have more idolaters among us than we 
are aware of. 

Ans. To trust in any thing more than God, 
is to make it a god. 1. If we trust in our 
riches, then we make riches our god : we 
may take comfort, not put confidence in 
them. It is a foolish thing to trust in them. 
(1.) They are deceitful riches, Matt. xiii. 2, 
and it is foolish to trust to that which will 
deceive us. 1st, They have no solid con- 
sistency, they are like landscapes or golden 
dreams, which leave the soul empty when it 
awakes or comes to itself. - 2dly, They are 
not what they promise ; they promise to 
satisfy our desires, and they increase them ; 
they promise to stay with us, and they take 
wings. (2.) They are hurtful, Eccl. i. 18, 
" Riches kept for the owners thereof to their 
hurt." It is foolish to trust to that which 
will hurt one : who would take hold of the 
edge of a razor to help him ] They are oft 
fuel for pride and lust, Ezek. xxviii. 5, Jer. 
v. 7. So that it is folly to trust in our riches : 
but some do, and so make money their god, 
Prov. x. 15, " The rich man's wealth is his 
strong tower." He makes the wedge of gold 
his hope, Job xxxi. 24. God made man of 
the dust of the earth, and man makes a god 
of the dust of the earth. Money is his crea- 
tor, redeemer, comforter : his creator ; if he 
had money, now he thinks he is made : his 
redeemer ; if he be in danger, he trusts to 
his money to redeem him : his comforter; if 
he be sad, money is the golden harp to drive 
away the evil spirit. Thus, by trusting to 
money, we make it a god. 

2. If we trust in the arm of flesh, we make 
it a god, Jer. xvii. 5, " Cursed be the man 
that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his 
arm." The Syrians trusted in their army, 
which was so numerous that it filled the 
country, 1 Kings xx. 27, but this arm of flesh 
withered, v. 29. What we make our trust, 
God makes our shame. The sheep run to 
the hedges for shelter, and they lose their 
wool : we have run to second causes to help 
21 



COMMANDMENT. 249 

us, and we have lost much of our golden 
fleece, — they have not only been reeds to 
fail us, but thorns to prick us. We have 
broken our parliament crutches, by leaning 
too hard upon them. 

3. If we trust in our wisdom, we make it 
a god, Jer. ix. 23, " Let not the wise man 
glory in his wisdom 1" Glorying is the 
height of confidence. Many a man doth 
make an idol of his wit and parts ; he deifies 
himself, but how oft doth God take the wise 
in their own craftiness, Job vi. 13. Ahitho- 
phel had a great wit, — his counsel was as the 
oracle of God,- — but his wit brought him to 
the halter, 2 Sam. xvii. 23. 

4. If we trust in our civility, we make it a 
god. Many trust to this, none can charge 
them with gross sin. Civility is but nature 
refined and cultivated ; a man may be wash- 
ed, and not changed ; his life may be civil, 
yet there may be some reigning sin in his 
heart ; the Pharisee could say, " I am no 
adulterer," Luke xviii. 11, but he could not 
say, I am not proud. To trust to civility, is 
to trust to a spider's web. 

5. If we trust to our duties to save us, 
we make them a god, Isa. Ixiv. 6, " Our 
righteousnesses are as filthy rags ;" they are 
fly-blown with sin. Put gold in the fire, and 
there comes out much dross ; our most golden 
duties are mixed with infirmity ; we are apt 
either to neglect duty, or idolize it. Use 
duty, but do not trust to it ; for then you 
make it a god. Trust not to your praying 
and hearing ; these are the means of salva- 
tion, but they are not saviours. If you make 
duties bladders to trust to, you may sink to 
hell with these bladders. 

6. If we trust in our grace, we make a 
god of it. Grace is but a creature ; if we 
trust to it, we make it an idol. Grace is 
imperfect, we cannot trust to that to save 
us which is imperfect, Ps. xxvi. 1, "I have 
walked in my integrity : I have trusted also 
in the Lord." David did walk in his in- 
tegrity ; but did not trust in his integrity : 
" I have trusted also in the Lord." If we 
trust in our graces, we make a Christ of 
them. They are good graces, but bad 
Christs. To love any thing more than God, 
is to make it a god. 



250 



OF THE FIRST COMMANDMENT. 



1st, If we love our estate more than God, 
then we make it a god. The young man in 
the gospel loved his gold better than his 
Saviour ; the world lay nearer his heart than 
Christ, Matt. xix. 22. Fulgens hoc auram 
prcestringit pculos, Var. Hence it is, the 
covetous man is called an idolater, Eph. v. 5. 
Why so 1 Because he loves his estate more 
than God, and so he makes it his god ; though 
he doth not bow down to an idol, yet he 
worships the graven image in his coins ; he 
is an idolater. That which hath most of the 
heart, that we make a god. 

2dly, If we love our pleasures more than 
God we make a god of pleasure, 2 Tim. iii. 4, 
" Lovers of pleasure more than lovers of 
God." Many let loose the reins, and give 
themselves up to all manner of sensual de- 
lights ; they idolize pleasure, Job xxi. 12, 13, 
" They take the timbrel, and the harp, and 
rejoice at the sound of the organ ; they spend 
their days in wealth." I have read of a place 
in Africa, where the people spend all their 
time in dancing, and making merry : and 
have not we many who make a god of plea- 
sure, who spend their time in going to plays 
and visiting stews, as if God had made them 
like the leviathan, to play in the water? Ps. 
civ. 26. In the country of Sardinia there is 
an herb like balm, that if one eat too much 
of it, he will die laughing : such an herb is 
pleasure ; if one feeds immoderately on it, he 
will go laughing to hell. Such as make a 
god of pleasure, let them read but two scrip- 
tures, Eccl. vii. 4, " The heart of fools is in 
the house of mirth." And, Rev. xviii. 7, 
"How much she hath lived deliciously, so 
much torment give her." Sugar laid in a 
damp place turns to water ; so all the sugared 
joys and pleasures of sinners will turn to the 
water of tears at last. 

3t%, If we love our belly more than God, 
we make a god of it, Phil. iii. 19, " Whose 
god is their belly." Clemens Alexandrinus 
writes of a fish that had its heart in its belly : 
an emblem of epicures, their heart is in their 
belly,—- they do sacrificari lari,— -their belly 
is their god, and to this god they pour drink- 
offerings. The Lord allows what is fitting 
for the recruiting of nature, Deut. xi. 15, "I 
will send grass, that thou mayest eat and be 



full." But, to mind nothing but the indulg- 
ing of the appetite, is idolatry ; " Whose god 
is their belly." What pity is it, that the 
soul, that princely part, which sways the 
sceptre of reason and is a-kin to angels, 
should be enslaved to the brutish part ! 

Athly, If we love a child more than God, 
we make a god of it. How many are guilty 
in this kind? they think of their children, 
and delight more in them than in God ; they 
grieve more for the loss of their first born, 
than for the loss of their first love. This is 
to make an idol of a child, and to set it in 
God's room. Thus God is oft provoked to 
take away our children. If we love the jewel 
more than him that gave it, God will take 
away the jewel, that our love may return to 
him again. 

Use 1st. It reproves such as have other 
gods, and so renounce the true God. 1. Such 
as set up idols, Jer. ii. 28, " According to the 
number of thy cities are thy gods, O Judah." 
Hos. xii. Ill, " Their altars are as heaps in 
the furrows of the field." — 2. Such as seek to 
familiar spirits. This is a sin condemned by 
the law of God, Deut. xviii. 10, 11, " There 
shall not be found among you any that con- 
sult with familiar spirits." It is ordinary, 
that if people have lost any of their goods, 
they send to wizards and soothsayers, to 
know how they may come by their goods 
again : what is this but for people to make a 
god of the devil, by consulting with him, and 
putting their trust in him? What ! because 
you have lost your goods, will you lose your 
souls too ? 2 Kings i. 6. So, is it not be- 
cause you think there is not a God in hea- 
ven, that you ask counsel of the devil ? If 
any be guilty, be humbled. 

Use 2d. It sounds a retreat in our ears. 
Let it call us off from the idolizing any 
creature ; and renouncing other gods, let us 
cleave to the true God and his service. If 
we go away from God, we know not where 
to mend ourselves. 

1. It is honourable serving of the true 
God ; Servire Deo est regnare. It is more 
honour to serve God, than to have kings 
serve us. — 2. Serving the true God is de- 
lightful, Isa. Ivi. 7, "I will make them 
joyful in my house of prayer." God oft 



OF THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



251 



displays the banner of his love in an ordi- 
nance, and pours in the oil of gladness into 
the heart. All God's ways are pleasantness, 
his paths are strewed with roses, Prov. iii. 
17. 3. Serving the true God is beneficial ; 
they have great gain here,— the hidden man- 
na, — inward peace, and a great reward to 
come. They that serve God shall have a 
kingdom when they die, Luke xii. 32, and 
shaH wear a crown made of the flowers of 
paradise, 1 Pet. v. 4. To serve the true God 
is our true interest. God hath twisted his 
glory and our salvation together. He bids 
us believe ; and why % that we may be saved. 
Therefore, renouncing all others, let us 
cleave to the true God. 

2. You have covenanted to serve the true 
Jehovah, renouncing all others. When one 
hath entered into covenant with his master, 
and the indentures are drawn and sealed, 
then he cannot go back, but must serve out 



his time. We have covenanted in baptism 
to take the Lord for our God, renouncing 
all others, — and renewed this covenant in 
the Lord's supper, — and shall we not keep 
our solemn vow and covenant 1 We can- 
not go away from God without the highest 
perjury, Heb. x. 38, " If any man draw 
back," as a soldier that steals away from 
his colours, 4 my soul shall have no plea- 
sure in him : I will pour vials of wrath on 
him, and make mine arrows drunk with 
blood.' 

3. None ever had cause to repent of cleav- 
ing to God and his service : some have re- 
pented that they had made a god of the 
world. Cardinal Wolsey said, " Oh that 
I had served my God as I have served my 
king, he would never have left me thus I" 
None ever complained of serving God : it was 
both their comfort and crown on their death- 
bed. 



OF THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



Exod. xx. 4. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, fyc. 



In the first commandment is forbidden 
the worshipping a false god : in this, the 
worshipping the true God in a false man- 
ner. 

1. " Thou shalt not make unto thee any 
graven image." This forbids not the mak- 
ing an image for civil use, Matt. xxii. 20, 
" Whose is this image and superscription % 
They say unto him, It is Csesar's." But the 
commandment forbids setting up an image 
for religious use or worship. 

2. " Nor the likeness of any thing," &c. 
All ideas, portraitures, shapes, images of 
God, whether by effigies or pictures, are 
here forbidden. Deut. iv. 15, 16, " Take heed 
lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make the 
similitude of any figure." God is to be 
adored in the heart, not painted to the eye. 

3. " Thou shalt not bow down to them." 
The intent of making images and pictures, 
is to worship them. No sooner was Nebu- 
chadnezzar's golden image set up, but all 
the people fell down and worshipped it, 



Dan. iii. 7. Therefore God forbids the pros- 
trating of ourselves before an idol. So then, 
the thing prohibited in this commandment is 
image-worship. To set up an image to re- 
present God, is a debasing of the Deity, it is 
below God. If one should make images of 
snakes or spiders, saying he did it to repre- 
sent his prince, would not the prince take 
this in high disdain? What greater dis- 
paragement to God, than to represent the 
infinite God by that which is finite, — the living 
God, by that which is without life, and the 
Maker of all, by a thing which is made 1 

1st. To make a true image of God is im- 
possible. God is a spiritual essence, John 
iv. 24 ; and, being a Spirit, he is invisible, 
Deut. iv. 15, " Ye saw no similitude in the 
day that the Lord spake unto you in Horeb 
out of the midst of the fire." i iow can any 
paint the Deity % Can they make an image 
of that which they never saw ? Quod invu 
sibile est, pigni non potest, Amb. " Ye saw 
no similitude." It is impossible to make a 



252 



OF THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



picture of the soul, or to paint the angels, 
because they are of a spiritual nature ; much 
less then can we paint God by an image, 
who is an infinite, uncreated Spirit. 

2d. To worship God by an image, is both 
absurd and unlawful. 

1. It is absurd and irrational ; for, 1. The 
workman is better than the work, Heb, iii. 
3, " He who hath builded the house hath 
more honour than the house." If the work- 
man be better than the work, and none bow 
to the workman, how absurd then is it to 
bow to the work of his hands ] 2. Is it not 
an absurd thing to bow down to the king's 
picture, when the king himself is present ] 
more so to bow down to an image of God, 
when God himself is everywhere present. 

2. It is unlawful to worship God by an 
image ; for, 1. It is against the homily of the 
church ; it runs thus : " The images of God, 
our Saviour, the Virgin Mary, are of all 
others the most dangerous ; therefore the 
greatest care ought to be had that they stand 
not in temples and churches." So that 
image-worship is contrary to our own homi- 
lies, and doth affront the authority of the 
church of England. 2. Image-worship is 
expressly against the letter of scripture, Lev. 
xxvi. 1, " Ye shall make no graven image, 
neither shall ye setup any image of stone, to 
bow down to it," Deut. xvi. 22, " Neither shalt 
thou set thee up any image which the Lord 
thy God hateth." Ps. xcvii. 7, " Confound- 
ed be all they that serve graven images." 
Do we think to please God, by doing that 
which is contrary to his mind, and that 
which he hath expressly forbidden ? — 3. Im- 
age-worship is against the practice of the 
saints of old. Josiah, that renowned king, 
destroyed the groves and images, 2 Kings 
xxiii. 24. Constantine abrogated the images 
set up in temples ; the Christians destroyed 
images at Basil, Zurich, Bohemia ; when 
the Roman emperors would have thrust 
images upon them, they chose rather to 
die than deflower their virgin-profession 
by idolatry ; they refused to admit any 
painter or carver into their society, be- 
cause they would not have any carved 
statue or image of God ; when Seraphion 
bowed to an idol, the Christians excom- 



municated him, and delivered him up to 
Satan. 

Use 1st. It reproves and condemns the 
church of Rome, who from the Alpha of their 
religion to the Omega, are wholly idolatrous. 
They make images of God the Father, — 
painting him in their church windows as an 
old man, — and an image of Christ on the 
crucifix ; and, because it is against the letter 
of this commandment, therefore they sacri- 
legiously blot out the second commandment 
out of their catechises, dividing the tenth 
commandment into two ; now this image- 
worship must needs be very impious and 
blasphemous, because it is a giving that re- 
ligious worship to the creature, which is only 
due to God. It is vain for papists to say, 
they give God the worship of the heart, and 
the image only the worship of the body ; for 
the worship of the body is due to God, as well 
as the worship of the heart ; and to give an 
outward veneration to an image, is to give 
that adoration to a creature, which only be- 
longs to God, Isa. xlii. 8, " My glory will I 
not give to another." 

Obj. 1. The papists say, they do not wor- 
ship the image, but only make use of it as a 
medium, to worship God by it. Ne imagine 
quidem Christi in quantum est lignum sculp- 
tum, ultra debetur reverentia, Aquinas. 

Ans. 1. Where hath God bidden them 
worship him by an effigy or image l . Isa. i. 
12, " Who hath required this at your hands V* 
The papists cannot say so much as the devil, 
Scriptum est, — ' It is written.' 

A. 2. The heathens may bring the same 
argument for their gross idolatry, as the 
papists do for their image-worship. Who of 
the heathens were so simple, as to think gold 
or silver, or the figure of an ox or elephant, 
were God 2 They were only emblems and 
hieroglyphics to represent him ; they did 
worship the invisible God, by such visible 
things. To worship God by an image, God 
takes as done to the image itself. 

Obj. 2. But, say the papists, images are 
laymen's books, and they are good to put us 
in mind of God. One of the popish councils 
affirmed, that we might learn more by an im- 
age, than by long study of the scriptures. 

Ans. Hab. ii. 18, "What proflteth the 



OF THE SECOND 



COMMANDMENT. 



253 



graven image, the molten image, and a 
teacher of lies'?" Is an image a layman's 
book? See then what lessons this book 
teacheth, it teacheth lies ; it represents God 
in a visible shape, who is invisible, For the 
papists to say they make use of an image to 
put them in mind of God, is as if a woman 
should say, she keeps company with another 
man, to put her in mind of her husband. 

Obj. 3. But did not Moses make the 
image of a brazen serpent ? Why then may 
not images be set up ? 

Ans. That was done by God's special 
command, Numb. xxi. 8, " Make thee a fiery 
serpent ;" and there was a special use of it, 
both literal and spiritual. But what ! doth 
the setting up of this image of the brazen 
serpent justify the setting-up of images in 
churches 1 What ! because Moses did make 
an image by God's appointment, may we 
therefore set up an image of our own devis- 
ing 1 — because Moses made an image to heal 
them that were stung, is it lawful therefore 
to set up images in churches, to sting them 
that are whole? This doth not all follow. 
Nay, that very brazen serpent which God 
himself commanded to be set up, when Israel 
did look upon it with too much reverence, 
and began to burn incense to it, Hezekiah 
defaced that image, and called it Nehushtan, 
(mere brass) ; and God commended him for 
so doing, 2 Kings xviii. 4. 

Obj. 4. But is not God represented as 
having hands, and eyes, and ears? Why 
then may we not make an image to represent 
him by, and help our devotion? 

Ans. Though God is pleased to stoop to our 
weak capacities, and set himself out in scrip- 
ture by eyes to signify his omnisciency, and 
hands to signify his power, yet it is very absurd 
from metaphors and figurative expressions to 
bring an argument for images and pictures ; 
for, by that rule, God may be pictured by the 
sun and the element of fire, and by a rock ; for 
God is set forth by these metaphors in scrip- 
ture : and sure the papists themselves would 
not like to have such images made of God. 

Quest. 1. If it be not lawful to make the 
image of God the Father, yet may we not 
make an image of Christ, who took upon 
him the nature of man ? 



Ans. No. Epiphanius seeing an image 
of Christ hanging in a church, brake it in 
pieces. It is Christ's Godhead, united to his 
manhood that makes him to be Christ ; there- 
fore to picture his manhood, when we cannot 
picture his Godhead, is a sin, because we 
make him to be but half Christ, — we separate 
what God hath joined, — we leave out that 
which is the chief thing, which makes him 
to be Christ. 

Quest. 2. But how then shall we con- 
ceive of God aright, if we may make no 
image or resemblance of him ? 

Ans. We must conceive of God spiritually, 
viz. 1. In his attributes, — his holiness, jus- 
tice, goodness, which are the beams by which 
his divine nature shines forth. 2. We must 
conceive of him as he is in Christ ; Christ is 
the "image of the invisible God," Col. i. 15, 
as in the wax we see the print of the seal. 
Set the eyes of your faith on Christ-God- 
man, John xiv. 9, " He that hath seen me, 
hath seen the Father." 

Use 2d. Take heed of idolatry, viz. image- 
worship. Our nature is prone to this sin, as 
dry wood to take fire ; and indeed, what 
needs so many words in the commandment, 
" Thou shalt not make any graven image, or 
the likeness of any thing" in heaven, earth, 
water, sun, moon, stars, male, female, fish, — 
" thou shalt not bow down to them :" I say, 
what needed so many words, but to show 
how subject we are to this sin of false wor- 
ship 1 It concerns us therefore to resist this 
sin. Where the tide is apt to run with 
greater force, there we had need to make 
the banks higher and stronger ; the plague of 
idolatry is very infectious, Ps. cvi. 35, 36, 
" They were mingled among the heathen, 
and served their idols." It is my advice to 
you to avoid all occasions of this sin. 

1. Come not into the company of idolatrous 
papists ; dare not to live under the same roof 
with them, else you run into the devil's 
mouth. John the divine would not be in the 
bath where Cerinthus the heretic was. 

2. Go not into their chapels to see their 
crucifixes, or hear mass ; as the looking on 
a harlot draws to adultery, so the looking 
on the popish gilded picture may draw to 
idolatry. Some care not though they go and 



254 



OF THE SECOND 



COMMANDMENT. 



see their idol-worship: indeed, a vagrant 
that hath nothing to lose, cares not though he 
goes among thieves ; such as have no good- 
ness in them, care not into what idolatrous 
places they come, or what temptations they 
cast themselves upon ; but you who have a 
treasure about you, good principles, take 
heed the popish priests do not rob you of 
your principles, and defile you with their 
images. 

3. Dare not to join in marriage with 
image-worshippers. Solomon, though a man 
of wisdom, yet his idolatrous wives drew 
away his heart from God. The people of 
Israel entered into an oath and curse that 
they would not give their daughters in mar- 
riage to the idolaters, Neh. x. 30. For a 
protestant and papist to marry, is to be un- 
equally yoked, 2 Cor. vi. 14 ; and there is 
more danger that the papist will corrupt the 
protestant, than hope that the protestant will 
convert the papist. Mingle wine and vine- 
gar, the vinegar will sooner sour the wine, 
than the wine will sweeten the vinegar. 

4. Avoid superstition, which is a bridge 
leads over to Rome. Superstition is the 
bringing in any ceremony, fancy, or innova- 
tion into God's worship, which he never 
appointed. This is very provoking to God, 
because it reflects much upon his honour, as 
if he were not wise enough to appoint the 
manner of his own worship. God hates all 
strange fire to be offered in his temple, Lev. 
x. 1. A ceremony may in time bring to a 
crucifix. They who contend for the cross in 
baptism, why may they not as well have the 
oil, salt, and cream, the one being as ancient 
as the other 1 Such as are for altar- worship, 
they who will bow to the east, may in time 
bow to the host. Take heed of all occasions 
of idolatry ; idolatry is devil-worship, Ps. 
cvi. 37, and if you search through the whole 
Bible, there is no one sin that God hath more 
followed with plagues, than idolatry; the 



Jews have a saying, that in every evil that 
befalls them, there is uncia aurei vituli, — an 
ounce of the golden calf in it. Hell is a 
place for idolaters, Rev. xxii. 15, " For with- 
out are idolaters." Senesius calls the devil 
a rejoicer at idols, because the image-wor- 
shippers help to fill hell. That you may be 
preserved from idolatry and image-worship, 

1. Get good principles, that you may be 
able to oppose the gainsayer. Whence doth 
the popish religion get ground % not from 
the goodness of their cause, but from the 
ignorance of their people. 

2. Get love to God. The wife that loves 
her husband is safe from the adulterer ; and 
the soul that loves Christ is safe from the 
idolater. 

3. Pray that God will keep you. Though 
it is true, there is nothing in an image to 
tempt — for if we pray to an image, it cannot 
hear, and if we pray to God, by an image, 
he will not hear : I say, there's nothing to 
tempt — yet we know not our own hearts, or 
how soon we may be drawn to vanity, if God 
leave us ; therefore pray that you be not en- 
ticed by false worship, or receive the mark 
of the beast in your right hand or forehead. 
Pray, Ps. cxix. 117, " Hold thou me up, and 
I shall be safe." Lord, let me neither mis- 
take my way for want of light nor leave the 
true way for want of courage. 

4. Let us bless God, who hath given us 
the knowledge of his truth ; that we have 
tasted the honey of his word, and our eyes 
are enlightened. Bless him that he hath 
shown us the pattern of his house, — the 
right mode of worship ; that he hath dis- 
covered to us the forgery and blasphemy of 
the Romish religion. Let us pray, that God 
will preserve pure ordinances, and powerful 
preaching among us : idolatry came in at 
first by the want of good preaching, — then 
the people began to have golden images, 
when they had wooden priests. 



OF THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



255 



Exod. xx. 5. For I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fa- 
thers upon the children, unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me. 



I. " I the Lord thy God am a jealous God." 
The first reason why Israel must not wor- 
ship graven images is, because the Lord is a 
jealous God, Exod. xxxiv. 14, " The Lord, 
whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God." 
Jealousy is taken, 1. In a good sense, and so 
God is jealous for his people. 2. In a bad 
sense, and so God is jealous of his people. 

1. In a good sense ; and so God is jealous 
for his people, Zech. i. 14, " Thus saith the 
Lord, I am jealous for Jerusalem, and for 
Zion, with a great jealousy." God hath a 
dear affection for his people, they are his 
Hephzibah, or delight, Isa. lxii. 4. The 
apple of his eye, Zech. ii. 8. To express 
how dear they are to him, and how tender 
he is of them, — Nihil charius pupilla oculi, 
Drusius. They are his spouse, adorned 
with jewels of grace ; they lie near to his 
heart. He is jealous for his spouse, there- 
fore he will be avenged on them who go to 
wrong her, Isa. xlii. 13, " The Lord shall 
stir up jealousy like a man of war ; he shall 
roar, he shall prevail against his enemies." 
What is done to the saints, God takes as 
done to himself, 2 Kings xix. 22, and the 
Lord will undo all them that afflict Zion, 
Zeph. iii. 19, " I will undo all that afflict 
thee." — 2. Jealousy is taken in a bad sense, 
and so God is jealous of his people : and so 
it is taken in this commandment, ' I the Lord 
thy God am a jealous God.' I am jealous 
lest you should go after false gods, or wor- 
ship the true God in a false manner ; lest you 
defile your virgin-profession by images. God 
will have his spouse to keep close to him, 
and not go after other lovers, Hos. iii. 3, 
" Thou shalt not be for another man." God 
cannot bear a co-rival : our conjugal love, 
viz. a love joined with adoration and worship, 
must be given only to God. 

Use 1st. Let us give God no just cause to 
be jealous. A good wife will be so discreet 
and chaste as to give her husband no just 
occasion of jealousy. Let us avoid all sin, 
especially this sin of idolatry, or image-wor- 



ship ; it is heinous, after we have entered 
into a marriage-covenant with God, now to 
prostitute ourselves to an image. Idolatry is 
spiritual adultery, and God is a jealous God, 
he will avenge it ; image- worship makes 
God abhor a people, Ps. lxxviii. 58, 59, 
" They moved him to jealousy with their 
graven images. When God heard this, he 
was wroth, and greatly abhorred Israel." 
Image- worship enrageth God, Prov. vi. 34, 
" Jealousy is the rage of a man ;" it makes 
God divorce a people, Hos. ii. 2, " Plead 
with your mother, plead ; for she is not my 
wife." Cant. viii. 6, " Jealousy is cruel as 
the grave." As the grave devours men's 
bodies, so God will devour image-worship- 
pers. 

Use 2d. If God be a jealous God, let it be 
a word to such whose friends are popish 
idolaters, and they are hated by their friends 
because they are of a different religion, and 
perhaps they cut off their maintenance from 
them. O remember, God is a jealous God ! 
Better move your parents to hatred, than 
move God to jealousy ; their anger cannot do 
you so much hurt as God's ; if they will not 
provide for you, God will, Ps. xxvii. 10, 
" When my father and mother forsake me, 
then the Lord will take me up." 

II. The second reason against image-wor- 
ship, " Visiting the iniquity of the fathers 
upon the children unto the third and fourth 
generation." There is a twofold visiting: 1. 
There is God's visiting in mercy, Gen. 1. 25, 
" God will surely visit you ;" that is, he will 
bring you into the land of Canaan, the type of 
heaven. Thus God hath visited us with the 
sun-beams of his favour ; he hath made us 
swim in a sea of mercy ; this is a happy visi- 
tation. — 2. There is God's visiting in anger; 
Jer. v. 9, " Shall I not visit for these things V 9 
that is, God's visiting with the rod : and Isa. 
x, 3, " What will ye do in the day of visita- 
tion V 9 that is, in the day when God shall 
visit with his judgments. Thus God's visit- 
ing is taken here, in this commandment, 



256 



OF THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



" visiting iniquity," that is, punishing iniqui- 
ty. Observe here three things. 

Observe 1. That sin makes God visit ; 
" Visiting iniquity." Sin is the cause why 
God visits with sickness, poverty, Ps. lxxxix. 
31, 32, " If they break my statutes, then will 
I visit their transgressions with the rod." 
Sin twists the cords which pinch us ; sin 
creates all our troubles, — it is the gall in our 
cup, and the gravel in our bread ; Flagitum 
et Jlagellum, sunt sicut ocus et silum. Sin 
is the Trojan horse, — the Phseton that sets 
all on fire ; it is the womb of our sorrows, and 
the grave of our comfort. God visits for sin. 

Observe 2. One special sin God visits for, 
is idolatry and image-worship. "Visiting 
the iniquity of the fathers." Most of God's 
envenomed arrows have been shot among 
idolaters, Jer. vii. 12, " Go now into my place 
which was in Shiloh, where I set my name 
at the first, and see what I did to it." God, 
for Israel's idolatry suffered their army to be 
routed, — their priests slain, — the ark taken 
captive ; and we never read that the ark re- 
turned to Shiloh any more. Jerusalem was 
the most famous metropolis of the world; 
there was the temple, Ps. cxxii. 4, " Whither 
the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord." 
Yet, for their high places and images, their 
city was besieged and taken by the Chaldean 
forces, 2 Kings xxv. 4. When images were 
set up in Constantinople, the chief seat of 
the Eastern empire, this city — which was in 
the eye of the world impregnable — was 
taken by the Turks, and many cruelly mas- 
sacred. Then the Turks in their triumphs 
reproached the idolatrous Christians, causing 
an image or crucifix to be carried through 
the streets in contempt, and throwing dirt 
upon it, cried, " This is the God of the 
Christians !" Here was God's visitation for 
their idolatry. God hath set special marks 
of his wrath upon idolaters ; at a place called 
Epoletium, there perished by an earthquake 
350 persons, while they were offering sacri- 
fice to idols. Idolatry hath brought misery 
upon the Eastern churches, it removed the 
golden candlesticks of Asia. This iniquity 
God visits for. 

Observe 3. Idolatrous persons are enemies 
not only to their own souls, but to their 



children : ' Visiting the iniquity of the fathers 
upon their children.' As an idolatrous fa- 
ther entails his land of inheritance, so he en- 
tails God's anger and curse upon them. A 
jealous husband, finding his wife hath stained 
her integrity, may justly cast off her and her 
children too, because they are none of his. 
If the father be a traitor to his prince, no 
wonder if all the children suffer. God may 
visit the iniquity of image-worshippers upon 
their children. 

Quest. But is it not said, " Every one 
shall die for his own sin ; the son shall not 
bear the iniquity of the father?" How then 
doth God say, He " will visit the iniquity 
of the fathers upon the children ?" 

Ans. Though the son be not damned for 
his father's sin, yet he may be severely pun- 
ished, Job xxi. 19, " God layeth up his ini- 
quity for his children ;" that is, God lays up 
the punishment of his iniquity for his chil- 
dren ; the child smarts for the father's sin. 
Jeroboam thought to have established the 
kingdom by idolatrous worship, but it brought 
ruin upon him and all his posterity, 1 Kings 
xiv. 10. Ahab's idolatry wronged his pos- 
terity, they lost the kingdom, and were all 
beheaded, 2 Kings x. 7, " They took the 
king's sons, and slew seventy persons." 
There God visited the iniquity of the father 
upon the children. As a son catcheth an 
hereditary disease from his father, the stone 
or gout ; so he catcheth misery from him, his 
father's sin ruins him. 

Use 1st. If so, then how sad is it to be the 
child of an idolater 1 It had been sad to have 
been one of Gehazi's children, who had lepro- 
sy entailed upon them, 2 Kings v. 27, " The 
leprosy of Naaman shall cleave to thee and to 
thy seed for ever." So it is sad to be a child of 
an idolater, or image-worshipper; his seed are 
exposed to God's heavy judgments in this life ; 
" God visits the iniquity of the fathers upon 
their children." Methinks I hear God speak, 
as, Isa. xiv. 21, "Prepare slaughter for his 
children, for the iniquity of their fathers." 

Use 2d. See what a privilege it is to be 
the children of good parents ; the parents 
are in covenant with God, and God lays 
up mercy for their posterity, Prov. xx. 7, 
" The just man walketh in his integrity, 



OF THE SECOND 



COMMANDMENT. 



257 



his children are blessed after him." A re- 
ligious parent doth not procure wrath, but 
helps to keep off wrath from his child ; he 
seasons his child with religious principles, 
he prays down a blessing on his child ; he is 
a loadstone drawing his child to Christ by- 
good counsel and example. O what a privi- 
lege is it to be born of godly religious parents ! 
St Austin saith, that his mother Monica tra- 
vailed with greater care and pains for his 
new birth than for his natural. Wicked 
idolaters entail misery on their posterity ; 
God "visits the iniquity of the fathers upon 
their children ;" but religious parents pro- 
cure a blessing upon their children ; God 
reserves mercy for their posterity. 

III. The third reason against image-wor- 
ship, " Of them that hate me." This is a 
reason against image-worship, 'tis hating 
God; the papists, who worship God by an 
image, hate God. Image-worship is a pre- 
tended love to God, but God interprets it a 
hating of him ; Quce diligit alienum odit 
sponsum, — ' She that loves another man, 
hates her own husband.' An image-lover 
is a God-hater. Idolaters are said to go a 
whoring from God, Ezek. xxxiv. 15. How 
can they love God 1 I shall show that image- 
worshippers hate God, whatever love they 
pretend. 

1. They who go contrary to God's express 
will, hate him. God saith, you shall not set 
up any statue, image, nor picture, to repre- 
sent me ; these things I hate, Deut. xvi. 22, 
" Neither shalt thou set up any image which 
the Lord thy God hateth." Yet the idolater 
will set up images, and worship them. This 
God looks upon as a hating of him. How 
doth that child love his father, who doth all 
he can to cross him ? 

2. They who turned Jephthah out of doors, 
hated him, therefore they laboured to shut 
him out of his father's house, Judges xi. 7. 
The idolater shuts the truth out of doors, — 
he blots out the second commandment, — he 
makes a shape of the invisible God, — he 
brings a lie into God's worship : which is a 
clear proof he hates God. 

2 K 



3. Idolaters, though they love the false 
image of God in a picture, yet they hate 
the true image of God in a believer: they 
pretend to honour Christ in a crucifix, yet 
persecute Christ in his members : these hate 
God. 

Use 1st. This may confute those who 
plead for image-worshippers. They are very 
devout people, — they adore images, — they 
set up the crucifix, kiss it, light candles to 
it : they love God. Nay, but who shall be 
judge of their love? God saith, they hate 
him ; they give religious adoration to a crea- 
ture. These hate God, and God hates them, 
and they shall never live with God, whom 
God hates ; he will never lay such vipers in 
his bosom ; heaven is kept as paradise, with 
a flaming sword, that they shall not enter in, 
and Deut. vii. 10, " He repayeth them that 
hate him, to their face." God will shoot all 
his destroying pieces among idolaters ; all 
the plagues and curses in the book of God 
shall befall the idolater ; the Lord repays him 
that hates him, to his face. 

Use 2d. Let it exhort us all to flee from 
Romish idolatry ; let us not be among God- 
haters, 1 John v. 21, " Little children, keep 
yourselves from idols." As you would keep 
your bodies from adultery, so keep your souls 
from idolatry. Take heed of images, they 
are images of jealousy to provoke God to 
anger ; they are damnable ; you may as well 
perish by false devotions as by real scandal ; 
by image-worship, as drunkenness and whore- 
dom. A man may as well die by poison, as 
pistol ; we may as well go to hell by drinking 
poison in the Romish cup of fornication, as 
by being pistoled with gross and scandalous 
sins. To conclude, " God is a jealous God," 
who will admit of no co-rival; "he will visit 
the iniquities of the fathers upon their chil- 
dren ;" he will entail a plague upon the pos- 
terity of idolaters. He interprets idolaters 
to be such as hate him ; he that is an im- 
age-lover is a God-hater. Therefore keep 
yourselves pure from Romish idolatry; if 
you love your souls, keep yourselves from 
idols. 



258 



OF THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



Exod. xx. 6. Showing mercy unto thousands, <fc. 



This is another argument against image- 
worship, because such as do not provoke 
God with their images, he is merciful to 
them, and will entail mercy upon their pos- 
terity ; " showing mercy unto thousands." 

1. Here is the golden sceptre of God's 
mercy displayed. — 2. The persons interested 
in God's mercy ; such as love him, and keep 
his commandments. — 1. The golden sceptre 
of God's mercy displayed, " showing mercy 
to thousands." The heathens thought they 
praised Jupiter enough, when they called him 
good and great : both these excellencies meet 
in God, majesty and mercy. Mercy is that 
innate propenseness in God to do good to dis- 
tressed sinners. God showing mercy, makes 
his Godhead appear full of glory. When 
Moses said to God, " I beseech thee show 
me thy glory ;" " I will" — saith God — " show 
mercy," Exod. xxxiii. 18. His mercy is his 
glory. Mercy is the name by which God 
will be known, Exod. xxxiv. 6, " The Lord 
passed by, and proclaimed,—- 4 The Lord, the 
Lord God, merciful and gracious !' " Mercy 
proceeds primarily, and originally from God ; 
he is called, the " Father of mercies," 2 Cor. 
i. 3, because he begets all those mercies and 
bowels which are in the creature. Our mer- 
cies compared with God's are scarce so much 
as a drop to the ocean. 

Quest. What are the qualifications ? 

Ans.1. The spring of mercy which God 
shows, is free and spontaneous. To set up 
merit, is to destroy mercy; nothing can 
deserve mercy or force it; we cannot de- 
serve mercy, because of our enmity, nor 
force it ; we may force God to punish us, 
not to love us. Hos. xiv. 4, "I will love 
them freely." Every link in the golden 
chain of salvation is wrought and inter- 
woven with free grace. Election is free, 
Eph. i. 5, "He hath chosen us in him ac- 
cording to the good pleasure of his will." 
Justification is free, Rom. iii. 24, "Being 
justified freely by his grace." Say not 
then, I am unworthy; for mercy is free. 
If God should show mercy only to such 



as deserve it, he must show mercy to none 
at all. 

A. 2. The mercy God shows is powerful. 
How powerful is that mercy which softens a | 
heart of stone 1 Mercy changed Mary Magda- 
len's heart, out of whom seven devils were 
cast : she who was an inflexible adamant, 
mercy made her a weeping penitent ! God's 
mercy works sweetly, yet irresistibly ; it al- 
lures, yet conquers. The law may terrify, jj 
mercy doth mollify. Of what sovereign power 
and efficacy is that mercy which subdues the 
pride and enmity of the heart, and beats off 
those chains of sin in which the soul is held ! 

A. 3. The mercy which God shows is 
superabundant, Exod. xxxiv. 6, 7, " Abundant 
in goodness, keeping mercy for thousands." 
God visits iniquity only "to the third and 
fourth generation," Exod. xx. 5, but he shows 
mercy to a thousand generations. The Lord 
hath treasures of mercy lying by, therefore 
he is said to be " plenteous in mercy," Ps. 
Ixxxvi. 5, and "rich in mercy," Eph. li. 4. 
The vial of God's wrath doth but drop, but 
the fountain of his mercy runs. The sun is 
not so full of light, as God is of love. 

God hath mercy, First, Of all dimensions ; 
he hath depth of mercy, — it reacheth as low 
as sinners ; and height of mercy, — it reacheth 
above the clouds. 

Secondly, God hath mercies for all sea- 
sons : mercies for the night, he gives sleep ; 
nay, sometimes he gives a song in the night, 
Ps. xlii. 8. And he hath mercies for the 
morning, Lam. iii. 23, " His compassions are 
new every morning." 

Thirdly, God hath mercies for all sorts. 
Mercies for the poor, 1 Sam. ii. 8, " He 
raiseth the poor out of the dust ;" mercies 
for the prisoner, Ps. Ixix. 33, "He de- 
spiseth not his prisoner;" mercies for the 
dejected, Isa. liv. 8, "In a little wrath I 
hid my face from thee, but with everlasting 
kindness will I have mercy on thee." God 
hath old mercies, Ps. xxv. 6, " Thy mercies 
have been ever of old ;" and new mercies, 
Ps. xl. 3, " He hath put a new song in 



OF THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



259 



my mouth." Every time we draw our breath, 
we suck in mercy. God hath mercies under 
heaven, and those we taste of ; and mercies 
in heaven, and those we hope for. Thus 
God's mercies are superabundant. 

A. 4. The mercy God shows is abiding, 
Ps. ciii. 17, " The mercy of the Lord is from 
everlasting to everlasting." God's anger to 
his children lasts but a while, Ps. cii. 9, but 
his mercy lasts for ever. God's mercy is 
not like the widow's oil, which ran a while, 
and then ceased, 2 Kings iv. 6. Overflow- 
ing, ever-flowing. God's mercy, as it is with- 
out bounds, so without bottom, Ps. cxxxvi., 
" His mercy endureth for ever." God never 
cuts off the entail of mercy from the elect. 

Quest. 2. How many ways is God said 
to show mercy ? 

Ans. 1. We are all living monuments of 
God's mercy. God shows mercy to us in daily 
supplying us. — 1. He supplies us with health : 
health is the sauce which makes our life 
relish sweeter. How would they prize this 
mercy, who are chained to a sick bed ! — 2. 
God supplies us with provisions, Gen. xlviii. 
15, " The God which fed me all my days." 
Mercy spreads our tables, it carves us every 
bit of bread we eat ; we never drink but in 
the golden cup of mercy. 

A. 2. God shows mercy in lengthening 
out our gospel-liberties, 1 Cor. xvi. 9. 
" There are many adversaries ;" many would 
stop the waters of the sanctuary that they 
should not run ; we enjoy the sweet seasons 
of grace, — we hear joyful sounds, — we see 
the goings of God in his sanctuary, — we 
enjoy sabbath after sabbath,— the manna of 
the word yet falls about our tents, when in 
divers parts of the land they have no manna. 
Here is God's showing mere}'' to us, he spins 
out our forfeited liberties. 

A. 3. God shows mercy to us in prevent- 
ing many evils from invading us, Ps. iii. 3, 
" Thou O Lord art a shield for me." God 
hath restrained the wrath of men, and been 
a screen between us and danger ; when the 
destroying angel hath been abroad, and shot 
his deadly arrow of pestilence, God hath 
kept off the arrow that it hath not come 
near us. 

A. 4. God shows mercy in delivering us, 



2 Tim. iv. 17, " And I was delivered out of 
the mouth of the lion," viz. Nero. God hath 
restored us from the grave. May we not 
write the writing of Hezekiah, Isa. xxxviii. 
9, " When he had been sick, and was re- 
covered of his sickness ?" When we thought 
the sun of our life had been setting God hath 
made it return to its former brightness. 

A. 5. God shows mercy in restraining us 
from sin ; lusts within, are worse than lions 
without. The greatest sign of God's anger 
is to give men up to their sins, Ps. lxxxi. 12, 
" So I gave them up to their own hearts' 
lusts ;" let them sin themselves to hell, but 
God hath laid the bridle of restraining grace 
upon us. As God said to Abimelech, Gen. 
xx. 6, " I withheld thee from sinning against 
me ;" so God withheld us from those exorbi- 
tances which might have made us a prey to 
Satan, and a terror to ourselves. 

A. 6. God shows mercy in guiding and 
directing us. Is it not a mercy for one that 
is out of the way to have a guide 1 First, 
There is a providential guiding : God guides 
our affairs for us, — chalks out a way he would 
have us to walk in, — he resolves our doubts, 
unties our knots, appoints the bounds of our 
habitation, Acts xvii. 26. Secondly, A Spi- 
ritual guiding, Ps. lxxiii. 24, " Thou shalt 
guide me with thy counsel." As Israel had 
a pillar of fire to go before them, so God 
guides us with the oracles of his word, and 
the conduct of his Spirit. He guides our 
head, keeps us from error ; and he guides our 
feet, keeps us from scandal. O what mercy 
is it to have God to be our guide and pilot ! 
Ps. xxxi. 3, " For thy name's sake lead me 
and guide me." 

A. 7. God shows mercy in correcting us. 
God is angry in love ; he smites that he may 
save. God's rod is not a rod of iron to 
break us, but a fatherly rod to humble us, 
Heb. xii. 10, "He, for our profit, that we 
might be partakers of his holiness." Either 
God will mortify some corruption, or exer- 
cise some grace. Is there not mercy in this ] 
Every cross, to a child of God is like Paul's 
cross wind, which though it broke the ship, 
it brought Paul to shore upon the broken 
pieces, Acts xxvii. 44. 

A. 8. God shows mercy in pardoning us, 



260 



OF THE SECOND 



COMMANDMENT. 



Mic. vii. 18, " Who is a God like thee, that 
pardonest iniquity 1" 'Tis mdrcy to feed us, 
rich mercy to pardon us ; this mercy is spun 
out of the bowels of free grace ; this is 
enough to make a sick man well : Isa. xxxiii. 
24, " The inhabitant shall not say, I am sick ; 
the people that dwell therein shall be for- 
given their iniquity." Pardon of sin is a 
mercy of the first magnitude ; God seals the 
sinner's pardon with a kiss. This made 
David put on his best clothes, and anoint 
himself; his child newly dead, and God had 
told him the sword should not depart from his 
house, yet now he falls anointing himself ; 
the reason was, God had sent him his par- 
don by the prophet Nathan, 2 Sam. xii. 13, 
" The Lord hath put away thy sin." Pardon 
is the only fit remedy for a troubled con- 
science. What can give ease to a wounded 
spirit but pardoning mercy 1 Offer him the 
honours and pleasures of the world ; 'tis as 
if you bring flowers and music to one that is 
condemned. 

Quest. How may I know my sins are 
pardoned 7 

Ans. Where God removes the guilt, he 
breaks the power of sin, Mic. vii. 19, " He 
will have compassion upon us, he will sub- 
due our iniquities." With pardoning love 
God gives subduing grace. 

A. 9. God shows his mercy in sanctifying 
us, Lev. xx. 8, " I am the Lord that sanctify 
you." This is the partaking of the divine 
nature, 2 Pet. i. 4. God's Spirit is a spirit 
of consecration, though it sanctify us but in 
part, yet in every part, 1 Thess. v. 23. This 
is such a mercy that God cannot give it in 
anger ; if we are sanctified, then we are 
elected, 2 Thess. ii. 13, " God hath chosen 
you to salvation, through sanctification." 
This doth disponere ad catum ; it prepares 
for happiness, as the seed prepares for har- 
vest. When the virgins had been anointed 
and perfumed, then they were to stand be- 
fore the king, Esth. ii. 12, so, when we have 
had the anointing of God, then we shall stand 
before the King of heaven. 

A. 10. God shows mercy in hearing our 
prayers, Ps. iv. 1, " Have mercy upon me, 
and hear my prayer." Is it not a favour, 
when a man puts up a petition to the king, 



and hath it granted? When we pray for 
pardon, adoption, the sense of God's love, to 
have God give a gracious answer, — what a 
signal mercy is this 1 God may sometimes 
delay an answer, when he will not deny. 
You do not presently throw a musician mo- 
ney, because you love to hear his music : 
God loves the music of prayer, therefore 
doth not presently let us hear from him, but 
in due season he will give an answer of peace, 
Ps. lxvi. 20, " Blessed be God, which hath 
not turned away my prayer, nor his mercy 
from me." If God doth not turn away our 
prayer, then he doth not turn away his mercy. 

A. 11. God shows mercy in saving us, 
Titus iii. 5, " According to his mercy he 
saved us." This is the top-stone of mercy, 
and it is laid in heaven. Now mercy dis- 
plays itself in all its orient colours ; now 
mercy is mercy indeed, when God shall per- 
fectly refine us from all the lees and dregs of 
corruption. Our bodies shall be made like 
Christ's glorious body, and our souls like the 
angels. Saving mercy is crowning mercy ; 
it is not only to be freed from hell, but en- 
throned in a kingdom. In this life we do 
rather desire God than enjoy him, but what 
rich mercy will it be to be fully possessed of 
God, to see his smiling face, and to have God 
lay us in his bosom 1 This will fill us with 
"joy unspeakable and full of glory ; Ps. xvii. 
15, " I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with 
thy likeness." 

Use 1st. As an argument against despair : 
see what a great encouragement here is to 
serve God, — he shows mercy to thousands. 
Who would not be willing to serve a prince 
who is given to mercy and clemency 1 God is 
represented with a rainbow round about him, 
Rev. iv. 3, an emblem of his mercy. Acts of 
severity are rather forced from God : judgment 
is his strange work, Isa. xxviii. 21. Therefore 
the disciples, who are not said to wonder at 
the other miracles of Christ, yet did wonder 
when the fig-tree was cursed and withered, be- 
cause it was not Christ's manner to put forth 
acts of severity. God is said to delight in 
mercy, Mic. vii. 18. Justice is God's left 
hand, mercy is his right hand ; God useth 
his right hand most ; he is more used to mercy 
than to justice, — tardior est Deus ad par- 



OF THE SECOND 



COMMANDMENT. 



261 



cendum quam ad pwiiendum. God is said to 
be " slow to anger," Ps. ciii. 8, but " ready to 
forgive," Ps. lxxxvi. 5. This may encourage 
us to serve God. What argument will pre- 
vail, if mercy will not 1 Were God all justice, 
it might fright us from him ; but his mercy 
may be a loadstone to draw us to him. 

Use 2d. Branch 1. Hope in God's mercies, 
Ps. cxlvii. 11, " The Lord takes pleasure in 
them that fear him, and hope in his mercy." 
God counts it his glory to be scattering par- 
dons among men. 

Obj. But I have been a great sinner, and 
sure there is no mercy for me. 

Ans. No, not if thou goest on in sin, and 
art so resolved ; but, if thou wilt break off 
thy sins, the golden sceptre of mercy shall 
be held forth to thee, Isa. lv. 7, " Let the 
wicked forsake his way, and let him return 
unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon 
him." And Christ's blood is " a fountain set 
open for sin and uncleanness," Zech. xiii. 1. 
Mercy doth more overflow in God, than sin 
in us ; God's mercy can drown great sins, as 
the sea covers great rocks. Some of those 
Jews who had their hands imbrued in Christ's 
blood, were saved by that blood : God loves 
to magnify his goodness, to display the tro- 
phies of free grace, and to set up his mercy 
above you, in spite of sin, — therefore hope 
in God's mercy. 

Branch 2. If God show mercy to thou- 
sands, labour to know that his mercy is for 
you, Ps. lix. 17, " he is the God of my 
mercy." A man that was ready to drown, 
saw a rainbow : saith he, * What am I the 
better, though God will not drown the world, 
if I drown V so, what are we the better God 
is merciful, if we perish ] Let us labour to 
know God's special mercy is for us. 

Quest. How shall we know it belongs 
to us ? 

Ans. 1. If we put a high value and esti- 
mate upon God's mercy. God wiU'hot throw 
away his mercy on them that slight it ; we 
prize health, but we prize adopting mercy 
above it. This is the diamond in the ring, 
it outshines all other comforts. 



A. 2. If we are fearers of God, we have 
a reverend awe upon us ; we tremble at sin, 
and flee from it, as Moses did from his rod 
turned into a serpent, Luke i. 50, " His 
mercy is on them that fear him." 

A. 3. If we take sanctuary in God's mercy, 
we trust in it, Ps. lii. 8. As a man is saved 
by catching hold of a cable ; God's mercy is a 
great cable let down from heaven to us ; now 
taking fast hold of this cable by faith, we are 
saved, Ps. lii. 8, " I trust in the mercy of 
God for ever." As a man trusteth his life 
and goods in a garrison, so we trust our 
souls in God's mercy. 

Quest. What shall we do to get a share- 
in God's special mercy 1 

Ans. 1. If we would have mercy, it must be 
through Christ ; out of Christ no mercy is to 
be had. We read in the'old law, First, None 
might come into the holy of holies, where the 
mercy-seat stood, but the high-priest ; signi- 
fying, we have nothing to do with mercy, but 
through Christ our high-priest. 2dly, The 
high-priest might not come near the mercy- 
seat without blood, Lev. xvi. 14, to show that 
we have no right to mercy, but through the ex- 
piatory sacrifice of Christ's blood. 3dly, The 
high-priest might not upon pain of death come 
near the mercy-seat without incense, Lev. xvi. 
13. No mercy from God without the incense 
of Christ's intercession : so that if we would 
have mercy, we must get a part in Christ. 
Mercy swims to us through Christ's blood. 

A. 2. If we would have mercy, we must 
pray for it, Ps. lxxxv. 7, " Show us thy 
mercy, O Lord, and grant us thy salvation." 
Ps. xxv. 16, " Turn thee unto me, and have 
mercy upon me." Lord put me not off with 
common mercy ; give me not only mercy to 
feed and clothe me, but mercy to pardon mc; 
not only sparing mercy, but saving mercy. 
Lord, give me the cream of thy mercies ; let 
me have mercy and loving-kindness, Ps. ciii. 
4, "Who crowneth thee with loving-kind- 
ness and tender mercy." 

Be earnest suitors for mercy ; let your 
wants quicken your importunity; then we pray 
most fervently, when we pray most feelingly. 



262 



OF THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



Exod. xx. 6. Of them that love me, <$c. 



God's mercy is for them that love him. 
Love is a grace that shines and sparkles in 
God's eye. as the precious stone did upon 
Aaron's breast-plate. Love is a holy expan- 
sion or enlargement of soul, whereby it is 
carried with delight after God, as the chief 
good ; so Aquinas defines love, complacentia 
amantis in amato ; love is a complacential 
delighting in God, as in our treasure ; love 
is the soul of religion ; it is a grace highly 
momentous. If we had knowledge as the 
angels, or faith of miracles, yet without love 
it would profit nothing, 1 Cor. xiii. 2. " This 
is the first and great commandment," Matt, 
xxii. 38. It is so, because, if this be want- 
ing, there can be no religion in the heart ; 
there can be no faith, for " faith worketh by 
love," Gal. v. 6. All else is but pageantry, 
or a devout compliment. 

2. Because love doth meliorate and sweeten 
all the duties of religion ; it makes them 
savoury meat, else God cares not to taste of 
them. 

3. It is the first and great commandment, in 
respect of the excellency of this grace. Love 
is the queen of the graces ; it outshines all 
the others, as the sun the lesser planets. In 
some respect it is more excellent than faith ; 
though in one sense faith be more excellent, 
virtute unionis, as it unites us to Christ, — 
faith puts upon us the embroidered robe of 
Christ's righteousness, which is a brighter robe 
than any of the angels wear, — yet in another 
sense love is more excellent, respectu dura- 
tionis, in respect of the continuance of it ; it 
is the most durable grace ; faith and hope will 
shortly cease, but love will remain . When all 
the other graces, like Rachel, shall die in tra- 
vail, love shall revive. The other graces are 
in the nature of a lease, only for term of life ; 
love is as a freehold, it continues for ever. 
Thus love carries away the garland from all 
the other graces, — it is the most long-lived 
grace, — it is a bud of eternity, — this grace 
alone shall accompany us in heaven. 

Quest. 1. How must our love to God be 
qualified ? 



Ans. 1. Love to God must be pure and 
genuine ; he must be loved chiefly for himself ; 
this the schoolmen call amor amicitice. We 
must love God, not only for his benefits, but 
for those intrinsic excellencies wherewith he 
is crowned ; we must love God not only for 
the good which flows from him, but the good 
which is in him. True love is not mercenary ; 
a soul that is deeply in love with God, needs 
not to be hired with rewards ; he cannot but 
love God for the beauty of his holiness : not 
but that it is lawful to look at God's benefits, 
— Moses had an eye to the recompense of 
reward, Heb. xi. 27, but we must not love 
God only for his benefits, for then it is not 
love of God, but self-love. 

A. 2. Love to God must be with all the 
heart, Mark xii. 30, " Thou shalt love the 
Lord thy God with all thy heart." We must 
not love God a little, — give God a drop or 
two of our love, — but the main stream of our 
love must run after him ; the mind must think 
of God, the will choose him, the affections 
pant after him ; the true mother would not 
have the child divided, nor God will not have 
the heart divided ; we must love him with 
our whole heart. Though we may love the 
creature, yet it must be a subordinate love : 
love to God must be highest, as the oil swims 
above the water. 

A. 3. Love to God must be flaming ; to 
love coldly is all one as not to love. The 
spouse is said to be amore perculsa, " sick 
of love," Cant. ii. 5. The seraphims are so 
called, from their burning : love turns saints 
into seraphims, it makes them burn in holy 
love to God; and "many waters cannot 
quench this love." 

Quest. 2. How may we know whether we 
love God 1 

Ans. 1. He that loves God, desires his 
sweet presence ; lovers cannot be long as- 
under, they have their fainting fits, they 
want a sight of the object of their love. A 
soul deeply in love with God, desires the 
enjoyment of him in his ordinances, in word, 
prayer, sacraments. David was ready to 



OF THE" SECOND 

faint away and die when he had not a sight 
of God, Ps. lxxxiv. 2, " My soul fainteth for 
God ;" such as care not for ordinances, but 
say, When will the sabbath be over % plainly 
discover want of love to God. 

A. 2. He who loves God, doth not love 
sin, Ps. xcvii. 10, " Ye that love the Lord, 
hate evil." The love of God and the love of 
sin can no more mix together than iron and 
clay ; every sin loved, strikes at the being of 
God, but he who loves God, hath an antipa- 
thy against sin ; he who would part between 
two lovers, is a hateful person : God, and the 
believing soul are two lovers, — sin comes to 
part between them, — therefore the soul is 
implacably set against sin. By this try your 
love to God. How could Delilah say she 
loved Samson, when she entertained corres- 
pondence with the Philistines who were his 
mortal enemies 1 How can he say he loves 
God, who loves sin which is God's enemy ? 

A. 3. He who loves God is not much in 
love with any thing else ; his love is very 
cool to worldly things ; his love to God moves 
as the sun in the firmament, swiftly ; his love 
to the world moves as the sun on the dial, 
very slow. The love of the world eats out 
the heart of religion ; it chokes good auc- 
tions, as the earth puts out the fire. The 
world was a dead thing to Paul, Gal. vi. 14, 
" I am crucified to the world, and the world 
is crucified to me." In Paul we might see 
both the picture and pattern of a mortified 
man ; he that loves God, useth the world, but 
chooseth God ; the world is his pension, but 
God is his portion, Ps. cxix. 57. The world 
doth busy him, but God doth delight and satis- 
fy him. He saith as David, Ps. xliii. 4, 
" God my exceeding joy," — the gladness or 
cream of my joy. 

A. 4. He who loves God cannot live with- 
out him. Things we love we know not how 
to be without; a man can want music or 
flowers, but not food ; a soul deeply in love 
with God looks upon himself as undone with- 
out him, Ps. cxliii. 7, "Hide not thy face 
from me, lest I be like them that go down 
into the pit." He saith, as Job, chap. xxx. 
28, "I went mourning without the sun." I 
have star-light, — I want the Sun of Right- 
eousness,— I enjoy not the sweet presence of 



COMMANDMENT. 233 

my God. Is God our chief good that we can- 
not live without 1 Alas, how do they de- 
monstrate they have no love to God, who 
can make a shift well enough to be without 
him ! Let them have but corn and oil, and 
you shall never hear them complain of the 
want of God ! 

A. 5. He who loves God will be at any 
pains to get him. What pains doth the 
merchant take, what hazards doth he run, to 
have a rich return from the Indies ! Ex- 
tremes currit mercator ad Indos. Jacob 
loved Rachel, and he could endure the heat 
by day, and the frost by night, that he might 
enjoy her. A soul that loves God, will take 
any pains for the fruition of him, Ps. lxiii. 8, 
" My soul follows hard after God." Love is 
pondus animcB, Aug. It is as the weight 
which sets the clock a-going. The soul is 
much in prayer, weeping, fasting ; he strives 
as in agony that he may obtain him whom his 
soul loves. Plutarch reports of the Gauls, 
an ancient people of France, after they had 
tasted the sweet wine of Italy, they never 
rested till they had arrived at that country : 
he who is in love with God never rests till he 
hath gotten a part in him, Cant. iii. 2, " I 
sought him whom my soul loveth." How 
can they say they love God, who are not in- 
dustrious in the use of means to obtain him? 
Prov. xix. 24, " A slothful man hides his 
hand in his bosom." He is not in agony, 
but lethargy ; if Christ and salvation would 
drop as a ripe fig into his mouth, he could be 
content to have them, but he is loath to put 
himself to too much trouble. Doth he love 
his friend that will not make a journey to see 
him] 

A. 6. He that loves God^ prefers him be- 
fore estate and life. — 1. Before estate, Phil, 
iii. 8, " For whom I have suffered the loss of 
all things." Who that loves a rich jewel, 
would not part with a flower for it 1 Galea- 
cius, marquis of Vico, parted with a fair 
estate to enjoy God in his pure ordinances. 
When a Jesuit persuaded him to return to 
his popish religion in Italy, promising him a 
huge sum of money, saith he, "Let their 
money perish with them, who esteem all the 
gold in the world worth one day's commu- 
nion with Jesus Christ and his Holv Spirit." 

i 



264 



OF THE SECOND 



COMMANDMENT. 



—2. Before life, Rev. xii. 11, " They loved 
not their lives to the death." Love to God 
carries the soul above the love of life and the 
fear of death. 

A. 7. He who loves God, loves his favour- 
ites, viz. the saints, 1 John v. 1. Idem est 
motus animi in imaginem et rem. To love 
a man for his grace, and the more we see of 
God in him the more we love him, is the in- 
fallible sign of love to God. The wicked pre- 
tend to love God, but hate and persecute his 
image. Doth he love his prince, who abus- 
eth his statue, or tears his picture ] Indeed 
they seem to show great reverence to the 
saints departed ; they have a great reverence 
for St Paul, and St Stephen, and St Luke ; 
they canonize dead saints, but persecute living 
saints; and do these love God? Can it be 
imagined he should love God, who hates his 
children because they are like him 1 If Christ 
were alive again, he would not escape a se- 
cond persecution. 

A. 8. If we love God, as we cannot but be 
fearful of dishonouring him (the more a child 
loves his father, the more he is afraid to dis- 
please him) so we weep and mourn when we 
have offended him. Peter " went out and wept 
bitterly," Matt. xxvi. 75. When Peter 
thought how dearly Christ loved him — he 
took him up to the mount where he was trans- 
figured, — Christ showed him the glory of 
heaven in a vision — now, that he should deny 
Christ, after he had received such signal 
tokens of Christ's love, this broke his heart 
with grief, " he wept bitterly." Are our eyes 
limbecks dropping tears of grief for sin 
against God 1 A blessed evidence of our love 
to God ; and such shall find mercy ! " He 
shows mercy to thousands of them that love 
him." 

Use. Let us be lovers of God. We love our 
food, and shall we not love him that gives it ? 
All the joy we hope for in heaven, is in God ; 
and shall not he who shall be our joy, be our 
love ] It is a saying of St Austin, Annon pane 
satis magna est non amare te ? 1 Is it not 
punishment enough, Lord, not to love thee V 
And again, Animammeam in odia haberem: 
I would hate my own soul, if I did not find it 
loving of God. 

Quest. What are the incentives to pro- 
voke and inflame our love to God ? 



Ans. 1. God's benefits bestowed on us, 
A prince who bestows continual favours on a 
subject, if that subject hath any ingenuity, 
he cannot but love his prince. God is con- 
stantly heaping benefits upon us, ". Filling 
our hearts with food and gladness," Acts xiv. 
17. As the rock followed Israel, whither- 
soever they went streams of water out of the 
rock followed them, so God's blessings follow 
us every day ; we swim in a sea of mercy. 
That heart is hard, that is not prevailed with 
by all God's blessings, to love him. Magnus 
amoris amor. Kindness works on a brute ; 
the ox knows his owner. 

A. 2. Love to God would make duties of 
religion facile and pleasant. I confess to 
him that hath no love to God, religion must 
needs be a burthen ; and I wonder not to hear 
him say, " What a weariness is it to serve 
the Lord?" It is like rowing against the 
tide. But love oils the wheels, it makes 
duty a pleasure. Why are the angels so 
swift and winged in God's service, but be- 
cause they love him 1 Jacob thought seven 
years but little for the love he did bear to 
Rachel. Love is never weary ; he who loves 
money is not weary of telling it, and he who 
loves God is not weary of serving him. 

A. 3. It is advantageous. There is no- 
thing lost by our love to God, 1 Cor. ii. 9, 
" Eye hath not seen, &c. the things which 
God hath prepared for them that love him." 
Such glorious rewards are laid up for them 
that love God, " that (as St Austin saith) 
they do not only transcend our reason, but 
faith itself is not able to comprehend them." 
A crown is the highest ensign of worldly 
glory, and God hath promised a " crown 
of life to them that love him," James i. 
12. And it is a never-fading crown, 1 Pet. 
v. 4. 

A. 4. By our loving God, we may know 
that he loves us, 1 John iv. 19, " We love 
him, because he first loved us." If the ice 
melts, it is because the sun hath shined upon 
it ; if the frozen heart melts in love, it is be- 
cause the Sun of Righteousness hath shined 
upon it. 

Quest. What means may be used to ex- 
cite our love to God ? 

Ans. 1. Labour to know God aright. The 
schoolmen say true, Bonum non amaturquod 



OF THE SECOND COMMANDMENT. 



non cognoscitur, — we cannot love that which 
we do not know. God is the most eligible 
good ; all the excellencies which lie scattered 
in the creature are united in God; he is 
Optimus maximus. Wjsdom, beauty, riches, 
love, do all concentre in God. How fair was 
that tulip which had the colours of all tulips 
in it? all perfections and sweetnesses are 
eminently in God. Did we know God more, 
and by the eye of faith see his orient beauty, 
our hearts would be fired with love to him. 

A. 2. Make the scriptures familiar to you. 
St Austin saith, before his conversion he took 
no pleasure in scripture, but after conversion 
it was his chief delight. The book of God 
) discovers God to us, in his holiness, wisdom, 
I veracity and truth ; it represents God rich in 
' mercy, encircled with promises. St Austin 
calls the scripture a golden epistle, or love-let- 
ter sent from God to us : by reading this love- 
letter, we shall be the more enamoured with 
love to God, as by reading lascivious books, 
comedies, romances, &c. lust is provoked. 



285 

A. 3. Meditate much of God, and this will 
be a means to love him, Ps. xxxix. 3, " While 
I was musing, the fire burned." Meditation 
is the bellows of the affections. Meditate 
on God's love in giving us Christ, John iii. 
16, " God so loved the world, that he gave 
his only begotten Son," &c. That God should 
give Christ to us, and not to the angels that 
fell, — that the Sun of righteousness should 
shine in our horizon, — that he is revealed to 
us and not to others, — what wonderful love 
is this ! Prov. vi. 28, " Can one go upon hot 
coals, and his feet not be burned V Who 
can meditate on God's love 1 who can tread 
on these hot coals, and his heart not burn in 
love to God ] Beg a heart to love God : the 
affection of love is natural, but not the grace 
of love, Gal. v. 22. This fire of love is kindled 
from heaven ; beg that it may burn upon the 
altar of your heart. Sure this request is 
pleasing to God, and he will not deny such 
a prayer: "Lord, give me a heart to love 
thee !" 



Exod. xx. 6. And keep my commandments, <5fC. 



Love and obedience, like two sisters, must 
go hand and hand ; indeed this is a good 
evidence of our loving God, John xiv. 15, 
" Tf ye love me, keep my commandments." 
Probatio delectionis est exhibitio operis. 
The son that loves his father will obey him. 
Obedience pleaseth God, 1 Sam. xv. 22, " To 
obey is better than sacrifice." In sacrifice, 
only a dead beast is offered, — in obedience, 
a living soul ; in sacrifice, only a part of the 
fruit is offered, — in obedience, fruit and tree 
and all; a man offers himself up to God. 
" Keep my commandments." It is not said, 
God shows mercy to thousands that know 
his commandments, but that keep them. 
The knowing God's commandments, with- 
out keeping them, doth not entitle any to 
mercy. The commandment is not only a 
rule of knowledge, but duty. God gives us 
his commandments, not only as a landscape 
to look upon, but as his will and testament 
which we are to perform. A good Christian 
is like the sun, which doth not only send 



forth light, but goes its circuit round the 
world : so he hath not only the light of 
knowledge, but goes his circuit too, and 
moves in the sphere of obedience. 

Quest. In what manner must we keep 
God's commandments ? 

Ans. 1. Our keeping the commandments 
must be fiducial. Our obedience to God's 
commandments, must profluere a fide, — 
spring from faith ; therefore it is called " the 
obedience of faith," Rom. xvi. 26. "Abel 
by faith offered up a better sacrifice than 
Cain," Heb. xi. 4. Faith is a vital principle ; 
without it all our services are opera mortua, 
— dead works, Heb. vi. 1. Faith doth me- 
liorate and sweeten our obedience, and 
make it come off with a better relish. 

Quest. But why must faith be mixed 
with obedience to the commandment ? 

Ans. Because faith eyes Christ in every 
duty, and so both the person and , offering 
are accepted. The high-priest under the 
law laid his hand upon the head of the beast 



266 OF THE SECOND 

slain, which did point to the Messiah, Exod. 
xxix. 10 : so faith in every duty lays its hand 
upon the head of Christ. His blood doth 
expiate the guilt, and the sweet odour of his 
intercession perfume our works of obedience, 
Eph. i. 6, " He hath made us accepted in the 
beloved." 

A. 2. Our keeping the commandments 
must be uniform. We must make conscience 
of one commandment as well as another, Ps. 
cxix. 6, "Then shall T not be ashamed, 
when I have respect to all thy command- 
ments." Every commandment hath a jus 
divinum, — the same stamp of divine au- 
thority upon it ; and if I obey one precept 
because God commands, by the same reason 
I must obey all. Some obey the commands 
of the first table but are careless in the 
duties of the second ; and so, e contra. 
Physicians have a rule, when the body sweats 
in one part, but is cold in another, it is a 
sign of a distemper: so when men seem 
zealous in some duties of religion, but are 
cold and frozen in others, it is a sign of 
hypocrisy. We must have respect to all 
God's commandments. 

Quest. But who can keep all his com- 
mandments ? 

Ans. There is a fulfilling of God's com- 
mands, and a keeping of them ; though we 
cannot fulfil all, yet we may be said to keep 
them in an evangelical sense. We may 
facere, though not perficere. We keep the 
commandments evangelically, 1st. Where 
we make conscience of every command ; 
though we come short in every duty, yet we 
dare not neglect any duty. 2d., Our desire 
is to keep every commandment, Ps. cxix. 5, 
" O that my ways were directed to keep thy 
statutes !" What we want in strength we 
make up in will. M. We grieve that we 
can do no better ; when we fail, we weep ; 
we prefer bills of complaint against our- 
selves, and judge ourselves for our failings, 
Rom. vii. 24. Uh. We do elicere conatum, 
—we endeavour to obey every command- 
ment, Phil. iii. 14, "I press toward the 
mark." We strive as in agony ; and, if it 
lay in our power, we would fully comport 
with every commandment. 5th. When we 
fall short, and are unable to come up to the 



COMMANDMENT. 

full latitude of the law, we look to Christ's ! 
blood to sprinkle our imperfect obedience, 
and, with the grains of his merits cast into 
the scales, to make it pass current ; this is 
in an evangelical sense to keep all the com- 
mandments, and though it be not to satisfac- 
tion, yet it is to acceptation. 

A. 3. Our keeping God's commandments 
must be willing, Isa. i. 19, "If ye be willing 
and obedient." God was for a "free-will 
offering," Deut. xvi. 10. David will run the 
way of God's commandments, Ps. xix. 32, 
that is, freely and cheerfully. The lawyers 
have a canon, adverbs are better than adjec- 
tives : it is not the bonum, but the bene, — 
not the doing much, but the doing well. A \ 
musician is not commended for playing long, 
but for playing well ; it is obeying God will- 
ingly is accepted ; virtus nolentium nulla 
est, — the Lord hates that which is forced, it 
is rather paying a tax than an offering. Cain 
served God grudgingly ; he brought his sacri- 
fice not his heart. To obey God's com- 
mandments unwillingly is like the devils who 
came out of the men possessed, at Christ's 
command, but with reluctancy, and against 
their will, Matt. viii. 29. Obedientia prcest 
and non est a timore pcence sed amore Dei ; 
good duties must not be pressed nor beaten 
out of us as the waters came out of the rock, 
when Moses smote it with his rod, but must 
freely drop from us, as myrrh from the tree, 
or honey from the comb. If a willing mind 
be wanting, there wants that flower which 
should perfume our obedience, and make it a 
sweet smelling savour to God. That we 
may keep God's commandments willingly, 
let these things be well weighed : 

I. Our willingness is more esteemed than 
our service ; therefore David counsels Solo- 
mon not only to serve God, but with a willing 
mind, 1 Chron. xxviii. 9. The will makes 
sin to be worse, and makes duty to be better. 
To obey willingly shows we do it with love ; 
and this crowns all our services. 

II. There is that in the law-giver, which 
may make us willing to obey the command- 
ments, viz. God's indulgence to us. 

(1). God doth not require the summum 
jus, as absolutely necessary to salvation ; he 
expects not perfect obedience, only requires 



OF THE SECOND 



COMMANDMENT. 



267 



sincerity. Do but act from a principle of 
love, and aim at -honouring God in your obe- 
dience, and it is accepted. 

(2) . In the times of the gospel a surety is 
admitted. The law would not favour us so 
far ; but now God doth so indulge us, that 
what we cannot do of ourselves, we may do 
by proxy. "Jesus Christ is a surety of a 
better testament," Heb. vii. 22. We fall 
short in every thing, but God looks upon us 
in our surety ; and Christ having fulfilled all 
righteousness, it is as if we had fulfilled the 
law in our own persons. , 

(3) . God gives strength to do what he re- 
quires. The law called for obedience ; but 
though it required brick, it gave no straw ; 
but in the gospel, God, with his commands, 
gives power, Ezek. xviii, 31, "Make you a 
new heart." Alas ! it is above our strength ; 
we may as well make a new world, Ezek. 
xxxvi. 26, " I will give you a new heart." 
God commands us to cleanse ourselves, Isa. 
i. 16, " Wash you, make you clean." " But 
who can bring a clean thing out of an un- 
clean V Job xiv. 4. Therefore the precept 
is turned into a promise, Exek. xxxvi. 25, 
" From all your filthiness will I cleanse you." 
When the child cannot go, the nurse takes it 
by the hand, Hos. xi. 3, " I taught Ephraim 
also to go, taking them by their arms." 

III. There is that in God's commandments, 
which may make us willing ; they are not 
burthensome. 

1st. For a Christian (so far as he is rege- 
nerate) consents to God's commands, Rom. 
vii. 16, " I consent to the law that it is good." 
What is done with consent, is no burthen ; if 
a virgin gives her consent the match goes on 
cheerfully ; if a subject consent to his prince's 
laws (as seeing the equity and rationality of 
them) then they are not irksome. A regene- 
rate person in his judgment approves, and in 
his will consents to God's commandments, 
therefore they are not burthensome. 

2dly. God's commandments are sweetened 
with joy and peace. Cicero questions whe- 
ther that can properly be called a burthen 
which one carries with delight and pleasure : 
Utrum onus appellatur quod Icetitia fertur. 
If a man carries a bag of money given him, 
it is heavy, but the delight takes off the bur- 



then : when God gives inward joy, that makes 
the commandments delightful, Isa. lvi. 7, " I 
will make them joyful in my house of prayer." 
Joy is like oil to the wheels, which makes a 
Christian run in the way of God's command- 
ments, so that it is not burthensome. 

Sdly. God's commandments are advanta- 
geous. 1. The commandments are preventa- 
tive of evil ; a curb-bit to check us from sin. 
What mischiefs would we not run into, if we 
had not afflictions to humble us, and the com- 
mandments to restrain us 1 God's command- 
ments are to keep us within bounds ; the 
yoke keeps the beast from straggling ; we are 
to be thankful to God for precepts : had not 
he set his commandments as a hedge or bar 
in our way, we might have run to hell, and 
never stopt. 

2. There is nothing in the commandments 
but what is for our good : Deut. x. 13, " To 
keep the commandments of the Lord, and his 
statutes, which I command thee for thy good." 

(1) . God commands us to read his word ; and 
what hurt is in this % God bespangles the 
word with promises ; as if a father should bid 
his son read his last will and testament, 
wherein he makes over a fair estate to him. 

(2) . God bids us pray : and he tells us, if we 
" ask, it shall be given," Matt. vii. 7. Ask 
power against sin, — ask salvation, — and it 
shall be given. If you had a friend should 
say, " Come when you will to me, I will 
supply you with money," would you think it 
a trouble to visit that friend often ] (3). God 
commands us to fear him, Lev. xxv. 43, " But 
fear thy God." And there is honey in the 
mouth of this command, Luke i. 50, " His 
mercy is upon them that fear him." (4). 
God commands us to believe, and why so ] 
" Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and ye 
shall be saved," Acts xvi. 31. Salvation is 
the crown set upon the head of faith : good 
reason then we obey God's commands wil- 
lingly, — they are for our good, they are not so 
much our duty as our privilege. 

3. God's commandments are ornamental : 
Omnia qua preestari jubet Deus, non one- 
rant nos sed ornant ; Salvian. God's com- 
mandments do not burthen us, but adorn us. 
It is an honour to be employed in a king's 
service : and so to be employed in God's, "by 



268 



OF THE SECOND 



COMMANDMENT. 



whom kings reign." To walk in God's com- 
mandments, proclaims us to be wise, Deut. 
iv. 5, 6, " Behold I have taught you statutes, 
keep, therefore, and do them, for this is your 
wisdom." And to be wise is an honour : I 
may say of every commandment of God, as 
Pro?; iv. 9, It " shall give to thy head an 
ornament of grace." 

4. The commands of God are infinitely 
better than the commands of sin, these are 
intolerable. Let a man be under the com- 
mand of any lust, how doth he tire himself] 
What hazards doth he run to the endanger- 
ing his health and soul, that he may satisfy 
his lust, Jer. ix. 5, " They weary themselves 
to commit iniquity." And are not God's 
commandments more equal, facile, pleasant, 
than the commands of sin 1 Chrysostom 
saith true, " To act virtue is easier than to 
act vice." Temperance is less troublesome 
than drunkenness ; meekness is less trouble- 
some than passion and envy. There is more 
difficulty in the contrivement and pursuit of a 
wicked design, than in obeying the command- 
ments of God. Hence a sinner is said to tra- 
vail with iniquity, Ps. vii. 14. A woman while 
she is in travail, is in pain ; to show what pain 
and trouble a wicked man hath in bringing 
forth sin. Many have gone with more pains to 
hell, than others have to heaven. This may 
make us obey the commandments willingly. 

5. Willingness in obedience makes us re- 
semble the angels. The cherubims — types 
representing the angels — are described with 
wings displayed, to show how ready the an- 
gels are to serve God. God no sooner speaks 
the word, but they are ambitious to obey. 
How are they ravished with joy, while they 
are praising God ! In -heaven we shall be as 
the angels '; by our willingness to obey God's 
commandments, we shall be like them here. 
This is what we pray for, that God's will may 
be done by us on earth, as it is in heaven : is 
it not done willingly there 1 We must keep 
God's commandments constantly, Ps. cvi. 3, 
" Blessed is he who doth righteousness at all 
times." Our obedience to the command must 
be as the fire of the altar which never went 
out, Lev. vi. 9. It must be as the motion of 
the pulse, always beating. The wind blows 
off the fruit, our fruits of obedience must not 



be blown off by the wind of persecution, John 
xv. 16, " I have chosen you, that you should 
go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit 
should remain." 

Use. It reproves them who live in a wilful 
breach of God's commandments, — in malice, 
uncleanness, intemperance, — they walk anti- 
podes to the commandment. To live in a 
wilful breach of the commandment is, 

1st, Against reason. Are we able to stand 
it out against God ] 1 Cor. x. 22, " Do we 
provoke the Lord, are we stronger than he T' 
Can we measure arms with God 1 Can im- 
potency stand against omnipotency 1 A sin- 
ner, in acting sin, acts against reason. 

2dly, It is against equity. We have our 
being from God ; and, is it not equal we 
should obey him who gives us our being ] 
We have all our subsistence from God ; and 
is it not fitting, that as God gives us our al- 
lowance we should give him our allegiance 1 
If a general gives his soldier pay, he is to 
march at his command : so that to live in 
the breach of his commands, is against 
equity. 

3dly, It is against nature. Every creature 
in its kind obeys God's law : 1. Animate 
creatures obey him. God spake to the fish, 
and it set Jonah a-shore, Jonah ii. 10. — 2. 
Inanimate creatures ; " the wind and the sea 
obey him," Mark iv. 41. The very stones, 
if God give them a commission, will cry out 
against the sins of men. Hab. ii. 11, " The 
stone shall cry out of the wall, and the 
beam out of the timber shall answer it." 
None disobey God but wicked men and 
the devil ; and can we find none to join with 
else? 

kthly, It is against kindness. How many 
mercies have we to allure us to obey 1 Mi- 
racles of mercy ; therefore the apostle joins 
these two together, — disobedient and un- 
thankful, 2 Tim. iii. 2, and this dyes a 
sin of a crimson colour. And, as the sin 
is great, (for it is a contempt of God, a 
hanging out of the flag of defiance against 
God, and rebellion is as the sin of witch- 
craft) so the punishment will be proportion- 
able ; such cut themselves off from mercy. 
God's mercy is for them that keep his com- 
mandments, but no mercy to them that live 



OF THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 



269 



in a wilful breach of them. All God's judg- 
ments set themselves in battle-array against 
the disobedient. (1). Temporal judgments, 
Lev. xxvi. 15, 16. (2). Eternal. "Christ 
comes in flames of fire, to take vengeance 
on them that obey not God," 2 Thess. i. 8. 
Such as break the golden chain of God's 
commands, God hath iron chains to hold 
them ; chains of darkness, in which the 
devils are held, Jude 6. As long as there 
is eternity, God hath time enough to reckon 



with all the wilful breakers of his command- 
ments. 

Quest. How shall we do to keep God's 
commandments 1 

Ans. Beg the Spirit of God. We can- 
not do it in our own strength ; " The Spirit 
must work in us both to will and to do," 
Phil. ii. 13. When the loadstone draws, 
the iron moves : when God's Spirit draws, 
then we run in the way of God's command- 
ments. 



OF THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 



Exod. xx. 7. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain : For the Lord 
will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. 



This commandment has two parts : First, 
A negative expressed ; that we must not take 
God's name in vain, viz. cast any reflections 
and dishonour on God's name. Secondly, 
An affirmative implied ; that we should have 
a care to reverence and honour his name. 
But that I shall speak to more fully when I 
come to the first petition in the Lord's prayer, 
r Hallowed be thy name." I shall now speak 
of the negative expressed in this command- 
ment, or the prohibition, " Thou shalt not 
take the name of the Lord thy God in vain." 
The tongue is an unruly member. All the 
parts and organs of the body are defiled with 
sin, as every branch of wormwood is bitter, 
" but the tongue is full of deadly poison," 
James iii. 8. There is no one member of 
the body doth more break forth into God's 
dishonour than the tongue ; therefore this 
commandment is a bridle for the tongue, — it 
is to bind the tongue to its good behaviour ; 
" Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord 
thy God in vain." And this prohibition is 
backed with a strong reason, "For the Lord 
will not hold him guiltless ;" that is, he will 
not hold him innocent. Men of place and 
eminency take it heinously to have their 
names abused, and will inflict heavy penalties 
on the offenders : " The Lord will not hold 
him guiltless that taketh his name in vain." 
God looks upon him as a criminal person, and 
he will severely punish him. Well then, the 



thing to be insisted on is, that great care must 
be had that the holy and reverend name of 
God be not profaned by us, or taken in vain. 

Quest. How many ways may we be said 
to take God's name in vain ? 

Ans. 1. We take God's name in vain when 
we speak slightly and irreverently of his name, 
Deut. xxviii. 58, " That thou mayest fear this 
glorious and fearful name, The Lord thy 
God." David speaks of God with reverence, 
Ps. 1. 1, "The Lord even the most mighty 
God." Ps. lxxxiii. 18, "That men may 
know, that thou, whose name alone is Jeho- 
vah, art the most High over all the earth." 
And the disciples, speaking of Jesus, did 
hallow his name, Luke xxiv. 19, "Jesus of 
Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in 
deed and word before God, and all the peo- 
ple." When we mention the names of kings, 
we give them some title of honour, as "ex- 
cellent majesty," so should we speak of God 
with such sacred reverence as is due to the 
Infinite Majesty of heaven. When we speak 
slightly of God or his works, God interprets 
it to be a contempt, and it is a taking his 
name in vain. 

A. 2. When we profess God's name, but 
do not live answerably to it, it is a taking his 
name in vain, Titus i. 16, In words they pro- 
fess Christ, "but in works they deny him." 
When men's tongues and lives cross one 
another ; when under a mask of profession, 



270 



OF THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 



men will lie and cozen, and be unclean, these 
make use of God's name to abuse him, they 
take his name in vain. Simulata sanctitas 
duplex iniquitas. Rom. ii. 24, " The name 
of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles 
through you." When the heathens saw the 
Jews, who professed to be God's people, to be 
scandalous, this made them speak evil of God, 
and hate the true religion for their sakes. 

A. 3. We take God's name in vain when 
we use God's name in idle discourse. God is 
not to be spoken of but with a holy awe upon 
our hearts ; and to bring God's name in at 
every turn, when we never think of God, — to 
say, 'O God!' or <0 Christ!' or, 'As God 
shall save my soul !' this is taking God's 
name in vain. And, how many are guilty in 
this kind ! Though they have God in their 
mouths, they have the devil in their hearts. 
'Tis a wonder that fire doth not come out 
from the Lord and consume them, as it did 
Nadab and Abihu ! Lev. x. 2. 

A. 4. We take God's name in vain, when 
we worship him with our lips, but not our 
hearts, this is to abuse God. 'Tis the heart 
which God calls for, Prov. xxiii. 26, " My son 
give me thy heart." The heart is the chief 
thing in religion ; it draws the will and affec- 
tions after it, as the Primum mobile draws 
the other orbs along with it. The heart is 
the incense that perfumes our holy things, — 
it is the altar that sanctifies the offering. 
Now, when we seem to worship God, but 
withdraw our heart from him, we take his 
name in vain, Isa. xxix. 13, "This people 
draw near me with their mouth, and with 
their lips they do honour me, but they have 
removed their heart from me." 

1st, Hypocrites take God's name in vain, 
— their religion is a lie, — they seem to honour 
God, but they do not love him, — their hearts 
go after their lusts, Hos. iv. 8, " They set 
their hearts on their iniquity." Their eyes 
are lifted up to heaven, but their hearts are 
rooted in the earth, Ezek. xxxiii. 31. These 
are devils in Samuel's mantle, they take 
God's name in vain. 

2dly, Superstitious persons take God's 
name in vain. They bring God a few cere- 
monies which he never appointed ; they bow 
at Christ's name, and cringe to the altar, but 



hate and persecute God's image ; these take 
his name in vain. 

A. 5. We take God's name in vain, when 
we pray to him but do not believe in him. 
Faith is the great grace that honours God, 
Rom. iv. 20. Abraham being strong in faith, 
gave glory to God : but when we pray to God, 
but do not mix faith with our prayer, we take 
his name in vain. 'I may pray, (saith a 
Christian) but I shall be never the better ; I 
question whether God doth hear, or whether 
he will grant.' This is to dishonour God, 
and take his name in vain, — this is to make 
God either an idol, that he hath ears and 
hears not, or a liar, who promiseth mercy to 
the penitent but will not make good his word, 
1 John v. 10, " He that believeth not hath 
made God a liar." When the apostle saith, 
" How shall they call on him in whom they 
have not believed ]" Rom. x. 14, the meaning 
is, How shall they call on God aright, and 
not believe in him 1 But how many do call on 
God who do not believe in him 7 They ask 
for pardon, but unbelief whispers their sins 
are greater than can be forgiven. Thus to 
pray and not believe is to take God's name 
in vain, and is a high dishonouring of God, 
as if he were not such a God as the word 
represents him, " Plenteous in mercy to all 
that call upon him," Ps. lxxxvi. 5. 

A. 6. We take God's name in vain when 
we in any kind profane and abuse his word. 
Now the word of God is profaned, First, In 
general, when profane men meddle with it. 
It is unseemly and unbecoming a wicked 
man to talk of sacred things, — of God's provi- 
dence, and the decrees of God and heaven ; 
it was very distasteful to Christ, to hear the 
devil quote scripture, "It is written;" to 
hear a wicked man that wallows in sin talk 
of God and religion, is offensive, — it is the 
taking of God's name in vain. When the 
word of God is in a drunkard's mouth it is 
like a pearl hung upon a swine. Under the 
law, the lips of the leper were to be covered, 
Lev. xiii. 45 : the lips of a profane, drunken 
minister ought to be covered, — he is unfit to 
speak of God's word because he takes God's 
name in vain. But 2dly, More particularly 
they profane God's word, and take his name 
in vain, 



OF THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 



271 



1. That speak scornfully of God's word. 1 
2 Pet. iii. 4, " Where is the promise of his 
coming'? For since the fathers fell asleep, all 
things continue as they were from the begin- 
ning of the creation." As if they had said, 
" Here is much ado the preachers make about 
the day of judgment, when all must be called 
to account for their works ; but where is the 
appearing of that day 1 we see things keep 
their course, and continue as they were since 
the creation." Thus they speak scornfully 
of scripture, and take God's name in vain. 
If sentence be not speedily executed, men 
scorn and deride ; but, Prov. xix. 29, " Judg- 
ments are prepared for scorners." 

2. That speak jestingly. Such are they 
who sport and play with scripture ; 'tis play- 
ing with fire. Some cannot be merry unless 
they make bold with God; they make the 
scripture a harp to drive away the spirit of 
sadness. Eusebius relates of one who took 
a piece of scripture to jest with, God struck 
him with frenzy. To play with scripture, 
shows a very profane heart. Some will 
rather lose their souls than lose their jests : 
these are guilty of taking God's name in 
vain. Tremble at it : such as mock at scrip- 
ture, God will laugh at your calamity ! Prov. 
i. 26. 

3. They abuse God's word, and take his 
name in vain, that bring scripture to counte- 
nance any sin. The word, which was written 
for the suppressing of sin, some bring it for 
the defending of sin. For instance, first, if 
we tell a covetous man of his sin, that covet- 
ousness is idolatry, he will bring scripture to 
maintain his sin : " hath not God bid me live 
in a calling] 'Six days shalt thou labour.' 
Hath not God said, that ' he who provides 
not for his family is worse than an infidel V " 
Thus he goes to support his covetousness 
with scripture. Ans. It is true, God hath bid 
thee take pains in a calling, but not hurt thy 
neighbour ; he hath bid thee provide for thy 
family, but not by oppression, Lev. xxv. 14, 
"Ye shall not oppress one another." He 
hath bid thee look after a livelihood, but not 
with the neglect of thy soul. He hath bid 
thee lay up thy treasure in heaven, Matt. vi. 
20. He hath commanded thee to lay out, as 
well as lay up, — to sow seeds of charity on 



the backs and bellies of the poor, which per- 
haps thou neglectest. So that to bring scrip- 
ture to uphold thee in thy sin, is a high pro- 
faning of scripture, and a taking of God's 
name in vain. Second instance : if we tell 
a man of his inordinate passions, — that he 
may be drunk as well with rash anger, as 
wine, — he will bring scripture to justify it : 
" Doth not the word say, 4 Be angry and sin 
not,' " Eph. iv. 26. 'Tis true that anger is 
good which is mixed with zeal ; then anger 
is without sin, when it is against sin ; but 
thou dost sin in thine anger, — thou speakest 
unadvisedly with thy lips, — thy tongue is set 
on fire of hell, and to bring scripture to de- 
fend thy sin is to profane scripture, and to 
take God's name in vain. 

4. They abuse the word, and take God's 
name in vain, who adulterate the word, and 
wrest it in a wrong sense. Such are here- 
tics, who put their own gloss upon scripture, 
and make it speak that which the Holy 
Ghost never meant. For instance, first, 
when we expound those texts literally which 
are meant figuratively. Thus the Pharisees 
were guilty, when God said in the law, 
" Thou shalt bind the commandments for a 
sign upon thy hand, and they shall be as 
frontlets between thine eyes," Deut. vi. 8. 
The Pharisees took it in a literal sense ; they 
got two scrolls of parchment, whereon they 
wrote the two tables, putting one on their 
left arms, and binding the other to their eye- 
brows, thus they wrested the scripture and 
took God's name in vain. That scripture- 
was to be understood spiritually and by a 
figure : God meant, by binding his laws upon 
their hands that they should meditate on his 
law, and put it in practice ; and so the papists 
expound that scripture, " This is my body," - 
literally, of the very body of Christ ; then, 
when Christ gave the bread, he should have 
had two bodies, one in the bread, and the 
other out of the bread, whereas Christ meant 
it figuratively, it is a sign of my body. Thus 
they, by wresting the scripture to a wrong 
■ sense, profane it, and take God's name in 
vain. 2dly, When we expound those scrip- 
tures figuratively and allegorically which the 
i Holy Ghost means literally. For example, 
Christ said to Peter, " Launch out into the 



272 



OF THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 



deep, and let down your nets for a draught," 
Luke v. 4. This text is spoken in a plain, 
literal sense of launching out the ship ; but 
the papists take it in a mystical and alle- 
gorical. This text proves, say they, that 
the pope— which is Peter's successor — shall 
launch forth, and catch the ecclesiastical and 
political power over the west parts of the 
world. This, say they, was meant when 
Christ bade Peter launch out into the deep. 
But I think the papists have launched out too 
far beyond the meaning of the text. When 
men strain their wits to wrest the word to 
such a sense as pleaseth them, they do pro- 
fane God's word, and highly take his name 
in vain. 

A. 7. We take God's name in vain, when 
we swear by his name. Many seldom name 
God's name but in oaths ; for this sin the land 
mourns. Matt. v. 34, "Swear not at all," 
that is, rashly and sinfully, so as to take God's 
name in vain ; not but that in some cases it 
is lawful to take an oath before a magistrate, 
Deut. vi. 13, " Thou shalt fear the Lord thy 
God and serve him, and swear by his name," 
— Heb. vi. 16, " an oath for confirmation is 
to them the end of all strife ;" but when 
Christ saith, " swear not at all," he forbids 
such a swearing as takes God's name in vain. 
There is a threefold swearing forbidden : 

I. Vain-swearing; when men in their 
ordinary discourse let fly oaths. Some will 
go to excuse their swearing. It is a coarse 
wool that will take no dye, and a bad sin 
indeed that hath no excuse. 

Excuse 1. I swear little trifling oaths ; as 
4 Faith,' or, ' By the mass.' Ans. The devil 
hath two false glasses which he sets before 
men's eyes : the one is a little glass in which 
the sin appears so small that it can hardly be 
seen, this glass the devil sets before men's 
eyes when they are going to commit sin, — 
the other is a great magnifying glass, wherein 
sin appears so big that it cannot be forgiven, 
the devil sets this before men's eyes when 
they have sinned. Thou that sayest, sin is 
small, when God shall open the eye of thy 
conscience, then thou wilt see it great, and 
be ready to despair. But to answer this 
plea, thou sayest, they are but small oaths, 
but Christ forbids vain oaths, " Swear not at 



all." If God will reckon with us for idle 
words, shall not idle oaths be put in the 
account-book 1 

Excuse 2. But I swear to the truth. See 
how this harlot-sin would paint itself with 
an excuse. Ans. 1. Though it be true, yet, 
if it be a rash oath, 'tis sinful. Besides, 2. 
He that swears commonly, it cannot be 
avoided but sometimes he must swear more 
than is true ; as, where much water runs, 
some gravel or mud will pass along with the 
water, — so, where there is much swearing, 
some lies will run along with the oaths. 

Excuse 3. But I shall not be believed un- 
less I seal up my words with an oath. Ans. 

1. A man that is honest will be believed with- 
out an oath ; his bare word carries authority 
with it, and is as good as letters testimonial. 

2. I answer, He who swears, the more he 
swears, the less others will believe him. 
Juris credit minus, — thou art a swearer. 
Another thinks an oath weighs very light 
with thee, thou carest not what thou swear- 
est, and the more thou swearest the less he 
believes thee. He will trust thy bond, but 
not thy oath. 

Excuse 4. But it is a custom of swearing 
I have gotten, and I hope God will forgive 
me. Ans. Though among men custom car- 
ries it, and is pleadable in law, yet it is not 
so in the case of sin, — custom here is no plea. 
Thou hast got a habit of swearing, and canst 
not leave it ; is this an excuse 1 Is a thing 
well done because it is commonly done? 
This is so far from being an excuse, that it 
is an aggravation of sin. As if one that had 
been accused for killing a man, should plead 
with the judge to spare him, because it was 
his custom to murder ; this is an aggravation 
of the offence, so it is here ; therefore all 
excuses for the sin of vain-swearing are 
taken away. Dare not to live in this sin, it 
is a taking of God's name in vain. 

II. Vile swearing, horrid prodigious oaths 
not to be named. Swearers, like mad dogs, 
fly in the face of heaven ; and when they 
are angered spue out their blasphemous 
venom on God's sacred Majesty. Some in 
gaming, when things go cross, and the dice 
run against them, their tongues run as fast 
against God in oaths and curses; and tell 



OF THE THIRD 

them of their sin,— go to bring home these 
asses from going astray, — and it is but pour- 
ing oil on the flame, they will swear the 
more. St Austin saith, " They do no less 
sin who blaspheme Christ now in heaven, 
than the Jews did who crucified him on 
earth." Swearers profane Christ's blood, 
and tear his name. A harlot told her hus- 
band, that of her three sons, there was but 
one of them his ; the father dying, desired 
the executors to find out which was the true 
natural son, and all his estate he bequeathed 
to him. The father being dead; the execu- 
tors set up his corpse against a tree, and de- 
livered to every one of these three sons a bow 
and arrows, telling them, that he who could 
shoot nearest the father's heart should have 
all the estate. The two bastard sons shot as 
near as they could to his heart, but the third 
did feel nature so work in him that he refused 
to shoot at his father's heart ; whereupon the 
executors judged him to be the true son, and 
gave all the estate to him. Such as are the 
true children of God, fear to shoot at him ; 
but such as are bastards, and not sons, care 
not though they shoot at him in heaven with 
their oaths and curses. And that which 
makes swearing yet more heinous, is, when 
men have resolved upon any wicked action, 
they bind themselves with an oath to do it ; 
such were they, Acts xxiii. 12, who bound 
themselves with an oath and curse to kill 
Paul. To commit sin is bad enough ; but 
to swear we will commit sin, is a high pro- 
faning God's name, and is as it were to call 
God to approve our sin. 

III. Forswearing : this is a heaven-daring 
sin, Lev. xix. 12, " Ye shall not swear by my 
name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the 
name of thy God." Perjury is a calling God 
to witness to a lie. It is said of Philip of 
Macedon, he would swear and unswear as 
might stand best with his interest. Jer. iv. 
2, " Thou shalt swear, < The Lord liveth,' in 
truth, in judgment, and in righteousness." 
In righteousness, therefore it must not be an 
unlawful oath. In judgment, therefore it 
must not be a rash oath. In truth, therefore 
it must not be a false oath. Among the 
Scythians, if a man did forswear himself, he 
was to have his head stricken off, because if 
2 M 



COMMANDMENT. 273 

perjury were allowed, there would be no liv- 
ing in a commonwealth, it would take away 
all faith and truth from among men. The 
perjurer is in as bad a case as the witch ; for 
by a false oath he binds his soul fast to the 
devil. In forswearing or taking a false oath 
in a court, there are many sins linked toge- 
ther, — plurima peccata in uno : for besides 
the taking of God's name in vain, the per- 
jurer is a thief, — by his false oath, he robs 
the innocent of his right, — he is a perverter 
of justice, — he doth not only sin himself, but 
occasions the jury to give a false verdict, and 
the judge to pass an unrighteous sentence ; 
and sure God's judgments will find him out. 
When God's flying-roll or curse goes over 
the face of the earth, into whose house doth 
it enter 1 " Into the house of him who swears 
falsely : and it shall consume the timber and 
stones of his house," Zech. v. 4. Beza 
relates of a perjurer, that he had no sooner 
taken a false oath, but he was immediately 
struck with an apoplexy, and never spake 
more, but died. O tremble at such horrid 
impiety ! 

A. 8. We highly take God's name in vain, 
when we prefix God's name to any wicked 
action. I say the mentioning of God to a 
wicked design, is taking his name in vain. 
2 Sam. xv. 7, " I pray, (saith Absalom) let 
me- go and pay my vow, which I have vowed 
unto the Lord in Hebron." This pretence of 
paying his vow made to God, was only to 
colour over his treason, ver. 10, " When ye 
hear the sound of the trumpet, ye shall say, 
Absalom reigneth." When any wicked ac- 
tion is baptized with the name of religion, 
this is taking God's name in vain. Herein 
the pope is highly guilty when he sends out 
his bulls of excommunication or curses against 
the Christian ; he begins with, In nomine 
Dei, — in the name of God. What a provok- 
ing sin is this ! It is to do the devil's work, 
and put God's name to it. 

A. 9. We take God's name in vain, when 
we use our tongues any way to the dishonour 
of God's name ; as when we use railing, or 
curse in our passions ; especially, when we 
wish a curse upon ourselves if a thing be not 
so when we know it to be false. I have read 
of one who wished his body might rot if that 



274 



OF THE THIRD COMMANDMENT. 



which he said was not true : and soon after his 
body rotted, and he became a loathsome spec- 
tacle. 

A. 10. We take God's name in vain by 
rash and unlawful vows. There is a good 
vow when a man binds himself by a vow to 
do that which the word binds him to ; as, if he 
be sick, he yows if God restore him, he will 
live a more strict holy life, Ps. Ixvi. 13, " I 
will pay thee my vows which my lips have 
uttered when I was in trouble." But voveri 
non debet quod Deo displicet : such a vow 
should not be made as is displeasing to God, 
— as to vow voluntary poverty, as your friars, 
— or to vow to live in nunneries. Jephtha's 
vow was rash and unlawful ; he vowed to the 
Lord to sacrifice that to him which he met 
with next, and it was his daughter, Judges xi. 
31, 34. He did ill to make the vow, and 
worse to keep it ; he became guilty of the 
breach of the third and sixth commandments. 

A. 11. When we speak evil of God, now 
we take his name in vain, Ps. lxxviii. 19, 
" They spake against God." Quest. How 
do we speak against God ? Ans. When we 
murmur at his providences, as if he had dealt 
hardly with us. Murmuring is the accusing 
of God's justice, Gen. xviii. 25, " Shall not 
the judge of all the earth do right 1" Mur- 
muring springs from a bitter root, — it comes 
from pride and discontent, — it is a reproach- 
ing of God and a high taking his name in 
vain. It is such a sin as God cannot bear, 
Numb. xiv. 27, " How long shall I bear with 
this evil congregation that murmur against 
me'?" 

A. 12. And lastly, we take God's name in 
vain, when we falsify our promise : to say, if 
God spare us life we will do this, and never 
intend it. Our promise should be sacred and 
inviolable ; but, if we make no reckoning to 
make a promise, and mention God's name in 
it, yet never intend to keep it, it is a double 
sin ; it is telling a lie, and taking God's name 
in vain. I should come now to the affirma- 
tive implied ; but hereafter- 

Use. Take heed of taking God's name in 
vain any of these ways. Remember this com- 
mination and threatening in the text, " The 
Lord will not hold him guiltless." Here is a 
meiosis,— less is said, and more intended. 



"He will not hold him guiltless ;" that is, he 
will be severely avenged on such a one. 
" The Lord will not hold him guiltless." 
Here the Lord speaks after the manner of a 
judge who holds the court of assize ; the judge 
here, is God himself ; the accusers, Satan, 
and a man's own conscience ; the matter of 
fact is, " Taking God's name in vain ;" the 
malefactor accused is found guilty, and con- 
demned ; " The Lord will not hold him guilt- 
less." Methinks these words, "The Lord 
will not hold him guiltless," may set a lock 
upon our lips, and make us afraid of speaking 
any thing that may redound dishonour upon 
God, or may be a taking his name in vain. 
" The Lord will not hold him guiltless." It 
may be men may hold such guiltless, when 
they curse, swear, speak irreverently of God ; 
men may hold them guiltless, let them alone, 
not punish them. If one takes away an- 
other's good name, he shall be sure to be 
punished : but if he takes away God's good 
name, where is he that doth punish him ] He 
that robs another of his goods shall be put to 
death ; but he that robs God of his glory, by 
oaths and curses, he is spared ; but God him- 
self will take the matter into his own hand, and 
he will punish him who takes his name in vain. 

1. Sometimes God punishes swearing and 
blasphemy in this life. 1st, Swearing. In 
the country of Samurtia there arose a great 
tempest of thunder and lightning : a soldier 
burst forth into swearing,- — but the tempest 
tearing up a great tree by the root, it fell 
upon him, and crushed him to pieces. The 
German history relates of a youth who was 
given to swearing, and did use to invent new 
oaths, the Lord sent a canker into his mouth, 
which did eat out his tongue, whereupon he 
died. 2dly, Blasphemy. He who did blaspheme 
God, the Lord caused him to be stoned to 
death, Lev. xxiv. 11, 23, " The Israelitish wo- 
man's son blasphemed the name of the Lord 
and cursed. And Moses spake to the children 
of Israel, that they should bring forth him that 
had cursed out of the camp, and stone him with 
stones." Olympias, an Arian bishop, reproach- 
ed and blasphemed the sacred Trinity, where- 
upon he was suddenly struck with three flashes 
of lightning which burned him to death. 
Felix, an officer of Julian, seeing the holy 



OF THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 



275 



vessels which were used in the sacrament, 
said, in scorn of Christ, " See what precious 
vessels the Son of Mary is served withal !" 
Soon after he was taken with a vomiting- of 
blood out of his blasphemous mouth, whereof 
he died. 

2. Or, if God should not execute judg- 
ment on the profaners of his name in this 
life, yet their doom is to come ; God will not 



remit their guilt, but deliver them to Satan 
the gaoler, to torment them for ever. If God 
justify a man, who shall condemn him ! But 
if God condemn him, who shall justify him 7 
If God lay a man in prison, where shall he 
get bail or main-prize ] God will take his 
full blow at the sinner in hell, Heb. x. 31, 
" It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of 
the living God." 



OF THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 

Exod. xx. 8. Remember the Sabbath-day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, 
and do all thy work : But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God ; in it thou 
shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man-servant, nor thy 
maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates. For in six 
days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the 
seventh day ; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath-day and hallowed it. 



This commandment was engraven in stone 
by God's own finger, and it will be our com- 
fort to have it engraven in our hearts. — The 
sabbath-day is set apart for God's solemn 
worship ; it is God's enclosure, and it must 
not be alienated to common uses. The Lord 
hath set a preface before this commandment, 
— he hath put a memento to it, — " Remem- 
ber to keep the sabbath-day holy." This 
word, " remember," shows that we are apt 
to forget sabbath holiness ; therefore we need 
a memorandum to put us in mind of sanctify- 
ing this day. 

I shall explain the word. 

I. Here is a solemn command, " Remem- 
ber the sabbath-day to keep it holy." 

II. Many cogent arguments to induce us to 
observe the command. 

I. In the command, (1). The matter of it, 
viz. The sanctifying of the sabbath, which 
sabbath-sanctification consists in two things : 
— 1. In resting from our own works. — 2. In a 
conscientious discharge of our religious duty. 

(2). The persons to whom the command 
of sanctifying the sabbath is given : 1st, 
Either superiors, and they are, 1. More pri- 
vate, as parents and masters. Or, 2. More 
public, as Magistrates. Or, 2dly, Inferiors. 
1. Natives, as children and servants, " Thy 
son, and thy daughter, thy man-servant, and 



thy maid-servant." 2. Foreigners, " The 
stranger that is within thy gates." 

II. The cogent arguments to obey this com- 
mand of keeping holy the sabbath, 1. From 
the rationality of it, " Six days shalt thou 
labour and do all thy work." As if God had 
said : 'I am not a hard master, I do not 
grudge thee time to look after thy calling, 
and to get an estate. I have given thee six 
days, — six to do all thy work in, — and have 
taken but one day for myself : I might have 
reserved six days for myself, and allowed thee 
but one, but I have given thee six days for 
the works of thy calling, and have taken but 
one day for my own service : therefore it is 
equal and rational, that thou shouldest set 
this day in a special manner apart for my 
worship.' 

2. The second argument for sanctifying the 
sabbath, is taken from the justice of it. " The 
seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy 
God." As if God had said : " The sabbath- 
day is my due, I challenge a special right in 
it, and none hath any thing to do to lay claim 
to it. He who robs me of This Day, and 
puts it to common uses, is a sacrilegious per- 
son, — he steals from the crown of heaven, 
and I will in no wise hold him guiltless." 

3. The third argument for sanctifying the 
sabbath is taken from God's own pattern, he 



276 



OF THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 



" rested the seventh day." As if the Lord 
should say : " Will you not follow my pat- 
tern 1 Having finished all my works of cre- 
ation, I rested the seventh day : so you hav- 
ing- done all your secular work on the six 
days, you should now cease from the labour 
of your calling, and dedicate the seventh day 
to the Lord, as a day of holy rest." 

4. The fourth argument for sabbath-sanc- 
tification, is taken ab utili, — from the benefit 
which redounds from a religious observation 
of the sabbath : "The Lord blessed the se- 
venth day and hallowed it." It is not only 
a day of God's appointment, God did not 
only appoint the seventh day, but he blessed 
the seventh day. The sabbath-day is not 
only a day of honour to God, but a day of 
blessing to us ; it is not only a day wherein 
we give God worship, but a day wherein he 
gives us grace ; on this day a blessing drops 
down from heaven. This is a great argument 
for the keeping the sabbath-day holy. God 
is not benefited by it, we cannot add one cubit 
to his essential glory, — but we ourselves are 
advantaged ; the sabbath-day, religiously ob- 
served, entails a blessing upon our souls, our 
estate, our posterity, as the not keeping this 
day holy, brings a curse, Jer. xvii. 27. God 
curseth a man's blessings, Mai. ii. 2. The 
bread which he eats is poisoned with a curse ; 
so the conscientious observation of the sab- 
bath, brings all manner of blessings with it. 
These are the arguments to induce sabbath- 
sanctification. And so I have divided the 
commandment into its several parts, and ex- 
plained the sense of it. 

The thing I would have you observe is, 
That this commandment about keeping the 
sabbath was not abrogated with the ceremo- 
nial law, but it is purely moral, and the ob- 
servation of the sabbath is to be continued to 
the end of the world. Where can we show 
that God hath given us a discharge from 
keeping one day in seven 1 So that I say, 
this fourth commandment is moral, and oblig- 
eth Christians to the perpetual commemora- 
tion and sanctification of the sabbath. 

Quest. Why God hath appointed a sab- 
bath'} 

Ans. 1. In respect of himself. It is re- 
quisite that God should reserve one day in 



seven for his own immediate service, that 
hereby he might be acknowledged to be the 
Great Plenipotentiary or Sovereign Lord, 
who hath power over us both to command 
worship, and appoint the time when he will 
be worshipped. 

2. In respect of us. The sabbath-day 
makes for our interest, — it promotes holi- 
ness in us ; the business on the week-day 
makes us too forgetful of God and our souls, 
— the sabbath brings God into our remem- 
brance. When the dust of the world falling 
hath clogged the wheels of our affections 
that they would scarce move towards God, 
the sabbath comes, and oils the wheels of our 
affections, and now they move swiftly in re- 
ligion, therefore God hath appointed a sab- 
bath to ripen our holiness. On this day the 
thoughts contemplate heaven, — the tongue 
speaks of God, and is as the pen of a ready 
writer, — now the eyes drop tears, — now the 
soul burns in love. When the heart was all 
the week frozen, now on the sabbath it is 
melted with the word. The sabbath is a 
friend to religion, — it files off the rust of our 
graces, it is a spiritual jubilee, wherein the 
soul is set to converse with its Maker. 

I should, in the next place, show you the 
modus, or manner how we should keep the 
sabbath-day holy. But before I come to that, 
I shall propound a great question, viz. 

Quest. How comes it to pass that we do 
not keep the seventh-day sabbath, as it was 
in the primitive institution, but have chang- 
ed it to another day ? 

Ans. The old seventh-day sabbath (which 
was the Jewish sabbath) is abrogated, and in 
the room of it the first day of the week 
(which is the Christian sabbath) succeeds. 
The morality or substance of the fourth com- 
mandment doth not lie in keeping the seventh 
day precisely, but in keeping one day in seven, 
which God hath appointed. 

Quest. But how comes the first day in 
the week to be substituted in the room of the 
seventh day ? 

Ans. Not by ecclesiastic authority. The 
church (saith Mr Perkins) hath no power to 
ordain a sabbath. But, 

1. The change of the sabbath from the 
last day of the week to the first, was by 



OF THE FOURTH 



COMMANDMENT. 



277 



Christ's own appointment. Christ is " Lord 
of the sabbath," Mark ii. 28. And who shall 
appoint a day but he who is Lord of it] He 
made this day, Ps. cxviii. 24, " This is the 
day which the Lord hath made." Arnobius, 
and the current of expositors, understand it 
of our Christian sabbath, and it is called the 
" Lord's day." Rev. i. 10. As it is called the 
" Lord's supper," because of the Lord's in- 
stituting the bread and wine, and setting it 
apart from a common to a more special and 
sacred use: so it is called the Lord's day, 
because of the Lord's instituting it, and set- 
ting it apart from common days to his special 
worship and service. Christ arose on the 
first day of the week out of the grave, and 
appeared twice on this day to his disciples, 
John xx. 19, 26, which was to intimate to 
the disciples (say Austin and Athanasius) 
that he transferred the Jewish sabbath to the 
Lord's day. 

2. The keeping of the first day (which 
is the Lord's day) was the practice of the 
apostles, 1 Cor. xvi. 2. Acts. xx. 7, " On 
the first day of the week, when the disciples 
came together to break bread, Paul preached 
unto them." Here was both preaching and 
breaking of bread on this day. Austin, and 
Inocentius, and Isidore, make the keeping 
of our gospel-sabbath to be an apostolical 
sanction, and affirm, that by virtue of the 
apostles' practice, this Lord's day is to be 
sequestered and set apart for divine worship. 
What the apostles did, they did it by divine 
authority, for they were inspired by the Holy 
Ghost. 

3. Besides, the primitive church had the 
Lord's day — which we now celebrate — in 
high estimation; it was a great badge of 
their religion to observe this day. Ignatius, 
the most ancient father who lived in the 
time of St John the apostle, hath these words, 
" Let every one that loveth Christ, keep holy 
the first day of the week, the Lord's day." 
This day hath been observed by the church 
of Christ, above sixteen hundred years, as 
learned Bucer notes. Thus you see how the 
seventh-day sabbath comes to be changed to 
the first-day sabbath. 

Now there is a grand reason for changing 
of the Jewish sabbath to the Lord's day, be- 



cause this puts us in mind of the " Mystery 
of our redemption by Christ." The reason 
why God did institute the old sabbath was, 
because God would have it kept as a memo- 
rial of the creation ; but the Lord hath now 
brought the first day of the week in the room 
of it, in memory of a more glorious work than 
creation, and that is redemption. 

Great was the work of creation, but greater 
was the work of redemption. As it was 
said, Hag. ii. 9, " The glory of the second 
temple was greater than the glory of the first 
temple : so the glory of the redemption was 
greater than the glory of the creation. Great 
wisdom was seen in the curious making us, 
— but more miraculous wisdom in saving 
us. Great power was seen in bringing us 
out of nothing, — but greater power in helping 
us when we were worse than nothing. It 
cost more to redeem us than to create us. 
In the creation there was but ' speaking a 
word,' Ps. cxlviii. 5; in the redeeming us, 
there was shedding of blood, 1 Pet. i. 19. 
The creation was the work of God's fingers, 
Ps. viii. 3 ; redemption was the work of his 
arm, Luke i. 5. In the creation, God gave 
us ourselves ; in the redemption, he gave us 
himself. By creation, we have a life in 
Adam ; by redemption, we have a life in 
Christ, Col. iii. 3. By creation, we had a 
right to an earthly paradise ; by redemption, 
we have a title to a heavenly kingdom. 
So that well Christ might change the se- 
venth day of the week into the first, because 
this day puts us in mind of our redemption, 
which is a more glorious work than the crea- 
tion. 

Use. The use I shall make, is, that we 
should have this Christian sabbath we now 
celebrate in high veneration. The Jews 
called the sabbath, " The desire of days, 
and the Queen of days ;" it is a day of 
sweet rest. This day we must call a " de- 
light, the holy of the Lord, honourable," 
Isa. lviii. 13. Metal that hath the king's 
stamp upon it is honourable, and of great 
value. God hath set his royal stamp upon 
the sabbath ; it is the sabbath of the Lord, 
this makes it honourable. This day we 
should look upon as the best day in the 
week. What the Phoenix is among the 



278 



OF THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 



birds, — what the sun is among the planets, 
— that the Lord's day is among other days. 
" This is the day which the lord hath made," 
Ps. cxviii. 24. God hath made all the days, 
but he hath blessed this. As Jacob got the 
blessing from his brother, so the sabbath got 
the blessing from all the other days in the 
week. The sabbath is a day in which we 
converse in a special manner with God. 
The Jews called the sabbath "a day of 
light ;" on this day the Sun of Righteousness 
shines upon the soul. The sabbath is the 
market-day of the soul, — the cream of time ; 
this is the day of Christ's rising out of the 
grave, and the Holy Ghost's descending upon 
the earth ; this day is perfumed with the sweet 
odour of prayer, which goes up to heaven as 
incense ; this day the manna falls, that an- 
gels' food ; this is the soul's festival-day ; on 
this day the graces act their part ; the other 
days of the week are most employed about 
earth, this day about heaven, — then you 
gather straw, now pearl. Now Christ takes 
the soul up into the mount, and gives it 
transfiguring sights of glory ; now Christ 
leads his spouse into the wine-cellar, and 
displays the banner of his love ; now he gives 



her his spiced wine, and the juice of the 
pomegranate, Cant. ii. 8. The Lord doth 
usually reveal himself more to the soul on 
this day. The apostle John " was in the 
Spirit on the Lord's day," Rev. i. 10 ; he was 
carried up in divine raptures towards heaven. 
This day a Christian is in the altitudes, — he 
walks with God, and takes as it were a turn 
with him in heaven, 1 John i. 3. On this 
day holy affections are quickened, — the stock 
of grace is improved, — corruptions are weak- 
ened ; on this day Satan falls like lightning 
before the majesty of the word. Christ 
wrought most of his miracles upon the sab- 
bath : so he doth now ; the dead soul is raised, 
the heart of stone is made flesh. How should 
this day be highly esteemed, and had in 
reverence ? This day is more precious than 
rubies ; God hath anointed this day with the 
oil of gladness above its fellows. On the 
sabbath we are doing angels' work, our 
tongues are tuned to God's praises. This 
sabbath on earth is a shadow and type of 
that glorious rest and eternal sabbath we 
hope for in heaven, when God shall be the 
temple, and the Lamb shall be the light of it, 
Rev. xxi. 22, 23. 



Exod. xx. 9, 10. Six days shall thou labour and do all thy work : but the seventh day is 
the sabbath of the Lord thy God, in it thou shalt do no manner of work, tyc. 



" Six days shalt thou labour." God 
would not have any live out of a calling ; 
religion seals no warrant for idleness. 'Tis 
as well a duty to labour six days as to keep 
holy rest on the seventh day: H Six days 
shalt thou labour." 2 Thess. iii. 11, 12, 
" We hear there are some among you, who 
walk disorderly, working not at all. Now, 
them that are such, we command and ex- 
hort by our Lord Jesus, that with quietness 
they work, and eat their own bread." A 
Christian must not only mind heaven, but 
his calling. While the pilot hath his eye 
to the star, he hath his hand to the helm. 
Without labour the pillars of a common- 
wealth will dissolve, and the earth will 
be like the sluggard's field, overrun with 
briars, Prov. xxiv. 31. Adam in innocency, 



though he was the monarch of the world, 
yet God would not have him idle, but he 
must dress and till the ground, Gen. ii. 15. 
Piety doth not exclude industry. "Six 
days shalt thou labour." Standing water 
putrifies. The inanimate creatures are in 
motion, — the sun goes its circuit, the foun- 
tain runs, the fire sparkles : and animate 
creatures, — Solomon sends us to the ant 
and pismire to learn labour, Prov. vi. 6, 
chap. xxx. 25. The bee is the emblem of 
industry ; some of the bees trim the honey, 
others work the wax, others frame the comb, 
others lie sentinel at the door of the hive to 
keep out the drone. And shall not man much 
more inure himself to labour! That law in 
paradise was never yet repealed, " In the 
sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread," Gen. 



OF THE FOURTH 



COMMANDMENT. 



279 



iii. 19. Such professors are to be disliked who 
talk of living by faith but live out of a calling ; 
they are like the lilies which toil not neither 
do they spin, Matt. vi. 28. 'Tis a speech of 
holy and learned Mr Perkins, " Let a man be 
endowed with excellent gifts, and hear the 
word with reverence, and receive the sacra- 
ment, yet if he practise not the duties of his 
calling, all is but hypocrisy." What is an 
idle person good for 1 What benefit is there 
of a ship that lies always on the shore, or of 
armour that hangs up and rusts 1 To live out 
of a calling, exposeth a person to temptation. 
Melancthon calls idleness the devil's bath, 
because he bathes himself with delight in an 
idle soul. We do not use to sow seed in 
ground when it lies fallow ; but Satan sows 
most of his seed of temptation in such per- 
sons as lie fallow, and are out of a calling. 
Idleness is the nurse of vice. Seneca, an old 
heathen, could say, Nullus mihi per otium 
dies exit, — ' No day passeth me without 
some labour.' An idle person stands for a 
cipher in the world, and God writes down no 
ciphers in the book of life. We read in scrip- 
ture of eating the " bread of idleness," Prov. 
xxxi. 27, and drinking the "wine of vio- 
lence," Prov. iv. 17. It is as well a sin " to 
eat the bread of idleness," as to " drink the 
wine of violence." An idle person can give 
no account of his time. Time is a talent to 
trade with, both in our particular and general 
calling : the slothful person " hides his talent 
in the earth," — he doth no good, — his time 
is not lived but lost ; an idle person lives un- 
profitably, — he cumbers the ground; God 
calls the slothful servant "wicked," Matt, 
xxv. 26, "Thou wicked and slothful ser- 
vant." Draco, whose laws were written in 
blood, deprived them of their life who would 
not work for their living. In Hetruria, they 
caused such persons to be banished. Idle 
persons live in the breach of this command- 
ment, " Six days shalt thou labour." Let 
them take heed they be not banished heaven. 
A man may as well go to hell for not working 
in his calling, as for not believing. So I pass 
to the next, 

" But the seventh day is the sabbath of 
the Lord thy God, in it thou shalt do no 
manner of work" 



Having spoken already of the reasons of 
sanctifying the sabbath, I come now to that 
question, 

Quest.' In what manner we are to sanc- 
tify the Sabbath 1 

Ans. 1. Negatively. We must do no work 
in it ; that is expressed in the commandment, 
"In it thou shalt do no manner of work." 
God hath enclosed this day for himself, there- 
fore we are not to lay it common by doing 
any civil work. As Abraham, when he went 
to sacrifice, left his servants and the ass at 
the bottom of the hill, Gen. xxii. 5, so, when 
we are to worship God this day, we must 
leave all worldly business behind, — leave the 
ass at the bottom of the hill. And as Joseph, 
when he would speak with his brethren, 
thrust out the Egyptians, so, when we would 
converse with God this day, we must thrust 
out all earthly employments. The Lord's 
day is a day of holy rest ; all secular work 
must be forborne and suspended, it is -a pro- 
faning the day, Neh. xiii. 15, 17, " In those 
days saw I in Judah some treading wine- 
presses on the sabbath, and bringing in 
sheaves, as also wine-grapes and figs, and 
all manner of burthens which they brought 
into Jerusalem on the sabbath-day ; and I 
testified against them. Then I contended 
with the nobles of Judah, and said to them, 
1 What evil thing is this that ye do, and pro- 
fane the sabbath-day V " It is sacrilege to 
rob that time for civil work which God hath 
dedicated and set apart for his worship. He 
that converts any time of the sabbath for 
worldly business, is a worse thief than he 
who robs on the highway ; for such a thief 
does but rob man, but this thief robs God, 
he robs him of his day. The Lord forbade 
manna to be gathered on the sabbath, Exod. 
xvi. One would think that might have been 
dispensed with, for manna was the 'staff of 
their life ;' and the time when manna fell 
was early, between five and six in the morn- 
ing ; so that they might have gathered it be- 
times, and all the rest of the sabbath they 
might have employed in God's worship ; and 
besides, they needed not to have taken any 
great journey for manna, for it was but step- 
ping out of their doors, and it fell about 
their tents ; yet they might not gather manna 



280 



OF THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 



on the sabbath; and but for purposing to 
gather it, God was very angry, Exod. xvi. 
27, 28, " There went out some of the people 
on the seventh day to gather, and they found 
none : and the Lord said, ' How long refuse 
ye to keep my commandments and my 
laws V " Surely the anointing Christ when 
he was dead, was a commendable work ; but 
Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of 
James, though they had prepared sweet oint- 
ments to anoint the dead body of Christ, yet 
they came not to the sepulchre to embalm 
him, till the sabbath was past, Luke xxiii. 56, 
"They rested on the sabbath-day according 
to the commandment." The hand cannot 
be busied on the Lord's day, but the heart 
will be defiled. The very heathens, by the 
light of nature, would not do any secular 
work, in that time which they had set apart 
for the worship of their false gods. Clemens 
Alexandrinus reports of one of the emperors 
of Rome, that on the day of set worship for 
his gods, he did forbear warlike affairs, and 
did spend that time in his devotion. To do 
servile work on the sabbath, shows an irre- 
ligious heart, and highly affronts God ; to 
work servile work on this day, is to follow 
the devil's plough, it is to debase the soul. 
God hath made this day on purpose to raise 
the heart up to heaven, to converse with 
God, to do angel's work ; and to be em- 
ployed in earthly work, is to degrade the 
soul of its honour. God will not have his 
day intrenched upon, or defiled in the least 
thing ; the man that gathered sticks on the 
sabbath, God would have him stoned, Numb, 
xv. One would think it a small thing to pick 
up a few sticks to make a fire, but God would 
not have this day violated in the smallest 
matters. Nay, that work which had a refer- 
ence to a religious use, might not be done 
on the sabbath, as the hewing of stones for 
the building of the sanctuary: Bezaleel, 
who was to cut the stones, and carve the 
timber out for the sanctuary, yet he must 
forbear it on the sabbath, Exod. xxxi. 15. 
A temple is the place of God's worship, 
but it were a sin to build a temple on the 
Lord's day. This is keeping the sabbath- 
day holy negatively, ' in doing no servile 
work. Yet caution : not but that works 



of necessity and charity may be done on 
this day, — God, in these cases, will have 
mercy and not sacrifice. 1. 'Tis lawful to 
take the necessary recruits of nature ; food 
is to the body, as oil to the lamp. 2. 'Tis 
lawful to do works of mercy, as helping our 
neighbour when either life or estate are in 
danger. Herein the Jews were too nice 
and precise, they would not suffer works of 
charity to be done on the sabbath ; if a man 
were sick, they thought on this day they 
might not use means for his recovery. Christ 
chargeth them with this, that they were 
angry that he had wrought a cure on the 
sabbath, John vii. 23. If a house were on 
fire, the Jews thought they might not bring 
water to quench it ; if a vessel did run, they 
thought that on this day they might no't stop 
it. These were ' righteous overmuch ;' here 
was seeming zeal, but it wanted discretion 
to guide it. But unless in these two cases 
of necessity and charity, all secular work is 
to be suspended and laid aside on the Lord's 
day : " In it thou shalt do no manner of 
work." Which justly doth arraign and con- 
demn many among us who do too much foul 
their fingers with work on that day, — some 
dressing great feasts, — others in opening 
their shop- doors, and selling meat on the 
sabbath, which I have seen. The mariner 
will not set to sea but on the sabbath, and so 
runs full-sail into the breach of this com- 
mandment. Others work on this day, though 
privately ; they put up their shop windows, 
but follow their trade within doors ; but though 
they think to hide their sin under a canopy, 
God sees it, Ps. exxxix. 7, " Whither shall I 
flee from thy presence 1" ver. 12, " The dark- 
ness hideth not from thee." These persons 
do profane this day, and God will have an 
action of trespass against them. 

A. 2. Positively. We keep the sabbath-day 
holy, by "consecrating and dedicating" this 
day to the " service of the high God." 'Tis 
good to rest on the sabbath-day from the 
works of our calling ; but if we rest from la- 
bour and do no more, the ox and the ass keep 
the sabbath as well as we, for they rest from 
labour. We must dedicate the day to God ; 
we must not only "keep a sabbath," but 
"sanctify" a sabbath. This sabbath-sanc- 



OF THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 



281 



tification consists in two things : 1st. The 
solemn preparation for it. 2d. The sacred 
observation of it. 

1. The solemn preparation for it. If a 
prince were to come to your house, what 
preparation would you make for his entertain- 
ment, — sweep the house, wash the floor, 
adorn the room with the richest tapestry and 
hangings, that there might be something 
suitable to the state and dignity of so great a 
person 1 ? On the blessed sabbath, God in- 
tends to have sweet communion with you ; he 
seems to say to you, as Christ to Zaccheus, 
Luke xix. 5, " Make haste and come down, 
for this day I must abide at thy house." 
Now, what preparation should you make for 
entertaining this King of glory 1 Now this 
preparation for the sabbath is First, When 
the evening of the Saturday approacheth, 
sound a retreat ; call your minds off from the 
world and summon your thoughts together, 
to think of the great work of the day approach- 
ing. Secondly, Purge out all unclean affec- 
tions which may indispose you for the work 
of the sabbath. Evening-preparation will be 
like the tuning of the instrument, it will fit 
the heart the better for the duties of the en- 
suing sabbath. 

2. The sacred observation of it ; touching 
which these things are to be practised : (1). 
Rejoice at the approach of this day, as being 
a day wherein we have a prize for our souls, 
and enjoy much of God's presence, John viii. 
56, Abraham saw my day, and rejoiced. So, 
when we see the light of a sabbath shine, we 
should rejoice, Isa. lviii. 13, " Thou shalt call 
the sabbath a delight ;" this is the queen of 
days, which God hath crowned with a bless- 
ing. As there was one day in the week on 
which God did rain manna twice as much as 
upon any other day, so God rains down the 
manna of heavenly blessings twice as much 
on the sabbath as on any other. This is the 
day wherein Christ carries the soul into the 
house of wine, and displays the banner of 
love over it ; now the dew of the Spirit falls 
on the soul, whereby it is revived and com- 
forted. How many may write the Lord's day, 
the day of their new birth ! This day of rest 
is a pledge and earnest of that eternal rest 
in heaven ; and shall not we rejoice at the 

2N 



approach of it ? That day on which the Sun 
of Righteousness shines, should be a day of 
gladness. 

(2) . Get up betimes on the sabbath-morn- 
ing. Christ rose early on this day before the 
sun was up, John xx. 1. Did Christ rise 
early to save us, and shall not we rise early 
to worship and glorify him'? Ps. lxiii. 1, 
" Early will I seek thee." Can we be up 
betimes on other days 1 The husbandman is 
early at his plough, — the traveller riseth 
early to go his journey, — and shall not we 
when we are on this day travelling to heaven] 
Certainly did we love God as we should, we 
would rise on this day betimes, that we may 
meet with him whom our soul loveth. Such as 
sit up late at work on the night before, will 
be so buried in sleep that they will hardly be 
up betimes on a sabbath-morning. 

(3) . Having dressed our bodies, we must 
dress our souls for the hearing of the word. 
As the people of Israel were to wash them- 
selves before the law was delivered to them, 
Exod. xix. 10, so we must wash and cleanse 
our souls, and that is, by reading, meditation 
and prayer. 

I. By reading the word. The word is a 
great means to sanctify the heart, and bring 
it into a sabbath-frame, John xvii. 17, " Sanc- 
tify them through thy truth," &c. And read 
the word not carelessly, but with seriousness 
and affection ; it is the oracle of heaven, — 
the well of salvation,— the book of life. Da- 
vid, for the preciousness of God's word, 
esteemed it above gold ; and for the sweet- 
ness, above honey, Ps. xix. 10. By reading 
the word aright, our hearts, when they are 
dull, are quickened, — when they are hard, 
are mollified, — when cold and frozen, are in- 
flamed ; and we can say as the disciples, 
" Did not our hearts burn within us 1" Some 
step out of their bed to hearing. The reason 
why many get no more good on a sabbath by 
the word preached, is because they did not 
breakfast with God in the morning by reading 
of his word. 

II. Meditation. Get upon the mount of 
meditation, and so converse with God. Me- 
ditation is the soul's retiring of itself, that, by 
a serious and solemn thinking upon God, the 
heart may be raised up to divine affections. — 



282 OF THE FOURTH 

Meditation is a work fit for the morning of a 
sabbath. Meditate on four things : 

1. On the works of creation. That is 
expressed here in the commandment, " The 
Lord made heaven and earth, the sea," &c 
The creation is a looking-glass in which we 
see the wisdom and power of God gloriously 
represented. God produced this fair struc- 
ture of the world without any pre-existent 
matter, and with a word, Ps. xxxiii. 6, " By 
the word of the Lord were the heavens made." 
The disciples wondered that Christ could 
with a word calm the sea, Matt. viii. 26 ; but 
it was far more with a word to make the sea. 
Let us on a sabbath meditate on the infinite- 
ness of our Creator. Look up to the firma- 
ment, there we may see "God's wonders 
in the deep," Ps. cvii. 24. Look into the 
earth, there we may behold the nature of 
minerals, the power of the loadstone, the vir- 
tue of herbs, the beauty of flowers. By 
meditating on these works of creation, so 
curiously embroidered, we come to admire 
God and praise him, Ps. civ. 24, " O Lord, 
how manifold are thy works, in wisdom hast 
thou made them all !" By meditating on the 
works of creation, we come to confide in 
God. He who can create, can provide ; he 
that could make us when we were nothing, 
he can raise us when we are low ; Ps. cxxiv. 
8, " Our help stands in the name of the Lord 
who made heaven and earth." 

2. Meditate on God's holiness, Ps. cxi. 9, 
" Holy and reverend is his name." Hab. i. 
13, " Thou art of purer eyes than to behold 
iniquity." God is essentially, originally, and 
efficiently holy ; all the holiness in men and 
angels is but a crystal stream that runs from 
this glorious ocean. God loves holiness be- 
cause it is his own image : a king cannot but 
love to see his own effigies stamped on coin. 
God counts holiness his glory, and the most 
sparkling jewel of his crown, Exod. xv. 11, 
" Glorious in holiness." Here is a medita- 
tion fit for our first entrance into a sabbath, 
God's holiness ; the contemplation of this 
would work in us such a frame of heart as is 
suitable to a holy God ; it would make us then 
reverence his name, hallow his day ; while we 
are musing of the holiness of God's nature, 
we begin to be transformed into his likeness. 



COMMANDMENT. 

3. Meditate on Christ's love in redeeming 
us, Rev. i. 5. Redemption exceeds creation ; 
the one is a monument of God's power, the 
other of his love. Here is fit work for a sab- 
bath. O the infinite stupendous love of Christ 
in raising poor lapsed creatures from a state 
of guilt and damnation! (1). That Christ 
who was God should die, — that this glorious 
Sun of Righteousness should be in an eclipse, 
■ — we can never enough admire this love, no, 
not in heaven. (2). That Christ should die 
for sinners, — not sinful angels, but sinful 
mankind. That such clods of earth and sin 
should be made bright stars of glory : O the 
amazing love of Christ ! This was illustre 
amove, Christi mnemosynium, Brugensis. 
(3). That Christ should not only die for sin- 
ners, but die as a sinner, 2 Cor. v. 21, " He 
was made sin for us." He who was among 
the glorious persons of the Trinity, " was 
numbered among transgressors," Isa. liii. 12. 
Not that he had sin, but he was like a sinner, 
having our sins imputed to him. Sin did not 
live in him, but it was laid upon him. Here 
was a hyperbole of love, enough to strike us 
into astonishment. (4). That Christ should 
redeem us, when he could not look to gain 
any thing, or be advantaged at all by us. Men 
will not lay out their money upon purchase, 
unless it will turn to their profit : but what 
benefit could Christ expect in purchasing 
and redeeming us 1 We were in such a con- 
dition, that we could neither deserve nor re- 
compense Christ's love. First, We could 
not deserve it ; for we were in our blood, 
Ezek. xvi. 6. We had no spiritual beauty to 
tempt Christ. Nay, we were not only in our 
blood, but we were up in arms, Rom. v. 8, 
" When we were yet sinners, Christ died for 
us ;" when he was shedding his blood, we were 
spitting out poison. Secondly, As we could 
not deserve, so neither could we recompense 
Christ's love : for, 1. After he died for us, we 
could not so much as love him, till he made 
us love him. 2. We could give Christ no- 
thing in lieu of his love, Rom. xi. 35, " Who 
hath first given to him V We were fallen 
to poverty. If we have any beauty, it is 
from Christ, Ezek. xvi. 14, " It was per- 
fect through my comeliness which I put 
upon thee." If we bring forth any good 



OF THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 



283 



fruit, it is not of our own growth, it comes 
from Christ, the true vine, Hos. xiv. 8, 
" From me is thy fruit found." So that it was 
nothing but pure love for Christ to lay out his 
blood to redeem such as he could not expect 
to be really bettered by. (5.) That Christ 
should die so willingly, John x. 17, " I lay 
down my life." The Jews could not have 
taken it away, if he had not laid it down ; he 
could have called to his Father for a legion of 
angels to be his life-guard ; but what needed 
that, when his Godhead could have defended 
him from all assaults? But he "laid down 
his life ;" the Jews did not so much thirst for 
Christ's death, as he thirsted for our redemp- 
tion, Luke xii. 50, " I have a baptism to be 
baptized with, and how am I straitened till it 
be accomplished V Christ called his suffer- 
ings a baptism : he was to be baptized and 
sprinkled with his own blood, and Christ 
thought the time long before he suffered, 
" How am I straitened till it be accomplish- 
ed." Therefore to show Christ's willingness 
to die, his sufferings are called ' an offering,' 
Heb. x. 10, " By the offering of the body of 
Jesus ;" his death was a free-will-offering. 
(6). That Christ should not grudge nor think 
much of all his sufferings ; his being scourged 
and crucified, (we grudge him a light service) 
but that he should be well contented with 
what he hath done ; and, if it were to do 
again, he would do it, Isa. liii. 11, " He shall 
see of the travail of his soul, and be satisfied." 
As the mother, though she hath hard labour, 
yet when she sees a child brought forth, she 
doth not repent of her pangs, but is well 
contented: so Christ, though he had hard 
travail upon the cross, which put him into 
an agony, yet he doth not think much, — he 
is not troubled, but thinks his sweat and 
blood well bestowed, because he sees the 
man-child of redemption brought forth into 
the world. " He shall see of the travail of 
his soul, and shall be satisfied." (7). That 
Christ should make redemption effectual to 
some and not to others : here is the quin- 
tessence of love. Though there is a suffi- 
ciency in Christ's merit to save all, yet only 
some partake of its saving virtue ; all do not 
believe. John vi. 64, " There are some of 
you that believe not." Christ doth not pray 



for all, John xvii. 9. Some refuse Christ, 
Ps. cxviii. 22, " This is the stone which the 
builders refused." Others deride him, Luke 
xvi. 14. Others throw off his yoke, Luke xix. 
14, " We will not have this man to reign 
over us." So that all have not the benefit 
of salvation by him. Herein appears the 
distinguishing love of Christ, that the virtue 
of his death should reach some and not others, 
1 Cor. i. 26, " Not many wise men after the 
flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are 
called." That Christ should pass by many of 
birth and parts, and that the lot of free grace 
should fall upon thee ; that he should sprinkle 
his blood upon thee ; " O the depth of the 
love of Christ!" (8). That Christ should 
love us with such an entire transcendent love. 
The apostle calls it a ' Love which passeth 
knowledge,' Eph. iii. 19. That he should 
love us more than the angels ; he loves them 
as his friends, believers as his spouse. He 
loves them with such a kind of love as God 
the Father bears to him, John xv. 9, "As the 
Father hath loved me, so have I loved you." 
O what a hyperbole of love doth Christ show 
in redeeming us ! (9). That Christ's love in 
our redemption should be everlasting, John 
xiii. 1, " Having loved his own, he loved them 
to the end." As Christ's love is matchless, 
so endless ; the flower of Christ's love is 
sweet, and that which makes it sweeter, it 
never dies. Christ's love is eternized, Jer. 
xxxi. 3. He will never divorce his elect 
spouse. The failings of his people cannot 
quite take off his love ; they may eclipse his 
love, not wholly remove it ; their failings may 
make Christ angry with them, but not hate 
them. Every failing doth not break the mar- 
riage-knot. Christ's love is not like the saints t 
love ; sometimes they have strong affections 
towards Christ, — at other times the hot fit is 
off, and they can find little or no love stirring 
in them, — but it is not so with Christ's love to 
the saints, it is a love of eternity. When the 
sunshine of Christ's electing love is once risen 
upon the soul, it never sets finally. Death may 
take away our life from us, but not Christ's 
love. Behold here a rare subject in a sabbath- 
morning to meditate upon ! The meditation 
of Christ's wonderful love in redeeming us, 
would work in us a sabbath-frame of heart. 



284 



OF THE FOURTH 



COMMANDMENT. 



First, It would melt us in tears for our 
spiritual unkindnesses, — that we should sin 
against so sweet a Saviour, — that we should 
be no more affected with his love, but requite 
evil for good, like the Athenians, who, not- 
withstanding all the good service Aristides 
had done them, banished him out of their 
city, — that we should grieve Christ with our 
pride, rash anger, our unfruitfulness, animosi- 
ties, strange factions. Have we none to 
abuse but our friend 1 Have we nothing to 
kick against but the bowels of our Saviour 1 
Did not Christ suffer enough upon the cross, 
but we must needs make him suffer more 1 
Do we give him more 4 gall and vinegar to 
drink?' O if any thing can dissolve the 
heart in sorrow, and broach the eyes with 
tears, it is disingenuity and unkindness of- 
fered to Christ ! When Peter thought of 
Christ's love to him, how he had made him 
an apostle, and revealed his bosom-secrets 
to him, and taken him to the mount of 
transfiguration, and that he should deny 
Christ, it broke his heart with sorrow ; " he 
went out and wept bitterly," Matt. xxvi. 75. 
What a blessed thing is it to have the eyes 
dropping tears on a sabbath ! And nothing 
would sooner fetch tears, than to medi- 
tate on Christ's love to us, and our unkind 
requitals. 

Secondly, The meditating on a Lord's 
day morning of Christ's love would kindle 
love in our hearts to Christ. How can we 
look on Christ's bleeding and dying for us, 
and our hearts not to be warmed with love 
to him 1 ? Love is the soul of religion, — the 
purest affection ; it is not rivers of oil, but 
sparks of love that Christ values. And sure, 
as David said, " While I was musing the 
fire burned," Ps. xxxix. 3, so, while we are 
musing of Christ's love in redeeming us, the 
fire of our love will burn towards Christ; 
and then is a Christian in a blessed sabbath- 
frame, when he is like a seraphim burning in 
love to Christ. 

4. On a sabbath-morning meditate on the 
glory of heaven. Heaven is the extract and 
quintessence of happiness. It is called a 
kingdom, Matt. xxv. 34. A kingdom for its 
riches and magnificence; it is set out by 
" precious stones, gates of pearl," Rev. xxi. 



There is all that is truly glorious, — transpa- 
rent light, — perfect love, — unstained honour, 
-—unmixed joy ; and that which crowns the 
joy of the celestial paradise is eternity. Sup- 
pose earthly kingdoms were more glorious 
than they are,— their foundations of gold,— 
their walls of pearl, — their windows of sap- 
phire, — yet they are corruptible : but the 
kingdom of heaven is eternal, — those rivers 
of pleasure " run for evermore," Ps. xvi. 11. 
And that wherein the essence of glory con- 
sists, and makes heaven to be heaven, is the 
immediate sight and fruition of the blessed 
God, Ps. xvii. 15, " When I awake I shall 
be satisfied with thy likeness." O think of 
this Jerusalem above ! This is proper for a 
sabbath ! 

1. The meditation of heaven would raise 
our hearts above the world. O how would 
these things disappear and shrink into no- 
thing, if our minds were mounted above the 
visible orbs, and we had a prospect of glory ! 

2. How would the meditation of heaven 
make us heavenly in our sabbath exercises ! 
It would quicken affection, — it would add 
wings to devotion,— -it would make us to be 
" in the Spirit on the Lord's day," Rev. i. 10. 
How vigorously doth he serve God who hath 
a crown of glory always in his eye ! 

III. We dress our souls on a sabbath- 
morning, by prayer, Matt. vi. 6, "When 
thou prayest, enter into thy closet," &c. 
Prayer sanctifies a sabbath. 

1. The things we should pray for in the 
morning of the sabbath. — Beg a blessing 
upon the word which is to be preached, — 
that it may be a savour of life to us, — that 
by it our minds may be more illuminated, 
our corruptions more weakened, our stock 
of grace more increased ; pray that God's 
special presence may be with us, — that our 
hearts may burn within us while God speaks ; 
pray that we may receive the word into 
meek, humble hearts, James i. 21, — that we 
may submit to it, and bring forth the fruits 
of it. Nor should we only pray for ourselves, 
but for others. 

First, For him who dispenseth the word ; 
that his tongue may be touched with a coal 
from God's, altar ; that God would warm 
his heart who is to help to warm others. 



OP THE FOURTH 



COMMANDMENT. 



285 



Your prayers may be a means to quicken 
the minister. Some complain, they find not 
that benefit by the word preached : perhaps 
they did not pray for their minister as they 
should. Prayer is like the whetting and 
sharpening of an instrument, which makes it 
cut the better. 

Secondly, Pray with and for your family ; 
yea, pray for all the congregations that meet 
this day in the fear of the Lord, — that the 
dew of the Spirit may fall with the manna of 
the word, — that some souls may be convert- 
ed, and others strengthened, — and that gos- 
pel ordinances may be continued, and have 
no restraint put upon them. These are the 
things we should pray for. The tree of 
mercy will not drop its fruit unless it be 
shaken by the hand of prayer. 

2. The manner of our prayer. It is not 
enough to say a prayer ; to pray in a dull, 
cold manner, which teacheth God to deny ; 
but we must pray with reverence, humility, 
fervency, hope in God's mercy, Luke xxii. 
44. Christ prayed more earnestly. And 
that we may pray with more fervency, we 
must pray with a sense of our wants. He 
who is pinched with wants, will be earnest 
in craving alms. He prays most fervently, 
who prays most feelingly. This is to sanc- 
tify the morning of a sabbath, and it is a 
good preparatory for the word preached. 
When the ground is broken up by the plough, 
now it is fit to receive the seed ; when the 
heart hath been broken by prayer, now it is 
fit to receive the seed of the word preached. 
Thus you see how to dress your souls on a 
sabbath-morning. There are other duties 
remaining. 

IV. Having thus dressed your souls in a 
morning for the further sanctification of the 
sabbath, address yourselves to the hearing of 
the word preached. 

1. And when you are set down in your 
seat, — Lift up your eyes to heaven for a bles- 
sing upon the word to be dispensed ; for, you 
must know the word preached doth not work 
as physic, by its own inherent virtue, but by 
a virtue from heaven, and the co-operation 
of the Holy Ghost ; therefore put up a short 
ejaculatory prayer for a blessing upon the 
word, that it may be made effectual to you. 



2. The word being begun to be preached, 
set yourselves in a right manner, — With 
reverence and holy attention, Acts xvi. 14, 
" A certain woman, named Lydia, attended 
unto the things which were spoken of Paul." 
Constantine the emperor was noted for his 
reverent attention to the word. Luke xix. 
48, " Christ taught daily in the temple : and 
all the people were attentive to hear him." 
In the Greek, 'they hung upon his lip.' 
Could we tell men of a rich purchase, they 
would diligently attend ; and shall they not 
much more, when the gospel of grace is 
preaching unto them 1 Now, that we may 
sanctify and hallow the sabbath, by attentive 
hearing, take heed of two things in hearing, 
viz. 1st. distraction ; 2d. drowsiness. 

1st. Distraction. 1 Cor. vii. 35, " That ye 
may attend upon the Lord without distrac- 
tion." It is said of St Bernard, that when 
he came to the church-door, he would say, 
< Stay here all my earthly thoughts :' so should 
we say to ourselves, when we are at the door 
of God's house, " Stay here all my worldly 
cares, and wandering cogitations ; I am now 
going to hearken what the Lord will say to 
me." Distraction hinders devotion. Dis- 
traction in hearing is when the mind is tossed 
with vain thoughts and diverted from the 
business in hand. It is hard to make the 
quicksilver heart fix. St Hierom complained 
of himself : " Sometimes (saith he) when I 
am about God's service, per porticos diam- 
bulo, — I am walking in the galleries, and 
sometimes casting up accounts." So, oft in 
hearing of the word, the thoughts dance up 
and down ; and, when our eye is upon the 
minister, our mind is upon other things. 
Distracted hearing is far from sanctifying the 
sabbath. It must needs be very heinous to 
give way to vain thoughts at this time ; be- 
cause, when we are hearing the word, we are 
now in God's special presence. To do any 
treasonable action in the king's presence is 
high impudence, Jer. xxiii. 11, " Yea, in my 
house have I found their wickedness." So 
may the Lord say, " In my house, while they 
are hearing my word, I have found wicked- 
ness ; they have wanton eyes, and their soul 
is set on vanity." This enhanceth and ag- 
gravates the sin. 



286 



OF THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 



Quest. Whence do these roving dis- 
tracted thoughts in hearing come ? 

Ans. 1. Partly from Satan. The devil is 
no recusant, he will be sure to be present in 
our assemblies: if he cannot hinder us from 
hearing, he will hinder us in hearing: Job. i. 
6, " When the sons of God came to present 
themselves before the Lord, Satan came also 
among them." The devil sets vain objects 
before the fancy, to cause a diversion. 
Satan's great design is to render the word 
we hear fruitless. As when one is writing, 
another jogs him that he cannot write even, 
so when we are hearing, the devil will be 
jogging us with a temptation, that we should 
not attend to the word preached, Zech. iii. 1, 
" He showed me Joshua the high-priest stand- 
ing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan 
standing at his right hand to resist him." 

A. 2. These wandering thoughts in hear- 
ing come partly from ourselves. We must 
not lay all the blame upon Satan. 

(1) . They come from the eye. A wander- 
ing eye causeth wandering thoughts. A thief 
may be let into the house at a window : so 
vain thoughts are let in at the eye. So that, 
as we are bid to keep our feet when we enter 
into the house of God, Eccl. v. 1, so we had 
need make a covenant with our eyes when we 
are in the house of God, Job. xxxi. 1, that we 
be not distracted by beholding other objects. 

(2) . Wandering thoughts in hearing rise 
out of the heart. These sparks come out of 
our own furnace. Vain thoughts are the 
mud which the heart (as a troubled sea) 
casts up, Mark vii. 21, " For," from within, 
u out of the heart" of men, " proceed evil 
thoughts." It is the foulness of the stomach 
sends up fumes into the head ; and the cor- 
ruption of the heart sends up evil thoughts 
into the mind. 

(3) . Distracted thoughts in hearing pro- 
ceed from an evil custom. We inure our- 
selves to vain thoughts at other times, there- 
fore we cannot forbear them on a sabbath. 
Custom is a second nature, Jer. xiii. 23, 
" Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the 
Leopard his spots'? then may ye also do 
good, that are accustomed to do evil ?" He 
that is used to bad company, knows not how 
to leave it ; such as have vain thoughts keep- 



ing them company all the week, they know 
not how to get rid of them on the sabbath. 
Let me show you how evil these vain dis- 
tracting thoughts in hearing are. 

First, To have the heart distracted in hear- 
ing, is a disrespect to God's omnisciency. 
God is an all-seeing spirit ; and thoughts 
speak louder in his ears, than words do in 
ours, Amos iv. 13, " He declareth unto man 
what is his thought." Therefore, to make P 
no conscience of wandering thoughts in hear- ■ 
ing, is the affronting of God's omnisciency, 1 
as if he knew not our heart, or did not bear c 
the language of our thoughts. 

Secondly, To give way to wandering 
thoughts in hearing is hypocrisy. We pre- 
tend to hear what God saith, and our mind j 
is quite upon another thing. We present 
God with our bodies, but do not give him our 
hearts, Hos. vii. 11. This hypocrisy God 
complains of, Isa. xxix. 13, " This people 
draw near me with their mouth, and with 
their lips do honour me, but have removed 
their hearts far from me." This is to pre- 
varicate and deal falsely with God. 

Thirdly, Vain thoughts in hearing discover 
much want of love to God. Did we love God I 
we should listen to his words as oracles, " and J 
bind them upon the table of our heart," Prov. 
iii. 3. When a friend whom we love speaks 
to us, and gives us advice, we mind it with 
seriousness, and suck in every word. The 
giving our thoughts leave to ramble in holy 
duties shows the defect of our love to God. 

Fourthly, Vain impertinent thoughts in 
hearing defile an ordinance; they are as dead 
flies in the box of ointment. When a string 
of the lute is out of tune, it spoils the music : 
distraction of thought puts our mind out of 
tune, and makes our services sound harsh 
and unpleasant. Wandering thoughts poison 
a duty, and turn it into sin, Ps. cix. 7, " Let 
his prayer become sin." What can be worse 
than to have a man's praying and hearing of 
the word become sin? Were it not sad 
when the meat we eat should increase bad 
humours'? So when the hearing of the word, 
which is the food of the soul, should be turned 
into sin. 

Fifthly, Vain thoughts in hearing, anger 
God. If the king were speaking to one of 



OP THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 



287 



his subjects, and he should not give heed to 
what the king saith, but be thinking on an- 
other business, or playing with a feather, 
would not this provoke the king 1 So, when 
we are in God's presence, and God is speaking 
to us in his word, and we minding not much 
what he saith, but our hearts go after covet- 
ousness, Ezek. xxxiii. 31. Will not this 
anger God, to be thus slighted 1 God hath 
pronounced a curse upon such, Mai. i. 14, 
" Cursed be the deceiver which hath in his 
flock a male, and sacrificeth to the Lord a 
corrupt thing." To have strong lively affec- 
tions to the world, here is a male in the 
flock ; but to hear the word with distraction, 
— to give God duties fly-blown with vain 
thoughts, — this is to offer to the Lord a cor- 
rupt thing ; this brings a curse, " cursed be 
the deceiver." 

Sixthly, Vain thoughts in hearing (when 
allowed and not resisted) make way for hard- 
ening the heart. A stone in the heart, is 
worse than in the kidneys. Distracted 
thoughts in hearing, do not better the heart, 
but harden it. Vain thoughts take away the 
holy awe of God which should be upon the 
heart; they make conscience less tender, 
and hinder the efficacy the word should have 
upon the heart. 

Seventhly, Vain distracting thoughts rob 
us of the comfort of an ordinance. A gracious 
soul oft meets with God in the sanctuary, and 
can say, as Cant. iii. 4, " I found him whom 
my soul loveth." He is like Jonathan, who 
having tasted the honey on the rod, his eyes 
were enlightened. But vain thoughts hin- 
der the comfort of an ordinance, as a black 
cloud hides the warm comfortable beams of 
the sun from us. Will God speak peace to 
us when our minds are wandering and our 
thoughts are travelling to the ends of the 
earth 1 Prov. xvii. 24. If ever you would 
hear the word with attention, do as Abra- 
ham, he drove away the fowls from the sacri- 
fice, Gen. xv. 11 : so when we find these 
excursions, and sinful wanderings in hearing, 
labour to drive away the fowls, — get rid of 
these vain thoughts, they are vagrants, and 
we must not give them entertainment. 

Quest. But how shall we get help against 
; these vagabond thoughts ? 



Ans. 1. Pray and watch against them. 2. 
Let the sense of God's omniscient eye over- 
awe your hearts. The servant will not sport 
in his master's presence. 3. Labour for a 
holy frame of heart. Were the heart more 
spiritual, the mind would be less feathery. 
4. Bring more love to the word. That which 
we love we fix our minds upon ; he that loves 
his pleasures and recreations, his mind is 
fixed upon them, and he can follow them 
without distraction. Were our love more 
set upon the word preached, our minds would 
be more fixed upon it ; and surely there is 
enough to make us love the word preached ; 
for it is the word of life, the inlet to know- 
ledge, — the antidote against sin,— the quick- 
ener of holy affections : It is the true manna 
which hath all sorts of sweet tastes in it ; it 
is the pool of Bethesda, in which the rivers 
of life spring forth to heal the broken in 
heart ; it is a sovereign elixir or cordial to 
revive the sorrowful spirit. Get love to the 
word preached, and you will not be so dis- 
tracted in hearing. What the heart delights 
in, the thoughts dwell upon. 

2d. If you would sanctify the sabbath by 
diligent attentive hearing, take heed of drow- 
siness in hearing ; drowsiness shows much 
irreverence. How lively are many when they 
are about the world, but in the worship of 
God how drowsy, as if the devil had given 
them some opium to make them sleep ! A 
drowsy temper is (now) very absurd and sin- 
ful. Are not you in prayer asking pardon of 
sin 1 Will the prisoner fall asleep when he 
is begging his pardon 1 In the preaching of 
the word, is not the bread of life broken to 
you, — and will a man fall asleep at his food 7 
Which is worse, to stay from a sermon, or 
sleep at a sermon 1 While you slept, per- 
haps the truth was delivered, which might 
have converted your souls. Besides, sleep- 
ing is very offensive in these holy assemblies ; 
it is not only a grieving the Spirit of God, 
but a making the hearts of the righteous sad, 
Ezek. xiii. 22. It troubles them to see any 
show such a contempt of God and his wor- 
ship ; to see them busy in the shop, but drowsy 
in the temple. Therefore, as Christ said, 
Matt. xxvi. 40, " Could ye not watch one 
hour ?" so, can ye not wake one hour ? I 



288 



OF THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 



deny not but that a child of God may some- 
times through weakness and indisposition of 
body drop asleep at a sermon, but it is not 
voluntary or ordinary. The sun may be in 
an eclipse, but not often ; if sleeping be cus- 
tomary and allowed, it is a very bad sign, 
and a profaning of the ordinance. A good 
remedy against drowsiness is to use a spare 
diet upon this day. Such as indulge their 
appetite too much on a sabbath, are fitter to 
sleep on a couch, than pray in the temple. 
Now, that you may throw off distracting 
thoughts and drowsiness on the Lord's day, 
and may hear the word with reverent atten- 
tion, consider, 

1. It is God that speaks to us in his word ; 
therefore the preaching of the word is called 
the " breath of his lips," Isa. xi. 4. And Christ 
is said now " to speak to us from heaven," 
Heb. xii. 25, as a king speaks in his ambas- 
sador. Ministers are but as the pipes and 
organs, it is the Spirit of the living God 
breathes in them. When we come to the 
word, we should think thus with ourselves : 
God speaks in this preacher. The Thessa- 
lonians heard the word Paul preached as if 
God himself had spoken unto them, 1 Thess. 
ii. 13, " When ye received the word of God, 
which ye heard of us, ye received it not as 
the word of men, but (as it is in truth) the 
word of God." When Samuel knew it was 
the Lord that spake to him, he lent his ear, 
1 Sam. iii. 10. If we do not regard God 
when he speaks to us, he will not regard us 
when we pray to him. 

2. Consider how serious and weighty the 
matters delivered to us are. As Moses said, 
Deut. xxx. 19, " I call heaven and earth to 
record this day, that I have set before you 
life and death." Can men be regardless of 
the word, or drowsy when the weighty mat- 
ters of eternity are set before them 1 We 
preach of faith, and holiness of life, and the 
day of judgment and the eternal recompenses ; 
here is life and death set before you, and doth 
not all this call for serious attention 1 If a 
letter were read to one of special business, 
wherein his life and estate were concerned, 
would not he be very serious in listening to 
that letter 1 In the preaching of the word 
your salvation is concerned ; and if ever you 



would attend, it should be now, Deut. xxxii. 
47, " It is not a vain thing for you ; because 
it is your life." 

3. To give way to vain thoughts, and drow- 
siness in hearing, doth much gratify Satan. 
He knows that not to mind a duty is all one 
as not to do a duty in religion. " What the 
heart doth not do, is not done." Therefore 
Christ saith of some, " Hearing they hear 
not," Matt. xiii. 13. How could that be 1 
Because, though the word sounded in their 
ear, yet they minded not what was said to 
them, — their thoughts were upon other 
things, — therefore it was all one as if they 
did not hear. " Hearing, they hear not 
and doth not this please Satan, to see men 
come to the word, and as good stay away 1 
They are haunted with vain thoughts ; they 
are taken off the duty while they are in it ; 
their body is in the assembly, their heart in 
their shop : " Hearing, they hear not." 

4. It may be the last sabbath that ever we 
shall keep ; we may go from the place of 
hearing to the place of judging ; and shall not 
we give reverent attention to the word, did 
we think thus when we come into God's 
house : Perhaps this will be the last time 
that ever God will counsel us about our souls ; 
before another sermon, death's alarm will 
sound in our ears ; with what attention and 
devotion should we come hither, and our 
affections would be all on fire in hearing ? 

5. You must give an account for every 
sermon you hear, Luke xvi, 2, Redde ratio- 
nem, — " Give an account of thy steward- 
ship." So will God say, Give an account 
of thy hearing. Hast thou been affected 
with the word 1 Hast thou profited by it 1 
And how can we give an account, if we have 
been distracted in hearing, and have not 
taken notice what hath been said to usl 
The Judge to whom we must give an ac- 
count, is God. Were one to give an ac- 
count to man, he might falsify his accounts ; 
but we must give an account to God. Nec 
donis corrumpitur, nec blanditiis fallitur, 
Bern. " He is so just a God that he can- 
not be bribed, and so wise, that he cannot 
be deceived." Therefore, going to give an 
account to such an impartial Judge, how 
should we observe every word preached, 



OF THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 



289 



remembering the account? Let all this make 
us shake off distraction and drowsiness in 



hearing-, and have our ears chained to the 
word. 



Exod. xx. 8. Remember the sabbath-day to keep it holy, <fc. 



2d. If you would hear the word aright, lay 
aside those things which may render the 
word preached ineffectual : As, 

1. Curiosity. Some come to the word 
preached, not so much to get grace, as to 
enrich themselves with notions : " Itching 
ears," 2 Tim. iv. 3. Austin confesseth that 
before his conversion, he went to hear St 
Ambrose, rather for his eloquence, than for 
the spirituality of the matter. Ezek. xxxiii. 
32, " Thou art unto them as a very lovely 
song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and 
can play well on an instrument." Many come 
to the word only to feast their ears ; they like 
the melody of the voice, the mellifluous sweet- 
ness of the expression, the newness of the 
notion, Acts xvii. 21. This is to love the gar- 
nishing of the dish more than the food ; this 
is to desire to be pleased, rather than edified. 
Like a woman that paints her face, but neg- 
lects her health: so they paint and adorn 
themselves with curious speculations, but 
neglect their soul's health. This hearing doth 
neither sanctify the heart, nor the sabbath. 

2. Lay aside prejudice. 1. Prejudice 
against the truths preached. The Sadducees 
were prejudiced against the doctrine of the 
resurrection, Luke xx. 27. — 2. Prejudice 
against the person preaching: 1 Kings xxii. 
8, " There's one Michaiah by whom we may 
inquire of the Lord, but I hate him." This 
hinders the virtue of the word. If a patient 
hath an ill opinion of his physician, he will not 
take any of his recipes though never so good. 
Prejudice in the mind is like an obstruction 
in the stomach which hinders the nutritive 
virtue of the meat. Prejudice poisons the 
word, and makes it lose its efficacy. 

3. Lay aside covetousness. Covetousness 
is not only getting the world unjustly, but 
loving it inordinately; this is a great hin- 
derance to the word preached. The seed 
which fell among thorns was choked, Matt, 
xiii. 22 : an emblem of the word being 

2 O 



preached to a covetous hearer. The covet- 
ous man is thinking on the world when he 
is hearing; his heart is in his shop, Ezek. 
xxxiii. 31, " They sit before thee as my peo- 
ple, and they hear thy words, but their heart 
goeth after their covetousness." A covetous 
hearer derides the word, Luke xvi. 14, " The 
Pharisees, who were covetous, heard all these 
things, and they derided him." 

4. Lay aside partiality. Partiality in 
hearing is, when we like to hear some truths 
preached, but not all. We love to hear of 
heaven, but not of self-denial; of reigning 
with Christ, but not of suffering ; of the 
more facile duties of religion, but not them 
which are more knotty and difficult, — as 
mortification, — laying the axe to the root, 
and hewing down their beloved sin: Isa. 
xxx. 10, " Prophesy smooth things," — such 
as may not grate upon our conscience. Many 
like to hear of the love of Christ, but not of 
loving their enemies; they like the comforts 
of the word, but not the reproofs. Herod 
heard John Baptist gladly ; he liked many 
truths, but not when he spake against his 
incest. Lay aside partiality. 

5. Lay aside censoriousness. Some, in- 
stead of judging themselves for sin, sit as 
judges upon the preacher ; either his sermon 
had too much gall in it, or it was too long. 
These will sooner censure a sermon than 
practise it. God will judge the judger, Mat. 
vii. 1. 

6. Lay aside disobedience. Rom. x. 21, 
" All the day long have I stretched forth my 
hands unto a disobedient people." 'Tis 
spoken of the Jews ; God stretched out his 
hands in the preaching of the word, but they 
rejected Christ. Let there be none among 
you that wilfully refuse the counsels of the 
word ; it is sad to have an adder's ear, an ada- 
mant heart, Zech. vii. 11, 12. If, when God 
speaks to us in his word, we are deaf ; when 
we speak to him in prayer, he will be dumb. 



290 



OF THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 



3d. If you would hear the word aright, have 
good ends in hearing ; " come to the word to 
be made better." Some have no other end 
in hearing, but because it is in fashion, or to 
gain repute, or stop the mouth of conscience ; 
but come to the word to be made more holy. 
There's a great deal of difference between 
one that goes to a garden for flowers to wear 
in her bosom, and another that goes for 
flowers to make syrups and medicines of. We 
should go to the word for a medicine to cure 
us, as Naaman the Syrian went to Jordan to 
be healed of his leprosy : 2 Pet. ii. 2. " Desire 
the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow 
thereby." Come to the word to be changed 
into the similitude of it ; as the seal leaves its 
print upon the wax, so labour that the word 
preached may leave the print of its own 
holiness upon your heart ; labour that the 
" word" may have such a virtue upon you, 
as the water of jealousy, to kill and make 
fruitful, Numb. v. 27. That it may kill your 
sins, and make your souls fruitful in grace. 

4:th. If you would hear the word aright, 
come to it with delight. The word preached 
is a feast of fat things : with what delight do 
men come to a feast 1 The word preached 
anoints the blind eye ; mollifies the rocky 
heart ; it beats off our fetters, and turns us 
from the "power of Satan to God," Acts xxvi. 
18. The word is the seed of regeneration, 
James i. 18, the engine of salvation. Hear 
the word with delight and complacency, Jer. 
xv. 16, " Thy words were found, and I did eat 
them. Thy word was unto me the rejoicing 
of my heart." Ps. cxix. 103, " How sweet 
are thy words unto my taste ! yea, sweeter 
than honey to my mouth." Yea, love that 
word which comes most home to the con- 
science ; bless God when your corruptions 
have been met with, when the sword of the 
Spirit hath divided between you and your 
sins. Who cares for that physic which will 
not work. 

5th. If you would hear the word aright, 
mix it with faith. Believe the verity of the 
word preached, that it is that word by which 
you must be judged ; not only give evidence 
to the word preached, but learn to apply it 
to your own souls ; faith concocts the word, 
and turns it into spiritual nourishment. 
Many hear the word, but it may be said of 



them, as Ps. cvi. 24, " They believed not his 
word." As Melancthon once said to some 
of the Italians, " Ye Italians worship God in 
the bread, when ye do not believe him to be 
in heaven :" so, many hear God's words, but 
do not believe that God is ; they question the 
truth of his oracles. If we do not mix faith 
with the word, it is like leaving out the chief 
ingredient in a medicine, which makes it in- 
effectual ; unbelief hardens men's hearts 
against the word, Acts xix. 9, " Divers were 
hardened, and believed not." Men hear 
many truths delivered concerning the pre- 
ciousness of Christ, — the beauty of holiness, 
— the felicity of a glorified estate, — but, if 
through unbelief and atheism they question 
these truths, we may as well speak to the 
stones and pillars of the church as to, them. 
That word which is not believed, can never 
be practised. Ubi male creditur, ibi nec 
bene vivitur, Hierom. Unbelief makes the 
word preached of no effect : Heb. iv. 2, " The 
word preached did not profit, not being mixed 
with faith in them that heard it." The word 
to an unbeliever is like dioscordium put into 
a dead man's mouth, which loseth all its 
virtue. If there be any unbelievers in our 
congregations, what shall ministers say to 
God at the last day 1 " Lord, we have 
preached to the people thou sentest us to, — 
we showed them our commission, — we de- 
clared unto them the whole couusel of God, 
— but they believed never a word we spake ; 
we told them what would be the fruit of 
sin, but they would drink their sugared 
draught, though there was death in the cup ; 
Lord, we are free from their blood." God 
forbid that ever ministers should make this 
report to God of their people 1 But this 
they must be forced to do, if people live and 
die in unbelief. Would you sanctify a sab- 
bath in hearing the word aright 1 hear the 
word with faith. The apostle puts these two 
together, " belief and salvation," Heb. x. 39, 
" We are of them that believe to the saving 
of the soul." 

6th. If you would hear the word aright, 
hear it with meek spirits : James i. 21, 
" Receive the word in mansuetudine, — with 
meekness." Meekness is a submissive frame 
of heart to the word ; contrary to this meek- 
ness is fierceness of spirit, when men rise 



up in a rage against the word, as if the pa- 
tient should be angry with the physician 
when he gives him a recipe to purge out his 
bad humours : Acts vii. 54, " When they 
heard this, they were cut to the heart, and 
gnashed on Stephen with their teeth." 
2 Chron. xvi. 10, "Asa was wroth with the 
seer, and put him in a prison-house." Pride 
and guilt make«men fret at the word. What 
made Asa storm so, but pride 1 ? he was a 
king, and thought he was too good to be told 
of his sin. What made Cain so angry, 
when God said to him, " Where is Abel thy 
brother 1 ?" Saith he, "Am I my brother's 
keeper?" What made him so touchy, but 
guilt ? He had imbrued his hands in his 
brother's blood. If you would hear the 
word aright, lay down your passions, — " re- 
ceive the word with meekness," — get humble 
hearts to submit to the truths delivered. 
God takes the meek person to be his scholar, 
Ps. xxv. 9, " The meek will he teach his 
way." Meekness makes the word preached 
to be an "ingrafted word," James i. 21. A 
good scion grafted in a bad stock changeth 
the nature of it and makes it bear good and 
generous fruit ; so, when the word preached 
is grafted into men's hearts, it sanctifies 
them and makes them bring forth the sweet 
fruits of righteousness. By meekness it be- 
comes an ingrafted word. 

7th. If you would hear the word aright, 
be not only attentive, but retentive. Lay 
the word up in your memories and hearts, 
Luke viii. 15, " The seed on the good ground 
are they, who having heard the word, keep 
it." The Greek word for " to keep," signifies 
to hold the word fast, that it do not run from 
us. If the seed be not kept in the ground, 
but is presently washed away, it is sown to 
little purpose : so if the word preached be 
not kept in your memories and hearts, it is 
preached in vain. Many people have memo- 
ries like leaky vessels. If the word goes out 
as fast as it comes in, how can it profit'? 
If a treasure be put in a chest and the chest 
be not locked, it may easily be taken out : a 
bad memory is like a chest without a lock, 
the devil can easily take out all the treasure, 
Luke viii. 12, " Then comes the devil and 
takes away the word out of their hearts." 



291 

Labour to keep in memory the truths you 
hear ; the things we esteem we are not so apt 
to forget. ' Will a bride forget her jewels V 
Jer. ii. 32, "Can a maid forget her orna- 
ments V Did we prize the word more, we 
should not so soon forget it ; if the meat doth 
not stay in the stomach, but comes up as fast 
as we eat it, it cannot nourish : so, if the 
word stays not in the memory, but is pre- 
sently gone, it can do the soul but little good. 

8th. If you would hear aright, practise 
what you hear. Practice is the life of all : 
Rev. xxii. 14, " Blessed are they that do his 
commandments, that they may have right to 
the tree of life." Bare hearing will be no 
plea at the day of judgment. " Lord, I have 
heard so many sermons." But God will 
say, " What fruits of obedience have ye 
brought forth 1" The word we preach is 
not only to inform you but reform you ; not 
only to mend your sight, but to mend your 
pace in the way to heaven ; a good hearer 
is like the heliotropium, &c. it opens and 
shuts with the sun, — to God against sin. 
Now that you may sanctify a sabbath by 
hearing : 

1. If you do not hear the word aright, you 
lose all your labour. How many a weary 
step have you taken ; your body hath been 
crowded, your spirit faint ; if you are not 
bettered by hearing, — if you are as proud, as 
vain, as earthly as ever, all your hearing is 
lost. You would be loath to trade in vain, 
and why not as well to hear sermons in 
vain'? Job ix. 29, "Why then labour I in 
vain V Put this question to your own soul : 
" Why labour I in vain? Why do I take all 
this pains to hear, yet have not the grace to 
practise it 1 I am as bad as ever ! why then 
labour I in vain V* 

2. If you hear the word, and are not bet- 
tered by it, you are like the salamander in 
the fire, not hotter ; your hearing will in- 
crease your condemnation, Luke xii. 47, 
" That servant which knew his Lord's will, 
and did it not, shall be beaten with many 
stripes." We pity such as know not where 
to hear ; it will be worse with such as care 
not how they hear. To graceless disobedient 
hearers, every sermon will be a faggot to 
heat hell ; it is sad to go loaded to hell with 



OF THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 



292 



OF THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 



ordinances. O beg the Spirit to make the 
word preached effectual! Ministers can but 
speak to the ear, — the Spirit speaks to the 
heart: Acts x. 44, " While Peter spake, the 
Holy Ghost fell upon all them that heard the 
word." 

9th. Having heard the word in a holy and 
spiritual manner, for the further sanctification 
of the sabbath, confer of the word. We are 
forbidden on this day to speak our own 
words, Isa. lviii. 14, but we must speak of 
God's word. Speak of the sermons as you 
sit together ; this is one part of sanctifying 
the sabbath. Good discourse brings holy 
truths into our memories, and fastens them 
upon our hearts : Mai. iii. 17, " Then they 
that feared the Lord, spake often one to an- 
other." There is a great power and efficacy 
in good discourse, Job vi. 25, " How forcible 
are right words ?" By holy conference on a 
sabbath, one Christian helps to warm another 
when he is frozen, to strengthen another 



when he is weak. Latimer confessed he was 
much furthered in religion, by having con- 
ference with Mr Bilny the martyr. Ps. cxix. 
172, " My tongue shall speak of thy word." 
One reason why preaching the word on a 
sabbath doth no more good, is, because there 
is so little good conference. Few speak of 
the word they have heard: as if sermons 
were such secrets that they must not be 
spoken of again, or as if it were a shame to 
speak of that which will save us. 

10th. Shut up the sabbath-evening with 
repetition, reading, singing of psalms, and 
prayer ; beg that God would bless the word 
you have heard. But I hope your practice 
herein will prevent my further speaking. 
Could we but thus spend a sabbath, we might 
be " in the Spirit on the Lord's day," Rev. i. 
10 ; our souls might be nourished and com- 
forted ; and this sabbath which we now keep, 
would be an earnest of that everlasting sab- 
bath which we shall celebrate in heaven. 



Exod. xx. 8. Remember the sabbath-day to keep it holy. 



Use 1st. See here a Christian's duty, 
" To keep the sabbath-day holy." 

1. The whole sabbath is to be dedicated 
to God. It is not said, Keep a part of the 
sabbath holy, but the whole day must be 
religiously observed. If God hath given us 
six days and taken but one to himself, shall 
we grudge him any part of that day 1 It were 
sacrilege ! The Jews kept a whole day to the 
Lord ; and we are not to abridge or curtail 
the sabbath (saith St Austin) more than the 
Jews did. The very heathens, by the light 
of nature, did set apart a whole day in the 
honour of their false gods ; and Sccsvola the 
high-priest did affirm that the wilful trans- 
gression of that day could have no expiation 
or pardon. Whoever robs any part of the 
sabbath for servile work or recreation, Scoe- 
vola the high-priest of the heathenish gods 
shall rise up in judgment against such Chris- 
tians, and condemn them. And they who 
say, that to keep a whole Sabbath is too 
Judaical, let them show where God has made 
any abatement of the time of worship ; where 



he has said, you shall keep but a part of the 
sabbath ; and if they cannot show that, it 
argues much boldness to go to rob God of 
his due. That a whole day be designed and 
set apart for God's special worship, is a per- 
petual statute, while the church remains upon 
the earth, saith Pet. Martyr. Of this opinion 
also were Theodoret, Austin, Iraeneus, and 
the chief of the fathers. 

2. As the whole sabbath is to be dedi- 
cated to God, so it must be kept holy ; you 
see the manner of sanctifying the Lord's 
day, by reading, meditation, prayer, hear- 
ing of the word, and by singing of psalms 
to make melody to the Lord. Now, besides 
what I have said for the keeping this day 
holy, let me make a short comment or para- 
phrase on that scripture, Isa. lviii. 13, 
" If thou turn away thy foot from the sab- 
bath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy 
day; and call the sabbath a delight, the 
holy of the Lord, honourable ; and shalt 
honour him, not doing thy own ways, nor 
finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking 



OF THE FOURTH 

thine own words :" Here is a description of 
the right sanctifying a sabbath. 

(1) . " If thou turn away thy foot from the 
sabbath." That may be understood either 
literally, or spiritually. — First, literally, " If 
thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath," 
that is, if thou withdrawest thy foot from 
taking long walks or journeys on the sabbath- 
day : So the Jewish doctors expound it. Or, 
secondly, spiritually, " If thou turn away thy 
foot from the sabbath," that is, if thou turn 
away thy affections (the feet of thy soul) 
from inclining to any worldly business. 

(2) . " From doing thy pleasure on my holy 
day." That is, thou must not do that which 
may please the carnal part, as sports and 
pastimes : this is to do the devil's work on 
God's day. 

(3) . "And call the sabbath a delight." 
Call it a delight, that is, esteem it so : though 
the sabbath be not a day for carnal pleasure, 
yet holy pleasure is not forbidden. The soul 
must take pleasure in the duties of a sabbath. 
The saints of old counted the sabbath a de- 
light ; the Jews called the sabbath dies lucis, 
— ' a day of light.' The Lord's day, on 
which the Sun of Righteousness shines, is 
both a day of light and delight. This is the 
day of sweet intercourse between God and 
the soul. On this day a Christian makes his 
sallies out to heaven ; his soul is lifted above 
the earth ; and can this be without delight ? 
The higher the bird flies, the sweeter it sings. 
On a sabbath the soul acts its love to God ; 1 
and where the love is, there is the delight. 
On this day a believer's heart is melted, q. d. 
quickened, enlarged in holy duties ; and how 
can all this be, and not a secret delight go 
along with it I On a sabbath a gracious soul 
can say, as Cant. ii. 3, " I sat down under 
his shadow with great delight, and his fruit 
was sweet to my taste." How can a spiri- 
tual heart choose but call the sabbath a de- 
light 1 Is it not delightful to a queen to be 
putting on her wedding-robes in which she 
shall meet the king her bridegroom ? When 
we are about sabbath-exercises, we are dress- 
ing ourselves, and putting on our wedding- 
robes in which we are to meet our heavenly 
bridegroom the Lord Jesus : and is not this 
delightful? On the sabbath God makes a 



COMMANDMENT. 293 

feast of fat things, he feasts the ear with his 
word, and the heart with his grace. Well 
then may we call the sabbath a delight ; and 
to find this holy delight, is to " be in the 
Spirit on the Lord's day." 

(4) . "The holy of the Lord honourable." 
In the Hebrew, it is glorious. To call the 
sabbath honourable, is not to be understood 
so much of an outward honour given to it, 
by wearing richer apparel, or having better 
diet on this day, as the Jewish doctors cor- 
ruptly gloss: this is the chief honour some 
give to this day ; but by calling the sabbath 
honourable, is meant that honour of the heart 
which we give to this day, reverencing it, 
and esteeming it the queen of days. We are 
to count the sabbath honourable, because 
God hath honoured it. All the persons in 
the Trinity have honoured it, — God the Fa- 
ther blessed it, — God the Son rose upon it, 
— God the Holy Ghost descended on this 
day, Acts ii. 1. And indeed this day is to be 
honoured of all good Christians, and had in 
high veneration. It is a day of renown. On 
this day a golden sceptre of mercy is held 
forth. The Christian sabbath is the very 
crepusculum and dawning of the heavenly 
sabbath. It is honourable, because this day 
1 God comes down to us and visits us.' To 
have the king of heaven present in a special 
manner in our assemblies, makes the sab- 
bath-day honourable. Besides, the work that 
is done on this day makes it honourable ; the 
six days are filled up with servile work, which 
makes them lose much of their glory ; but on 
this day sacred work is done. The soul is 
employed wholly about the worship of God ; 
it is praying, hearing, meditating ; it is doing 
angels' work, praising, and blessing God. 
Again, the day is honourable by virtue of a 
divine institution ; silver is of itself valuable, 
but when the royal stamp is put upon it, it 
is honourable: so God hath put a sacred 
stamp upon this day, — the stamp of divine 
authority, and the stamp of divine benedic- 
tion, — this makes it honourable ; this is a 
sanctifying the sabbath, to call it a delight, 
and honourable. 

(5) . "Not doing thy own ways." That 
is, thou shalt not defile the day by doing any 
servile work. 



291 



OF THE FOURTH 



COMMANDMENT. 



(6) . " Nor finding- thy own pleasure." 
That is, not gratifying the fleshy part, by 
walks, visits, or pastimes. 

(7) . " Nor speaking thy own words." 
That is, words heterogeneous and unsuitable 
for a sabbath, — vain, impertinent words, — 
discourses of worldly affairs. Here is the 
sanctifying of a sabbath described. 

Use 2d. If the sabbath-day be to be kept 
holy, it reproves them who, instead of sanc- 
tifying the sabbath, profane it. They take 
that time which should be dedicated wholly 
to God, and spend it in the service of the 
devil and their lusts. The Lord hath en- 
closed this day for his own worship, and they 
lay this day common. God hath set a hedge 
about this commandment, ' remember ;' and 
they break this hedge ; but " whoso breaketh 
a hedge, a serpent shall bite him," Eccl. x. 
8. The sabbath-day in England lies bleed- 
ing : and oh that our parliament would pour 
in some balm into the wounds which the 
sabbath hath received ! How is this day pro- 
faned, by sitting idle at home, by selling 
meat, by vain discourse, by sinful visits, by 
walking in the fields, by using sports. The 
people of Israel might not gather manna on 
the sabbath, and may we use sports and 
dancings on this day 1 Truly it should be 
matter of grief to us to see so much sabbath- 
profanation ! When one of Darius's eu- 
nuchs saw Alexander setting his feet on a 
rich table of Darius's, he fell a-weeping: 
Alexander asked him why he wept ! He said 
it was to see the table which his master so 
highly esteemed to be now made a footstool. 
So we may weep to see the sabbath-day, 
which God so highly esteems, and hath so 
honoured and blessed, to be made a footstool, 
and to be trampled upon by the feet of sin- 
ners. To profane the sabbath, is a sin of a 
high nature ; it is a wilful contempt of God ; 
it is not only a casting God's law behind our 
back, but a trampling it under foot. God 
saith ' keep the sabbath holy,' but men will 
pollute it : this is to despise God, to hang out 
the flag of defiance, to throw down the gaunt- 
let, and challenge God himself. Now, how 
can God endure to be thus saucily confronted 
by proud dust ? God will not suffer this high 
impudence to go unpunished. This will draw 



God's curses upon the sabbath-breaker ; and 
God's curse will blast where it comes, though 
the law of the land lets sabbath-breakers 
alone. No sooner did Christ curse the fig- 
tree, but it withered. To rob a man of his 
purse, shall be punished with death ; but to 
rob God of his day, shall not be punished with 
death. But God will take the matter into his 
own hand ; he will see after the punishing of 
sabbath-violation : and how doth he punish it 1 

1. With spiritual plagues. He gives up 
sabbath-profaners to hardness of heart, and a 
seared conscience. Spiritual judgments are 
sorest : Ps. lxxxi. 12, " So T gave them up 
unto their own hearts' lusts." A sear in the 
conscience is a brand-mark of reprobation. 

2. God punisheth this sin of sabbath-break- 
ing, by giving them up to commit other sins. 
God, to revenge the breaking of his sabbath, 
suffers men to break open houses, and so 
come to be punished by the magistrate. How 
many such confessions have we heard from 
thieves going to be executed ! They never 
regarded the sabbath, and so God suffered 
them to commit those heinous sins, for which 
now they are to die. 

3. God punisheth sabbath-breaking, by sud- 
den visible judgments on men for this sin ; 
God punisheth them in their estates, and in 
their persons. One carrying corn into his 
barn on the Lord's day, both house and corn 
were consumed with fire from heaven. In 
Wiltshire there was a dancing-match ap- 
pointed, upon the Lord's day ; and one of the 
company, as he was dancing, fell down dead 
suddenly, and so was made a spectacle of 
God's justice. The 4 Theatre of God's Judg- 
ments' relates of one, who used every Lord's 
day to hunt in sermon-time, and he had a 
child by his wife with a head like a dog, and 
it cried like a hound. His sin was monstrous, 
and it was punished with a monstrous birth. 
The Lord threatened the Jews that if they 
would not hallow the sabbath-day, he would 
kindle a " fire in their gates," Jer. xvii. 27. 
The dreadful fire which brake out in London, 
began on the sabbath-day ; as if God would 
tell us from heaven, he was then punishing 
us for our sabbath- profanation. Nor doth 
God punish it only in this life with death, but 
with damnation. Such as break God's sab- 



OF THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 



295 



bath, let them see if they can break those 
chains of darkness, in which they and the 
devils shall be held. 

Use 3d. It exhorts us to sabbath-holiness. 

1. Make conscience of keeping this day 
holy. The other commandments have only 
an affirmative in them or a negative; this 
fourth commandment hath both an affirma- 
tive in it and a negative ; " Thou shalt keep 
the sabbath-day holy," and, " thou shalt not 
do any manner of work in it;" to show how 
carefully God would have us observe this 
day. Not only must you keep this day your- 
selves, but have a care that all under your 
charge keep it ; " thou, and thy son, and thy 
daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy 
maid-servant ;" that is, thou who art a supe- 
rior, a parent or a master, thou must have a 
care that not only thyself sanctify the day, 
but those who are under thy trust and tuition. 
To blame are those masters of families, who 
are careful that their servants serve them, 
but have no care that they serve God ; they 
care not though their servants should serve 
the devil, so long as their bodies do them 
service. That which St Paul saith to 
Timothy, 1 Tim. i. 11, Serva depositum, — 
" Keep that which is committed to thy trust," 
is of large extension. Not only have a care 
of thy own soul, but have a care of the souls 
thou art entrusted with. See that they who 
are under thy charge sanctify the sabbath. 
God's law provided, that if a man met with 
an ox or an ass going astray, he should 
bring him back again: much more, when 
thou seest the soul of thy child or servant 
going astray from God, and breaking his 
sabbath, thou shouldest bring him back again 
to a religious observation of this day. Now 
that I may press you to sabbath-sanctifica- 
tion, consider, 

(1). God hath promised great blessings to 
the strict observers of this day. — 1. A pro- 
mise of joy. If this be a delight, Isa. lviii. 



14, M Then shalt thou delight thyself in the 
Lord." Delighting in God is both a duty, 
Ps. xxxvii. 4, and a reward. In this text it 
is a reward, " Then shalt thou delight thy- 
self in the Lord:" as if God had said, " If 
thou keep the sabbath conscientiously, I will 
give thee that which will fill thee with de- 
light ; if thou keep the sabbath willingly, I 
will make thee keep it joyfully ; I will give 
thee those enlargements in duty, and that 
inward comfort, which shall abundantly 
satisfy thee ; thy soul shall overflow with 
such a stream of joy, that thou shalt say, 
' Lord, in keeping thy sabbath there is great 
reward!'" — 2. Of honour. And, "I will 
cause thee to ride upon the high places of 
the earth." That is, I will advance thee to 
honour, — ascendere faciem, so Munster in- 
terprets it. Some, by the ' high places of 
the earth,' understand Judea, — so Grotius. I 
will bring thee into the land of Judea, which 
is higher situated than the other countries 
adjacent. — 3. Of earth and heaven. " And 
I will feed thee with the heritage of Jacob ;" 
that is, " I will feed thee with all the deli- 
cious things of Canaan, and afterwards I'll 
translate thee to heaven, whereof Canaan 
was but a type." And another promise, Isa. 
lvi. 2, " Blessed is the man that doth this, 
that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it." 
" Blessed is the man ;" in the Hebrew, it is, 
blessedness. To him that keeps the sabbath 
holy, here is blessedness upon blessedness 
belongs to him ; he shall be blessed with the 
upper and nether springs ; he shall be blessed 
in his name, estate, soul, progeny. Who 
would not keep the sabbath from polluting it, 
that shall have so many blessings entailed 
upon him and his posterity after him ? 

(2). A conscientious keeping the sabbath, 
seasons the heart for God's service all the 
week after. Christian, the more holy thou 
art on a sabbath, the more holy thou wilt be 
on the week following. 



296 



OF THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 



OF THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 



Exod. xx. 12. Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the 
land, which the Lord thy God giveth thee. 



Having done with the first table, I am next 
to speak of the duties of the second table. The 
commandments may be likened to Jacob's lad- 
der ; the first table, as the top of his ladder, 
reacheth to heaven, — it respects God; the 
second table, as the foot of the ladder, rests 
on the earth, — it respects superiors and in- 
feriors. By the first table we walk religiously 
towards God ; by the second we walk reli- 
giously towards man. He cannot be good 
in the first table that is bad in the second. 
" Honour thy father and thy mother." 

In this, 1st. A command, " honour thy 
father and thy mother." — 2d. A reason an- 
nexed to it, " that thy days may be long in 
the land." 

I. The command, " Honour thy father." 
Quest. Who is meant here by father 1 
Ans. Father is taken several ways ; the 

Political, Ancient, Spiritual, Economical, 

Natural. 

1. The Political father, the magistrate. 
He is the father of his country ; he is to be 
an encourager of virtue, a punisher of vice, a 
father to the widow and orphan ; such a father 
was Job, ch. xxix. 16, "I was a father to the 
poor; and the cause which I knew not, I 
searched out." And, as magistrates are 
fathers, so especially the king who is the head 
of magistrates, is a political father ; he is 
placed as the sun among the lesser stars. 
The scripture calls kings 4 father :' Isa. xlix. 
23, " Kings shall be thy nursing-fathers." 
They are to nurse up their subjects in piety, 
by their good edicts and examples ; and to 
nurse them up in peace and plenty. Such 
nursing-fathers were David, Hezekiah, Jo- 
siah, Constantine, Theodosius. It is happy 
for a people who have such nursing-fathers, 
whose breasts milk comfort to their children. 
These fathers are to be honoured ; for, 

(1). Their place deserves honour. God 
hath set these political fathers to preserve 
order and harmony in a nation, and to pre- 



vent those state convulsions which otherwise 
might ensue : Judges xvii. 6, When " there 
was no king in Israel, every man did that 
which was right in his own eyes." A won- 
der, Prov. xxx. 27. 

(2). God hath promoted kings, that they 
may promote justice. As they have a sword 
in their hand, to signify their power, so a 
sceptre, an emblem of justice. It is said of 
Marcus Aurelius, emperor, that he allotted 
one hour of the day to hear the complaints 
of such as were oppressed. Kings place 
judges as cherubims about the throne, for 
distribution of justice. These political fa- 
thers are to be honoured : " Honour the 
king," 1 Pet. ii. 17. And this honour is to 
be shown by a civil respect to their persons, 
and a cheerful submission to their laws, so 
far as they agree and run parallel with 
God's law. Kings are to be prayed for, 
which is a part of that honour we give them, 
1 Tim. ii. 1, 2, " I exhort that supplica- 
tions, prayers, intercessions, be made for 
kings, that we may lead a quiet, peaceable 
life under them, in all godliness and 
honesty." We are to pray for kings, that 
God would honour them to be blessings ; that 
under them we may enjoy the gospel of 
peace, and the peace of the gospel. How 
happy was the reign of Numa Pompilius, 
when the swords were beaten into plough- 
shares, and the bees made their hives of the 
soldiers' helmets ! 

2. There is the grave ancient father who 
is venerable for old age, whose grey hairs 
are resembled to the white flowers of the 
almond-tree, Eccl. xii. 5. There are fathers 
for seniority, on whose wrinkled brows, and 
in the furrows of whose cheeks is pictured 
the map of old age. These fathers are to 
be honoured : Lev. xix. 32, " Thou shalt 
rise up before the hoary head, and honour 
the face of the old man." Especially, those 
are to be honoured who are fathers not only 



OF THE FIFTH 
. ; ■■- ; 

for their seniority, but their piety ; whose 
souls are flourishing, when their bodies are 
a decaying. 'Tis a blessed sight to see the 
springs of grace in the autumn of old age, — 
to see men stooping towards the grave, yet 
going up the hill of God, — to see them lose 
their colour, yet keep their savour. Such, 
whose silver hairs are crowned with right- 
eousness, are worthy of double honour ; they 
are to be honoured, not only as pieces of 
antiquity, but as patterns of virtue. If you 
see an old man fearing God, whose grace 
shines brightest when the sun of his life is 
setting, O honour him as a father, by rever- 
encing and imitating him ! 

3. There are spiritual fathers, as pastors 
and ministers. These are the instruments 
of < the New birth,' 1 Cor. iv. 15, " Though 
ye have ten thousand instructors, yet have 
ye not many fathers ; for in Christ Jesus I 
have begotten you through the gospel." The 
spiritual fathers are to be honoured. 

1. In respect of their office. Whatever 
their persons are, their office is honourable ; 
they are the "Messengers of the Lord of 
Hosts," Mai. ii. 7. They represent no less 
than God himself, 2 Cor. v. 20, " Now then we 
are ambassadors for Christ." Jesus Christ 
was of this calling ; he had his mission and 
sanction from heaven, John viii. 18, and this 
crowns the ministerial calling with honour. 

2. Ministers, these spiritual fathers, are to 
be "honoured for their work's sake;" they 
come, like the dove, with an olive-branch in 
their mouth ; they preach glad tidings of 
peace ;" their work is " to save souls." Other 
callings have only to do with men's bodies 
or estates, but the minister's calling is em- 
ployed about the souls of men. Their work 
is to redeem spiritual captives, and turn men 
" from the power of Satan to God," Acts 
xxvi. 18. Their work is "to enlighten them 
who sit in the region of darkness," and make 
them " shine as stars in the kingdom of 
heaven." These spiritual fathers are to be 
" honoured for their work's sake ;" and this 
honour is to be shown three ways : 

(1). By giving them respect, 1 Thess. v. 12, 
13, " Know them which labour among you, 
and are over you in the Lord, and esteem 
them very highly in love for their work's 
2 P 



COMMANDMENT. 297 

sake." I confess, the scandalous lives of some 
ministers have been a great reproach, and 
have made the " offering of the Lord to be 
abhorred," in some places of the land. The 
leper in the law was to have his lip covered : 
such as are angels by office, but lepers in their 
lives, ought to have their lips covered, and to 
be silenced. But though some deserve ' no 
honour,' yet such as are faithful, and make it 
their work to bring souls to Christ, are to be 
reverenced as spiritual fathers. Obadiah ho- 
noured the prophet Elijah, 1 Kings xviii. 16. 
Why did God reckon the tribe of Levi for the 
first-born ? Numb. iii. 13. Why did he ap- 
point that the prince should ask counsel of 
God by the priest 1 Numb, xxvii. 21. Why did 
the Lord show, by that miracle of " Aaron's 
rod flourishing," that he had chosen the tribe 
of "Levi to minister before him'J" Numb, 
xvii. Why doth Christ call his apostles ' the 
lights of the world V Why doth he say to all 
his ministers, " Lo, I am with you to the end 
of the world ;" but because he would have 
these spiritual fathers reverenced ] In ancient 
times the Egyptians chose their kings out of 
their priests. They are far from showing this 
respect and honour to their spiritual fathers 
who have slight thoughts of such as have the 
charge of the sanctuary, and do minister be- 
fore the Lord. " Know them," saith the 
apostle, " which labour among you." Many 
can be content to know their ministers in 
their infirmities, and are glad when they have 
any thing against them, but do not know 
them in the apostle's sense, so as to give 
them " double honour." Surely, were it not 
for the ministry, you would not be a vine- 
yard, but a desert ; were it not for the minis- 
try, you would be destitute of the two seals 
of the covenant, — baptism and the Lord's 
supper ; you would be infidels : " For faith 
comes by hearing ; and how shall they hear 
without a preacher," Rom. x. 14. 

(2). Honour the ministers, these spiritual 
fathers, by becoming advocates for them, 
and wiping off those slanders and calumnies 
which are unjustly cast upon them, 1 Tim. 
v. 19. Constantine was a great honourer of 
the ministry ; he vindicated them ; he would 
not read the envious accusations brought in 
against them, but did burn them. Do the 



298 



OF THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 



ministers open their mouths to God for you in 
prayer, and will not you open your mouths 
in their behalf? Surely, if they labour to 
preserve you from hell, you should preserve 
them from slander; if they labour to save 
your souls, you ought to save their credit. 

(3). Honour them by conforming to their 
doctrine. This is the greatest honour you 
can put upon your spiritual fathers, by be- 
lieving and obeying their doctrine. He is an 
honourer of the ministry, who is not only a 
hearer, but a follower of the word. As dis- 
obedience reproacheth the ministry, so obe- 
dience honoureth it. The apostle calls his 
Thessalonians his crown, 1 Thess. ii. 19, 
" What is our crown of rejoicing'? are not 
ye?" A thriving people are a minister's 
crown ; when there is a metamorphosis, a 
change wrought, — when people come to the 
word proud, but go away humble, — they come 
earthly, but they go away heavenly, — they 
come, as Naaman to Jordan, lepers, but they 
go away healed, — this is an honour to the 
ministry. 2 Cor. iii. 1, " Need we, as some 
others, epistles of commendation ?" Though 
other ministers might need letters of com- 
mendation, yet Paul needed none : for, when 
men should hear of the obedience of these 
Corinthians, which was wrought in them by 
Paul's preaching ; this was a sufficient certifi- 
cate for him, that God had blessed his labours. 
The Corinthians were a sufficient honour to 
him ; they were his letters-testimonial. You 
cannot honour your spiritual fathers more, 
than by thriving under their ministry, and 
living upon those sermons which they preach. 

4. There is the economical father, that is 
the master ; he is pater familias, — the father 
of the family, therefore Naaman's servants 
called their master, ' father,' 2 Kings v. 13. 
And the centurion calls his servant, ' son,' 
Matt. viii. 6. The servant is to honour his 
master, as the father of the family. Though 
the master be not so exactly qualified as he 
should, yet the servant must not neglect his 
duty, but show some kind of honour to him. 

(1). In obeying his master in Ileitis et 
honestis — in things that are lawful and 
honest, 1 Pet. ii. 18, " Servants, be subject 
to your masters ; not only to the good and 
gentle, but also to the froward." God hath 



no where given a charter of exemption to 
free you from your duty. You cannot dis- 
obey your earthly master, but you disobey 
your master in heaven. Think not that birth, 
or high parts, no, nor yet your grace, will 
exempt you from obedience to your master ; 
to obey him, is an ordinance of God, and the 
apostle saith, " Whosoever resisteth the or- 
dinance, shall receive to themselves damna- 
tion," Rom. xiii. 2. 

(2) . The servant's honouring of his master, 
(his economical father) is seen in being dili- 
gent in his service. Apelles painted a servant 
with his hands full of tools, — an emblem of 
diligence. The loitering servant is a kind 
of thief; though he doth not steal from his 
master's goods, yet he steals that time which 
he should have employed in his master's 
service. The slothful servant is called a 
" wicked servant," Matt. xxv. 26. 

(3) . The servant is to honour his mas- 
ter, who is his family-father, by being faith- 
ful, Matt. xxiv. 45, " Who then is a faith- 
ful and wise servant ?" Faithfulness is the 
chief thing in a servant. This faithfulness 
in a servant is seen in six things : 1st, In 
tenaciousness in concealing the secrets your 
master hath intrusted you with ; if those 
secrets are not sins, you ought to promise 
privacy. What is whispered in your ear 
you are not to publish on the house-top ; 
such servants are spies. Who would keep 
a glass that is cracked ? Who would keep 
a servant that hath a crack in his brain, and 
cannot keep a secret? 2<%, Faithfulness 
in a servant is seen in designing the mas- 
ter's advantage. A faithful servant esteems 
his master's good as his own. Such a good 
servant had Abraham ; when his master 
sent him to transact business for him, he 
was as careful about it, as if it had been 
his own, Gen. xxiv. 12, " Q Lord God of 
my master Abraham, I pray thee send me 
good speed this day, and show kindness 
unto my master Abraham !" Doubtless 
Abraham's servant was as glad he had got a 
wife for his master's son, as if he had got 
a wife for himself. Sdly, Faithfulness in 
a servant is seen in standing up for the ho- 
nour of his master. When he hears him 
spoken against, he must vindicate him. As 



OF THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 



299 



the master is careful of the servant's body, so 
the servant should be careful of the master's 
name ; when the master is unjustly reproach- 
ed, the servant cannot be excused if he be 
possessed with a dumb devil, ^tlily, Faith- 
fulness is, when a servant ' is true to his 
word.' He dares not tell a lie, but will speak 
the truth, though it be against himself. A 
lie doubles the sin : Ps. ci. 7, " He that tell- 
eth lies, shall not tarry in my sight." A 
liar is near a-kin to the devil, John viii. 44. 
And who would let any of the devil's kindred 
live with him 1 The lie that Gehazi told his 
master Elisha, entailed leprosy on Gehazi 
and his seed for ever, 2 Kings v. 27. A faith- 
ful servant, his tongue is the true index of 
his heart, bthly, Faithfulness is, when a 
servant is against impropriation. He dares 
not convert his master's goods to his own 
use, Tit. ii. 10, " Not purloining." What a 
servant filcheth from his master, is damnable 
gain. The servant who enricheth himself by 
stealing from his master, stuffs his pillow 
with thorns, and his head will lie very un- 
, easy when he comes to die. Qthly, Faithful- 
ness is in preserving the master's person, if 
unjustly in danger. Banister who betrayed 
his master the duke of Buckingham, in King 
Richard the Third's reign, — it is remarkable 
how the judgments of God befell that traitor- 
ous servant : his eldest son ran mad, — his 
daughter, of a singular beauty, was suddenly 
struck with leprosy, — his younger son was 



drowned, and he himself arraigned, and had 
been executed, had he not been saved by his 
clergy. That servant who is not true to his 
master, will never be true to God or his own 
soul. 

(4). The servant is to honour his master, 
by serving him, as with love, (for willingness 
is more than the work), so with silence, that 
is, without repining, and without replying : 
Tit. ii. 9, " Exhort servants to be obedient 
to their masters, not answering again ;" 
Greek, ' not giving cross answers.' Some 
servants are quick at speech, though slow at 
work, and instead of being sorry for a fault, 
they provoke by unbecoming language : were 
the heart more humble, the tongue would be 
more silent. They are the apostle's words, 
" not answering again." And to those ser- 
vants who do thus honour their masters, or 
family-fathers, by submission, diligence, faith- 
fulness, love, and humble silence, for their 
encouragement let them take that, " Ser- 
vants, obey in all things your masters, ac- 
cording to the flesh, not with eye-service, 
knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the 
reward of the inheritance, for ye serve the 
Lord Christ," Col. iii. 24. In serving your 
masters, you serve Christ, and he will not 
let you lose your labour, ye shall receive the 
" reward of the inheritance." From serving 
on earth, you shall be taken up to reign in 
heaven, and shall sit with Christ upon his 
throne, Rev. iii. 21. 



Exod. xx. 12. Honour thy 

If we are not just, we cannot be holy. 
Having shown you how servants are to ho- 
nour their masters, the fathers of families ; I 
shall next show how masters are to carry it 
towards their servants, that they may gain 
honour from them. 

1. In general, masters must remember that 
they have a master in heaven, who will call 
them to account, Eph. vi. 9, " Knowing that 
your master also is in heaven." 

2. More particularly. 

(1). Masters must have a care to provide for 
their servants ; as they cut them out work, so 



Father and thy Mother, tfc. 

they must give them their meat in due season, 
Luke xvii. 7. And the food should be whole- 
some and sufficing. It is an unworthy thing 
in some governors of families, to lay out so 
much upon their own back, as to pinch their 
servants' bellies. 

(2). Masters should encourage their ser- 
vants in their work, by commending them 
when they do well ; though a master is to 
tell a servant of his faults, yet he is not al- 
ways to beat upon one string, but sometimes 
take notice of that which is praiseworthy. 
This makes a servant more cheerful in his 



300 



OF THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 



work, and gains the master love from his 
servant. 

(3) . Masters must not overburthen their 
servants, but proportion their work to their 
strength ; if you lay too much load on a ser- 
vant he will faint under it. Christianity 
teacheth compassion. 

(4) . Masters must endeavour the spiritual 
good of their servants ; they must be sera- 
phims to kindle their love to religion ; they 
must be monitors to put them in mind of their 
souls ; they must bring them to the pool of 
the sanctuary, waiting till the angel stir the 
waters, John v. 4. They must seek God for 
them, that their servants may be his servants ; 
they must allow them time convenient for 
secret devotion. Some masters are cruel to 
the souls of their servants ; they look that 
they do the work about the house, but abridge 
them of the time they should employ in work- 
ing out their salvation. 

(5) . Masters should use mild, gentle be- 
haviour towards servants, Eph. vi. 9, " For- 
bearing threatening," Lev. xxv. 43, " Thou 
shalt not rule over him with rigour, but fear 
thy God." It requires wisdom in a master to 
know how to keep up his authority, yet lay 
down his austerity : we have a good copy to 
write after, — our Master in heaven is ' ' slow 
to anger, and of great mercy," Ps. cxlv. 8. 
Some masters are so harsh and implacable, 
that they are enough to spoil a good ser- 
vant. 

(6) . Be very exact and punctual in the 
compacts and agreements you make with 
your servants ; do not prevaricate, keep not 
back any of their wages, nor deal deceitfully 
with them, as Laban did with Jacob, chang- 
ing his wages, Gen. xxxi. 7. Falseness in 
promise is as bad as false weights. 

(7) . Be careful of your servants, not only 
in health but in sickness. They have got 
their sickness in your service ; use what 
means you can for their recovery ; be not 
like the Amalakite, who 4 forsook his servant 
when he was sick,' 1 Sam. xxx. 13, but be as 
the good centurion, who kept his sick ser- 
vant, and sought to Christ for a cure, Matt, 
viii. 6. If you have a beast that falls sick, 
you will not turn it off, but have it looked to, 
and pay for its cure ; will you be kinder to 



your horses than to your servants'? Thus 
should masters (the fathers of the family) 
carry themselves prudently and piously, that 
they may gain honour from their servants, 
and may give up their accounts to God with 

joy- 

5. The natural father, the father of the 
flesh, Heb. xii. 9, Honour thy natural father. 
This is so necessary a duty, that Philo the 
Jew placed the fifth commandment in the first 
table, as though we had not performed our 
whole duty to God, till we had paid this debt 
of honour to our natural parents. Children 
are the vineyard of the parent's planting, and 
honour done to the parent is some of the fruit 
of the vineyard. 

Quest. Wherein are children to show 
their honour to their parents ? 

Ans. 1. In a reverential esteem of their 
persons, — they must ' give them a civil vene- 
ration.' Therefore when the apostle speaks 
of fathers of our bodies, he speaks also of 
* giving them reverence,' Heb. xii. 9. This 
veneration or revererVce must be shown, 

1. Inwardly, by fear mixed with love, Lev. 
xix. 3, " Ye shall fear every man his mother 
and his father." In the commandment the 
father is named first, here the mother is 
named first, (1). Partly to put the honour 
upon her the mother, because, by reason of 
many weaknesses incident to her sex, she is 
apt to be more slighted by children. And, 
(2). partly, because the mother endures more 
for the child ; therefore, here God gives 
the mother the priority, names her first, 
" Ye shall fear every one his mother and his 
father." 

2. Reverence must be shown to parents 
outwardly, viz. In word and gesture. 

(1). In word, and that either in speaking 
to parents, or speaking of them. 

First, Reverence in speaking to parents : 
children must speak to parents respectfully, 
and in decent language, 1 Kings ii. 20, " Ask 
on, my mother," said king Solomon to his 
mother Bathsheba. 

Secondly, Reverence in speaking of pa- 
rents : children must speak of their parents 
honourably, — they ought to speak well of 
them, if they deserve well, Pro v. xxxi. 28, 
" Her children rise up, and call her bless- 



OP THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 



301 



ed." And, in case a parent bewrays weak- 
ness and indiscretion, the child should make 
the best of it, and, by his wise apologies for 
his father, cover his father's nakedness. 

(2). In gesture. Children are to show 
their reverence to their parents by submis- 
sive behaviour, — by uncovering the head, — 
bending the knee. Joseph, though he was 
a great prince, and his father grown poor, 
yet he bowed to him, and behaved himself as 
humbly, as if his father had been the prince, 
and he the poor man, Gen. xlviii. And king 
Solomon, when his mother came to him, rose 
off his throne, and "bowed himself to her," 
1 Kings ii. 19. Among the Lacedemonians, 
if a child had carried himself arrogantly or 
saucily to his father, it was lawful for the 
father to appoint whom he would to be his 
heir. O how many children are far from 
thus giving reverence to their parents ! They 
despise their parents ; they carry themselves 
with that pride and malapertness towards 
them, that they are a shame to religion, and 
bring their parents' grey hairs with sorrow 
to the grave. Deut. xxvii.T6, " Cursed be 
he that setteth light by his father or his 
mother." If all that set light by their parents 
are cursed, how many children in our age 
are under a curse! If such as are disre- 
spectful to their parents live to have children, 
they will be thorns in their sides, and God 
will ,make them read their sins in their pun- 
ishment. 

A. 2. The second way of showing honour 
to parents, is in careful obedience : Col. iii. 
20, " Children obey your parents in all 
things." Our Lord Christ herein set a pat- 
tern to children, Luke ii. 52, he was subject 
to his parents. He to whom angels were 
subject, yet was subject to his parents. This 
obedience to parents is shown three ways : 

(1). In hearkening to their counsel, Prov. 
i. 8, " Hear the instruction of thy father, 
and forsake not the law of thy mother." 
Parents are, as it were in the room of God ; 
if they would teach you the fear of the 
Lord, you must listen to their words as 
oracles, and not be as the deaf adder to stop 
your ears. Eli's sons hearkened not to the 
voice of their father, 1 Sam. ii. 25, but 
they were called " sons of belial," ver. 12. 



And children must hearken to the counsel 
of their parents, as in spiritual matters, so 
in other affairs which relate to this life ; as 
in the choice of a calling, and in case of 
entering into marriage. Jacob would not 
dispose of himself in marriage (though he 
was forty years old), without the advice and 
consent of his parents, Gen. xxviii. 1, 2. 
Children are as it were the parents' proper 
goods and possession, and it is high injus- 
tice in a child to give away herself without 
the parents' leave. If parents should indeed 
counsel a child to a match with one that is 
irreligious or popish, I think the case is 
plain, and many of the learned are of opin- 
ion, that here the child may have a negative 
voice, and is not obliged to be ruled by the 
parent. Children are to " marry in the 
Lord," 1 Cor. vii. 39.— Therefore not with 
persons irreligious, for that is not to marry 
in the Lord. 

(2) . Obedience to parents is shown in 
subscribing to their commands. A child 
should be the parents' echo : when the father 
speaks, the child should echo back obedience. 
The Rechabites were forbidden by their 
father to drink wine ; and they did obey him, 
and were commended for it, Jer. xxxv. 6. 
And children must obey their parents in all 
things, Col. iii. 20. Things that are more 
against the grain, and which they have most 
reluctance to, yet they must obey their 
parents. Esau would obey his father, when 
he commanded him to fetch him venison, 
because it is probable he took pleasure in 
hunting ; but refused to obey him in a matter 
of greater concernment, namely, in the 
choice of a wife. But though children must 
obey their parents ' in all things,' yet restrin- 
gitur ad licita et honesta, — it is with this 
limitation, ' things just and honest.' ' Obey 
in the Lord,' Eph. vi. 1, that is so far as the 
commands of parents agree with, and are 
consonant to God's commands. If they 
command against God, then they lose their 
right of being obeyed, but in this case we 
must unchild ourselves. 

(3) . Honour is to be shown to parents, 
in relieving their wants. Joseph cherished 
his father in his old age, Gen. xlvii. 12. It 
is but paying the just debt. Parents have 



302 



OF THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 



brought up children when they were young, 
and children ought to nourish their parents 
when they are old. The young storks, by 
the instinct of nature, bring meat to the old 
storks, when by reason of age they are not 
able to fly, Pliny. Lex pelargica. The 
memory of Eneas was honoured, for carrying 
his aged father out of Troy when it was on 
lire. I have read of a daughter, whose father 
being condemned to be starved to death, she 
did in prison give him suck with her own 
breasts, which being known to the governors, 
procured his freedom out of prison. To blame 
are such, shall i say children or monsters, 
who are ashamed of their parents when they 
are old, and fallen to decay ; when parents' 
tears and lean cheeks may plead pity, yet 
children have no compassion ; when they ask 
for bread, they give them a stone. When 
houses are shut up, we say the plague is 
there: when children's hearts are shut up 
against their parents, the plague is in those 
hearts. Our blessed Saviour took great care 
for his mother; when he was on the cross, 
he charged his disciple John to take her home 
to him as his mother, and see that she wanted 
nothing, John xix. 26, 27. The reasons why 
children should honour their parents, are, 

1. It is a solemn command of God, 
" honour thy father," &c. As God's word is 
the rule, so his will must be the reason of 
our obedience. 

2. They deserve honour, in respect of that 
great love and affection which they bear to 
their children ; and that love is evidenced 
both by their care and cost. (1). Their care 
in bringing up their children ; a sign their 
hearts are full of love, because their hearts 
are so full of care. Parents often take more 
care of their children than for themselves. 
They take care of them when they are tender, 
lest like wall-fruit they should be nipt in the 
bud. And as children grow older, so the 
care of parents grows greater; they are 
afraid of their children falling when young, 
and of worse falls when they are older. 
(2). Their love is evidenced by their cost, 
1 Cor. xii. 14. They lay up, and they lay 
out for their children ; they are not like the 
raven or ostrich, Job. xxxix. 14, which are 
cruel to their young. Parents sometimes do 



impoverish themselves to enrich their chil- 
dren : all this calls for honour from the chil- 
dren. Children can never parallel or equal 
parents' love ; parents are the instruments of 
life to their children, children cannot be so to 
their parents. 

3. To honour parents, " is well-pleasing 
to the Lord," Col. iii. 20. As it is joyful 
to the parents, so it is pleasing to the Lord. 
Children, is it not your duty to please God! 
In honouring and obeying your parents, you 
please God, as well as when you repent and 
believe. And, that you may see how well it 
pleaseth God, he bestows a reward upon it, 
" That thy days may be long in the land 
which the Lord thy God giveth thee." Jacob 
would not let the angel go till he had blessed 
him ; nor God would not part with this com- 
mandment till he had blessed it. Here is the 
blessing, " that thy days may be long in the 
land," &c. St Paul calls this "the first 
commandment with promise," Eph. vi. 2. 
The second commandment hath a general 
promise of mercy ; but this is the first com- 
mandment that hath a particular promise 
made to it, " That thy days may be long in 
the land which the Lord thy God giveth 
thee." Long life is mentioned as a blessing, 
Ps. cxxviii. 6, " Thou shalt see thy children's 
children." It was a great favour of God 
to Moses, that though he was an hundred 
and twenty years old, he needed no spec- 
tacles ; "his eye was not dim, nor his 
natural force abated," Deut. xxxiv. 7. God 
threatened it as a curse to Eli, that there 
should not be an old man in his family, 
1 Sam. ii. 31. Since the flood, life is much 
abbreviated and cut short ; some, the womb 
is their tomb, — others exchange their cradle 
for their grave, — others die in the flower of 
their age, — death serves its warrant every 
day upon one or other. Now, when death 
lies in ambush continually for us, if God 
satisfy us with long life, Ps. xci. 16, " With 
long life will I satisfy him," this is to be 
esteemed a blessing. It is a blessing that 
God gives a long time to repent, and a long 
time to do service, and a long time to 
enjoy the comforts of relations; and upon 
whom is this blessing of long life entailed, 
but obedient children ? " Honour thy fa- 



OF THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 



303 



ther that thy days may be long." Nothing 1 
sooner shortens life than disobedience to 
parents. Absalom was a disobedient son who 
sought to deprive, his father of his life and 
crown, and he did not live out half his days ; 
the mule he rode upon, as being weary of 
such a burthen, left him hanging in the oak 
betwixt heaven and earth, as not fit to tread 
upon the one, or to enter into the other. 
Obedience to parents spins out thy life,— 
"that thy days may be long." Nor doth 
obedience to parents only lengthen life but 
sweeten it: therefore it follows, "that thy 
days may be long in the land which the Lord 



thy God giveth thee." To live long, and not 
to have a foot of land, is a misery ; but obe- 
dience to parents settles land of inheritance 
upon the child. " Hast thou but one bless- 
ing, O my father 1 ?" said Esau. Behold, God 
hath more blessings for an obedient child 
than one ; not only shall he have a long life, 
but a fruitful land ; and not only shall he 
have land, but land given in love, — " the land 
which the Lord thy God giveth thee." Thou 
shalt have thy land not only with God's leave, 
but with his love. All which are cogent 
arguments to make children honour and obey 
their parents. 



Exod. xx. 12. Honour thy Father 



Use 1st. If we are to honour our fathers ] 
on earth, then much more our Father in hea- i 
ven : Mai. i. 6, " If then I be a father, where i 
is my honour V A father is but the instru- i 
ment of conveying life, but God is the origi- 1 
nal cause of our being, Ps. c. 3, " It is he < 
that hath made us, and not we ourselves." 1 
Honour and adoration is a pearl which be- 
longs only to the crown of heaven. And, 

1. We show honour to our heavenly Fa- 
ther, by obeying him. Thus Christ honoured 
his Father, John vi. 38, " I came down from 
heaven, not to do my own will, but the will 
of him that sent me." This he calls honour- 
ing of God, John viii. 29, " I do always those 
things that please him," v. 49, " I honour my 
father." The wise men did not only bow the 
knee to Christ, but presented him with " gold 
and myrrh," Matt. ii. 11 : so we must not 
only bow the knee, give God adoration, but 
bring him presents, give him golden obe- 
dience. 

2. We show honour to our heavenly Fa- 
ther, by appearing advocates in his cause, and 
standing up for his truth in an adulterous 
generation. That son honours his father 
who stands up in his defence, and vindicates 
him when he is calumniated and reproached. 
Do they honour God who are ashamed of 
him 1 John xii. 42, " Many believed on him, 
but did not confess him," They are bastard 
sons who are ashamed to own their heavenly 



Father ; such as are born of God, are steeled 
with courage for his truth, they are like the 
rock which no waves can break, — like the 
adamant which no sword can cut. Basil 
was a champion for truth in the time of the 
emperor Valens ; and Athanasius, when the 
world was Arian, appeared for God. 

3. We show honour to our heavenly Fa- 
ther, by ascribing the honour of all we do 
to him, 1 Cor. xv. 10, "I laboured more 
abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the 
grace of God which was with me." If a 
Christian hath any assistance in duty, any 
strength against corruption, he rears up a 
pillar and writes upon it, " hitherto hath 
the Lord helped me." As Joab, when he 
had fought against Rabbah, and had like to 
have taken it, sent for king David, that he 
might carry away the honour of the victory, 
2 Sam. xii. 27, so, when a child of God hath 
any conquest over Satan, he gives all the 
honour to God. Hypocrites (whose lamp is 
fed with the oil of vain-glory) while they do 
any eminent service for God, seek them- 
selves ; and so their very serving of him is a 
dishonouring him. 

4. We show honour to our heavenly Fa- 
ther, by celebrating his praise, Ps. lxxi. 8, 
" Let my mouth be filled with thy praise, and 
with thy honour all the day." Rev. v. 13, 
" Blessing, honour, glory and power, be unto 
him that sits upon the throne." Blessing 



304 



OF THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 



God is honouring of God ; it lifts him up in 
the eyes of others ; it spreads his fame and 
renown in the world. In this manner the 
angels, the choristers of heaven, are now 
honouring God, they trumpet forth his praise ; 
in prayer, we act like saints, in praise like 
angels. 

5. We show honour to our heavenly Fa- 
ther, by suffering dishonour, yea, death for 
his sake. St Paul did bear in his body the 
" marks of the Lord Jesus," Gal. vi. 17. As 
they were the marks of honour to him, so 
trophies of honour to the gospel. The honour 
which comes to God, is not by bringing that 
outward pomp and glory to him, which we do 
to kings, but it comes in another way, by the 
suffering of his people ; they let the world see 
what a good God they serve, and how they 
love him, and will fight under his banner to 
the death. Thus you see how we are to ho- 
nour our heavenly Father : God is " worthy 
of honour," Ps. civ. 1, "Thou art clothed 
with honour and majesty." What are all his 
attributes but glorious beams shining from 
this sun? He deserves more honour than 
men or angels can give him. 2 Sam. xxii. 4, 
" I will call upon the Lord who is worthy to be 
praised." God is worthy of honour. Often- 
times we confer honour upon them that do 
not deserve it ; many noble persons we give 
titles of honour to, who are sordid and vicious, 
they do not deserve honour, but God is wor- 
thy of honour. Neh. ix. 5, " Blessed be thy 
glorious name, which is exalted above all 
blessings and praise !" He is above all the 
acclamations and triumphs of the archangels. 
O then, let every true child of God honour 
his heavenly Father ! Though the wicked 
dishonour him by their flagitious lives, yet let 
not his own children dishonour him. Sins 
in you are worse than in others ; a fault in a 
stranger is not so much taken notice of, as a 
fault in a child ; a spot in black cloth is not 
so much observed, but a spot in scarlet, every 
one's eye is upon it ; a sin in the wicked is 
not so much wondered at, it is a spot in 
black, but a sin in a child of God, here is a 
spot in scarlet; this is more visible, and 
brings an odium and dishonour upon the 
gospel. The sins of God's own children go 
nearer to his heart : Deut. xxxii. 19, " When 



the Lord saw it he abhorred them, because of 
the provoking of his sons and of his daugh- 
ters." O forbear doing any thing that may 
reflect dishonour upon God ! Will you dis- 
grace your heavenly Father 1 ? Let not God 
complain of the provocations of his sons and 
daughters ; let him not cry out, as Isa. i. 2, 
" I have nourished and brought up children, 
and they have rebelled against me." So much 
for the first ; if our earthly father be to be 
honoured, then much more our heavenly. 

Use 2d. Exhortation. First Branch. Doth 
God command, " honour thy father and thy 
mother V Then let it exhort children to put 
this great duty in practice ; be living com- 
mentaries upon this commandment. Honour 
and reverence your parents ; not only obey 
their commands, but submit to their rebukes ; 
you cannot honour your Father in heaven, 
unless you honour your earthly parents ; to 
deny obedience to parents, entails God's 
judgments upon children, Prov. xxx. 17, 
" The eye that mocketh at his Father, and 
despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of 
the valley shall pick it out, and the young 
eagles shall eat it," Eli's two disobedient 
sons were slain, 1 Sam. iv. 11. God made a 
law that the rebellious son should be stoned : 
the same death the blasphemer had, Lev. xxiv. 
14. Deut. xxi. 18, " If a man have a stubborn 
and rebellious son, which will not obey the 
voice of his father, or the voice of his mother; 
then shall his father and his mother lay hold 
on him, and bring him out unto the elders of 
the city, and all the men of his city shall 
stone him with stones that he die." A father 
once complaining, 'Never had a father a 
worse son than I have :' ' Yes,' said the Son, 
' my grandfather had,'— a prodigy of impu- 
dence that can hardly be paralleled. Manlius, 
when he was grown old and poor, and had a 
son very rich, the old father desired some 
food of him, but the son denied him relief, 
yea, disclaimed him from being his father, 
and sent him away with reproachful lan- 
guage. The poor old father Jet tears fall (as 
witnesses of his grief). But God, to revenge 
this disobedience, struck this unnatural son 
with madness, of which he could never be 
cured. Disobedient children stand in the. 
place where all God's arrows fly. 



OF THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 



305 



Second Branch. Let parents so carry it, 
as they may gain honour from their children. 

Quest. How many parents so carry to- 
wards their children, that their children 
may willingly pay the debt of honour and 
reverence to their parents ? 

Ans. If you would have your children 
honour you, 

1. Be careful to bring them up in the fear 
and nurture of the Lord : Eph. vi. 4, " Bring 
them up in the admonition of the Lord." 
You conveyed the plague of sin to them, 
therefore endeavour to get them healed and 
sanctified. Austin saith, his mother Monica 
travelled more for his spiritual birth than his 
natural. Timothy's mother instructed him 
from a child, 2 Tim. iii. 15. She did not only 
give him her breast-milk, but " the sincere 
milk of the word." Season your children 
with good principles betimes, that they may, 
with Obadiah, 4 fear the Lord from their 
youth,' 1 Kings xviii. 12. When parents 
instruct not their children, they seldom prove 
blessings. God oft punisheth the carelessness 
of parents with undutifulness in their chil- 
dren. It is not enough that in baptism your 
child is dedicated to God, but it must be edu- 
cated for God. Children are young plants 
which you must be continually watering with 
good instruction, Pro v. xxii. 6, " Train up a 
child in the way he should go, and when he 
is old he will not depart from it." The more 
your children fear God, the more they will 
honour you. 

2. If you would have your children honour 
you, keep up parental authority over your 
children ; be kind, but do not cocker them ; 
if you let them get too much a- head, they will 
contemn you instead of honouring you. The 
rod of discipline must not be withheld : Prov. 
xxiii. 14, " Thou shalt beat him with the rod, 
and shalt deliver his soul from hell." A child 
indulged and humoured in wickedness, will 
be a thorn in the parents' eye. David 
cockered Adonijah, 1 Kings i. 6, " His father 
had not displeased him at any time, in saying, 
Why hast thou done so V s And he after- 
wards was a grief of heart to his father, and 
was false to the crown, v. 7, 9. Keep up 
your authority, and you keep up your honour. 

3. Provide for your children what is fitting, 

2Q 



both in their minority, and when they come 
to maturity, 2 Cor. xii. 14, " The children 
ought not to lay up for the parents, but the 
parents for the children." They are your 
own flesh, and, as the apostle saith, " No 
man ever yet hated his own flesh," Eph. v. 
29. The parents' bountifulness will cause 
dutifulness in the child. If you pour water 
into a pump, the pump will send water again 
out freely ; so, if parents pour in something 
of their estate to their children, children (if 
ingenuous) will pour out obedience again to 
their parents. 

4. When your children are grown up, put 
them to some lawful calling, wherein they 
may serve their generation. And it is good 
to consult the natural genius and inclination 
of a child ; forced callings do as ill, sometimes, 
as forced matches. To let a child be out of 
a calling, is to expose him to temptation. 
Melancthon, Otium balneum diaboli. A 
child out of a calling is like fallow-ground ; 
and what can you expect should grow up but 
weeds of disobedience 1 

5. Carry it lovingly to your children ; in 
all your counsels and commands let them 
read love. Love will command honour : and 
how can a parent but love the child who is 
his living picture, nay part of himself 1 ? The 
child is the father in the second edition. 

6. Carry it prudently towards your chil- 
dren. A great point of prudence is, when a 
parent doth not provoke his children to wrath, 
Col. iii. 21, " Fathers provoke not your chil- 
dren to anger, lest they be discouraged." 

Quest. How many ways may a parent 
provoke his children to wrath 1 

Ans. 1. By giving them opprobrious terms, 
1 Sam. xx. 30, " Thou son of the perverse 
rebellious woman," said Saul to his son 
Jonathan. Some parents use imprecations 
and curses to their children : this is to pro- 
voke them to wrath. Would you have God 
bless your children, and do you curse them 1 

2. Parents provoke children to wrath, 
when they strike their children without a 
cause ; or when the correction exceeds the 
fault. This is rather to be a tyrant than a 
father. Saul cast a javelin at his son to smite 
him, 1 Sam. xx. 33, and his son was pro- 
voked to anger, v. 34, " So Jonathan arose 



306 



OF THE FIFTH COMMANDMENT. 



from the table in fierce anger." In jilium 
pater obtinet non tijrannicum i?nperium, sed 
basilicum. Davenant. 

3. When parents deny their children con- 
veniences ; they will not let them have that 
which may cherish or cover nature. Some 
have thus provoked their children ; they have 
stinted them, and kept them so short, that 
they have forced them upon indirect courses, 
and made them put forth their hands to ini- 
quity. 

4. When parents carry it unequally to- 
wards their children, showing more kindness 
to one than to another, this sometimes breeds 
bad blood. Though a parent hath a greater 
love to one child, yet discretion should guide 
affection, that he should not show more love 
to one than to another. Jacob showed more 
love to Joseph than all his children, and what 
did it procure, but envy of his brethren, Gen. 
xxxvii. 3, 4, " Now Israel loved Joseph more 
than all his children, and when his brethren 
saw that, they hated him, and could not speak 
peaceably unto him." 

5. When a parent doth any thing which is 
sordid and unworthy, that which casts dis- 
grace upon himself and his family — as to 
cozen or take a false oath — this is to provoke 
the child to wrath. As the child should ho- 
nour his father, so the father should not dis- 
honour the child. 

6. When parents lay such commands upon 
their children, as their children cannot per- 
form without wronging their conscience. 
Saul commanded his son Jonathan to bring 
David to him, 1 Sam. xx. 31, " Fetch him 
unto me, for he shall surely die." Jonathan 
could not do this with a good conscience ; 
but was provoked to anger, v. 34, " Jonathan 
rose from the table in fierce anger." Now, 
the reason why parents should show their 
prudence in not provoking their children to 
wrath is set down, Col. iii. 21, " Lest they be 
discouraged." This word discouraged im- 
plies three things : (1). Grief. The parents' 
provoking the child, the child so takes it to 
heart, that it causeth immature death. (2). 
Despondency : the parents' austerity dispirits 
the child, and makes it unfit for service ; like 
members of the body stupified, which are 
unfit for work. (3). Contumacy and refrac- 



toriness : the child being provoked by the 
cruel and unnatural carriage of the parent, 
grows desperate, and oft studies to irritate 
and vex his parents, which, though it be evil 
in the child, yet the parent is accessary to it, 
as being the occasion of it. 

7. If you would have honour from your 
children, pray much for them. Not only lay 
up a portion for them, but lay up a stock of 
prayer for them. Monica prayed much for 
her son Austin ; and it was said, it was im- 
possible a son of so many prayers and tears 
should perish. Pray that your children may 
be preserved from the contagion of the times % 
pray that as your children bear your images 
in their faces, they may bear God's image in 
their hearts ; pray they may be instruments 
and vessels of glory. This may be one fruit 
of prayer, that the child may honour a praying 
parent. 

8. Encourage that which you see good and 
commendable in your children. Virtus lau- 
data crescit. Commending that which is 
good in your children, makes them more in 
love with virtuous actions ; and is like the 
watering of plants, which makes them grow 
more. Some parents discourage the good 
they see in their children, and so nip virtue 
in the bud, and help to damn their chil- 
dren's souls. They have their children's 
curses. 

9. If you would have honour from your 
children, set them a good example ; it makes 
children despise the parents, when the parents 
live in a contradiction to their own precepts ; 
when they bid their children be sober, yet 
they themselves will be drunk ; they bid 
their children fear God, yet are themselves 
loose in their lives. Oh ! if you would 
have your children honour you, teach them 
by a holy example. A father is a looking- 
glass, which the child oft dresseth himself 
by ; let the glass be clear, and not spot- 
ted. Parents should observe a good deco- 
rum in their whole carriage, lest they give 
occasion to their children to say to them, as 
Plato's servant, " My master hath made a 
book against rash anger, but he himself is 
passionate ;" or, as a son once said to his 
father, " If I have done evil, I have learned it 
of you.' 5 



OF THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 307 



OF THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 
Exod. xx. 13. Thou shall not kill. 



In this commandment, 1st. Is a sin for- 
bidden, viz. murder, "thou shalt not kill." 
2d. A duty implied, " To preserve our own 
life, and the life of others." 

I. The sin forbidden, murder : 4 Thou 
shalt not kill.' Where two things are to be 
understood, 1st. The not injuring another. 
2d. Ourselves. 

1st. In this, "Thou shalt not kill," is 
meant the not injuring' another. 1. We 
must not injure him in his name. 2. In his 
body. 3. In his soul. 

1. We must not injure another in his name. 
" A good name is a precious balsam ;" it is 
a great cruelty to murder a man in his name. 
We injure others in their name when we 
calumniate and slander them. 'Twas David's 
complaint, Ps. xxxv. 11, " They laid to my 
charge things that I knew not." The primi- 
tive Christians were traduced for incest, and 
killing their children, as Tertullian, Dicimur 
infanticidii, incestus rei. This is to behead 
others in their good name ; this is an irre- 
parable injury ; no physician can heal the 
wounds of the tongue. 

2. We must not injure another in his body. 
The life is the most precious thing : and God 
hath set this commandment as a fence about 
it, to preserve it, " Thou shalt not kill." 
God made a statute which was never to this 
day repealed, Gen. ix. 6, " Whoso sheddeth 
man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed." 
In the old law, had a man killed another 
unawares, he might take sanctuary ; but if 
he had killed him willingly, though he did 
flee to the sanctuary, the holiness of the 
place was not to defend him, Exod. xxi. 14, 
" If a man come presumptuously upon his 
neighbour, to slay him with guile ; thou shalt 
take him from mine altar, that he may die." 
Now in this commandment, " Thou shalt 
do no murder," all those sins are forbidden 
which lead to it, and are the occasions of it : 
As, 

(1). Unadvised anger.. Anger boils up 



the blood in the veins, and oft produceth 
murder, Gen. xlix. 6, " In their anger they 
slew a man." 

(2) . Envy. Satan envied our first parents 
the robe of innocence, and the glory of para- 
dise ; therefore never left off till he had pro- 
cured their death. Joseph's brethren envied 
him, because his father loved him, and gave 
him a " coat of many colours :" therefore 
took " counsel to slay him," Gen. xxxvii. 20. 
Envy and murder are near a-kin, therefore 
the apostle puts them together, Gal. v. 21, 
" Envyings, murders." Envy is a sin breaks 
both the tables at once ; it begins in discon- 
tent against God, and ends in injury against 
man, as we see in Cain, Gen. iv. 6, 8. En- 
vious Cain was first discontented with God, — 
there he broke the first table ; and then he 
fell out with his brother and slew him,— there 
he broke the second table. Anger is some- 
times 1 soon over,' like fire kindled in straw, 
which is quickly out ; but envy is a radicated 
thing, and will not quench its thirst without 
blood, Prov. xxvii. 4, " Who is able to stand 
before envy V 

(3) . Hatred. The Pharisees hated Christ, 
because he excelled them in gifts, and had 
more honour among the people than they ; 
therefore they never left till they had nailed 
him to the cross, and taken away his life. 
Hatred is a vermin lives upon blood, Ezek. 
xxxv. 5, " Because thou hast had a perpetual 
hatred, and hast shed the blood of the children 
of Israel." Haman hated Mordecai, because 
he did not bow to him, and he presently 
sought revenge, he got a bloody warrant 
sealed for the destruction of the whole race 
and seed of the Jews, Esther iii. 9. Hatred 
is ever cruel. All these sins are forbidden in 
this commandment, which lead the van, and 
are oft the occasions of this sin of murder. 

Quest. How many ways is murder com- 
mitted ? 

Ans. We may be said to murder another, 
twelve ways : 1. With the hand : as Joab 



308 



OF THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 



killed Abner and Amasa, 2 Sam. xx. 10, 
" He smote him in the fifth rib, and shed 
out his bowels." — 2. Murder is committed 
with the mind. Malice is mental murder, 
1 John iii. 15. " Whoso hateth his brother 
is a murderer." To malign another, and 
wish evil against him in the heart, is a mur- 
dering him. — 3. Murder is committed with 
the tongue, by speaking to the prejudice of 
another, and causing him to be put to death. 
Thus the Jews killed the Lord of life, when 
they inveighed against him, and accused him 
falsely to Pilate, John xviii. 30. — 4. Murder 
is committed with the pen. So David killed 
Uriah in writing to Joab, " ye set Uriah in 
the fore-front of the hottest battle," 2 Sam. 
xi. 15. Though the Ammonites' sword cut 
off Uriah, yet David's pen was the cause of 
his death ; therefore the lord tells David by 
the prophet Nathan, 2 Sam. xii. 9, " Thou 
hast killed Uriah." — 5. Murder is committed 
by plotting another's death. Thus Jezebel, 
though she did not lay hands herself upon 
Naboth, yet because she contrived his death, 
and caused two false witnesses to swear 
against him, and bring him within the com- 
pass of treason, she was a murderer, 1 Kings 
xxi. 10.— 6. Murder is committed by instil- 
ling poison into potions. Thus the wife of 
Commodus the emperor killed her husband, 
by poisoning the wine which he drank. So, 
many kill the children they go with, by 
taking such medicines, or strong purges, as 
prove the death of the child.— 7. By witch- 
craft and sorcery ; a thing forbidden under 
the law, Deut. xviii. 10, " There shall not be 
found among you an enchanter, or a witch, 
or a consulter with familiar spirits. "-—8. By 
having an intention to kill another ; as Herod 
would, under a pretence of worshipping 
Christ, have killed him, Mat. ii. 8, 13. So 
Saul when he made David go as captain 
against the Philistines, designing thereby 
that the Philistines should have killed him, 
1 Sam. xviii. 17, " Saul said, Let not my 
hand be upon him, but let the hand of the 
Philistines be upon him." Here was in- 
tentional murder, and it was in God's ac- 
count as bad as actual murder.— 9. By 
consenting to another's death; so Saul to 
the death of Stephen, Acts xxii. 20, "I 



also was standing by and consenting to his 
death." He that gives consent is accessary 
to the murder. — 10. By not hindering the 
death of another when in our power. Pilate 
knew Christ was innocent, " I find no fault 
in him ;" but he did not hinder his death ; 
therefore he was guilty. It was not washing 
his hands in water, could wash away the 
guilt of Christ's blood. — 11. By unmerciful- 
ness. (1). By taking away that which is 
necessary for the sustentation of life : as to 
take away those tools or utensils whereby a 
man gets his living, Deut. xxiv. 6, " No man 
shall take the upper or the nether millstone 
to pledge, for he taketh a man's life." (2). By 
not helping him when he is ready to perish. 
You may be the death of another, as well by 
not relieving him, as by offering him violence. 
Simon paveris, occidisti, Amb. If thou 
dost not feed him that is starving, thou killest 
him. And then, how many are guilty of the 
breach of this commandment. — 12. By not 
executing the law upon capital offenders. 
A felon having committed six murders, the 
judge may be said to be guilty of five of them, 
because he did not execute the felon for his 
first offence. 

The next thing I shall speak to, is, to 
show the aggravations of this sin of murder : 
As, 

1. To shed the blood of another causeless ; 
as to kill another in a humour or frolic. A 
bee will not sting unless provoked, but many 
when they are not provoked, will take away 
the life of another. This makes the sin of 
blood more bloody. The less provocation to 
a sin the greater sin. 

2. To shed the blood of another contrary 
to promise. Thus, after the princes of Israel 
had sworn to the Gibeonites, that they should 
live, Josh. ix. 15, Saul slew them, 2 Sam. 
xxi. 1. Here were two sins twisted to- 
gether, — breach of oath, and murder. 

3. To take away the life of any public 
person enhanceth the murder, and makes it 
greater; as, (1). To kill a judge upon the 
bench, because he represents the king's per- 
son. (2). To murder a person whose office 
is sacred, and comes on the King of heaven's 
embassage: the murdering of him may be 
the murdering of many. Herod added this 



OF THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 



309 



sin above all, that he shut up John Baptist 
in prison, Luke iii. 20, then much more to 
behead John in prison. (3). To stain one's 
hands with royal blood. David's heart smote 
him, because he did but cut off the lap of 
king Saul's garment, 1 Sam. xxiv. 5. How 
would David's heart have smitten him, if he 
had cut off Saul's head ? 

4. To shed the blood of a near relation, 
aggravates the murder, and dyes it of a deeper 
crimson. For a son to kill his Father is 
horrid. Parricides are monsters in nature. 
Qui occidit patrem, plurima committit pec- 
cato in uno. Cicero. ' He who takes away 
his father's life, committeth many sins in 
one he is not only guilty Df murder, but of 
disobedience, ingratitude, ostracism, and dia- 
bolical cruelty. Exod. xxi. 15, "He who 
smiteth his father or mother, shall be surely 
put to death." Then how many deaths is he 
worthy of that destroys his father or mother? 
Such a monster was Nero, who caused his 
mother Agrippina to be slain. 

5. To shed the blood of any righteous per- 
son, aggravates the sin. (1). Hereby justice 
is perverted. Such a person, being innocent, 
is unworthy of death. (2). A saint being a 
public blessing, he lies in the breach to turn 
away wrath ; so that to destroy him, is to go 
to pull down the pillars of a nation. (3). He 
is precious to God, Isa. xv. 43, 44. He is a 
member of Christ's body ; therefore what in- 
jury is offered to him is done to God himself, 
Acts ix. 4. 

Caution 1st. Though this commandment, 
" Thou shalt not kill," forbids private per- 
sons to shed the blood of another, (unless in 
their own defence) yet such as are in office 
must punish public offenders, yea with death, 
else they sin. To kill an offender is not 
murder, but justice. A private person sins, 
if he draws the sword ; a public person sins, 
if he puts up the sword. A magistrate ought 
not to let the sword of justice rust in the 
scabbard. As the magistrates should not let 
the sword be too sharp by severity, so neither 
should the edge of it be blunted by too much 
lenity. 

Caution 2d. Neither doth this command- 
ment, " Thou shalt not kill," prohibit a just 
war. When men's sins grow ripe, and long 



plenty hath bred surfeit, then God saith, 
" Sword, go through the land," Ezek. xiv. 17. 
God did abet the war between the tribes of 
Israel and Benjamin ; when the iniquity of 
the Amorites was full, then God sent Israel to 
commence a war against them, Judges xi. 21. 

Use 1st. Lamentation, That this land is so 
defiled with blood, Numb. xxxv. 33. How 
common is this sin in this Hectoring age ! 
England's sins are writen in letters of blood. 
Some make no more of killing men than 
sheep, Jer. ii. 34, " In thy skirts is found the 
blood of the souls of the poor innocents." 
Junius reads it, in alis ; and so in Hebrew, 
' in thy wings' is found the blood of inno- 
cents. It alludes to the birds of prey, which 
stain their wings with the blood of other 
birds. May not the Lord justly take up a 
controversy with the inhabitants of the land, 
because "blood toucheth blood'?" Hos. iv. 2. 
There is a concatenation,— a plurality of 
murders. And that which may increase our 
lamentation is, that not only man's blood is 
shed among us, but Christ's blood. Such as 
are profane flagitious sinners are said to 
" crucify to themselves the Son of God 
afresh," Heb. vi. 6. (1). They swear by his 
blood, and so do, as it were, make his wounds 
bleed afresh. (2). Crucify Christ in bis 
members, Acts ix. 4, " Why persecutest thou 
me V The foot being trodden on, the head 
crieth out. (3). If it lay in their power, were 
Christ alive on earth they would nail him 
again to the cross ; thus men crucify Christ 
afresh ; and, if man's blood doth so cry, how 
loud will Christ's blood cry against sinners 1 

Use 2d. Beware of having your hands im- 
brued in the blood of others. 

Obj. But such a one hath wronged me by 
defamation, or otherwise ; and if I spill his 
blood, I do but revenge my own quarrel. 

Ans. If he hath done you wrong, the law 
is open ; but take heed of shedding blood. 
What ! because he hath wronged you, will 
you therefore wrong God 1 Is it not a wrong 
to God, to take his work out of his hand ] 
He hath said " Vengeance is mine, and I will 
repay," Rom. xii. 19. But you will take 
upon you to revenge yourself ; you will be 
both plaintiff, and judge, and executioner, 
yourself. This is a high wrong done to God, 



310 



OF THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 



and he will not hold him guiltless. Now, to 
deter all from having their hands denied with 
blood, consider what a sin murder is. 

1. A God-affronting sin : it is a breach of 
his commandment, trampling upon God's 
royal edict. It is a wrong offered to God's 
image, Gen. ix. 6, "In the image of God 
made he man." It is tearing God's picture, 
and breaking in pieces the king of heaven's 
broad seal. Man is the temple of God, 1 Cor. 
vi. 19, "Know ye not that your body is the 
temple of the Holy Ghost 1" So that the 
man-slayer destroys God's temple ; and will 
God endure to be thus confronted by proud 
dust? 

2. It is a crying sin. Clamitat in caelum 
vox sanguinis. There are three sins in Scrip- 
ture said to cry. (1). Oppression, Ps. xii. 5. 
(2). Sodomy, Gen. xviii. 24. (3). Blood- 
shed. This cries so loud, that it drowns all 
the other cries, Gen. iv. 10, "The voice of 
thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the 
ground." Abel's blood had as many tongues 
as drops, to cry aloud for vengeance. This 
sin of blood lay heavy on David's conscience ; 
though he had sinned by adultery, yet what 
he cried out of most, was, this crimson sin 
of blood, Ps. li. 14, " Deliver me from blood- 
guiltiness, O God !" Though the Lord visits 
for every sin, yet he will in a special manner 
make " inquisition for blood," Ps. ix. 12. If 
a beast did kill a man, the beast was to be 
stoned, " and his flesh shall not be eaten," 
Exod. xxi. 28. If God would have a beast 
stoned that killed a man, who had not the 
use of reason to restrain him, then much 
more will he be incensed against those who 
go both against reason and conscience in 
spoiling the life of a man. 

3. Murder is a diabolical sin. It makes a 
man the devil's first-born ; he was a murderer 
from the beginning, John viii. 44. By saying 
to our first parents, " Ye shall not die," he 
brought in death to the world. 

4. It is a cursed sin. If there be a curse 
for him that smites his neighbour secretly, 
Deut. xxvii. 24, then he is doubly cursed that 



kills him. The first man that was born was 
a murderer, Gen. iv. 11, " And now art thou 
cursed from the earth." He was an excom- 
municated person, — banished from the place 
of God's public worship. God set a mark 
upon bloody Cain, Gen. iv. 15. Some think 
it was horror of mind, which (above all sins) 
doth accompany the sin of blood. Others 
think this mark was a continual shaking and 
trembling in his flesh, which was a mark of 
infamy God set upon him. He carried a 
curse along with him. 

5. It is a wrath-procuring sin, 2 Kings 
xxiv. 4. (1). It procures temporal judg- 
ments. Phocas, to get the empire, put to 
death all the sons of Mauritius the emperor, 
and then slew him ; but this Phocas was pur- 
sued by his son-in-law Priscus, who cut 
off his ears and feet, and then killed him. 
Charles IX. who caused the massacre of so 
many Christians at Paris, blood issued out 
at several parts of his body, of which he 
died. Albonia killed a man and then made 
a cup of his skull to drink in : afterwards 
his own wife caused him to be murdered in 
his bed. Vengeance as a blood-hound pur- 
sues the murderer; "bloody and deceitful 
men shall not live out half their days," Ps. 
Iv. 23. 

(2). It brings eternal judgments. It binds 
men over to hell. The papists make no- 
thing of massacres ; theirs is a bloody re- 
ligion ; they dispense with men for murder, 
so it be to propagate the catholic cause. If 
a cardinal put his red hat upon the head of 
a murderer going to execution, he is saved 
from death. But let all impenitent mur- 
derers read their doom, Rev. xxi. 8, " Mur- 
derers shall have their part in the lake which 
burneth with fire and brimstone;" this 'is 
the second death.' We read of " fire min- 
gled with blood," Rev. viii. 7. Such as have 
their hands full of blood must undergo the 
wrath of God. Here is fire mingled with 
blood, and this fire is inextinguishable, Mark 
ix. 44. Time will not finish it, tears will not 
quench it. 



OF THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 



311 



Exod. xx. 13. Thou shalt not kill. 



3. We must not injure another's soul. 
This is the greatest murder of all, because 
there is more of God's image in the soul than 
in the body. The soul, though it cannot be 
annihilated, is said to be murdered, because 
it misseth of happiness, and is for ever in 
torment. Now, how many are soul-mur- 
derers 1 

1. Such as corrupt others by bad example. 
The world is led by example ; especially the 
examples of great ones are very pernicious. 
We are apt to do as we see others before us, 
especially above us. Such as are placed in 
high power are like the pillar of cloud ; when 
that went, Israel went ; when great ones 
move in their sphere, others will follow them, j 
though it be to hell. Evil magistrates, like 
the tail of the dragon, draw the " third part 
of the stars after them." 

2. Such as entice others to sin. The har- 
lot by curling her hair, rolling her eyes, lay- 
ing open her breasts, doth what in her lies to 
be both a tempter and a murderer ; such a 
one was Messalina, wife to Claudius the 
emperor : Prov. vii. 7, 10, 13, " I discerned a 
young man, and there met him a woman 
with the attire of a harlot ; so she caught 
him and kissed him." Better are the re- 
proofs of a friend, than the kisses of a harlot. 

3. Ministers are murderers, who either 
starve, or poison, or infect souls. 

(1) . That starve souls, 1 Pet. v. 2, "Feed 
the flock of God which is among you." 
These feed themselves, and starve the flock ; 
either through non-residing, they do not 
preach, or through insufficiency they can- 
not. There are many in the ministry (a 
shame to speak it) so ignorant, that they had 
need to be taught the " first principles of the 
oracles of God," Heb. v. 12. Was not he 
fit to be a preacher in Israel, (think ye) who 
being asked something concerning the deca- 
logue, answered he never saw any such 
book'? 

(2) . That poison souls. Such are hetero- 
dox ministers, who poison people with error ; 



the basilisk poisons herbs and flowers, by 
breathing on them : the breath of heretical 
ministers, like the basilisk's breath, poisons 
souls. The Socinian, that would rob Christ 
of his Godhead, — the Arminian, that by ad- 
vancing the power of the will, would take off 
the crown from the head of free-grace, — the 
Antinomian, who denies the use of the moral 
law to a believer, as if it were antiquated 
and out of date, — these poison men's souls. 
Error is as damnable as vice, 2 Pet. ii. 1, 
" There shall be false teachers among you, 
who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, 
even denying the Lord that bought them." 

(3) . That infect souls, viz. by their scan- 
dalous lives, Exod. xix. 22, " Let the priests 
which come near to the Lord sanctify them- 
selves." Ministers, who by their places are 
nearer to God, should be holier than others. 
The elements, the higher they are, the purer ; 
the air is purer than the water ; the fire is 
purer than the air. The higher men are by 
office, the holier they should be ; John Bap- 
tist was a shining lamp. But there are many 
who infect their people with their bad life j 
they preach one thing, and live another, — ■ 
Qui curios simulant et bacclianalia vivunt. 
They, like Eli's sons, are in white linen, but 
they have scarlet sins. Some say, that 
Prester John, the lord of Africa, caused to be 
carried before him a golden cup full of dirt, — - 
a fit emblem of such ministers as have a 
golden office, but are dirty and polluted in 
their lives. They are murderers and the blood 
of souls will cry against them at the last day. 

(4) . Such as destroy others, by getting 
them into bad company, and so making them 
proselytes to the devil. Vitia in proximum 
quemque transiliunt, Sen. A man cannot 
live in the Ethiopian climate but he will be 
discoloured with the sun ; nor he cannot be 
in bad company but he will partake of their 
evil. One drunkard makes another ; as the 
prophet speaks in another sense, Jer. xxxv. 
5, " I set before the sons of the house of the 
Rachabites pots full of wine and cups, and 



312 



OF THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 



said unto them, drink ye wine ;" so the 
wicked set pots of wine before others, and 
make them drink till reason be stupified, and 
lust inflamed. These are guilty of the breach 
of this commandment, they are murderers of 
souls. How sad will it be with these, who 
have not only their own sins, but the blood 
of others, to answer for 1 So much for the 
first thing forbidden in the commandment, 
the injuring of others. 

2d. The second thing forbidden in it is, the 
injuring one's self. " Thou shalt not kill :" 
thou shalt do no hurt to thyself. 

1. Thou shalt not hurt thy own body. 
One may be guilty of self-murder, either, 1st. 
indirectly and occasionally ; or, 2d, directly 
and absolutely. 

(1). Indirectly and occasionally ; as, 

First, When a man thrusts himself into 
danger which he might prevent ; as if a com- 
pany of archers were shooting, and one 
should go and stand in the place where the 
arrows fly, if the arrow did kill him, he is 
accessary to his own death. In the law, 
God would have the leper shut up, to keep 
others from being infected, Lev. xiii. 4. 
Now, if any would be so presumptuous as to 
go in to the leper, and get the plague of 
leprosy, he might thank himself, he occasion- 
ed his own death. 

Secondly, A person may be in some sense 
guilty of his own death, by neglecting the use 
of means. If sick, and use no physic, — if he 
hath received a wound and will not apply 
balsam, — he hastens his own death. God 
appointed Hezekiah to lay a " lump of figs 
upon the boil," Isa. xxxviii. 21. If he had 
not used the lump of figs, he had been the 
cause of his own death. 

Thirdly, By immoderate grief, 2 Cor. vji. 
10, ' the sorrow of the world worketh death ;' 
when God takes away a dear relation, and 
one is swallowed up with sorrow. How many 
weep themselves into their graves ! Queen 
Mary grieved so excessively for the loss of 
Calais, that it broke her heart. t 

Fourthly, By intemperance, excess in diet. 
Surfeiting shortens life ; plures periere cra- 
pula, quam gladio ; many dig their grave 
with their teeth; too much oil chokes the 
lamp ; the cup kills more than the can- 



non. Excessive drinking causeth untimely 
death. 

(2). One may be guilty of self-murder, di- 
rectly and absolutely. 

First, By envy. Envy is tristitia de bonis 
alienis, — a secret repining at the welfare of 
another. Invidus alterius rebus macrescit 
opimis. An envious man is more sorry at 
another's prosperity, than at his own adver- 
sity ; he never laughs, but when another 
weeps. Envy is a self-murder, a fretting 
canker. Cyprian calls it vulnus occultum, — 
' a secret wound ;' it hurts a man's self most. 
Envy corrodes the heart, dries up the blood, 
rots the bones, Prov. xiv. 30, " Envy is the 
rottenness of the bones." It is to the body, 
as the moth to the cloth, it eats it, and makes 
its beauty consume ; envy drinks its own 
venom. The viper, which leaped on Paul's 
hand, thought to have hurt Paul, but fell her- 
self into the fire, Acts xxviii. 3. So, while 
the envious man thinks to hurt another, he 
destroys himself. 

Second, By laying violent hands on him- 
self, and thus he is felo de se ; as Saul fell 
upon his own sword and killed himself. And 
because I see so many in the bills of mortali- 
ty, who make away themselves, let me a 
little expatiate. It is the most unnatural and 
barbarous kind of murder for a man to but- 
cher himself and imbrue his hands in his own 
blood. A man's self is most near to him, 
therefore this sin of self-murder breaks both 
the law of God, and the bonds of nature. 
The Lord hath placed the soul in the body, 
as in a prison ; now it is a great sin to break 
prison, till God by death open the door. Self- 
murderers are worse than the brute-crea- 
tures : they will tear and gore one another, 
but no beast will go to destroy itself. Self- 
murder is occasioned usually from discontent; 
discontent is joined with a sullen melancholy. 
The bird that beats herself in the cage, and 
is ready to kill herself, is the true emblem 
of a discontented spirit. And this discon- 
tent ariseth, 1. From pride. A man that 
is swelled with a high opinion of himself, 
thinks he deserves better than others ; and 
if any cross befall him, he is discontented, 
and now in a sudden passion will make 
away himself. Ahithophel had high thoughts 



OF THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 



313 



of himself, his words were esteemed oracles ; 
and to have his wise counsel rejected, he was 
not able to bear it, 2 Sam. xvii. 23, " He put 
his household in order, and hanged himself." 
— 2. From poverty. Poverty is a sore temp- 
tation, Prov. xxx. 8, " Give me not poverty." 
Many by their sin have brought themselves 
to poverty ; and when a great estate is boiled 
away to nothing, then they are discontented, 
and think better to die quickly, than languish 
in misery : hereupon the devil helps them to 
despatch themselves. — 3. From covetousness. 
Avarice is a dry drunkenness, a horse-leech 
that is never satisfied. The covetous man 
is like Behemoth, Job xl. 23, " Behold he 
drinketh up a river, and hasteth not." The 
covetous miser hoards up corn ; and if he 
hears the price of corn begins to fall, then he 
is troubled, and there is no cure for his dis- 
content but a halter. — 4. From horror of 
mind. A man hath sinned a great sin, he hath 
swallowed down some pills of temptation the 
devil hath given him, and these pills begin to 
work in his conscience, and the horror is so 
great, that he chooseth strangling. Judas 
having betrayed innocent blood, he was in 
that agony, that he hanged himself to quiet 
his conscience ; as if one should, to avoid the 
stinging of a gnat, endure the biting of a ser- 
pent. This self-murder, is a high breach of 
this commandment; it is an execrable sin. 
I can see no ground of hope for such as make 
away themselves ; for they die in the very act 
of sin and cannot have time to repent. 

2. Here is forbidden hurting one's own 
soul, " thou shalt not kill." Many who are 
free from other murders, yet are guilty here ; 
they go about to murder their own souls ; 
they are wilfully set to damn themselves, and 
throw themselves into hell. 

Quest. Who are they that go about 
desperately to murder their own souls. 

Ans. 1. Such wilfully go about to murder 
their souls, who have no sense of God, or the 
other world ; they are " past feeling," Eph. 
iv. 19. Tell them of God's holiness and 
justice, they are not at all affected, Zech. 
vii. 12, " They made their hearts like an 
adamant." The adamant, saith Pliny, is in- 
superable, the hammer cannot conquer it. 
Sinners have adamantine hearts. The altar 
2R 



of stone, when the prophet spake to it, ' rent 
asunder,' 1 Kings xiii. 5 ; but sinners' hearts 
are so hardened in sin, that nothing will 
work upon them, — neither ordinances nor 
judgments ; they do not believe a Deity ; 
they laugh at hell ; these go about to murder 
their own souls, they are throwing them- 
selves as fast as they can into hell. 

A. 2. Such as are set wilfully to murder their 
own souls, are they who are resolved upon 
their lusts, let what will come of it. The soul 
may cry out, " I am killing ! I am murder- 
ing !" Eph. iv. 19, " They have given them- 
selves over to work all uncleanness with 
greediness." Let ministers speak to them 
about their sins, — let conscience speak, — let 
affliction speak, — yet they will have their 
lusts, though they go to hell for them. Are 
not these resolved to murder their souls 1 As 
Agrippina, mother to Nero said, occidat modo 
imperet, — ' let my son kill me, so he may 
reign ;' so many say in their hearts, let our 
sins damn us, so they may but please us. 
Herod will have his incestuous lust, though it 
cost him his soul ; men will, for a drop of 
pleasure, drink a sea of wrath. Are not these 
about to massacre and damn their own souls. 

A. 3. They murder their souls, who avoid 
all means of saving their souls. They will 
go to plays, to drunken meetings, but will 
not set their foot within God's house, or 
come near the sound of the gospel-trumpet ; 
as if one that is diseased should shun the 
bath, for fear of being healed. These do 
wilfully damn their souls, and are as great 
murderers of themselves, as be, who having 
means of cure offered him, chooseth death 
rather than physic. 

A. 4. They do voluntarily murder their 
souls, who suck in false prejudices against 
religion ; as if religion were so strict and 
severe, that they who espouse holiness, 
must live a melancholy life, like hermits 
and anchorites, and drown all their joy in 
tears. This is a slander which the devil 
hath cast upon religion : for there is no 
true joy but in believing, Rom. xv. 13. 
No honey so sweet as that which drops 
from a promise. Some men have foolishly 
taken up a prejudice against religion ; they 
are resolved rather never to go to heaven, 



314 



OF THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 



than to go thither through the strait gate. 
I may say of prejudice, as Paul to Elymas, 
Acts xiii. 10, " O full of subtilty and all mis- 
chief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy 
of all righteousness," how many souls hast 
thou damned ! 

A. 5. They are wilfully set to murder 
their own souls, who will neither be good 
themselves, nor suffer others to be so, Matt, 
xxiii. 13, " Ye neither go in yourselves, 
neither suffer ye them that are entering, to 



go in." Such are those that persecute others 
for their religion. Drunken meetings shall 
escape punishments ; but, if men meet to 
serve God, then let all severity be used. 
These are resolved to shipwreck others, 
though they themselves are cast away in the 
storm. Oh ! take heed of this, of murdering 
your own souls : no creature but man doth 
willingly kill itself. So I have done with the 
first, the sin forbidden in this commandment, 
' thou shalt not kill.' 



Exod. xx. 13. Thou shalt not kill. 



II. The duty implied is, that we should do 
all the good we can to ourselves and others. 

1st. In reference to others : we should 
endeavour to preserve the lives and souls of 
others. 2d. In reference to ourselves : to 
preserve our own life and soul. 

1st. In reference to others. 1. To pre- 
serve the life of others. Comfort them in 
their sorrows, — relieve them in their wants, 
— be as the good Samaritan, pour wine and 
oil into their wounds : Job xxix. 16, " I was 
a father to the poor; v. 13. The blessing of 
him that was ready to perish came upon me." 
This is a great means of preserving the life 
of another, by relieving him when he is ready 
to perish. Pompey, when there was a great 
dearth in Rome, provided corn for their relief ; 
and when the mariners were backward to sail 
thither in a tempest, said he, " It is not ne- 
cessary that we should live, but it is neces- 
sary that Rome be relieved." Grace makes 
the heart tender, — it causeth sympathy and 
charity ; as it melts the heart, in contrition 
towards God, so in compassion towards 
others, Ps. cxii. 9, " He hath dispersed, — 
he hath given to the poor." This the com- 
mandment implies, that we should be so far 
from ruining others, that we should do all 
we can to preserve the lives of others. When 
we see the picture of death drawn in their 
faces, administer to their necessities, — be 
temporal saviours to them, — draw them out 
of the waters of affliction with a silver cord 
of charity. That I may persuade you to this, 
let me lay before you arguments : 



First. Works of charity evidence grace. 

1. Faith. James ii. 18, "I will show 
thee my faith by my works." Works are 
faith's letters of credence to show. We 
judge of the health of the body by the pulse 
where the blood stirs and operates : Chris- 
tian, judge of the health of thy faith by the 
pulse of charity : the word of God is the rule 
of faith, and good works are the witnesses of 
faith. 

2. Love. Love loves mercy : it is a noble 
bountiful grace. Mary loved Christ, and how 
liberal was her love ! She bestowed on 
Christ her tears, kisses, costly ointments. 
Love, like a full vessel, will have vent ; it 
vents itself in acts of liberality. 

Secondly. To communicate to the neces- 
sities of others, is not arbitrary (it is not 
left to our choice whether we will or no) but 
it is a duty incumbent, 1 Tim. vi. 17, 18, 
" Charge them that are rich in this world 
that they do good, that they be rich in good 
works." This is not only a counsel, but a 
charge. If God should lay a charge upon the 
inanimate creatures, they would obey ; if he 
would charge the rocks, they would send 
forth water ; if he should charge the clouds, 
they would melt into showers ; if he should 
charge the stones, they would become bread. 
And shall we be harder than the stones not 
to obey God, when he chargeth us to "be 
rich in good works V* 

Thirdly. God supplies our wants, and 
shall not we supply the wants of others'? 
" We could not live without mercy." God 



OF THE SIXTH 

makes every creature helpful to us ; the sun 
doth enrich us with its golden beams, — the 
earth yields us its increase, veins of gold, 
crops of corn, store of flowers. God opens 
the treasury of his mercy ; he feeds us every 
day out of the alms-basket of his providence : 
f* Thou openest thy hand, and satisfiest the 
desire of every living thing," Ps. cxlv. 16. 
Now, doth God supply our wants, and shall 
not we minister to the wants of others ] 
Shall we be only as a sponge to suck in mer- 
cy, and not as breasts to milk it out to others 2 
Fourthly. Herein we resemble God, to be 
doing good to others. It is our excellency 
to be like God : 4 godliness is God-likeness.' 
And wherein are we more like to him, than 
in acts of bounty and munificence'? Ps. cxix. 
68, " Thou art good, and doest good." 
* Thou art good," — there is God's essential 
goodness ; and " doest good," — there is his 
communicative goodness. The more help- 
ful we are to others, the more like we are to 
God ; we cannot be like God in omnisciency 
or in working miracles, but we may be like 
him in doing works of mercy. 

Fifthly. God remembers all our deeds of 
charity, and takes them kindly at our hands : 
Heb. vi. 10, " God is not unrighteous to for- 
get your work and labour of love which you 
have showed towards his name, in that you 
have ministered unto the saints." The chief 
butler may forget Joseph's kindness, but the 
Lord will not forget any kindness we show 
to his people : Matt. xxv. 35, "I was an 
hungered, and ye gave me meat ; thirsty, and 
ye gave me drink." Christ takes the kind- 
ness done to his saints, as done to himself. 
God, that hath a bottle for your tears, hath a 
book to write down your alms, Mai. iii. 16, 
" A book of remembrance was written before 
him." Tamerlane had a register to write 
down all the names and good services of his 
soldiers : so, God hath a book of remembrance 
to write down all your charitable works, and 
at the day of judgment there shall be an open 
and honourable mention made of them in 
presence of the angels. 

Sixthly. Hard-heartedness to them in 
misery reproacheth the gospel . When men's 
hearts are like pieces of rocks, or as the 
scales of the leviathan, " shut up together 



COMMANDMENT. 315 

as with a close seal," Job xli. 15, you may 
as well extract oil of flint, as the golden oil 
of charity out of their hearts. These un- 
christian themselves. Unmercifulness is the 
sin of the heathen, Rom. i. 31. Without 
mercy. It eclipseth the glory of the gospel. 
Doth the gospel teach uncharitableness 1 
Doth it not bid us "draw out thy soul to the 
hungry V Isa. lviii. 10. Tit. iii. 8, " These 
things I will that thou affirm constantly, that 
they which have believed in God, might be 
careful to maintain good works." While 
you relieve not such as are in want, you walk 
antipodes to the gospel ; you cause it to be 
evil spoken of, and lay it open to the lash 
and censure of others. 

Seventhly. There is nothing lost by re- 
lieving the necessitous. The Shunamite 
woman was kind to the prophet, she wel- 
comed him to her house, and she received 
kindness from him another way ; he restored 
her dead child to life, 2 Kings iv. 35. Such 
as are helpful to others, shall " find mercy to 
help in time of need." Such as pour out the 
golden oil of compassion to others, God will 
pour out the golden oil of salvation to them ; 
for " a cup of cold water" they shall have 
" rivers of pleasure." Nay, God will make 
it up some way or other in this life, Prov. xi. 
25, " The liberal soul shall be made fat ;" as 
the loaves in breaking multiplied ; or, as the 
widow's oil increased in pouring out, 1 Kings 
xvii. 10. An estate may be imparted, yet 
not impaired. 

Eighthly. To do good to others in ne- 
cessity, keeps up the credit of religion. 
Works of mercy adorn the gospel, as the 
fruit adorns the tree ; when ' our light so 
shines that others see our good works,' this 
glorifies God, crowns religion, silenceth the 
lips of gainsayers. Basil saith, nothing ren- 
dered the true religion more famous in the 
primitive times, and made more proselytes 
to it, than the bounty and charity of the 
Christians. 

Ninthly, and lastly. The evil that doth 
accrue by not preserving the lives of others, 
and helping them in their necessities : God 
sends oft a secret moth into their estate, 
Prov. xi. 24, "There is that withholdeth 
more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty," 



316 



OF THE SIXTH COMMANDMENT. 



Prov. xxi. 13, " Whoso stoppeth his ears at 
the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, 
but shall not be heard," James ii. 13, " He 
shall have judgment without mercy, that 
hath showed no mercy." Dives denied La- 
zarus a crumb of bread, and Dives was 
denied a drop of water, Matt. xxv. 41, 42, 
" Depart from me, ye cursed ; for I was an 
hungered, and ye gave me no meat." Christ 
saith not ye took away my meat ; but " ye 
gave me no meat ;" ye did not feed my 
members, therefore, " depart from me." 
By all this, be ready to distribute to the 
necessities of others. This is included in 
the commandment, ' Thou shalt not kill.' 
Not only thou shalt not destroy his life, but 
thou shalt preserve it by ministering to his 
necessities. 

2. It is implied, that we should endeavour 
to preserve the souls of others ; counsel 
them about their souls, — set life and death 
before them, — help them to heaven. In the 
law, if one met his neighbour's ox or ass 
going astray, he must bring him back again, 
Exod. xxxiii. 4; much more, if we see our 
neighbour's soul going astray, we should use 
all means to bring him back to God by re- 
pentance. 

2d. In reference to ourselves. The com- 
mandment, " Thou shalt not kill," requires 
that we should preserve our own life and 
soul. — 1. It is engraven upon every creature, 
that we should preserve our own natural life. 
We must be so far from self-murder, that we 
must do all we can to preserve our natural 
life ; we must use all means of diet, exercise 
and lawful recreation, which is like oil to 
preserve the lamp of life from going out. 
Some have been under temptation ; Satan 
has suggested they are such sinners as do not 
deserve a bit of bread, and so they have been 
ready to starve themselves : this is contrary 
to this sixth commandment, " thou shalt do 
no murder ;" it is implied, we are to use all 
means for the preservation of our own life, 
1 Tim. v. 23, " Drink no longer water, but 
use a little wine for thy stomach's sake." 
Timothy was not by drinking too much water 
to overcool his stomach, and weaken nature, 
but we must use means for self-preservation, 
' drink a little wine,' &c 



2. This commandment requires, that we 
should endeavour (as to preserve our own 
life, so especially) to preserve our own 
souls. — 

Omnia perdas animam servare memento. 
It is engraven upon every creature, as with 
the point of a diamond, that it should look to 
its own preservation. If the life of the body 
must be preserved, then much more the life 
of the soul. If he who doth not provide for 
his own house is worse than an infidel, 1 Tim. 
v. 8, then much more he who doth not pro- 
vide for his own soul. This is a main thing 
implied in the commandment, a special care 
for the preserving our souls ; the soul is the 
jewel, the soul is a diamond set in a ring of 
clay ; Christ puts the soul in balance with the 
world, and it outweighs, Matt. xvi. 26. The 
soul is a glass, in which some rays of divine 
glory shine ; it hath in it some faint idea and 
resemblance of a Deity ; it is a celestial 
spark lighted by the breath of God. The 
body was made of the dust, but the soul is of 
a more noble extract and original, Gen. ii. 7, 
" God breathed into his nostrils the breath of 
life, and man became a living soul." 

1. The soul is excellent in its nature. It 
is a spiritual being, — ' it is a kind of angeli- 
cal thing,' — the mind sparkles with know- 
ledge, the will is crowned with liberty, and 
all the affections are as stars shining in their 
orb. The soul being spiritual, (1). It is of 
quick operation. How quick are the motions 
of a spark ! How swift the wing of a cheru- 
bim ! So quick and agile is the motion of 
the soul. What is quicker than a thought 1 
How many miles can the soul travel in an 
instant ! (2). The soul, being spiritual, 
moves upward, — it contemplates God and 
glory, Ps. lxxiii. 25, " Whom have I in hea- 
ven but thee?" The motion of the soul is 
upward ; only sin hath put a wrong bias upon 
the soul, and made it move too much down- 
ward. (3). The soul being spiritual, hath a 
self-moving power ; it can subsist and move 
when the body is dead, as the mariner can 
subsist when the ship is broken. (4). The 
soul, being spiritual, is immortal, cBternitatis 
gemma, — ' a bud of eternity.' Scaliger. 

2. As the soul is excellent in its nature, 
so in its capacities. It is capable of grace, 



OF THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT. 



317 



— it is fit to be an associate and companion 
of angels. It is capable of communion with 
God, — of being Christ's spouse, 2 Cor. xii. 15, 
That I might espouse your virgin souls to 
Christ. It is capable of being crowned with 
glory for ever. O then, carrying such pre- 
cious souls about you, created with the breath 
of God, redeemed with the blood of God, what 
endeavours should you use for the saving of 
these souls ! Let not the devil have your souls. 
Heliogabalus fed his lions with pheasants : 
the devil is called a roaring lion, feed him not 
with your souls. Besides the excellency of 
the soul, which may make you labour to get 
it saved, consider how sad it will be not to 
have the soul saved ; it is such a loss as there 
is none like it ; because, in losing the soul you 
lose a great many things with it. A merchant 
in losing his ship, loseth many things with it ,• 
he loseth money, jewels, spices, &c. so, he 
that loseth his soul loseth Christ, the company 
of angels in heaven ; it is an infinite loss, and 
it is an irreparable loss ; it can never be made 
up again. Two eyes but one soul, Chrys. 
O what care should be taken of the immortal 
soul ! I would request but this of you, that you 
would but. take as much care for the saving 
of your souls, as you do for the getting of an 
estate : nay, I will say this, do but take as 
much care for the saving your souls as the 
devil doth for destroying them. O how in- 
dustrious is Satan to damn souls ! How doth 
he play the serpent in his subtle laying of 
snares to catch souls ! How doth he shoot 
fiery darts ; the devil is never idle ; the devil 
is a busy bishop in his diocese, he " walketh 
about seeking whom he may devour," 1 Pet. 
v. 8. Now, is not this a reasonable request, 



to take but as much care for the saving of 
your souls, as the devil doth for the destroy- 
ing of them 1 

Quest. How shall we do to get our souls 

saved ? 

Ans. By having them sanctified. Only the 
" pure in heart shall see God." Get your 
souls inlaid and enamelled with holiness, 1 
Pet. i. 16. It is not enough that < we cease to 
do evil,' (which is all the evidence some have 
to show) this is to lose heaven by short shoot- 
ing ; but we must be inwardly sanctified ; not 
only the ' unclean spirit' must go out, but we 
must be filled with the ' Holy Ghost,' Eph. 
v. 18. This holiness must needs be, if you 
consider God is to dwell with you here, and 
you are to dwell with him hereafter. 

First. God is to dwell with you here. God 
takes up the soul for his own lodging, Eph. 
iii. 17, " That Christ may dwell in your 
heart." Therefore the soul -must be conse- 
crated. A king's palace must be kept clean, 
especially his presence-chamber. " The body 
is the temple of the Holy Ghost," 1 Cor. vi. 
19, then the soul is the sanctum sanctorum : 
how holy ought that to be ? 

Secondly. You are to dwell with God. 
Heaven is a holy place, 1 Pet. i. 4, " An 
inheritance undefiled." And how can you 
dwell with God till you are sanctified ) We 
do not put wine into a musty vessel : God 
will not put the new wine of glory into a 
sinful heart. O then, as you love your souls, 
and would have them saved eternally, endea- 
vour after holiness ! By this means you will 
have an identity and fitness for the kingdom 
of heaven, and your souls will be saved in the 
day of the Lord Jesus. 



OF THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT. 
Exod. xx. 14. Thou shalt not commit adultery. 



God is a pure, holy spirit, and hath an 
infinite antipathy against all uncleanness. 
In this commandment he hath entered his 
caution against it, non machaberis, — " Thou 
shalt not commit adultery." The sum of 
this commandment is, the preservation of 



corporal purity. We must take heed of 
running on the rock of uncleanness, and so 
making shipwreck of our chastity. In this 
commandment there is something tacitly im- 
plied, and something expressly forbidden. 
I. Something tacitly implied, viz. That 



318 



OF THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT. 



the ordinance of marriage should be ob- 
served. 

II. Something expressly forbidden, viz. 
The infecting ourselves with bodily pollu- 
tions, " Thou shalt not commit adultery." 

I. Something implied, — that the ordinance 
of marriage should be observed, 1 Cor. vii. 2, 
*' Let every man have his own wife, and let 
every woman have her own husband." 
" Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed 
undefiled," Heb. xiii. 4. God did institute 
marriage in paradise ; he brought the woman 
to the man, Gen. ii. 22. He did as it were 
give them in marriage. And Jesus Christ did 
honour marriage with his presence, John ii. 2. 
The first miracle he wrought was at a mar- 
riage, when he turned the water into wine. 
Marriage is a type and resemblance of the 
mystical union between Christ and his church, 
Eph. v. 32. Concerning marriage, 

1st. There are general duties. — 1. The 
general duty of the husband is to rule, Eph. 
v. 23, " The husband is the head of the wife." 
The head is the seat of rule and government; 
but he must rule with discretion. He is 
head, therefore must not rule without reason. 
— 2. The general duty on the wife's part is 
submission. Eph. v. 22, " Wives submit 
yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto 
the Lord." It is observable the Holy Ghost 
passed by Sarah's failings, he doth not men- 
tion her unbelief, but he takes notice of that 
which was good in her, her reverence and 
obedience to her husband, 1 Pet. iii. 6, 
" Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord." 

2d. Special duties belonging to marriage 
are love and fidelity. — 1. Love, Eph. v. 25, 
Love is the marriage of the affections. There 
is as it were but one heart in two bodies ; 
love lines the yoke and makes it easy ; love 
perfumes the marriage relation, without 
which it is not conjugium but conjurgium ; 
it is like two poisons in one stomach, one is 
ever sick of the other. — 2. Fidelity. In 
marriage there is mutual promise of living 
together faithfully according to God's holy 
ordinance. Among the Romans, on the day 
of marriage, the woman presented to her 
husband fire and water : fire refines metal, 
water cleanseth, — hereby signifying, that she 
would live with her husband in chastity and 



sincerity. This is the first thing in the com- 
mandment implied, that the ordinance of 
marriage should be purely observed. 

II. The thing forbidden in the command- 
ment, i. e. infecting ourselves with bodily 
pollution and uncleanness. " Thou shalt not 
commit adultery." The fountain of this sin 
is lust. Since the fall, holy love is degene- 
rated to lust. Lust is the fever of the souh 
There is a two-fold adultery : 1. Mental, 
Matt. v. 28, " Whosoever looketh on a woman 
to lust after her, hath committed adultery 
with her already in his heart." As a man 
may die of an inward bleeding, so he maybe 
damned for the inward boilings of lust, if 
they be not mortified. — 2. Corporal adultery, 
when sin hath conceived, and brought forth 
in the act. This is expressly forbidden under 
a sub poena, " Thou shalt not commit adul- 
tery." This commandment is set as a 
hedge to keep out uncleanness; and they 
that break this hedge a serpent shall bite 
them. ' Job calls adultery a heinous crime, 
Job. xxxi. 11. Every failing is not a crime ; 
and every crime is not a heinous crime ; but 
adultery is fiagitium, — a heinous crime. 
The Lord calls it villany, Jer. xxix. 23, 
" They have committed villany in Israel, and 
have committed adultery with their neigh- 
bours' wives." 

Quest. Wherein appears the heinous- 
ness of this sin of adultery ? 

Ans. 1. In that adultery is the breach of 
the marriage-oath. When persons come to- 
gether in a matrimonial way they bind them- 
selves by covenant each to other, in the pre- 
sence of God, to be true and faithful in the 
conjugal relation. Unchastity is a falsifying 
this solemn oath; and herein adultery is 
worse than fornication, because it is a breach 
of the conjugal bond. 

A. 2. The heinousness of adultery lies in 
this, That it is such a high dishonour done 
to God. God saith, " Thou shalt not com- 
mit adultery." The adulterer sets his will 
above God's law, tramples upon God's com- 
mand, affronts him to his face ; as if a sub- 
ject should tear his prince's proclamation. 
The adulterer is highly injurious to all the 
persons in the Trinity. 1. To God the 
Father. Sinner, God hath given thee thy 



OF THE SEVENTH 



COMMANDMENT. 



319 



life, and thou dost waste the lamp of thy life, 
the flower of thy age in lewdness ; he hath 
bestowed on thee many mercies, health and 
estate, and thou spendest all on harlots. 
Did God give thee wages to serve the devil ? 
2. Injurious to God the Son, two ways. 
First, As he hath purchased thee with his 
blood, 1 Cor. vi. 20, " Ye are bought with a 
price." Now, he who is bought is not his 
own ; it is a sin for him to go to another, 
without consent from Christ, who hath 
' bought him with a price.' Secondly, By 
virtue of baptism thou art a Christian, and 
professest that Christ is thy head, and thou 
art a member of Christ ; therefore, what an 
injury is it to Christ, to take the members of 
Christ, and make them the " members of a 
harlot V 1 Cor. vi. 15. 3. It is injurious to 
God the Holy Ghost ; for the body is his 
temple, 1 Cor. vi. 19, "Know ye not that 
your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost 
which is in you V And what a sin is it to 
defile his temple ! 

A. 3. The heinousness of adultery lies in 
this, that it is committed with mature delibe- 
ration. First, there is the contriving the sin 
in the mind, then consent in the will, and then 
the sin is put forth into act. To sin against 
the light of nature, and to sin deliberately, is 
like the dye to the wool, it gives sin a tinc- 
ture, and dyes it of a crimson colour. 

A. 4. That which makes adultery so hei- 
nous, is, that it is a sin after remedy. God 
hath provided a remedy to prevent this sin, 
1 Cor. vii. 2, " To avoid fornication let every 
man have his own wife." Therefore after 
this remedy prescribed, to be guilty of forni- 
cation or adultery, is inexcusable ; it is like 
a rich thief, that steals when he hath no need. 
This doth enhance and accent the sin, and 
make it heinous. 

Use 1st. It condemns the church of Rome, 
who allow the sin of fornication and adultery. 
They suffer not their priests to marry, but 
they may have their courtesans. The worst 
kind of uncleanness, incest with the nearest 
of kin, is dispensed with for money. It was 
once said of Rome, Urbs est jam toot lupa- 
nar, — Rome is become a common stew. 
And no wonder, when the pope could for a 
sum of money give them a license and patent 



to commit uncleanness ; and, if the patent 
were not enough, he would give them a par- 
don ! Many of the papists judge fornication 
venial. God condemns the very lusting, 
Matt. v. 28. If God condemns the thought, 
how dare they allow the fact of fornication 1 
You see what a cage of unclean birds the 
church of Rome is ; they call themselves the 
Holy Catholic Church, but, how can they be 
holy, who are so steeped and parboiled in 
fornication, incest, sodomy, and all manner 
of uncleanness 1 

Use 2d. It is matter of lamentation to see 
this commandment so slighted and violated 
among us. Adultery is the reigning sin of 
the times, Hos. vii. 4, " They are all adulter- 
ers, as an oven heated by the baker." The 
time of King Henry VIII. was called the 
golden age, but this may be called the unclean 
age, wherein whore-hunting is common : 
Ezek. xxiv. 13, " In thy filthiness is lewd- 
ness." Luther tells of one who said, if he 
might but satisfy his lust, and be carried from 
one whore-house to another, he would desire 
no other heaven ; afterwards he breathed out 
his soul betwixt two notorious strumpets. 
This is to be the right seed of Adam, to love 
the forbidden fruit, to love to drink of stolen 
waters : Ezek. viii. 8, 9, " Son of man, dig 
now in the wall ; and when I had digged, 
behold a door; and he said unto me, Go in 
and behold the wicked abominations that they 
do here." Could we, as the prophet, dig in 
the walls of many houses, what vile abomi- 
nations should we see there ! In some cham- 
bers we might see fornication ; dig further,, 
and see adultery ; dig further, and we may 
see incest, &c. And may not the Lord go 
from his sanctuary ; as Ezek. viii. 6, " Seest 
thou the great abominations that the house of 
Israel committeth here, that I should go far 
off from my sanctuary ?" God might remove 
his gospel, and then we might write I-cha- 
bod on this nation, ' The glory is departed.' 
Let us mourn for what we cannot reform. 

Use 3d. It exhorts us to keep ourselves 
from this sin of adultery, * Let every man 
have his own wife," saith Paul, 1 Cor. vii. 2, 
not his concubine, nor his courtesan. Now, 
that I may deter you from adultery, let me 
show you the great evil of it. 



320 



OF THE SEVENTH 



COMMANDMENT. 



First, It is a thievish sin. Adultery is the 
highest sort of theft ; the adulterer steals 
from his neighbour that which is more than 
his goods and estate, — he steals away his 
wife from him, 4 who is flesh of his flesh.' 

Secondly, Adultery debaseth a person ; it 
makes him resemble the beasts ; therefore 
the adulterer is described like a horse neigh- 
ing, Jer. v. 8, " Every one neighed after his 
neighbour's wife." Nay, this is worse than 
brutish ; for some creatures that are void of 
reason, yet, by the instinct of nature, observe 
a kind of decorum of chastity. The turtle- 
dove is a chaste creature, and keeps to its 
mate ; the stork, wherever he flies, comes 
into no nest but his own. Naturalists write, 
if a stork, leaving his own mate, joineth with 
any other, all the rest of the storks fall upon 
him, and pull his feathers from him. Adul- 
tery is worse than brutish, it degrades a per- 
son of his honour. 

Thirdly, Adultery doth pollute and befilthy 
a person. The devil is called an " unclean 
spirit," Luke xi. 24. The adulterer is the 
devil's first-born ; he is unclean, — he is a mov- 
ing quagmire, — he is all over ulcerated with 
sin, — his eyes sparkle with lust, — his mouth 
foams out filth, — his heart burns like Mount 
Etna, in unclean desires, — he is so filthy 
that if he die in this sin all the flames of 
hell will never purge away his uncleanness. 
And, as for the adulteress, who can paint her 
black enough 1 The scripture calls her " a 
deep ditch," Prov. xxiii. 27. She is a com- 
mon sewer ; whereas a believer, his body is 
a living temple, and his soul a little heaven 
bespangled with the graces as so many little 
stars. The body of a harlot is a walking 
dunghill, and her soul a lesser hell. 

Fourthly, Adultery is destructive to the 
body, Prov. v. 11, "And thou mourn at the 
last, when thy flesh and thy body are con- 
sumed." It brings into a consumption. Un- 
cleanness turns the body into a hospital, — 
it wastes the radical moisture, rots the skull, 
eats the beauty of the face. As the flame 
wastes the candle, so the fire of lust" con- 
sumes the bones. The adulterer hastens his 
own death, Prov. vii. 23, " Till a dart strike 
through his liver." The Romans had their 
funerals at the gate of Venus's temple, to 



signify that lust brings death. Venus is 
lust. 

Fifthly, Adultery is a purgatory to the 
purse : as it. wastes the body, so the estate, 
Prov. vi. 26, " By means of a whorish wo- 
man, a man is brought to a piece of bread." 
Whores are the devil's horse-leeches,— 
sponges that will soon suck in all one's 
money. The prodigal had soon spent his 
portion when once he fell among harlots, 
Luke xv. 30. King Edward III. his concu- 
bine, when he lay a-dying, got all she could 
from him, and plucked the rings off his fin- 
gers, and so left him. He that lives in 
luxury, dies in beggary. 

Sixthly, Adultery blots and eclipseth the 
name, Prov. vi. 32, 33, " Whoso committeth 
adultery with a woman, a wound and dis- 
honour shall he get, and his reproach shall 
not be wiped away." Some while they get 
wounds, get honour. The soldier's wounds 
are full of honour ; the martyr's wounds for 
Christ are full of honour ; these get honour 
while they get wounds : but the adulterer gets 
wounds in his name, but no honour : "His 
reproach shall not be wiped away." The 
wounds of the name no physician can heal. 
The adulterer, when he is dead, his shame 
lives. When his body rots under ground, 
his name rots above ground. His base-born 
children will be the living monuments of his 
shame. 

Seventhly, This sin doth much eclipse the 
light of reason, — it steals away the under- 
standing, — it stupirles the heart, Hos.. iv. 11, 
" Whoredom takes away the heart." It eats 
out all heart for good. Solomon besotted 
himself with women, and they enticed him to 
idolatry. 

Eighthly, This sin of adultery ushers in tem- 
poral judgments. The Mosaical law made 
adultery death, Lev. xx. 10, " The adulterer 
and adulteress shall surely be put to death f* 
and the usual death was stoning, Deut.xxii. 24. 
The Saxons commanded the persons taken in 
this sin to be burnt. The Romans caused their 
heads to be stricken off. This sin like a scor- 
pion carries a sting in the tail of it. The adul- 
tery of Paris and Helena, a beautiful strumpet, 
ended in the ruin of Troy, and was the death 
both of Paris and Helena. " Jealousy is the 



OF THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT. 



321 



rage of a man;" and the adulterer is oft 
killed in the act of his sin. Adultery cost 
Otho the emperor, and pope Sixtus IV. their 
lives. 1 Lcetus venire Venus tristis abire 
solet* I have read of two citizens in Lon- 
don, 1583, who defiling themselves with 
.adultery on the Lord's day, were immediately 
struck dead with a fire from heaven. If all 
that were now guilty of this sin should be 
punished in this manner, it would rain fire 
again, as on Sodom. 

Ninthly, Adultery, (without repentance) 
damns the soul, 1 Cor. vi. 9, " Neither for- 
nicators, nor adulterers, nor effeminate," 
shall enter into the kingdom of God. The fire 
of lust brings to the fire of bell, Heb. xiii. 4, 
" Whoremongers and adulterers God will 
judge." Though men may neglect to judge 
them, yet God will judge them. But will not 
God judge all other sinners'? Yes. Why then 
doth the apostle say, ' Whoremongers and 
adulterers God will judge V The meaning is, 
1. He will judge them assuredly; they shall 
not escape the hand of justice. 2. He will 
punish them severely, 2 Pet. ii. 9, " The Lord 
knoweth how to reserve the unjust to the day 
of judgment to be punished, but chiefly them 
that walk in the lust of uncleanness." The 
harlot's breast keeps from Abraham's bosom, 
Momentaneum est quod delectat, ceternum 
quod cruciat. Who would, for a cup of plea- 
sure, drink a sea of wrath ? Prov. ix. 18, " Her 
guests are in the depths of hell." A wise 
traveller, when he comes to his inn, though 
many pleasant dishes are set before him, yet 
he forbears to taste, because of the reckoning 
which will be brought in : we are here all tra- 
vellers to Jerusalem above, and though many 
baits of temptation are set before us, yet we 
should forbear, and think of the reckoning 
which will be brought in at death. With what 
stomach could Dionysius eat his dainties, 
when he imagined there was a naked sword 
hung over his head as he sat at meat 1 While 
the adulterer feeds on strange flesh, the 
sword of God's justice hangs over his head. 
Causinus speaks of a tree that grows in Spain, 
that is of a sweet smell, and pleasant to the 
taste, but the juice of it is poisonous : the 
emblem of a harlot, — she is perfumed with 
powders, and fair to look on, but poisonous 
2 S 



and damnable to the soul, Prov. vii. 26, 
" She hath cast down many wounded, yea, 
many strong men have been slain by her." 

Tentbly, The adulterer doth not only 
wrong his own soul, but doth what in him lies 
to destroy the soul of another, and so kill two 
at once. And thus the adulterer is worse 
than the thief ; for, suppose a thief rob a man, 
yea, take away his life, yet that man's soul 
may be happy, he may go to heaven as well as 
if he had died in his bed. But he who com- 
mits adultery endangers the soul of another, 
and deprives her of salvation so far as in him 
lies. Now, what a fearful thing is it to be 
an instrument to draw another to hell ! 

Eleventhly, The adulterer is abhorred of 
God, Prov. xxii. 14, " The mouth of strange 
women is a deep pit : he that is abhorred of 
the Lord shall fall therein." What can be 
worse than to be abhorred of God 1 God 
may be angry with his own children ; but for 
God to abhor a man, is the highest degree of 
hatred. 

Quest. But how doth the Lord show his 
abhorrence of the adulterer 1 

Ans. In giving him up to a reprobate mind, 
and a seared conscience, Rom. i. 28. And 
now he is in such a condition that he cannot 
repent. This is to be abhorred of God ; such 
a person stands upon the threshhold of hell, 
and when death gives him a jog, he tumbles 
in. All which may sound a retreat in our 
ears, and call us off from the pursuit of so 
damnable a sin as uncleanness. I will con- 
clude with two scriptures, Prov. v. 8, " Come 
not nigh the door of her house ;" Prov. vii. 
27, w Her house is the way to hell." 

Twelfthly, Adultery is a sower of discord ; 
it destroys peace and love, the two best 
flowers which grow in a family. Adultery 
sets husband against wife, and wife against 
husband ; and so it causeth the 'joints of the 
same body to smite one against another.' 
And this division in a family works confu- 
sion ; for " A house divided against a house 
falleth," Luke xi. 17, Omne divisibile est 
corruptibile. 

Quest. How may we abstain from this 
sin of adultery ? 

Ans. I shall lay down some directions, by 
way of antidote, to keep you from being 



322 



OF THE SEVENTH 



COMMANDMENT. 



infected with this sin. — 1. Come not into 
the company of a whorish woman : avoid her 
house, as a seaman doth a rock, Prov. v. 8, 
" Come not near the door of her house." He 
who would not have the plague, must not 
come near houses infected; every whore- 
house hath the plague in it. Not to beware 
of the occasion of sin, and yet pray, " Lead 
us not into temptation," is, as if one should 
put his finger into the candle, and yet pray 
that it may not be burnt. — 2. Look to your 
eyes. Much sin comes in by the eye, 2 Pet. 
ii. 14, " Having eyes full of adultery." The 
eye tempts the fancy, and the fancy works 
upon the heart. A wanton amorous eye may 
usher in sin. Eve first saw the tree of know- 
ledge, and then she took, Gen. iii. 6. First 
she looked and then she loved. The eye oft 
sets the heart on fire ; therefore Job laid a 
law upon his eyes, Job xxxi. 1, " I made a 
covenant with my eyes, why then should I 
think upon a maid]" Democritus the phi- 
losopher plucked out his eyes because he 
would not be tempted with vain objects : the 
scripture doth not bid us do so, but set a 
watch before our eyes. — 3. Look to your lips. 
Take heed of any unseemly word that may 
enkindle unclean thoughts in yourselves or 
others, 1 Cor. xv. 33, " Evil communications 
corrupt good manners." Impure discourse 
is the bellows to blow up the fire of lust. 
Much evil is conveyed to the heart by the 
tongue, Ps. cxli. 3, " Set a watch, O Lord, 
before my mouth." — 4. Look in a special 
manner to your heart, Prov. iv. 23, " Keep 
thy heart with all diligence." Every one 
hath a tempter in his own bosom, Matt. xv. 
19, " Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts." 
And thinking of sin makes way for the act 
of sin. Suppress the first risings of sin in 
your heart. As the serpent, when danger is 
near, keeps his head ; so keep your heart, 
which is the spring from whence all lustful 
motions do proceed. — 5. Look to your attire. 
We read of "the attire of a harlot," Prov. 
vii. 10. A wanton dress is a provocation to 
lust. Curlings and towerings of the hair, a 
painted face, naked breasts, are allurements 
to vanity. Where the bush is hung out, 
people will go in and taste of the liquor. 
Hierom saith, such as by their lascivious 



attire endeavour to draw others to lust, 
though no evil follow, yet these tempters 
shall be punished, because they offered poison 
to others though they would not drink. — 
6. Take heed of evil company. Serpunt 
vitia et en proximum quemque transiliunt, 
Sen. Sin is a disease very catching: one 
man tempts another to sin, and hardens him 
in sin. There are three cords to draw men 
to adultery : the inclination of the heart, — the 
persuasion of evil company, — and the em- 
braces of the harlot; and this three-fold cord 
is not easily broken, Ps. cvi. 18, " A fire was 
kindled in their company." I may allude to 
it, the fire of lust is kindled in bad company. 
— 7. Beware of going to plays. A play-house 
is oft a preface to a whore-house, — Ludi 
prcehent semina nequitice. We are bid to 
avoid all appearance of evil : are not plays 
the appearance of evil 1 Such sights are there 
as are not fit to be beheld with chaste eyes. 
Both Fathers and Councils have shown their 
dislike of going to plays. A learned divine 
observes, that many have on their death-beds, 
confessed with tears, that the pollution of 
their bodies hath been occasioned by going to 
plays. — 8. Take heed of mixed dancing. In- 
strumenta luxuria tripudia. From dancing, 
people come to dalliance one with another, 
and from dalliance to uncleanness. There is, 
saith Calvin, for the most part, some unchaste 
behaviour in dancing. Dances draw the heart 
to folly by wanton gestures, by unchaste 
touches, by lustful looks. St Chrysostom did 
inveigh against mixed dancing in his time. 
" We read (saith he) of a marriage-feast, and 
of virgins going before with lamps," Matt, 
xxv. 10, 4 but of dancing there we read not/ 
Many have been ensnared by dancing; as 
the duke of Normandy and others. Salta- 
tio ad adulteras non pudicas pertinet, Amb. 
Chrysostom saith, where dancing is, there 
the devil is: I speak chiefly of mixed 
dancing. And, whereas we read of dances 
in scripture, Exod. xv, those were sober and 
modest. They were not mixed dances, but 
pious and religious, being usually accom- j 
panied with singing praises to God. — 9. 
Take heed of lascivious books, and those 
pictures that provoke to lust. (1). Books. 
As the reading of the scripture doth stir up 



OF THE SEVENTH 



COMMANDMENT. 



323 



iove to God, so reading of bad books doth stir 
up the mind to wickedness. I could name 
one who published a book to the world full 
of effeminate, amorous, and wanton expres- 
sions : before he died, he was much troubled 
for it, and did burn that book, which did make 
so many burn in lust. (2). And to lascivious 
books, I may add lascivious pictures, which 
bewitch the eye, and are the incendiaries of 
lust. They secretly convey poison to the 
heart. Qui aspicit innocens aspectu Jit 
nocens. Popish pictures are not more prone 
to stir up idolatry, than unclean pictures are 
to stir up to concupiscence. — 10. Take heed 
of excess in diet. When gluttony and 
drunkenness lead the van, chambering and 
wantonness bring up the rear. Vinum 
f omentum libidinis ; any wine inflames lust ; 
and fulness of bread is made the cause of 
Sodom's uncleanness, Ezek. xvi. 49. The 
rankest weeds grow out of the fattest soil ; 
uncleanness proceeds from excess, Jer. v. 8, 
When they were fed to the full, " every one 
neighed after his neighbour's wife." Get the 
'golden bridle of temperance.'-, God allows 
recruits of nature, and what may fit us the 
better for his service : but beware of surfeit 
Excess in the creature clouds the mind, 
chokes good affections, provokes lust. St 
Paul did keep under his body, 1 Cor. ix. 27. 
The flesh pampered is apt to rebel, — Corpus 
impinguatam recalcitrat. — 11. Take heed of 
idleness. When a man is out of a calling, 
now he is fit to receive any temptation. We 
do not use to sow seed in fallow ground : but 
the devil sows most seed of temptation in 
such as lie fallow. Idleness is the cause of 
sodomy and uncleanness, Ezek. xvi. 49. 
When David was idle on the top of his leads, 
then he espied Bathsheba, and took her to 
him, 2 Sam. xi. 4. Hierom gave his friend 
this counsel, to be always well employed in 
God's vineyard ; that when the devil came, he 
might have no leisure to listen to a tempta- 
tion. — 12. To avoid fornication and adultery, 
let every man have a chaste, entire love to 
his own wife. Ezekiel's wife was the desire 
of his eyes, chap. xxiv. 16. When Solomon 
had dissuaded from strange women, he pre- 
scribes a remedy against it, Prov. v. 18, " Re- 
joice with the wife of thy youth." It is not 



the having a wife, but the loving a wife, makes 
a man live chastely. He who loves his wife 
— whom Solomon calls his fountain — will 
not go abroad to drink of muddy, poisoned 
waters. Pure conjugal love is a gift of God, 
and comes from heaven ; this, like the vestal 
fire, must be cherished, that it do not go out. 
He who loves not his wife, is the likeliest 
person to embrace the bosom of a stranger. 
— 13. Labour to get the fear of God into your 
hearts, Prov. xvi. 6, " By the fear of the Lord 
men depart from evil." As the banks keep 
out the water, so the fear of the Lord keeps 
out uncleanness. Such as want the fear of 
God, want the bridle that should check them 
from sin. How did Joseph keep from his 
mistress's temptation 1 The fear of God 
pulled him back, Gen. xxxix. 9, " How then 
can I do this great wickedness, and sin against 
God 1" St Bernard calls holy fear, janitor 
animcB, — ' the door-keeper of the soul.' As 
a nobleman's porter stands at the door, and 
keeps out vagrants, so the fear of God stands 
and keeps out all sinful temptations from 
entering. — 14. Get a delight in the word of 
God, Ps. cxix. 103, "How sweet are thy 
words to my taste !" St Chrysostom com- 
pares God's word to a garden. If we walk 
in this garden, and suck sweetness from the 
flowers of the promises, we shall never care 
to pluck the ' forbidden fruit.' Sint casta 
delicice mem scriptura, Aug. The reason 
why persons seek after unchaste, sinful 
pleasures, is, because they have no better. 
Csesar riding through a city, and seeing the 
women play with dogs and parrots, said, 
' Sure they have no children :' so they that 
sport with harlots, it is because they have no 
better pleasures. He that hath once tasted 
Christ in a promise, is ravished with delight ; 
and how would he scorn a motion to sin ! 
Job said, the word was his " necessary food," 
Job xxiii. 12. No wonder then he made 4 a 
covenant with his eyes.' — 15. If you would 
abstain from adultery, use serious considera- 
tion. Consider, 

(1). God sees thee in the act of sin. He 
sees all thy curtain wickedness. He is toius 
oculus, — all eye, Aug. The clouds are no 
canopy, the night is no curtain to hide thee 
from God's eye. Thou canst not sin, but 



324 



OF THE SEVENTH COMMANDMENT. 



thy judge looks on, Jer. xiii. 27, " I have seen 
thy adulteries and thy neighings," Jer. xxix. 
23, " They have committed adultery with 
their neighbours' wives ;" even I know, and 
am a witness, saith the Lord. 

(2) . Few that are entangled in the sin of 
adultery recover out of the snare, Prov. ii. 19, 
" None that go to her return again." That 
made some of the ancients conclude that 
adultery was an unpardonable sin ; but not so. 
David repented, and Mary Magdalene was a 
weeping penitent ; her amorous eyes that had 
sparkled with lust, she seeks to be revenged of 
them, she washed Christ's feet with her tears : 
so that some have recovered out of the snare. 
But ''none that go to her return," that is, 
'very few it, is rare to hear of any who are 
enchanted and bewitched with this sin of 
adultery, that recover out of it, Eccles. vii. 26, 
" Her heart is snares and nets, and her hands 
as bands." " Her heart is snares," that is, 
she is subtle to deceive those who come to 
her ; and, " her hands as bands," that is, her 
embraces are powerful to hold and entangle 
her lovers. Plutarch said of the Persian 
kings, ' They were captives to their concu- 
bines ;' they were so inflamed, that they had 
no power to leave their company. This con- 
sideration may make all fearful of this sin ; 
'none that go to her return again.' Soft 
pleasures harden the heart. 

(3) . Consider what the Scripture saith, 
and it may ponere obicem, — lay a bar in the 
way to this sin, Mai. iii. 5, "I will be a swift 
witness against adulterers." It is good when 
God is a witness 'for us,' when he witnesseth 
for our sincerity, as he did for Job : but it is 
sad to iiave God a ' witness against us.' ' I 
(saith God) will be a witness against the 
adulterer.' And who shall disprove his wit- 
ness ) And he is both witness and judge, 
Heb. xiii. 4, " Whoremongers and adulterers 
God will judge." 

(4) . Consider the sad farewell this sin of 
adultery leaves : it leaves a hell in the con- 
science, Prov. v. 3, 4, " The lips of a strange 
woman drop as a honey-comb, but her end is 
bitter as wormwood." The goddess Diana 
was so artificially drawn, that she seemed to 
smile upon those that came into her temple, 
but frown on those that went out. So the 



harlot smiles on her lovers as they come to 
her, but at last comes the frown and sting. 
" A dart strikes through their liver," Prov. vii. 
23. " Her end is bitter." When a man hath 
been virtuous, the labour is gone, but the 
comfort remains ; but when he hath been 
vicious and unclean, the pleasure is gone, but 
the sting remains. Delectat in momentum, 
crucial in eeternum, Jerom. When the 
senses have been feasted with unchaste plea- 
sures, the soul is left to pay the reckoning. 
Stolen waters are sweet; but, as poison, 
though it be sweet in the mouth, it torments 
the bowels. Sin always ends in a tragedy. 
Memorable is that which Fincelius reports of 
a priest in Flanders, who enticed a maid to 
uncleanness. She objected how vile a sin it 
was ; he told her, by authority from the pope 
he could commit any sin ; so at last he drew 
her to his wicked purpose. But when they 
had been together a while, in came the devil, 
and took away the harlot from the priest's 
side, and, notwithstanding all her crying out, 
carried her away. If all that are guilty of 
bodily uncleanness in this nation, should 
have the devil come and carry them away, I 
fear more would be carried away than would 
be left behind. 

16. Pray against this sin. Luther gave a 
lady this advice, that when any lust began to 
rise in her heart, she should go to prayer. 
Prayer is the best armour of proof ; prayer 
quencheth the wild fire of lust. If prayer 
will " cast out the devil," why may it not cast 
out those lusts that come from the devil 1 

Use ult. If the body must be kept pure 
from defilement, much more the soul of a 
Christian must be kept pure. This is the 
meaning of the commandment, not only 
that we should not stain our bodies with 
adultery, but that we should keep our souls 
pure. To have a chaste body but an un- 
clean soul, is like a fair face with bad lungs ; 
or a gilt chimney-piece, that is all soot 
within, 1 Pet. i. 16, " Be ye holy, for I 
am holy." The soul cannot be lovely to 
God, till it hath Christ's image stamped 
upon it, which image consists in righteous- 
ness and true holiness, Eph. iv. 14. The 
soul must especially be kept pure, because 
it is the chief place of God's residence, Eph. 



OF THE EIGHTH COMMANDMENT. 



325 



iii. 17. A king's palace must be kept clean, 
especially his presence-chamber. If the 
body is the temple, the soul is the ' holy of 
holies,' this must be consecrated. We must 
not only keep our bodies from carnal pollu- 
tion, but our souls from envy and malice. 

Quest. How shall we know our souls are 
pure ? 

Ans. 1. If our souls are pure, then we flee 
from the appearance of evil, 1 Thess. v. 22. 
We will not do that which looks like sin. 
When Joseph's mistress did court and tempt 
him, he " left his garment in her hand, and 
fled," Gen. xxxix. 12. It was suspicious to 
be near her. Polycarp would not be seen in 
company with Marcion the heretic, because 
it would not be good report. 

2. If our souls are pure, this light of purity 
will shine forth. Aaron had ' Holiness to 
the Lord' written upon his golden plate : 
where there is sanctity in the soul, there 
1 Holiness to the Lord' is engraven upon our 
life ; we are adorned with patience, humility, 
good works, and shine as " lights in the 



world," Phil. ii. 15. Carry Christ's picture 
in your conversation, 1 John ii. 6. O let us 
labour for this soul purity ! Without it there 
is no 'seeing of God,' Heb. xii. 14: 4 What 
communion hath light with darkness]' And 
that we may keep our souls pure, (1). Have 
recourse to the blood of Christ ; this is the 
" fountain set open for sin and uncleanness," 
Zech. xiii. 1. A soul steeped in the brinish 
tears of repentance, and bathed in the blood 
of Christ, is made pure. (2). Pray much for 
pureness of soul, Ps. Ii. 10, " Create in me a 
clean heart, O God." Some pray for chil- 
dren, others for riches ; but pray for soul- 
purity. Say, "Lord, though my body is 
kept pure, yet, Lord, my soul is defiled, I 
pollute all I touch. O purge me with hyssop, 
let Christ's blood sprinkle me, let the Holy 
Ghost come upon me and anoint me ! O 
make me evangelically pure, that I may be 
translated to heaven, and placed among the 
cherubims, where I shall be as holy as thou 
wouldest have me to be, and as happy as I 
can desire to be !" 



OF THE EIGHTH 

Exod. xx. 13. Th 

As the holiness of God sets him against 
uncleanness, " Thou shalt not commit adul- 
tery," so the justice of God sets him against 
rapine and robbery, " Thou shalt not steal." 
The thing forbidden in this commandment is, 
meddling with another man's property. 
"Thou shalt not steal." The civil lawyers 
define furtum, stealth or theft, to be " the 
laying hands unjustly on that which is an- 
other's," — the invading another's right. 
Quest. 1. Whence doth theft arise 1 
Ans. 1. The internal causes are: 1. Un- 
belief. A man hath a high distrust of God's 
providence : " Can God furnish a table in the 
wilderness ]" Ps. lxxviii. 19. So saith the 
unbeliever, " Can God spread a table for me 1 
No, he cannot." Therefore he is resolved 
he will spread a table for himself, but it shall 
be at other men's cost, and both first and 
second course shall be served in with stolen 



COMMANDMENT. 

iu shalt not steal. 

goods.— 2. Covetousness. The Greek word 
for covetousness signifies ' an immoderate 
desire of getting,' — -this is the root of 
theft. A man covets more than his own, 
and this itch of covetousness makes him 
scratch what he can from another. Achan's 
covetous humour made him steal the wedge 
of gold, which wedge did cleave asunder 
his soul from God, Joshua vii. 21. 

A. 2. The external cause of theft is, Sa- 
tan's solicitation : Judas was a thief, John xii. 
6. How came he to be a thief] " Satan 
entered into him," John xiii. 27. The devil 
is the great master-thief, he robbed us of our 
coat of innocency, and he persuades men to 
take up his trade ; he tells men how bravely 
they shall live by thieving, and how they may 
catch an estate. And as Eve listened to the 
serpent's voice, so do they ; and, as birds of 
prey, live upon spoil and rapine. 



328 



OF THE EIGHTH 



COMMANDMENT. 



Quest. 2. How many sorts of thefts are 
there ? 

Ans. 1. There is stealing from God ; and 
so they are thieves, who rob any part of God's 
day from him. " Remember to keep holy 
the sabbath day." Not a part of the day 
only, but the whole day must be dedicated to 
God. And lest any should forget this, the 
Lord hath prefixed a memento, " remember." 
Therefore to cut God short, and, after morn- 
ing-sacrifice, to spend the other part of the 
sabbath in vanity and pleasure, this is spirit- 
ual thievery, — 'tis to rob God of his due, — 
and the very heathens will rise up in judg- 
ment against such Christians ; for the hea- 
thens (as Macrobius notes) did observe a 
whole day to their false gods. 

A. 2. There is a stealing from others : 1st, 
A stealing away their souls ; and so heretics 
are thieves, by robbing men of the truth, they 
rob them of their souls. 2dly, A stealing 
away their money and goods from them ; 
and under this head of stealing away other's 
money, there may be several arraigned for 
thieves. 

1. The highway-thief who takes a purse 
contrary to the letter of this commandment, 
Lev. xix. 13, " Thou shalt not defraud thy 
neighbour." Mark x. 19, " Do not steal." 
This is not the violence which takes the 
" kingdom of heaven," Matt. xi. 12. 

2. The house-thief, who purloins and filch- 
eth out of his master's cash, or steals his 
wares and drugs. The apostle saith, " Some 
have entertained angels unawares," Heb. xiii. 
2, but many masters have entertained thieves 
into their houses unawares. The house- 
thief is a hypocrite, as well as a thief ; 
he hath demure looks, and pretends he is 
helping his master, when he only helps to 
rob him. 

3. The thief that shrouds himself under 
law, as the unjust attorney or lawyer, who 
prevaricates and deals falsely with his client. 
This is to steal from the client. By deceit 
and prevarication the lawyer robs the client 
of his land, and may be the means to ruin 
his family ; he is no better than a thief in 
God's account. 

4. The church-thief or pluralist, who holds 
several benefices, but seldom or never preach- 



eth to the people ; he gets the golden fleece, 
outlets his flock starve, Ezek. xxxiv.2, " Wo 
be to the shepherds of Israel !" v. 8, " They 
feed themselves, and feed not my flock." 
These ministers will be indicted for thieves 
at God's bar. 

5. The shop-thief, he steals in selling, 1. 
Who useth false weights and measures, and 
so steals from others what is their due. Amos 
viii. 5, " Making the ephah small." The 
ephah was a measure the Jews used in sell- 
ing ; they made the ephah small, gave scant 
measure, which was plain stealing, Hos. xii. 
7, " The balances of deceit are in his hand." 
Men by making their weights lighter, make 
their accounts heavier. — 2. He steals in sell- 
ing who puts excessive prices on his com- 
modities. He takes thrice as much for a 
commodity as it cost him, or as it is worth ; 
to over-reach others in selling, is to steal 
men's money from them, Lev. xix. 13, "Thou 
shalt not defraud thy neighbour, neither rob 
him." To defraud him is to rob him ; this 
over-reaching others in selling — which is a 
cunning way of stealing — is both against law 
and gospel. (1). It is against the law of 
God, Lev. xxv. 14, " If thou sell ought to thy 
neighbour, ye shall not oppress one another." 
And, (2). against gospel, 1 Thess. iv. 6, " Let 
no man go beyond, and defraud his brother." 
It is stealing. 

6. The usurer who takes of others even to 
extortion ; he seems to help another by let- 
ting him have money in his necessity, but 
gets him into bonds, and sucks out his very 
blood and marrow. I read of a woman 
whom Satan had bound, Luke xiii. 16. And 
truly he is almost in as bad a condition whom 
the usurer hath bound : the oppressing usurer 
is a robber. An usurer once asked a prodi- 
gal, when he would leave spending ] Saith 
the prodigal, " Then I will leave spending 
what is my own, when thou lea vest off steal- 
ing from others." Zaccheus was an extor- 
tioner, and after his conversion he made 
restitution, Luke xix. 3. He thought all he 
got by extortion was theft. 

7. The feoffee in trust, who hath the or- 
phan's estate committed to him ; he is de- 
puted to be his guardian, and manage his 
estate for him, and he curtails the estate, 



OF THE EIGHTH 



COMMANDMENT. 



327 



and gets a fleece out of it for himself, and 
wrongs the orphan. This is a thief ; this is 
worse than taking a purse, because he be- 
trays his trust, which is the highest piece of 
treachery and injustice. 

8. The borrower, who borrows money from 
others, with an intention never to pay them 
again, Ps. xxxvii. 21, " The wicked borrow- 
eth, and payeth not again." What is it but 
thievery to take money and goods from 
others, and not restore them again 2 The 
prophet Elisha bade the widow sell her oil, 
and pay her debts, and then live upon the 
rest, 2 Kings iv. 7. 

9. The last sort of theft is the receiver of 
stolen goods. The receiver, if he be not the 
principal, yet he is accessory to the theft, 
and the law makes him guilty. The thief 
steals the money, and the receiver holds the 
sack to put it in. The root would die if it 
were not watered, and thievery would cease 
if it were not encouraged by the receiver. I 
am apt to think he who doth not scruple to 
take stolen goods into his house would as 
little scruple to take a purse. ~^ 

Quest. What are the aggravations of 
this sin of stealing ? 

Ans. 1. To steal when one has no need. 
To be a rich thief. 

A. 2. To steal sacrilegiously. To devour 
things set apart to holy uses, Prov. xx. 25, 
" It is a snare to the man who devoureth 
that which is holy." Such an one was 
Dionysius, who robbed the temple, and took 
away the silver vessels. 

A. 3. To conlmit the sin of theft against 
checks of conscience, and examples of God's 
justice ; this is like the dye to the wool, it 
doth dye the sin of a crimson colour. 

A. 4. To rob the widow and orphan, Exod. 
xxii. 22, " Ye shall not afflict any widow or 
fatherless child peccatam clamans, — 1 If 
they cry unto me, I will surely hear them.' 

A. 5. To rob the poor. How did David 
disdain that the rich man should take away 
the poor man's lamb ! " As the lord liveth, 
the man who hath done this thing shall surely 
die," 2 Sam. xii. 5. What is the enclosing 
of commons, but robbing of the poor 1 ? 

3d. There is a stealing from a man's self. 
A man may be a thief to himself. 



Quest. How so ? 

Ans. 1. By niggardliness. The niggard 
is a thief; he steals from himself, in that 
he doth not allow himself what is fitting ; 
he thinks that lost which is bestowed upon 
himself; he robs himself of necessaries, 
Eccl. vi. 2, " A man to whom God hath 
given riches, yet God gives him not power 
to eat thereof." He gluts his chest, and 
starves his belly ; he is like the ass that is 
loaded with gold, but feeds upon thistles ; 
he robs himself of that which God allows 
him. This is indeed to be punished with 
riches, — to have an estate, and want a heart 
to take the comfort of it, — this man is a thief 
to himself. 

A. 2. A man may be a thief to himself, 
and rob himself by prodigality, viz. wasting 
his estate. The prodigal lavisheth gold out 
of the bag ; he is like Crates the philosopher 
who threw his gold into the sea. The prodi- 
gal boils a great estate to nothing ; this is to 
be a thief to a man's self, to spend away that 
estate from himself which might conduce to 
the comfort of life. 

A. 3. He is a thief to himself, by idleness, 
when he mispends his time. To spend one's 
hours in pleasure and vanity, this is to rob 
himself of that precious time which God 
hath given him to work out salvation. Time 
is a rich commodity, because on the well- 
spending this present time a happy eternity 
depends. He that spends his time idly and 
vainly, is a thief to himself ; he robs himself 
of his golden seasons, and by consequence, 
of salvation. 

A. 4. A man may be a thief to himself by 
suretyship, Prov. xxii. 26, " Be thou not 
one of them that are sureties for debt." 
The creditor comes upon the surety for debt,, 
and so by paying another's debt he is a 
thief to himself, he undoes himself. Let not 
any man say, he should have been counted 
unkind if he had not entered into bonds for 
his friend : better thy friend count thee un- 
kind, than all men count thee unwise. Lend 
another what you can spare, nay, give him 
if he needs, but never be a surety ; it is no 
wisdom for a man so to help another as to 
undo himself. This is to rob himself and his 
family. 



328 OF THE EIGHTH 

Use 1st. It confutes the doctrine of com- 
munity that all things are common, and one 
man hath a right to another's estate. The 
scripture confutes it, Deut. xxiii. 25, " When 
thou comest into the standing corn of thy 
neighbour's, thou shalt not move a sickle 
into thy neighbour's corn." Property must 
be observed. God hath set this eighth com- 
mandment as a hedge about a man's estate, 
and this hedge cannot be broken without sin. 
If all things be common, then there is no 
stealth, and so this commandment were in 
vain. 

Use 2d. It reproves such as live upon 
stealing. Instead of living by faith, they 
live by their shifts. The apostle exhorteth, 
that every man eat his own bread, 2 Thess. 
iii. 12. The thief doth not eat of his own 
bread, but of another's. If there be any 
who are guilty of this sin, let them labour 
to recover out of the snare of the devil by 
repentance, and let them show their repent- 
ance by restitution. Non remittitur pecca- 
tum nisi restituatur ablatum, Aug. f With- 
out restitution, no remission,' Luke xix. 8, 
" If I have taken away any thing from any 
man unjustly, I restore him fourfold." It 
may suffice to restore ill-gotten goods by 
one's own hand, or by proxy. Better a thou- 
sand times restore goods unlawfully gotten, 
than to stuff one's pillow with thorns, and 
have guilt trouble one's conscience* upon a 
death-bed. 

Use 3d. Exhortation to all to take heed of 
this sin of thieving ; it is a sin against the 
light of nature. Some may go to excuse this 
sin ; hear the thief's plea ; it is a coarse wool 
will take no dye, and a bad sin indeed that 
hath no excuse. " I "am (saith one) grown 
low in the world, and trading is bad, and I ' 
have no other way to a livelihood." 

Ans. 1. This shews a great distrust of 
God, as if he could not provide for thee 
without thy sin. — 2. This shows sin is got- 
ten to a great height, that, because a man is 
grown low in the world, therefore he will 
Acheronta movere, go to the devil for a live- 
lihood. Abraham would not have it said, 
that ' the king of Sodom had made him 
rich,' Gen xiv. 22. O let it never be said 
that the devil hath made thee- rich ! — 3. j 



COMMANDMENT. 

Thou oughtest not to undertake any action 
which thou canst not pray for a blessing 
upon ; but, if thou livest on thieving, thou 
canst not pray for a blessing upon stolen 
goods ; therefore take heed of this sin, — 
lucrum in arcu, damnum in conscientia, 
Aug. Take heed of getting the world with 
the loss of heaven. To dissuade all from this 
horrid sin, consider, 

(1) . Thieves are the caterpillars of the 
earth, — enemies to civil society. 

(2) . God hates them. In the law, the 
cormorant was unclean, Lev. xi. 17, because 
a thievish, devouring creature, a bird of prey ; 
by which God showed his hatred of this sin. 

(3) . The thief is a terror to himself, he is 
always in fear, Ps. liii. 5, " There were they 
in great fear ;" true of the thief. Guilt breeds 
fear, if he hears but the shaking of a tree, his 
heart shakes. It is said of Catiline, he was 
afraid of every noise. If a briar doth but 
take hold of a thief's garment, he is afraid it 
is the officer to apprehend him ; and " fear 
hath torment," 1 John iv. 18. 

(4) . The judgments that follow this sin, 
' Achan the thief was stoned to death,' Josh, 
vii. and Zech. v. 2, " What seest thou 1 
And I answered, a flying roll ;" v. 3, " This 
is the curse that goeth forth over the face of 
the whole earth ; I will bring it forth, saith 
the Lord, and it shall enter into the house of 
the thief." Fabius, a Roman censor, con- 
demned his own son to die for theft. Thieves 
die with ignominy, the ladder is their prefer- 
ment ; and there is a worse thing than death, 
— while they rob others of money, they rob 
themselves of salvation. 

Quest. What is to be done to avoid 
stealing 1 

Ans. 1. Live in a calling, Eph. iv. 28, 
" Let him that stole steal no more, but 
rather let him labour, working with his 
hands," &c. Such as stand idle, the devil 
hires them, and puts them to the pilfering 
trade. An idle person tempts the devil to 
tempt him. 

A. 2. Be content with the estate God hath 
given you : Heb. xiii. 5, "Be content with 
such things as ye have." Theft is the 
daughter of avarice ; study contentment. 
Believe that condition best God hath carved 



OF THE NINTH COMMANDMENT. 



329 



out to you. God can bless that little meal in 
the barrel. We shall not need these things 
long ; we shall carry nothing out of the world 



with us but our winding-sheet ; if we have 
but enough to bear out our charges to hea- 
ven, it is sufficient. 



OF THE NINTH COMMANDMENT. 



Exod. xx. 16. Tliou slialt not hear false witness against thy neighbour. 



The tongue which at first was made to be 
an organ of God's praise, is now become an 
instrument of unrighteousness. This com- 
mandment binds the tongue to its good be- 
haviour. God hath set two fences to keep in 
the tongue, — the teeth and lips ; and this com- 
mandment is a third fence set about it, that it 
should not break forth into evil ; " Thou shalt 
not bear false witness against thy neighbour." 
This commandment hath a prohibitory,. and 
a mandatory part ; the first is set down in 
plain words, the other is clearly implied. 

I. The prohibitory part of the command- 
ment, or, what it forbids in general. It for- 
bids any thing which may tend to the dis- 
paragement or prejudice of our neighbour. 
More particularly, two things are forbidden 
in this commandment, 1st. Slandering. 2d. 
False witness. 

1st. Slandering our neighbour. This is 
a sin against the ninth commandment. The 
scorpion carries his poison in his tail ; the 
slanderer carries his poison in his tongue. 
Slandering is to report things of others un- 
justly. Ps. xxxv. 11, " They laid things to my 
charge which I knew not." It is usual to 
bring in a Christian beheaded of his good 
name ; they raised a slander of Paul, that he 
should preach, men might do evil, that good 
might come of it, Rom. iii. 8, " We be slan- 
derously reported ; and as some affirm that 
we say, let us do evil, that good may come." 
Eminency is commonly blasted by slander. 
Holiness itself is no shield from slander. The 
lamb's innocency will not preserve it from 
the wolf. Christ was the most innocent upon 
earth, yet was reported to be a friend of sin- 
ners ; John Baptist was a man of a holy 
austere life, yet they said of him, "he hath a 
devil," Matt. xi. 18. The Scripture calls 
slandering, smiting with the tongue, Jer. xviii. 
18, " Come, and let us smite him with the 
2 T 



tongue." You may smite another and never 
touch him. Major a sunt Ungues vulnera 
quam gladii, Aug. The wounds of the 
tongue no physician can heal ; and to pretend 
friendship to a man, yet slander him, is most 
odious. St Hierom speaks thus : "TheArian 
faction made a show of kindness ; they kissed 
my hands, but slandered me, and sought my 
life." And, as it is a sin against this com- 
mandment, to raise a false report of another, 
so it is a sin to receive a false report before 
we have examined it, Ps. xv. 1, " Lord, who 
shall dwell in thy holy hill ?" Quis ad ccelum ? 
v. 3, "He that backbiteth not, nor taketh up 
a reproach against his neighbour." We must 
not only not raise a false report, but not take 
it up. He that raiseth a slander, carries the 
devil in his tongue ; and he that receives it, 
carries the devil in his ear. 

2d. The second thing forbidden in this 
commandment, is false witness. Here three 
sins are condemned: 1. Speaking. 2. Wit- 
nessing. 3. Swearing that which is false 
contra proocimurn. 

1. Speaking that which is false, Prov. xii. 
22, " Lying lips are an abomination to the 
Lord." To lie, is to speak that which one 
knows to be an untruth. There is nothing 
more contrary to God than a lie. The Holy 
Ghost is called the " Spirit, of Truth." 
1 John iv. 5, 6. Lying is a sin that doth not 
go alone ; it ushers in other sins ; Absalom 
told his father a lie, that he was going to pay 
his vow at Hebron, 2 Sam. xv. 7, and this lie 
was a preface to his treason. Where there 
is a lie in the tongue, it shows the devil is in 
the heart, Acts v. 3, " Why hath Satan filled 
thy heart to lie )" Lying is such a sin as un- 
fits men for civil society. How can you con- 
verse or bargain with him that you cannot 
trust a word he saith 1 This is a sin which 
highly provokes God. Ananias and Sap- 



330 



OF THE NINTH COMMANDMENT. 



phira were struck dead for telling- a lie, Acts 
v. 5. The furnace of hell is heated for liars, 
Rev. xxii. 15, " Without are sorcerers, and 
whosoever loveth and maketh a lie." O ab- 
hor this sin ! Quicquid dixeris justum putes, 
Hierom. When thou speakest, let thy word 
be as authentic as thy oath. Imitate God 
who is the pattern of truth. Pythagoras 
being asked what made men like God I an- 
swered, Cum vere loquunter, — when they 
speak truth. It is made the character of a 
man that shall go to heaven, Ps. xv. : 2, "He 
speaketh the truth in his heart." 

2. That which is condemned in the com- 
mandment is, witnessing that which is 
false; "thou shalt not bear false witness." 
(1). There is a bearing of false witness for 
another. (2). A bearing false witness against 
another. 

(1) . A bearing false witness for another. 
When we do give our testimony for a person 
that is criminal and guilty, we justify him as 
if he were innocent, Isa. v. 23, "Which 
justify the wicked for a reward." He that 
goes to make a wicked man just, makes him- 
self unjust. 

(2) . There is a bearing false witness 
against another, i. e. when we accuse an- 
other in open court falsely. This is to imi- 
tate the devil who is the 'accuser of the 
brethren.' Though the devil is no adulterer, 
yet he is a false witness. Solomon saith, 
Prov. xxv. 18, "A man that beareth false 
witness against his neighbour, is a maul and 
a sword ;" in his face he is hardened like a 
hammer ; he cannot blush, he cares not what 
lie he witnesseth to ; and he is a sword, — 
his tongue is a sword to wound him he wit- 
nesseth against in his goods or life : thus, 
1 Kings xxi. 13, " There came in two men, 
children of Belial, and witnessed against 
Naboth, saying, Naboth did blaspheme God 
and the king :" and their witness took away 
his life. The queen of Persia being sick, 
the magicians accused two godly virgins that 
they had by charms procured the queen's 
sickness ; whereupon she caused these vir- 
gins to be sawn asunder. A false witness 
doth pervert the place of judicature ; he cor- 
rupts the judge by making him pronounce a 
wrong sentence, and causes the innocent to 



suffer. Vengeance will find out the false 
witness, Prov. xix. 4, " A false witness shall 
not be unpunished." Deut. xix. 18, 19, " If 
the witness be a false witness, and hath testi- 
fied falsely against his brother, then shall ye 
do unto him as he had thought to have done 
unto his brother ;" i. e. If he had thought to 
have taken away his life, his own life shall 
go for it. 

3. That which is condemned in the com- 
mandment is, swearing that which is false. 
When men take a false oath, and by that 
take away the life of another. Zech. viii. 17, 
"Love no false oath." Chap. v. 2, " What 
seest thou 1 And I answered, a flying roll." v. 
3, 4, " This is the curse that goeth forth, and 
it shall enter, saith the Lord, into the house 
of him that sweareth falsely by my name ; 
and it shall consume his house, with the 
timber thereof and stones thereof." The 
Scythians made a law, when a man did bind 
two sins together, a lie with an oath, he was 
to lose his head, because this sin did take 
away all truth and faith from among men. 
The devil hath taken great possession of 
such who dare swear to a lie. This is a 
manifest breach of this commandment. 

Use 1st. Branch 1. It reproves the church 
of Rome, who will dispense with a lie, or a 
false oath, if it be to promote the Catholic 
cause. They approve of an officious lie ; 
they hold some sins to be lawful ; they may 
as wejl hold some lies to be lawful. God 
hath no need of our lie. It is not lawful 
to tell a lie propter Dei gloriam, — if we 
were sure to bring glory to God by it, — as 
Austin speaks. 

Branch 2. It reproves those who make 
no conscience of slandering others ; they 
come under the breach of this command- 
ment, Ps. 1. 20, " Thou sittest and slan- 
derest thy own mother's son." Jer. xx. 10, 
" Report, say they, and we will report." 
Ezra iv. 15, "This city (i. e. Jerusalem) 
is a rebellious city, and hurtful to kings 
and provinces." Paul was slandered as a 
mover of sedition, and the head of a faction, 
Acts xxiv. 5. The same word signifies both 
a slanderer and a devil, 1 Tim. iii. 11, " Not 
slanderers :" in. the Greek, " Not devils." 
Some think it no great matter to misre- 



OF THE NINTH 

present and slander others ; know that this 
is to act the part of a devil. Clipping a 
man's credit to make it weigh lighter, is 
worse than clipping of coin. The slanderer 
wounds three at once ; he wounds him that 
he slanders ; and he wounds him to whom he 
reports the slander, by causing uncharitable 
thoughts to arise up in his mind against the 
party slandered ; and he wounds his own soul, 
by reporting that of another which is false. 
This is a great sin ; and I would, I could not 
say, it is common. You may kill a man as 
well in his name as in his person. Some are 
loath to take away their neighbour's goods ; 
conscience would fly in their face ; but better 
take away their corn out of their field, — their 
wares out of their shop, — than take away 
their good name. This is a sin you can never 
make them reparation for ; a blot in a man's 
name, being fike a blot on white paper, which 
will never be got out. Surely God will visit 
for this sin. If idle words shall be accounted 
for, shall not unjust slanders ] The Lord 
will make inquisition one day^as well for 
names as for blood. O therefore take heed 
of this sin ! It is a breach of the ninth com- 
mandment. Was it not a sin under the law 
to defame a virgin, Deut. xxii. 19, and is it 
not a greater sin to defame a saint, who is a 
member of Christ ! The heathens by the 
light of nature abhorred this sin of slandering. 
Diogenes used to say, " Of all wild beasts, a 
slanderer is the worst." Antonius made a 
law, that, if a person could not prove the 
crime he reported another to be guilty of, he 
should be put to death. 

Branch 3. It reproves them who are so 
wicked as to bear false witness against others. 
These are monsters in nature, unfit to live in 
a civil society. Eusebius relates of one Nar- 
cissus, a man famous for piety, who was ac- 
cused by two false witnesses of unchastity ; 
and, to prove their accusation, they bound it 
with oaths and curses after this manner : one 
said, " If I speak not true, I pray God I may 
perish by fire," — the other said, " If I speak 
not true, I wish I may be deprived of my 
sight ;" it pleased God that the first witness 
who forswore himself, his house being set on . 
fire, he was burned in the flames ; the other 
witness, being troubled in conscience, con- 



COMMANDMENT. 331 

fessed his perjury, and continued so long 
weeping, that he wept himself blind. Jeze- 
bel, who suborned two false witnesses against 
Naboth, she was thrown down out of a win- 
dow, and ' the dogs licked her blood,' 2 Kings 
ix. 33. O tremble at this sin ! A perjured 
person is the devil's excrement. He is 
cursed in his name, and seared in his con- 
science. Hell gapes for such a windfall. 

Use 2d. Branch 1. It exhorts all to take 
heed of the breach of this commandment, of 
lying, slandering, and bearing false witness ; 
and to avoid these sins, 

1. Get the fear of God. Why doth David 
say, " the fear of the Lord is clean V Ps. xix. 
9, Because it cleanseth the heart of malice, — 
it cleanseth the tongue of slander. " The 
fear of the Lord is clean :" it is to the soul 
as lightning to the air, which cleanseth it. 

2. Get love to your neighbour, Lev. xxi. 
18. If we love a friend, we~will not speak or 
attest any thing to his prejudice. Men's 
minds are cankered with envy and hatred ; 
hence comes slandering and false-witnessing. 
Love is a lovely grace ; " love thinketh no 
evil," 1 Cor. xiii. 5. It makes the best in- 
terpretation of another's words'. Love is a 
well-wisher, and it is rare to speak ill of him 
we wish well to. Love is that which ce- 
ments Christians together ; it is the healer of 
division, and the hinderer of slander. 

Branch 2. To such whose lot it is to meet 
with slanderers and false accusers, 1. Labour 
to make a sanctified use of it. When Shi- 
mei railed on David, David made a sanctified 
use of it, 2 Sam. xvi. 10, " The Lord hath 
said to him, curse David." So, if you are 
slandered, or falsely accused, make a good 
use of it. See if you have no sin unrepented 
of for which God may suffer you to be calum- 
niated and reproached. See if you have not 
at any time wronged o'thers in their name, 
and said that of them which you cannot 
prove ; then lay your hand on your mouth, 
and confess the Lord is righteous to let you 
fall under the scourge of the tongue. — 2. Tf 
you are slandered, or falsely accused, but 
know your own innocency, be not too much 
troubled, let this be your rejoicing, the wit- 
ness of your conscience. Mums aheneus 
esto nil conscire sibi. A good conscience 



332 



OF THE TENTH COMMANDMENT. 



is a wall of brass, that will be able to stand 
against a false witness. As no flattery can 
heal a bad conscience, so no slander can hurt 
a good. God will clear up the names of his 
people, Ps. xxxvii. 6, " He shall bring forth 
thy righteousness as the light." God, as he 
will wipe away tears from the eyes, so he 
will wipe off reproaches from the name. Be- 
lievers shall come forth out of all their slan- 
ders and reproaches, as ' the wings of a dove, 
covered with silver, and her feathers with 
yellow gold.' 

Branch 3. It should exhort such to be very 
thankful to God, whom God hath preserved 
from slander and false witness. Job calls it 
" the scourge of the tongue," chap. v. 21. 
As a rod doth scourge the back, so the slan- 
derer's tongue doth scourge the name. It is 
a great mercy to be kept from the scourge of 
the tongue ; a mercy, that God stops malig- 
nant mouths from bearing false witness. 
What mischief may not a lying report or a 
false oath do ] One destroys the name, the 
other the life. It is the Lord who muzzles 
the mouths of the wicked, and keeps those 
dogs that snarl at us, from flying upon us, 
Ps. xxxi. 20, " Thou shaltkeep them secret- 
ly in a pavilion, from the strife of tongues." 
It is, I suppose, an allusion to kings, who 
being resolved to protect their favourites 
against the accusations of men, take them 
into their bed-chamber, or bosom, where 
none may touch them : so God hath a pavi- 
lion, or secret hiding place for his favourites, 
where he preserves their credit and reputa- 



tion untouched, — he keeps them from the 
" strife of tongues." This is a mercy we 
ought to acknowledge to God. 

II. The mandatory part of this command- 
ment implied : that is, " that we stand up for 
others and vindicate them, when they are 
injured by lying lips." This is the sense of 
the commandment, not only that we should 
not slander or falsely accuse others, but that 
we should witness for them, and stand up in 
their defence, when we know them to be tra- 
duced. A man may wrong another as well 
by silence as by slander when he knows him 
to be wrongfully accused, yet doth not speak 
in his behalf. If others cast false aspersions 
on any, we should wipe them off. The 
apostles (who were filled with the wine of the 
Spirit) being charged with drunkenness, 
Peter was their compurgator, and openly 
cleared their innocency, Acts ifc 15, " These 
are not drunken, as ye suppose." Jonathan 
knowing David to be a worthy man, and all 
those things Saul said of him to be slanders, 
vindicated David, 1 Sam. xix. 4, 5, David 
hath not sinned against thee, but his works 
to thee-ward have been very good : " Where- 
fore then wilt thou sin against innocent 
blood, and slay David without a cause ¥' 
When the primitive Christians were falsely 
accused for incest, and killing their chil- 
dren, Tertullian made a famous apology in 
their vindication. This is to act the part 
both of a friend and of a Christian, to be an 
advocate for another, when he is wronged in 
his good name. 



OF THE TENTH COMMANDMENT. 



Exod. xx. 17. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy 
neighbour's wife, nor his man-servant, nor his maid-servant, nor his ox, nor his assy 
nor any thing that is thy neighbour's. 



This commandment forbids, 1st. Covet- 
ousness in general, " Thou shalt not covet." 
2d. In particular, " Thy neighbour's house, 
thy neighbour's wife," &c. 

I. It forbids covetousness in general, 
" Thou shalt not covet." It is lawful to 
use the world, yea, and to desire so much 
of it as may : 1. Keep us from the temp- 



tation of poverty, Proverbs xxx. 8. Give 
me not poverty, lest I steal, and take the 
name of my God in vain. — 2. As may ena- 
ble us to honour God with works of mercy, 
Prov. iii. 9, " Honour the lord with thy 
substance." But all the danger is, when 
the world gets into the heart. The water 
is useful for the sailing of the ship ; all the 



OF THE TENTH COMMANDMENT. 333 



danger is when the water gets into the ship ; 
so the fear is, when the world gets into the 
heart, " Thou shalt not covet." 

Quest. What is it to covet ? 

Ans. There are two words in the Greek, 
which set forth the nature of covetousness : 
1. Pleonexia, which signifies an ' insatiable 
desire of getting the world.' Covetousness 
is a dry dropsy. Austin defines covetousness, 
Plus velle quam sat est, — to desire more than 
enough, — to aim at a great estate, — to be like 
the daughters of the horse-leech, crying, 
" Give, give," Prov. xxx. 15, — or like Behe- 
moth, Job. xl. 23, " He trusteth that he can 
draw up Jordan into his mouth," — 2. Phy- 
larnyria, which signifies an * inordinate love 
of the world.' The world is the idol ; it is so 
loved, that a man will not part with it to any 
good use ; this is to come under the indict- 
ment of covetousness. He may be said to be 
covetous, not only who gets the w T orld un- 
righteously, but who loves the world inordi- 
nately. 

But, for a more full answer to the ques- 
tion, " What is it to covet V I shall show 
you in six particulars, when a man may be 
said to be given to covetousness. 

1. When his thoughts are wholly taken up 
about the world. As a good man's thoughts 
are still in heaven ; he is thinking of Christ's 
love and eternal recompense, Ps. cxxxix. 18, 
" When I awake, I am still with thee," that 
is divine contemplation, so a covetous man 
is still with the world ; his mind is wholly 
taken up about it ; he can think of nothing 
but his shop or farm. The fancy is a mint- 
house, and most of the thoughts a covetous 
man mints are worldly ; he is always plotting 
and projecting about the things of this life ; 
like a virgin that hath all her thoughts run- 
ning upon her suitor. 

2. A man may be said to be given to 
covetousness when he takes more pains for 
the getting of earth, than for the getting of 
heaven. He will turn every stone, break his 
sleep, take many a weary step for the world ; 
but will take no pains for Christ or heaven. 
The Gauls, who were an ancient people of 
France, after they had tasted of the sweet 
wine of the Italian grape, they inquired after 
the country, and never rested till they had 



arrived at it ; so a covetous man having had 
a relish of the world, pursues after it, and 
never leaves till he hath got it ; but he neg- 
lects the things of eternity. He could be 
content if salvation would drop into his mouth 
as a ripe fig drops into the mouth of the 
eater, Nahum iii. 12. But he is loath to put 
himself to too much sweat or trouble to ob- 
tain Christ or salvation. He hunts for the 
world, — he wisheth only for heaven. 

3. A man may be said to be given to covet- 
ousness, when all his discourse is about the 
world ; John iii. 31, " He that is of the earth, 
is earthly and speaketh of the earth." As it 
is a sign of godliness to be still speaking of 
heaven, — to have the tongue turned to the 
language of Canaan, Eccl. x. 12, " The words 
of a wise man's mouth are gracious," — he 
speaks as if he had been already in heaven ; 
so, a sign of a man given to covetousness, he 
is speaking of secular things, his wares and 
drugs. A covetous man's breath, like a dying 
man's, smells strong of the earth. As they 
said to Peter, " thy speech bewrayeth thee," 
Matt. xxvi. 73 : so a covetous man's speech 
bewrayeth him ; he is like the fish in the 
gospel, which had a piece of money in the 
mouth, Matt. xvii. 27. Verba sunt speculum 
mentis. Bern. ' Words are the looking- 
glass of the heart,* — they show what is within. 
Ex abundantia cordis. 

4. A man is given to covetousness when 
he doth so set his heart upon worldly things, 
that for the love of them, he will part with 
heavenly; for the "wedge of gold," he will 
part with the " pearl of great price." The 
young man in the gospel, when Christ said f 
" Sell all and come and follow me ;" abiit 
tristis, — " he went away sorrowful," Matt, 
xix. 21, 22, He would rather part with Christ 
than with all his earthly possessions. Car- 
dinal Bourbon said, he would forego his part 
in Paradise, if he might keep his cardinalship 
in Paris. When it comes to a critical point, 
that men must either relinquish their estate 
or Christ, and they will rather part with 
Christ, and a good conscience, than with 
their estate, — it is a clear case they are pos- 
sessed with the devil as .covetousness. 

5. A man is given to covetousness when 
he overloads himself with worldly business. 



334 



OF THE TENTH COMMANDMENT. 



He hath many irons in the fire ; he is in this 
sense a pluralist, he takes so much business 
upon him, that he cannot find time to serve 
God ; he hath scarce time to eat his meat, 
but no time to pray. When a man doth 
overcharge himself with the world, and as 
Martha, cumber himself about many things, 
that he cannot have time for his soul, sure he 
is under the power of covetousness. 

6. He is given to covetousness whose 
heart is so set upon the world, that, to get 
it, he cares not what unlawful indirect means 
he useth, — he will have the world per fas et 
nefas ? — he will wrong and defraud, and raise 
his estate upon the ruins of another, Hos. xii. 
7, 8, " The balances of deceit are in his hand, 
he loveth to oppress." And Ephraim said, 
" yet I am become rich." Pope Sylvester II. 
did sell his soul to the devil for a popedom. 

Use. ' Take heed and beware of covetous- 
ness," Luke xii. 15. It is a direct breach of 
this tenth commandment. Covetousness is 
a moral vice, it infects and pollutes the 
whole soul. The sin. 

(1) . It is a subtle sin, a sin that many do 
not so well discern in themselves : as some 
have the scurvy, yet do not know it. This sin 
can dress itself in the attire of virtue. It is 
called the ' cloak of covetousness,' 1 Thess. 
ii. 5. Covetousness is a sin that wears a 
cloak, it cloaks itself under the name of fru- 
gality and good husbandry. It hath many 
pleas and excuses for itself, more than any 
other sin ; as the providing for one's family. 
The more subtle the sin is, the less discernible. 

(2) . Covetousness is a dangerous sin, it 
checks all that is good. It is an enemy to 
grace ; it damps good affections, as the earth 
puts out the fire. The hedge-hog, in the 
fable, came to the cony-burrows, in stormy 
weather, and desired harbour ; but when once 
he had gotten entertainment, he set up his 
prickles, and did never cease till he had thrust 
the poor conies out of their burrows ; so 
covetousness, by fair pretences, winds itself 
into the heart ; but, as soon as you have let 
it in, it will never leave till it hath choked all 
good beginnings, and thrust all religion out 
of your hearts. * Covetousness hinders the 
efficacy of the word preached.' In the para- 
ble, the thorns (which Christ expounded to 



be the care of: this life) choked the good 
seed, Matt. xiii. 7: many sermons lie dead, 
buried in earthly hearts. We preach to men, 
to get their hearts in heaven ; but where 
covetousness is predominant, it chains them 
to the earth, and makes them like the woman 
which Satan had bowed together, that she 
could not lift up herself, Luke xiii. 11. You 
may as well bid an elephant fly in the air, as 
a covetous man live by faith. We preach 
to men to give freely to Christ's poor ; but 
covetousness makes them to be like him in 
the gospel who had " a withered hand," 
Mark iii. 1. They have a withered hand, 
and cannot stretch it out to the poor. It is 
impossible to be earthly-minded and chari- 
tably-minded. Thus covetousness obstructs 
the efficacy of the word, and makes it prove 
abortive. Such whose hearts are rooted in 
the earth will be so far from profiting by the 
word, that they will be ready rather to deride 
it, Luke xvi. 14, The Pharisees, who were 
covetous, " derided him." 

(3). Covetousness is a mother-sin, — a 
radical vice, 1 Tim. vi. 10, " The love of 
money is the root of all evil." 

— Quid non mortalia pectora cogit auri sacra f am esl — 

Hor. 

He-who hath an earthly itch, a greedy desire 
of getting the world, hath in him the root of 
all sin. Covetousness is a mother sin. I shall 
make it appear that covetousness is a breach 
of all the ten commandments. — 1. It breaks 
the first commandment, " Thou shalt have no 
other gods but me." The covetous man hath 
more gods than one ; mammon is his god. He 
hath a god of gold, therefore he is called an 
idolater, Col. iii. 5. — 2. Covetousness breaks 
the second commandment, " Thou shalt not 
make any graven image, thou shalt not bow 
down thyself to them." A covetous man bows 
down, though not to the graven image in the 
church, yet to the graven image in his coin. — 

3. Covetousness is a breach of the third com- 
mandment, " Thou shalt not take the name 
of the Lord thy God in vain." Absalom's de- 
sign was to get his father's crown, there was 
covetousness ; but he talks of paying his "vow 
to God," there he took God's name in vain. — 

4. Covetousness is a breach of the fourth 
commandment, " Remember the sabbath- 



OF THE TENTH COMMANDMENT. 



335 



day to keep it holy." A covetous man doth 
not keep the sabbath holy : he will ride to 
fairs on a sabbath : instead of reading in the 
Bible, he will cast up his accounts. — 5. Covet- 
ousness is a breach of the fifth commandment, 
"Honour thy father and thy mother." A 
covetous person will not honour his father, 
if he doth not feed him with money ; nay, he 
will get his father to make over his estate to 
him in his lifetime, and so the father shall be 
at the son's command. — 6. Covetousness is 
a breach of the sixth commandment, " Thou 
shalt not kill." Covetous Ahab killed Naboth, 
to get his vineyard, 1 Kings xxi. 13. How 
many have swimmed to the crown in blood 1 
— 7. Covetousness is a breach of the seventh 
commandment, " Thou shalt not commit 
adultery." Covetousness causeth unclean- 
| ness ; you read of the " hire of a whore," 
I Deut. xxiii. 18. An adulteress for money 
i sets both conscience and chastity to sale. — 
If. Covetousness is a breach of the eighth 
commandment, " Thou shalt not steal." 
i Covetousness is the root of theft ; covetous 
; Achan stole the wedge of gold. Therefore 
< thieves and covetous are put together, 1 Cor. 
vi. 10. — 9. Covetousness is a breach of the 
ninth commandment, "Thou shalt not bear 
false witness." What makes the perjurer 
'take a false oath but covetousness 1 he hopes 
for a dividend. — And, 10. It is plainly a breach 
of the last commandment, " Thou shalt not 
covet." The mammonist covets his neigh- 
bour's house and goods, and endeavours to 
| get them into his own hands. Thus you see 
| how vile a sin covetousness is, — it is a mo- 
jtther-sin, — it is a plain breach of every one 
| of the ten commandments. 

(4). Covetousness is a sin dishonourable 
to religion. For such as say their hopes are 
above, yet their hearts are below ; for them 
who profess to be above the stars, to 4 lick 
the dust' of the serpent, — to be born of God, 
yet buried in the earth, — how dishonourable 
is this to religion ! The lapwing wears a 
'little coronet on its head, yet feeds on dung : 
I an emblem of such as profess to be crowned 
kings and priests unto God, yet feed im- 
j moderately on these terrene dunghill com- 
IfOrts, Jer. xlv. 5, " And seekest thou great 
things for thyself? seek them not." What, 



thou Baruch, who art ennobled by the new- 
birth, and art illustrious by thy office, a 
Levite, dost thou seek earthly things, and 
seek them now f When the ship is sinking, 
art thou trimming thy cabin I O do not so 
degrade thyself, nor blot thy scutcheon ! 
" Seekest thou great things 1 seek them 
not." The higher grace is, the less earthly 
should Christians be ; the higher the sun is, 
the shorter always is the shadow. 

1. Covetousness exposeth us to God's ab- 
horrency : Ps. x. 3, " The covetous, whom 
the Lord abhorreth." A king abhors to see 
his statue abused : God abhors to see that 
man, made in his image, should have the 
heart of a beast given to him. Who would 
live in such a sin as makes him abhorred of 
God? Whom God abhors he curseth, and 
God's curse blasts wherever it comes. 

2. Covetousness precipitates men to ruin ; 
it shuts them out of heaven, Eph. v. 5, " This 
ye know, that no covetous man, who is an 
idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom 
of Christ and of God." What should a covet- 
ous man do in heaven ] God can no more 
converse with him, than a king can converse 
with a swine. 1 Tim. vi. 9, " They that will 
be rich fall into a snare, and many hurtful 
lusts, which drown men in perdition." A 
covetous man is like a bee, that gets into a 
barrel of honey, and there drowns itself ; he 
is like a ferryman, that takes in so many 
passengers to increase his fare, that he sinks 
his boat : so a covetous man takes in so much 
gold to the increasing of his estate, that he 
drowns himself in perdition. I have read of 
some inhabitants near Athens, who lived in 
a very dry, barren island, and they took much 
pains to draw a river to this island to water 
it and make it fruitful ; but when they had 
opened the passages, and brought the river 
to it, the water broke in with such a force, 
that it drowned the land, and all the people 
in it ; an emblem of a covetous man : he 
labours to draw riches to him, and at last 
they come in in such an abundance, that 
they drown him in hell and perdition. How 
many, to build up an estate, pull down their 
souls ? Oh, therefore, flee from covetousness ! 
I shall next prescribe some remedies against 
covetousness. 



336 



OF THE TENTH COMMANDMENT. 



Exod. xx. 17. Thou shall not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy 

neighbour'' s wife, 6fC. 



I am, in the next place, to resolve a ques 
tion, How may we do to cure this itch of 
covetousness ? 

Ans. For answer to this, I shall prescribe 
some remedies and antidotes against this sin : 

1st. Faith, 1 John v. 4, " This is the vic- 
tory that overcometh the world, even our 
faith." The root of covetousness is the dis- 
trust of God's providence ; faith believes God 
will provide, — God who feeds the birds, will 
feed his children, — he who clothes the lilies, 
will clothe his lambs, — and so faith over- 
comes the world. Faith is the cure of care ; 
faith not only purifies the heart but satisfies 
the heart ; faith makes God our portion, and 
so in him we have enough, Ps. xvi. 5, 6, 
" The Lord is the portion of mine inheritance, 
the lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; 
yea, I have a goodly heritage." Faith, by a 
divine chemistry, extracts its chief comfort 
out of God. A little with God is sweet. 
Thus faith is a remedy against covetousness ; 
faith overcomes, not only the fear of the 
world, but the love of the world. 

2d. The second remedy is, judicious con- 
sideration. 

1. What poor things these things below 
are, that we should covet them. — 1. They are 
below the worth of the soul, which carries in 
it an idea and resemblance of God. The 
world is but the workmanship of God, the 
soul is the image of God. — 2. You covet that 
which will not satisfy you, Eccl. v. 10, " He 
that loveth silver, shall not be satisfied with 
silver." Solomon had put all the creatures 
in a limbeck, and stilled out the quintessence, 
and behold, "All was vanity," Eccl. ii. 11. 
Covetousness is a dry dropsy ; the more a 
man hath, the more he thirsts. ' Quo plus 
sunt pot(B, plus sitiuntur aqua.'' — 3. World- 
ly things cannot remove trouble of mind. 
King Saul being perplexed in conscience, all 
his crown-jewels could not administer com- 
fort to him, 1 Sam. xxviii. 15. • The things 
of the world will no more ease a troubled 
spirit, than a gold cap will cure the headach. 



— 4. The things of the world, if you had more 
of them, cannot continue with you. The 
creature hath a little honey in its mouth, but 
it hath wings to fly away. These things 
either go from us, or we from them : what 
poor things are these to covet 1 

2. Second consideration : the frame and 
contexture of the body ; God hath made the 
face to look upward towards heaven. 

Os homini sublime dcdit, cmlumque tueri 
Jussit. Ovid. 

Anatomists observe, that whereas other crea- 
tures have but four muscles to their eyes, 
man hath a fifth muscle, by which he is able 
to look up to heaven ; and as for the heart, 
it is made like a glass vial, narrow and con 
tracted downwards, but wide and broad up 
wards. And as the frame and contexture o 
the body teacheth us to look to things above, \ 
so especially the soul is planted in the body,! 
as a divine sparkle to ascend upwards. Can 
it be imagined that God gave us intellectual, j 
immortal souls, to covet only earthly things ] 
What wise man would fish for gudgeons with 
golden hooks 1 Did God give us glorious 
souls, only to fish for the world? Sure our 
souls are made for a higher end, — to aspire 
after the enjoyment of God in glory. 

3. Third consideration : the examples of 
those who have been contemners and de-l 
spisers of the world. The primitive Chrisj 
tians, — as Clemens Alexandrinus observes} 
— were sequestered from the world, and' 
were wholly taken up in converse witty 
God ; they lived in the world above the 
world, — like the birds of paradise, who soaj* 
above in the air, and seldom or never touch 
with their feet upon the earth. Luther 
saith, that he was never tempted to this sin 
of covetousness. The saints of old though 
they did live in the world, they did trade 
in heaven ; Phil. iii. 20, " Our conversa- 
tion is in heaven :" the Greek word signi- 
fies, our commerce, or traffic, or burgher- 
ship is in heaven. "Enoch walked with 
God," Gen. v. 24. His affections were sub 



OF THE TENTH COMMANDMENT. 



337 



limated, he did take a turn in heaven every 
! day. The righteous are compared to a palm- 
tree, Ps. xcii. 12. Philo observes that 
whereas all other trees have their sap in their 
! root, the sap of the palm-tree is towards the 
j top : the emblem of the saints, whose hearts 
are above in heaven, where their treasure is. 

3d. The third remedy : covet spiritual 
things more, and you will covet earthly 
things less. Covet grace ; grace is the best 
blessing, it is the seed of God, 1 John iii. 9, 
the angels' glory. Covet heaven ; heaven is 
| the region of happiness, it is the most plea- 
sant climate. Did we covet heaven more, 
' we should covet earth less. They that stand 
on the top of the Alps, the great cities of 
Campania seem but as small villages in their 
j eyes : if we could have our hearts more fixed 
I upon the Jerusalem above, how would all 
worldly things disappear, and be as nothing 
' in our eyes ! We read of an angel coming 
j down from heaven, who did tread with his 
right foot on the sea, and with his left foot 
on the earth* Rev. x. 2 ; had we but once 
been in heaven, and viewed the superlative 
glory of it, how might we, in a holy scorn, 
trample with one foot upon the earth, and 
1 with the other foot upon the sea ! O covet 
after heavenly things ! There is the tree of 
life, — the mountains of spices, — the rivers of 
pleasure, — the honey-comb of God's love 
dropping, — the delights of angels, — the flower 
of joy fully ripe and blown. There is the 
pure air to breathe in ; no fogs nor vapours 
of sin arise to infect that air, but the Sun of 
Righteousness enlightens that horizon con- 
tinually with his glorious beams. O let your 
thoughts and delights be always taken up 
about the city of pearl, the paradise of God ! 
Did we covet heavenly things more, we 
should covet earthly things less. It is re- 
ported after Lazarus was raised from the 
grave, he was never seen to smile or be de- 
lighted with the world after : were our hearts 
raised by the power of the Holy Ghost, up to 
heaven, we should not be much taken with 
earthly things. 

4:th. The fourth remedy : pray for a hea- 
venly mind. " Lord, let the loadstone of thy 
Spirit draw my heart upward ! Lord, dig 
the earth out of my heart, — teach me how to 
2U 



possess the world, and not love it, — how to 
hold it in my hand, and not let it get into my 
heart ! So much for the commandment in 
general. " Thou shalt not covet." 

II. I shall speak of it more particularly : 
" Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, 
thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, ,, 
&c. Observe here the holiness and perfec- 
tion of God's law ; it forbids the motus primo 
primi, — the first motions and risings of sin 
in the heart : " Thou shalt not covet." The 
laws of men take hold of the actions, but the 
law of God goes further, it forbids not only 
the actions, but the affections, " Thou shalt 
not covet thy neighbour's house." It is not 
said, thou shalt not take away his house ; but 
" Thou shalt not covet it." These lustings 
and desires after the forbidden fruit are sin- 
ful, Rom. vii. 7, " The law had said, Thou 
shalt not covet." Though the tree bears no 
bad fruit, it may be faulty at the root ; though 
a man doth not commit any gross sin, yet 
who can say his heart is pure ? There may 
be a faultiness at the root, there may be sin- 
ful covetings and lustings in the soul. 

Use. Let us be humbled for the sin of our 
nature, the risings of evil thoughts, coveting 
that which we ought not. Our nature is a 
seed-plot of iniquity ; it is like charcoal that 
is ever sparkling ; the sparkles of pride, envy, 
covetousness, arise in the mind. How should 
this humble us I If there be not sinful act- 
ings, there are sinful covetings. Let us pray 
for mortifying grace which may be like the 
water of jealousy to make the thigh of sin to 
rot. But to come to the words more clearly, 
" Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, 
nor thy neighbour's wife," &c. 

Quest. Why is the house put before the 
wife 1 in Deuteronomy the wife is put first, 
Deut. v. 21. Neither shalt thou desire thy 
neighbour's wife, neither shalt thou covet thy 
neighbour's house. Here the house is put 
first 1 

Ans. In Deuteronomy, the wife is set down 
first, in respect of her value. She (if a good 
wife) is of far greater value and estimate 
than the house, Pro v. xxxi. 10, " Her price 
is far above rubies." She is the furniture 
of the house, and this furniture is more worth 
than the house. When Alexander had over- 



338 OF THE TENTH 

come king Darius in battle, Darius seemed 
not to be much dismayed ; but when he heard 
his wife was taken prisoner, now his eyes, 
like spouts, did gush forth water, as valuing 
his wife dearer than his life. But yet in this 
place in Exodus, the house is put before the 
wife ; the reason is, because the house is 
first in order, — the house is erected before 
the wife can live in it, — the nest is built 
before the bird is in it, — the wife is first 
esteemed, but the house must be first pro- 
vided. 

1. Then, " Thou shaltnot covet thy neigh- 
bour's house." How depraved is man since 
the fall ! man knows not how to keep within 
bounds, but is coveting more than his own. 
Ahab, one would think, had enough ; he 
was a king, and one would suppose his crown- 
revenues should have contented him ; but 
still he was coveting more ; Naboth's vine- 
yard ;was in his eye, and stood near the 
smoke of his chimney, and he could not be 
quiet till he had it in possession. Were 
there not so much coveting, there would not 
be so much bribing : one man pulls away an- 
other's house from him. It is only the 
prisoner lives in such a tenement as he 
may be sure none will go about to take from 
him. 

2. " Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's 
wife." This commandment is a bridle to 
check the inordinancy of brutish lusts : 
" Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife." 
It was the devil that ' sowed another man's 
ground,' Matt. xiii. 25. But how is the 
hedge of this commandment trodden down 
in our times ! There be many who do more 
than covet their neighbours' wives, they take 
them : Deut. xxvii. 20, " Cursed be he that 
lieth with his father's wife ; and all the peo- 
ple shall say, Amen." If it were to be pro- 
claimed "Cursed be he that lieth with his 
neighbour's wife," and all that were guilty 
should say, Amen, how many would curse 
themselves ! 

3. " Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's 
man-servant, nor his maid-servant." Ser- 
vants, when faithful, are a treasure. What 
a true and trusty servant had Abraham ! He 
was his right hand ; how prudent and faithful 
was he in the matter he was intrusted with, 



COMMANDMENT. 

in getting a wife for his master's son ! Gen. 
xxiv. 9. And surely it would have gone near 
to Abraham, to have had any one entice 
away his servant from him. But this sin of 
coveting servants is common ; if one hath a 
better servant, others will be inveigling and 
laying baits for him, and endeavour to draw 
him away from his master. This is a sin 
against the tenth commandment. To steal 
away another's servant by enticement, is no 
better than thievery. 

4. " Nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing 
that is thy neighbour's." Were there not 
coveting of ox and ass, there would not be so 
much stealing ; first men break the tenth 
commandment by coveting, and then they 
break the eighth commandment by stealing. 
It was an excellent appeal that Samuel made 
to the people, 1 Sam. xii. 3, " Witness 
against me before the Lord, whose ox have I 
taken, or whose ass, or whom have I defraud- 
ed." And it was a brave speech of St Paul, 
Acts xx. 33, "I have coveted no man's gold, 
or silver, or apparel." 

Quest. But what means may we use, to 
keep us from coveting that which is our 
neighbour's. 

Ans. The best remedy is contentment. 
If we are content with our own, we shall not 
covet that which is another's. St Paul could 
say, " I have coveted no man's gold or sil- 
ver :" whence was this ] It was from con- 
tentment, Phil. iv. 11, " I have learned, in 
whatever state I am, therewith to be content." 
Content saith, as Esau, Gen. xxxiii. 9, " I 
have enough ;" I have a promise of heaven, 
and have sufficient to bear my charges 
thither ; I have enough. And he who hath 
enough, will not covet that which is another's. 
Be content : and the best way to be contented 
is, 1. Believe that condition best which God 
carves out to you by his providence. If God 
had seen it fit for us to have more, we should 
have had it ; but his wisdom sees this best 
for us. Perhaps we could not manage a 
great estate ; it is hard to carry a full cup 
without spilling, and a full estate without 
sinning. Great estates may be snares ; a 
boat may be overturned by having too great 
a sail. The believing that estate best God 
carves for us, makes us content ; and being 



MAN'S INABILITY TO KEEP THE MORAL LAW. 



339 



contented, we will not covet that which is 
another's. 2. The way to be content with 
such things as we have, and not to covet an- 
other's, is to consider the less estate we have, 
the less account we shall have to give at the 
last day. Every person is a steward, and must 
be accountable to God. They who have great 
estates have the greater reckoning ; God will 
say, what good have you done with your 
estates 1 Have you honoured me with your 



I substance 1 Where are the poor you have fed 
and clothed] If you cannot give a good ac- 
count, it will be sad. This may make us con- 
tented with a less portion, to consider, — the 
less estate, the less account we have to give, — 
the less riches, the less reckoning. This is the 
way to have contentment ; and no better anti- 
dote against coveting that which is another's 
than being content with thatwhichis our own. 
So much for the commandments. 



MAN'S INABILITY TO KEEP THE MORAL LAW. 



Quest. LXXXII. Is any man able per- 
fectly to keep the commandments of God ? 

Ans. No mere man, since the fall, is able 
in this life perfectly to keep the command- 
ments of God, but doth daily break them, in 
1 thought, word, and deed. 

James iii. 2, " In many things we offend 
all." Man in his primitive state of inno- 
cency was endowed with ability to keep the 
whole moral law; Adam had rectitude of 
mind, sanctity of will, perfection of power ; 
Adam had the copy of God's law written on 
his heart ; no sooner did God command, but 
he did obey ; as the key is suited to all the 
wards in the lock, and can open them, so 
Adam had a power suited to all God's com- 
mands, and could obey them. Adam's obe- 
dience did exactly run parallel with the moral 
law, as a well-made dial goes exactly with 
the sun. Man in innocence was like a well- 
tuned organ, he did sweetly tune to the will 
of God ; he was adorned with holiness as the 
angels, but not confirmed in holiness as the 
angels ; Adam was holy but mutable ; he fell 
from his purity, and we with him. Sin cut 
the lock of original righteousness where our 
strength lay ; sin hath brought such a lan- 
guor and faintness into our souls, and hath 
so weakened us, that we shall never recover 
our full strength till we put on immortality. 
The thing I am now to demonstrate is, that 
we cannot yield perfect obedience to the 
moral law : " In many things we offend all." 

1st. The case of an unregenerate man is 
such, that he cannot perfectly obey all God's 
commands ; he may as well touch the stars, 



or span the ocean, as yield exact obedience 
to the law. A person unregenerate cannot 
act spiritually, — he cannot pray in the Holy 
Ghost, — he cannot live by faith, — he cannot 
do duty out of love to duty, — and if he can- 
not do duty spiritually, then much less per- 
fectly. Now, that a natural man cannot 
yield perfect obedience to the moral law, is 
evident : 1. Because he is spiritually dead, 
Eph. ii. 1. And being so, how can he keep 
the commandments of God perfectly 1 A dead 
man is not fit for action. A sinner hath the 
symptoms of death upon him: (1). He hath 
no sense ; a dead man hath no sense ; he 
hath no sense of the evil of sin, of God's 
holiness and veracity ; therefore he is said 
to be without feeling, Eph. iv. 19. (2). He 
hath no strength, Rom. v. 6. What strength 
hath a dead man 1 A natural man hath no 
strength to deny himself, to resist tempta- 
tion ; he is dead, and can a dead man fulfil 
the moral law 1 — 2. A natural man cannot 
perfectly keep all God's commandments be- 
cause he is so interlarded with sin ; he is 
born in sin, Ps. li. 5. Job xv. 16, " Which 
drinketh iniquity like water." All the imagi- 
nations of his thoughts are evil, and only 
evil, Gen. vi. 4. Now the least evil thought 
is a breach of the royal law ; and, if there be 
defection, there cannot be perfection. And, 
as a natural man hath no power to keep the 
moral law, so he hath no will. He is not 
only dead, but worse than dead ; a dead man 
doth no hurt, but there is a life of resistance 
against God goes along with the death of 
sin. A natural man not only cannot keep 



340 



MAN'S INABILITY TO KEEP THE MORAL LAW. 



the law through weakness, but he breaks 
it through wilfulness, Jer. xliv. 17, " We 
will do whatsoever goeth forth out of our 
mouth, to burn incense to the queen of 
heaven." 

2d. As the unregenerate cannot keep the 
moral law perfectly, so neither the regene- 
rate : Eccl. vii. 20, " There is not a just man 
upon the earth, that doeth good and sinneth 
not nay, that " sins not in doing good." 
There is that in the best actions of a right- 
eous man that is damnable, if God should 
weigh him in the balance of justice. Alas, 
how are his duties fly-blown ! He cannot 
pray without wandering, nor believe without 
doubting: Rom. vii. 18, "To will is present 
with me, but how to perform I find not." 
In the Greek it is, " How to do it thoroughly 
I find not." Paul, though a saint of the first 
magnitude, was better at willing than at per- 
forming. Mary asked where they had laid 
Christ : she had a mind to have carried him 
away, but she wanted strength : so the re- 
generate have a will to obey God's law per- 
fectly, but they want strength ; their obedi- 
ence is weak, and sickly ; the mark they are 
to shoot at, is perfection of holiness ; but 
though they take a right aim, yet do what 
they can, they shoot short : Rom. vii. 19, 
" The good that I would, I do not." A 
Christian, while he is serving God, is hin- 
dered ; like a ferryman, that plies the oar, 
and rows hard, but a gust of wind carries 
him back again : so saith Paul, "The good 
that I would, I do not," — I am driven back 
by temptation. Now, if there be any failure 
in our obedience, we cannot make a perfect 
commentary upon God's law ; no Christian 
alive can write a copy of holiness without 
blotting. The Virgin Mary's obedience was 
not perfect, she needed Christ's blood to 
wash her tears. Aaron was to make atone- 
ment for the altar, Exod. xxix. 37, to show 
that the most holy offering hath defilement 
in it, and needs atonement to be made for it. 

Quest. 1. But if a man hath no power 
to keep the whole moral law, then why doth 
God require that of man which he is not 
able to perform ? How doth this stand with 
his justice 1 

Ans. Though man hath lost his power of 



obeying, God hath not lost his right of com- 
manding. If a master intrusts a servant with 
money to lay out, and the servant spends it 
dissolutely, may not the master justly de- 
mand this money 1 God gave us a power to 
keep the moral law ; we, by tampering with 
sin, lost it ; but may not God still call for 
perfect obedience 1 Or, in case of default, 
justly punish usl 

Quest. 2. But why doth God suffer such 
an impotency to lie upon man that he cannot 
perfectly keep the law 1 

Ans. The Lord doth it, 1. To humble us. 
Man is a self-exalting creature ; and, if he 
hath but any thing of worth, he is ready to 
be puffed up ; but when he comes to see his 
deficiencies and failings, and how far short 
he comes of the holiness and perfection God's 
law requires, this is a means to pull down his 
plumes of pride, and lay them in the dust ; he 
weeps over his impotency, — he blusheth over 
his leprous spots, — he saith, as Job, " I ab- 
hor myself in dust and ashes." — 2. God lets 
this impotency and infirmness be upon us, 
that we may have recourse to Christ, to ob- 
tain pardon for our defects, and to sprinkle 
our best duties with his blood. When a 
man sees himself indebted, he owes perfect 
obedience to the law, but he hath nothing to 
pay ; this makes him flee to Christ to be his 
friend, and answer all the demands and chal- 
lenges of the law, and set him free in the 
court of justice. 

Use 1st. Is matter of humiliation for our 
fall in Adam. In the state of innocency we 
were perfectly holy ; our minds were crowned 
with knowledge, and our wills, as a queen, did 
sway the sceptre of liberty ; but now we may 
say, as Lam. v. 16, " The crown is fallen from 
our head." We have lost that power which 
was inherent in us. When we look back to our 
primitive glory when we shone as earthly an- 
gels, we may take up Job's words, chap. xxix. 
2, " O that I were as in months past !" O 
that it were with us as at first, when there 
was no stain upon our virgin nature, when 
there was a perfect harmony between God's 
law and man's will ! But, alas ! how the 
scene is altered ; our strength is gone from us, 
— we tread awry every step, — we come below 
every precept, — our dwarfishness will not 



MAN'S INABILITY TO KEEP THE MORAL LAW. 



341 



■ reach the sublimity of God's law, — we fail in : 
I our obedience, — and, while we fail, we forfeit. ! 
This may put us in close mourning-, and 
spring a leak of sorrow in all our souls. 

Use 2d. Of Confutation. 1. It confutes 
the Arminians, who cry up the power of the 
will; they hold they have a will to save them- 
selves, but by nature, we not only want 
strength, Rom. v. 9, but we want will to that 
which is good. The will is not only full of 
impotency, but obstinacy, Ps. lxxxi. 11, 
" Israel would none of me." The will hangs 
forth a flag of defiance against God. Such 
as speak of the sovereign power of the will, 
forget Phil. ii. 13, " It is God that worketh 
in you both to will and to do." If the power 
be in the will of man, then what needs God 
work in us to will ? If the air can enlighten 
itself, what needs the sun to shine] Such 
as talk of the power of nature, and the ability 
they have to save themselves, they disparage 
Christ's merits. I may say, as Gal. v. 4, 
" Christ is become of no effect to them." 
This I affirm, such as advance the power of 
their will in matters of salvation, without the 
medicinal grace of Christ, do absolutely put 
themselves under the covenant of works. 
And now I would ask them, can they per- 
fectly keep the moral law? Malum oritur 
ex quolibet defectu. If there be but the least 
defect in their obedience, they are gone ; for 
one sinful thought, the law of God curseth 
them, and the justice of God arraigns them. 
Confounded be their pride, who cry up the 
power of nature, as if, by their own inherent 
abilities, they could rear up a building, the 
top whereof should reach to heaven ! 

2. It confutes a sort of people that brag 
of perfection, and according to that prin- 
ciple, they can keep all God's command- 
ments perfectly. I would ask these, has 
there at no time a vain thought come into 
their minds'? If there has, then they are 
not perfect. The Virgin Mary was not per- 
fect; though her womb was pure, (being 
overshadowed with the Holy Ghost) yet her 
soul was not perfect; Christ doth tacitly 
imply a failing in her, Luke ii. 49. And, 
are they more perfect than the blessed 
Virgin was? Such as hold perfection, need 
not confess sin. David confessed sin, Ps. 



xxxii. 5, and Paul confessed sin, Rom. vii. 
25; but they are got beyond David and Paul ; 
they are perfect, — they never transgress, — 
and where there is no transgression, what 
needs confession? — 2dly, If they are perfect 
they need not ask pardon ; they can pay God's 
justice what they owe ; therefore what need 
they pray, "Forgive us our debts'?" Oh 
that the devil should rock men so fast asleep 
as to make them dream of perfection ! And 
whereas they bring that, Phil. iii. 15, " Let 
us therefore as many as be perfect be thus 
minded." Answer, perfection there, is meant 
of sincerity. God is best able to interpret 
his own word. He calls sincerity, perfec- 
tion ; Job i. 8, "A perfect and an upright 
man." But who is exactly perfect? A man 
full of diseases may as well say he is health- 
ful, as a man full of sin say he is perfect! 

Use 3d. To regenerate persons. Though 
you fail in your obedience, and cannot 
keep the moral law exactly, yet be not dis- 
couraged. 

Quest. What comfort may be given to a 
regenerate person under the failures and 
imperfections of his obedience ? 

Ans. 1. That a believer is not under the 
covenant of works, but under the covenant 
of grace. The covenant of works, requires 
perfect, personal, perpetual obedience; but 
in the covenant of grace, God will make 
some abatements, he will accept of less than 
he required in the covenant of works. 

(1) . In the covenant of works God re- 
quired perfection of degrees, — in the cove- 
nant of grace, he accepts perfection of parts ; 
there he required perfect working, — here he 
accepts sincere believing; in the covenant of 
works, God required us to live without sin, — 
yo. the covenant of grace, God accepts of our 
combat with sin. 

(2) . Though a Christian cannot, in his 
own person, perform all God's command- 
ments, yet Christ, as his surety, and in his 

■ stead, hath fulfilled the law for him, and God 

■ accepts of Christ's obedience, which is per- 
fect, to satisfy for that obedience which is 

, imperfect. Christ being made a curse for 
I believers, all the curses of the law have their 
I sting pulled out. 

(3) . Though a Christian cannot keep the 



342 



ALL SINS NOT EQUALLY HEINOUS. 



commands of God to satisfaction, yet he 
may to approbation. 

Quest. How is that 1 

Ans. 1. He gives his full assent and con- 
sent to the law of God: Rom. vii. 12, "The 
law is holy and just ;" there was assent in the 
judgment; Rom. vii. 16, "I consent to the 
law;" there was consent in the will. 

A. 2. A Christian mourns that he cannot 
keep the commandments fully ; when he fails, 
he weeps ; he is not angry with the law be- 
cause it is so strict, but he is angry with 
himself because he is so deficient. 

A. 3. He takes a sweet complacential de- 
light in the law : Rom. vii. 22, " I delight in 
the law of God after the inward man." Gr. 
[Synedomai,] ' I take pleasure in it.' Ps. 
cxix. 97, " O how love I thy law !" Though 
a Christian cannot keep God's law, yet he 
loves his law ; though he cannot serve God 
perfectly, yet he serves him willingly. 

A. 4. It is his cordial desire to walk in all 
God's commands, Ps. cxix. 5, " O that my 
ways were directed to keep thy statutes !" 
Though his strength fails, yet his pulse 
beats. 



A. 5. He doth really endeavour to obey 
God's law perfectly ; and wherein he comes 
short he runs to Christ's blood to make sup- 
ply for his defects. This cordial desire, and 
real endeavour, God esteems as perfect obe- 
dience, 2 Cor. viii. 12, " If there be first a 
willing mind, it is accepted." " Let me 
hear thy voice, for sweet is thy voice," Cant, 
ii. 14. Though the prayers of the righteous 
are mixed with sin, yet God sees they would 
pray better ; God picks out the weeds from 
the flowers ; he sees the faith and winks at 
the failing. The saint's obedience, though 
he falls short of legal perfection, yet having 
sincerity in it, and Christ's merits mixed 
with it, finds gracious acceptance. When 
the Lord sees endeavours after perfect obe- 
dience, this he takes well at our hands ; as a 
father that receives a letter from his child, 
though there be blots in the letter, and false 
spellings, yet the father takes all in good 
part. O what blottings are there in our 
holy things ! but God is pleased to take all 
in good part. Saith God, " It is my child, 
and he would do better if he could ; I will 
accept it." 



ALL SINS NOT EQUALLY HEINOUS. 



Quest. LXXXIII. Are all transgress- 
ions of the law equally heinous ? 

Ans. Some sins, in themselves, and by 
reason of several aggravations, are more 
heinous in the sight of God than others. 

John xix. 11, " He that delivered me 
unto thee, hath the greater sin." The Stoic 
philosophers held that all sins were equal : 
but this scripture clearly holds forth that 
there is a gradual difference in sin ; some 
are greater than others ; some are f mighty 
sins,' Amos v. 12, and 'crying sins,' Gen. 
xviii. 21. Every sin hath a voice to speak, 
but some sins cry. As some diseases are 
worse than others, and some poisons more 
venomous, so some sins are more heinous. 
Ezek. xvi. 47. Jer. xvi. 12, " You have 
done worse than your fathers," — your sins 
have exceeded theirs. Some sins have a 
blacker aspect than others ; to clip the 



king's coin is treason, but to strike his per- 
son is a higher degree of treason. A vain 
thought is a sin, but a blasphemous word is 
a greater sin. That some sins are greater 
than others, appears, 1. Because there was 
difference in the offerings under the law, — 
the sin-offering was greater than the tres- 
pass-offering. — 2. Because some sins are 
not capable of pardon as others are, there- 
fore they must needs be more heinous, as 
the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost, 
Matt. xii. 31. — 3. Because some sins have a 
greater degree of punishment than others, 
Matt, xxiii. 14, 24, " Ye shall receive the 
greater damnation." Shall not the Judge 
of all the earth do right? God will not 
punish one more than another, but that his 
sin is greater. It is true, 'all sins are 
equally heinous in respect to the object/ 
or the person against whom sin is commit- 



ALL SINS NOT EQUALLY HEINOUS. 



343 



ted, viz. the infinite God ; but, in another 
sense, all sins are not alike heinous ; some 
sins have more bloody circumstances in them, 
which are like the dye to the wool, to give it 

i a deeper colour. 

Quest. What sins may be said to be 

i more heinous than others ? 

' Ans. 1. Such sins as are committed with- 
out any occasion offered ; a man swears or is 
angry, and hath no provocation. The less 
the occasion of sin is, the greater is the sin. 
A. 2. Such sins are more heinous, that 

i are committed presumptuously. Under the 

\ law there was no sacrifice for presumptuous 
sins, Numb. xv. 

Quest. What is it to sin 'presumptuously, 
which doth heighten and aggravate sin, and 
make it more heinous 1 

Ans. To sin presumptuously, is to sin 
against convictions and illuminations, or an 

! enlightened conscience, Job xxiv. 13, " They 
are of those that rebel against the light." 
Conscience, like the cherubim, stands with a 

\ flaming sword in its hand to deter the sinner ; 
yet he will sin. Did not Pilate sin against 
conviction, and with a high hand in condemn- 

j ing Christ ] He knew that of envy the Jews 

■ had delivered him, Matt, xxvii. 18 ; he con- 

j fessed he found " no fault with him," Luke 
xxiii. 14 ; and his wife sent to him, saying, 
"have thou nothing to do with that just 
man," Matt, xxvii. 19; yet for all this, he 
gave the sentence of death against Christ. 
Here he sinned presumptuously, — against an 
enlightened conscience. To sin ignorantly 
doth something extenuate and pair off the 
guilt, John xv. 22, " If I had not come and 
spoken unto them, they had not had sin," 
that is, their sin had been less ; but to sin 
against illuminations and convictions, doth 
enhance and accent men's sins. These sins 
make deep wounds in the soul ; other sins 
fetch blood, these are a stab at the heart. 

Quest. How many ways does a man sin 
against illuminations and convictions 1 

Ans. 1. When he lives in the total neglect 
of duty. He is not ignorant that it is a duty 
to read the word, yet he lets the Bible lie by 
as rusty armour, that he seldom makes use of; 
he is convinced that it is a duty to pray in his 
family, yet he can go days and months, and 



God never hear of him ; he calls God father, 
but never asks his blessing. Neglect of 
family-prayer doth, as it were, uncover the 
roof of men's houses, and make way for a 
curse to be rained down upon their table. 

A. 2. When a man lives in the same sins he 
condemns in others, Rom. ii. 1, " Thou that 
judgest, doest the same thing." As Austin 
saith of Seneca, 1 He wrote against supersti- 
tion, yet he worshipped those images which 
he reproved.' One man condemns another 
for rash censuring, yet lives in the same sin 
himself ; a master reproves his apprentice for 
swearing, yet he himself swears. The snuf- 
fers of the tabernacle were of pure gold ; they 
who reprove and snuff the vices of others, 
had need themselves to be free from those 
sins. The snuffers must be of gold. 

A. 3. When a man sins after vows, Ps, 
lvi. 12, " Thy vows, O God, are upon me." 
A vow is a religious promise made to God, 
to dedicate ourselves to him. A vow is not 
only a purpose, but a promise. Every votary 
makes himself a debtor, he binds himself to 
God in a solemn manner. Now to sin after 
a vow, to vow himself to God, and give his 
soul to the devil, must needs be against the 
highest convictions. 

A. 4. When a man sins after counsels, ad- 
monitions, warning, he cannot plead igno- 
rance ; the trumpet of the gospel hath beeft 
blown in his ears, and sounded a retreat to 
call him off from his sins ; he hath been told 
of his injustice, living in malice, keeping bad 
company, yet he would venture upon sin y 
this is to sin against conviction, — it aggra- 
vates the sin, and is like a weight put into 
the scale, to make his sin weigh the heavier. 
If a sea-mark be set up to give warning that 
there are shelves and rocks in that place, yet 
if the mariner will sail there, and split his 
ship, it is presumption ; and, if he be cast 
away, who will pity him 1 

A. 5. When a man sins against express 
comminations and threatenings. God hath 
thundered out threatenings against such sins, 
Ps. lxviii. 21, " God shall wound the hairy 
scalp of such a one as goes on still in his 
trespasses." Yet, though God set the point 
of his sword to the breast of a sinner, yet he 
will commit sin. The pleasure of sin doth 



344 



ALL SINS NOT EQUALLY HEINOUS. 



more delight him, than the threatenings 
affright him ; he, like the leviathan, laughs at 
the shaking of a spear, Job xli. 29. Nay, he 
derides God's threatenings, Isa. v. 19, " Let 
him make speed, and hasten his work, that 
we may see it ;" we have heard much what 
God intends to do, and of judgment approach- 
ing, we would fain see it. For men to see 
the flaming sword of God's threatenings 
brandished, yet to strengthen themselves in 
sin, is in a high manner to sin against 
illumination and conviction. 

A. 6. When a man sins under affliction. 
God doth not only thunder by threatening, 
but hath let his thunderbolt fall ; he hath in- 
flicted judgments on a person ; he may read 
his sin in his punishment, yet he sins. His 
sin was uncleanness ; he hath wasted his 
strength, as well as his estate. He hath had 
a fit of apoplexy ; yet, though he feels the 
smart of sin, he retains the love of sin. This 
is to sin against conviction, 2 Chron. xxviii. 
22, " In his distress did he trespass yet more : 
this is that king Ahaz." This doth enhance 
and make the sin greater than other sins : for 
sinning against an enlightened conscience : 
1. Is full of obstinacy and pertinaciousness ; 
men give no reason, make no defence for 
their sins, yet they are resolved to hold fast 
iniquity. This is desperate wilfulness ; and, 
voluntas est regula et mensura actionis, the 
more of the will in a sin, the greater the sin: 
Jer. xviii. 12, " We will walk after our own 
devices." Though there be death and hell 
every step, we will march on under Satan's 
colours. This made the sin of the apostate 
angels so great, because it was wilful ; they 
had no ignorance in their mind, — no passion 
to stir them up, — there was no tempter to 
deceive them, but they sinned obstinately, 
and out of choice. 

A. 7. To sin against convictions and illu- 
minations, is joined with slighting and con- 
tempt of God. It is bad for a sinner to forget 
God, but it is worse to contemn him. Ps. x. 
13, " Wherefore do the wicked contemn 
God?" An enlightened sinner knows that by 
his sin he disobligeth and angers God ; but 
he cares not whether God be pleased or not, 
he will have his sin ; therefore such a one is 
said to reproach God, Numb. xv. 30, " The 



soul that doeth ought presumptuously, the : 
same reproacheth the Lord." Every sin dis- 
pleaseth God, but sins against an enlightened : 
conscience reproach the Lord. To contemn 1 
the authority of a prince, is a reproach i 
done to him. — 2. It is accompanied with im- 
pudency. Fear and shame are banished, the 
veil of modesty is laid aside, Zeph. iii. 5, 
" The unjust knoweth no shame." Judas i 
knew Christ was the Messiah ; he was con- ! 
vinced of it by an oracle from heaven, and 
by the miracles he wrought, and yet he im- 
pudently goes on in his treason ; nay, when 
Christ said, " He that dips his hand with 
me in the dish, he shall betray me," and I 
Judas knew Christ meant him. And when 
Judas was going about his treason, Christ | 
pronounced a wo to him, Luke xxii. 22, yet, J 
for all that, he proceeded in his treason. .1 
Thus to sin presumptuously, against an en- 
lightened conscience, dyes the sin of a crim- j 
son colour, and makes it greater than other 
sins. 

A. 8. Such sins are more heinous than 
others, which are sins of continuance. The 
continuing of sin is the enhancing of sin. He 
who plots treason, makes himself a greater 
offender. Some men's heads are the devil's 
mint-house, they are minting of mischief, 
Rom. i. 30, "Inventors of evil things." 
Some invent new oaths, others new snares ; 
such were those presidents that invented a 
decree against Daniel, and got the king to 
sign it, Dan. vi. 9. 

A. 9. Those sins are greater which proceed 
from a spirit of malignity. To malign holi- 
ness is diabolical. 'Tis a sin to want grace, 
'tis worse to hate it. In nature there are x ^ 
antipathies, as betv/een the vine and laurel. 
Some have an antipathy against God, because 
of his purity, Isa. xxx. 11, " Cause the Holy 
One of Israel to cease from before us." Sin- 
ners, if it lay in their power, would not only 
un-throne God, but un-be God ; if they could 
help it, God should no longer be God. Thus 
sin is boiled up to a greater height. 

A. 10. Those sins are of a greater magni- 
tude, which are mixed with ingratitude, 
God cannot endure of all things to have his 
kindness slighted. God's mercy is seen in 
reprieving men so long, — in wooing them 



ALL SINS NOT EQUALLY HEINOUS. 



345 



by his Spirit and ministers to be reconciled, 
— in crowning them with so many temporal 
blessings : now, to abuse all this love, when 
God hath been filling up the measure of his 
mercy, that men should fill up the measure of 
their sins, this is high ingratitude, and doth 
make their sins of a deeper crimson. Some 
are worse for mercy. The vulture (saith 
Aelian) draws sickness from perfumes : so 
the sinner contracts evil from the sweet per- 
fumes of God's mercy. The English Chroni- 
cle reports of one Parry, who being con- 
demned to die, queen Elizabeth sent him his 
pardon ; and after he was pardoned, he con- 
spired and plotted the queen's death : just so 
some deal with God ; he bestows mercy, and 
they plot treason against him, Isa. i. 2, " I 
have nourished and brought up children, and 
they have rebelled against me." The Athe- 
nians, in lieu of the good service Themistocles 
had done them, banished him their city. The 
snake, in the fable, being frozen, stung him 
that gave it warmth. Certainly sins against 
mercy are far more heinous. 

A. 11. Those sins are more heinous than 
others, which are committed with delectation. 
A child of God may sin through a surprisal, 
or against his will, Rom. vii. 19, "The evil 
which I would not, that do I." Like one that 
is carried down the stream involuntarily ; but, 
to sin with delight, doth heighten and greaten 
the sin ; a sign the heart is in the sin, Hos. 
iv. 8, " They set their heart on their iniquity," 
as a man follows his gain with delight : Rev. 
xxii. 15, " Without are dogs, and whosoever 
loveth and maketh a lie." To tell a lie, is a 
sin ; but to love to tell a lie, is a greater sin. 

A. 12. Those sins are more heinous than 
others, which are committed under a pretence 
of religion. To cozen and defraud is a sin; 
but to do it with a Bible in one's hand, is a 
double sin. To be unchaste, is a sin ; but to 
put on a mask of religion to play the whore, 
makes the sin greater : Prov. vii. 14, 18, " 1 
have peace-offerings with me ; this day have 
I paid my vows : come let us take our fill of 
love." She speaks as if she had been at 
church, and had been saying her prayers: 
who would ever have suspected her of dis- 
honesty 1 ! But, behold her hypocrisy; she 
makes her devotion a preface to adultery, 
2 X 



Luke xx. 47, " Who devour widows' houses, 
and for a pretence make long prayers." The 
sin was not in making long prayers, (for Christ 
was a whole night in prayer), but to make 
long prayers, that they might do unrighteous 
actions, did make their sin more horrid. 

A. 13. Sins of apostasy are more heinous 
than others. Demas forsook the truth, 2 Tim. 
iv. 10, and afterwards became a priest in an 
idol-temple, saith Dorotheus. To fall, is a 
sin ; but to fall away, is a greater sin. Apos- 
tates cast a disgrace upon religion. The 
apostate (saith Tertulian) seems to put God 
and Satan in the balance, and having weighed 
both their services, prefers the devil's ser- 
vice, and proclaims him to be the best master. 
In which respect the apostate is said to put 
Christ to " open shame," Heb. vi. 6. This 
dyes a sin in grain, and makes it greater. It 
is a sin not to profess Christ, but it is a greater 
to deny him ; not to wear Christ's colours is a 
sin, but to run from his colours is a greater sin. 
A pagan sins less than a baptized renegado. 

A. 14. To persecute religion, makes sin 
greater, Acts vii. To have no religion, is a 
sin ; but to endeavour to destroy religion is 
a greater, Antiochus Epiphanes took more 
tedious journies, and ran more hazards, to 
vex and oppose the Jews, than all his pre- 
decessors had done in obtaining victories. 
" Herod added yet this above all, that he put 
John in prison," Luke iii. 20. He sinned 
before by incest; but, by imprisoning the 
prophet, this added to his sin, and made it 
greater. Persecution fills up the measure of 
sin, Matt, xxiii. 32, " Fill ye up then the 
measure of your fathers." If you pour in a 
porringer of water into a cistern, that adds 
something to it ; but pour in a bucketfull or 
two, and that fills up the measure of the 
cistern ; so persesution fills up the measure 
of sin, and makes it greater. 

A. 15. To sin maliciously makes sin greater. 
Aquinas and other of the schoolmen place the 
sin against the Holy Ghost in malice. The 
sinner doth all he can to vex God, and despite 
the Spirit of grace, Lleb. x. 29. Thus Julian, 
who threw up his dagger in the air, as if he 
would have been revenged upon God. This 
swells sin to its full bigness, it cannot be 
greater. When a man is once come to this, 



346 



WHAT SIN DESERVETH. 



blasphemously to despite the Spirit, there is 
but one step lower he can fall, and that is 
to hell. 

A. 16. et ult. It aggravates sin, and makes 
it greater, when a man not only sins himself, 
but endeavours to make others sin. 1. Such 
as teach errors to the people, who decry 
Christ's deity, or deny his virtue, making 
him only a political head, not a head of in- 
fluence, — who preach against the morality of 
the sabbath, or the immortality of the soul, 
— these men's sins are greater than others. 
If the breakers of God's law sin, what do they 
that teach men to break them 1 Matt. v. 19. 
—2. Such as destroy others by their bad 
example. The swearing father hath taught 



his son to swear, and damned him by his 
example. These men's sins are greater than 
others, and they shall have a hotter place 
in hell. 

Use. You see all sins are not equal ; some 
are more grievous than others, and bring 
greater wrath ; therefore especially take heed 
of these sins, Ps. xix. 13, " Keep back thy 
servant also from presumptuous sins." The 
least sin is bad enough ; you need not aggra- 
vate your sins, and make them more heinous. 
He that hath a little wound will not make it 
deeper. O beware of these bloody circum- 
stances which greaten your sin, and make it 
more heinous ! The higher a man is in sin- 
ning, the lower he shall lie in torment. 



WHAT SIN DESERVETH. 



Quest. LXXXIV. What doth every sin 
deserve 1 

Ans. God's wrath and curse, both in this 
life, and that which is to come. Matt. xxv. 
41, " Depart from me, ye cursed, into ever- 
lasting fire." Man having sinned, is like a 
favourite turned out of the king's favour, and 
deserves the wrath and curse of God. 

1st. God's curse, Gal. iii. 10. As when 
Christ cursed the fig-tree, it withered, Matt, 
xxi. 19, so, when God curseth any, he 
withers in his soul. God's curse blasts 
wherever it comes. 

2d. God's wrath, which is nothing else 
but the execution of God's curse. 

I. What this wrath is 7 In this wrath 
there is, 1. Something that is privative ; that 
is, the being deprived of the smiles of God's 
face. It is hell enough to be excluded God's 
presence ; in whose presence is fulness of 
joy, Ps. xvi. 11. God's smiling face hath 
that splendour and oriency of beauty shining 
in it, as ravisheth the angels with delight. 
This is the diamond in the ring of glory. 
And, if it were such a misery for Absalom 
that he might not see the king's face, 
2 Kings xiv. 22, what will it be for the 
wicked to be shut out from beholding God's 
pleasant face ! Privatio Divince visionis 
omnium suppliciorum summum. — 2. God's 



wrath hath something in it positive. That 
is, his frown and enraged fury ; which is 
" wrath come upon them to the uttermost," 
1 Thess. ii. 16. Here take three positions 
or maxims ; 

1. God's wrath is irresistible, Ps. xc. 11, 
"Who knows the power of thine anger?" 
Sinners may oppose God's ways, but not his 
wrath. Shall the briars contend with the 
fire ? Shall finite contend with infinite 1 Job 
xl. 9, " Hast thou an arm like God V* 

2. God's wrath is terrible. The Spanish 
proverb is, ' The lion is not so fierce as he is 
painted.' We are apt to have slight thoughts 
of God's wrath ; but it is very tremendous 
and dismal, as if scalding lead should be 
dropt into one's eye. The Hebrew word 
for wrath, signifies heat. To show that the 
wrath of God is hot, therefore it is com- 
pared to fire in the text. Fire, when it is 
in its rage, is dreadful, (as we saw in the 
flames of this city) : so the wrath of God 
is like fire, it is the terrible of terribles. 
Other fire is but painted to this. If when 
God's wrath is kindled but a little, and a 
spark of it flies into a wicked man's con- 
science in this life, it is so terrible, what 
will it be when God " stirs up all his wrath V 
Ps. lxxviii. 38. How sad is it with a soul 
in desertion ! Now God dips his pen in gall, 



WHAT SIN DESERVETH. 



347 



and ' writes bitter things ;' now his poisoned 
arrows stick fast in the heart, Ps. lxxxviii. 
15, 16, " While I suffer thy terrors, I am 
distracted ; thy fierce wrath goeth over me." 
Luther, in desertion, was in such horror of 
mind, that Nec calor, nec sanguis super 
esset, — he had no blood seen in his face, but 
he lay as one dead. Now, if God's wrath be 
such towards them whom he loves, what will 
it be towards them whom he hates 1 If they 
who sip of the cup find it so bitter, what will 
they do who drink the dregs of the cup? Ps. 
lxxv. 8. Solomon saith, "The king's wrath 
is as the roaring of a lion," Prov. xix. 12. 
What then is God's wrath! When God 
musters up all his forces, and sets himself in 
battalia against a sinner, how can his heart 
endure? Ezek. xxii. 14. Who is able to 
lie under mountains of wrath 1 God is the 
sweetest friend, but the sorest enemy. To 
set forth the fearfulness of this wrath : 

1st. The wrath of God shall seize upon 
every part of a sinner: 1. Upon the body. 
The body, which was so tender it could not 
bear heat or cold, shall be tormented in the 
winepress of God's wrath ; those eyes, which 
before could behold amorous objects, shall be 
tormented with the sight of devils ; the ears, 
which before were delighted with music, shall 
be tormented with the hideous shrieks of the 
damned. 2. The wrath of God shall seize 
upon the soul of a reprobate. Ordinary fire 
cannot touch the soul ; when the martyrs' 
bodies were consuming, their souls did 
triumph in the flames : but God's wrath 
burns the soul. (1). The memory shall be 
tormented to remember what means of grace 
have been abused. (2). The conscience shall 
be tormented with self-accusations. The 
sinner shall accuse himself for presumptuous 
sins, — for mispending his precious hours, — 
for resisting the Holy Ghost. 

2d. The wrath of God is without inter- 
mission. Hell is an abiding-place, but no 
resting-place ; there's not a minute's rest. 
Outward pain hath some abatement ; if it be 
the stone or cholic, the patient hath some- 
times ease ; but the torments of the damned 
have no intermission ; he that feels God's 
wrath, never saith, " I have ease." 
3d. The wrath of God is eternal. So saith 



the text, " Everlasting fire." No tears can 
quench the flame of God's anger ; no, though 
we could shed rivers of tears. In all pains of 
this life, men hope for a cessation, the suffer- 
ing will not continue long ; either the tor- 
mentor dies, or the tormented ; but the wrath 
of God is always feeding upon a sinner. The 
terror of natural fire is, that it consumes 
what it burns; but this makes the fire of 
God's wrath terrible, that it doth not consume 
what it burns. Sic morientur damnati ut 
semper vivant, Bern. The sinner shall ever 
be in the furnace ; after innumerable millions 
of years, the wrath of God is as far from end- 
ing, as it was at the beginning. If all the 
earth and sea were sand, and every thousand 
years a bird should come and take away one 
grain of this sand, it would be a long while 
ere that vast heap of sand were emptied ; 
but, if after all that time, the damned might 
come out of hell, there were some hope ; but 
this word ever breaks the heart. 

Quest. But how doth it seem to consist 
with God's justice to punish sin (which per- 
haps was committed in a moment) with eter- 
nal fire ? 

Ans. In respect of the heinous nature of 
sin. Consider the person offended ; it is 
Crimen Lcesoz majestis : Sin is committed 
against an infinite majesty ; therefore the sin 
is infinite, and so the punishment must be 
infinite. Now, because the nature of man 
is but finite, and a sinner cannot at once 
bear infinite wrath, therefore he must in 
eternity of time be satisfying what he cannot 
satisfy at once. 

Ath. While the wicked lie scorching in the 
flames of wrath, they have none to com- 
miserate them. It is some ease of grief, to 
have some condole with us ; but the wicked 
have wrath and no pity shown them. Who 
should pity them ] God will not pity them. 
They derided his Spirit, and now he will 
laugh at their calamity, Prov. i. 26. The 
saints will not pity them. They persecuted 
the saints upon earth, therefore they will re- 
joice to see God's justice executed on them, 
Ps. lviii. 10, "The righteous shall rejoice 
when he seeth the vengeance." 

5th. The sinner under wrath hath none to 
speak a good word for him. An elect per- 



348 



WHAT SIN I>ESERVETH. 



son, when he sins, hath one to intercede for 
him, 1 John ii. 1, " We have an advocate 
with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." 
Christ will say, " It is one of my friends, one 
for whom I have shed my blood ; Father, par- 
don him." But the wicked (that die in sin) 
have none to solicit for them ; they have an 
accuser, but no advocate ; Christ's blood will 
not plead for them ; they slighted Christ, and 
refused to come under his government, there- 
fore Christ's blood cries against them. 

3. God's wrath is just. The Greek word 
for vengeance signifies justice. The wicked 
shall drink a sea of wrath, but not one drop 
of injustice. 'Tis just God's honour be re- 
paired, and how can that be but by punishing 
offenders'? Having shown you what this 
wrath of God is, I shall show you, 2. That we 
have deserved the curse and wrath of God ; 
he who infringeth the king's laws, deserves 
the penalty. Mercy goes by favour, punish- 
ment by desert, Dan. ix. 8, " To us belongeth 
confusion of face." Wrath is that which be- 
longeth to us as we are sinners ; it is as due 
to us as any wages that are paid. 

Use 1st. Of information. 1st. It justifies 
God in condemning sinners at the last day. 
Sinners deserve wrath, and it is no injustice 
to give them that which they deserve. If 
a malefactor deserves death, the judge doth 
him no wrong in condemning him. 

2d. See what a great evil sin is, which 
exposeth a person to God's wrath for ever. 
You may know the lion by his paw ; and you 
may know what an evil thing sin is, by the 
wrath and curse it brings. When you see a 
man drawn upon a hurdle to execution, you 
conclude he is guilty of some capital crime 
that brings such a punishment : when a man 
lies under the torrid zone of God's wrath, 
and roars out in flames, then say, "How 
horrid an evil sin is !" They who now see 
no evil in swearing, or sabbath-breaking, 
they will see it look black in the glass of 
hell-torments. 

3d. See here a handwriting upon the wall ; 
here is that which may check a sinner's mirth. 
He is now brisk and frolicsome, he chants 
" to the sound of the viol, and invents instru- 
ments of music," Amos vi. 5. He drinks 
' stolen waters,' and saith, « they are sweet.' 



Oh ! but let him remember, that the wrath 
and curse of God hangs over him, which will 
shortly (without repentance) be executed on 
him. Dionysius thought, as he sat at table, 
he saw a naked sword hang over his head : 
the sword of God's justice hangs over a sin- 
ner ; and when the slender thread of life 
is cut asunder, the sword falls upon him. 
" Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth, and 
let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy 
youth," Eccl. xi. 9, "But know that for all 
these things, God will bring thee into judg- 
ment." For a drop of pleasure, thou must 
drink a sea of wrath. Your pleasure cannot 
be so sweet as wrath is bitter ; the delights 
of the flesh cannot countervail the horror of 
conscience ; better want the devil's honey, 
than be so stung with the wrath of God. The 
garden of Eden, which signifies pleasure, 
had a flaming sword placed at the east end 
of it, Gen. "hi. 24: the garden of carnal and 
sinful delight is surrounded with the flaming 
sword of God's wrath. 

Use 2d. Reproof. It reproves the stupidity 
of sinners, who are no more affected with the 
curse and wrath of God which is due to them, 
Isa. xliv. 19, " None considereth in his heart." 
If they were in debt, and were ready to have 
the sergeant arrest them, they would be affect- 
ed with that ; but though the fierce wrath of 
God is ready to arrest them, they remember 
not. A beast though he hath no shame, yet 
he hath fear ; he is afraid of fire ; but sinners 
are worse than brutish, they fear not the ' fire 
of hell,' till they are in it. Most have their 
conscience asleep, or seared ; but when they 
shall see the vials of God's wrath dropping, 
then they will cry out as Dives, " I am tor- 
mented in this flame !" Luke xvi. 24. 

Use 3d. Exhortation. 1st. Let us adore 
God's patience who hath not brought this 
wrath and curse upon us all this while. 
We have deserved wrath, yet God hath not 
given us our desert. We may all subscribe 
to that, Ps. ciii. 8, "The Lord is slow to 
anger; and v. 10, "He hath not rewarded 
us according to our iniquities." God hath 
deferred his wrath, and given us space to 
repent, Rev. ii. 21. God is not like a 
hasty creditor, that requires the debt, and 
gives no time for the payment ; he shoots 



WHAT SIN DESERVETH. 



349 



off his warning-piece, that he may not shoot 
off his murdering-piece, 2 Pet. iii. 9, " The 
Lord is long-suffering to us-ward, not willing 
that any should perish." God adjourns the 
assizes to see if sinners would turn ; he keeps 
off the storm of his wrath ; but if men will 
not be warned, let them know that long for- 
bearance is no forgiveness. 

2d. Let us labour to prevent the wrath we 
have deserved. How careful are men to 
prevent poverty or disgrace ! O labour to 
prevent God's eternal wrath, that it may not 
only be deferred, but removed ! 

Quest. What shall we do to prevent and 
escape the wrath to come? 

Ans. 1. By getting an interest in Jesus 
Christ. Christ is the only screen to stand 
betwixt us and the wrath of God ; he did feel 
God's wrath, that they who believe in him 
should never feel it, 1 Thess. i. 10, " Jesus 
which delivered us from the wrath to come." 
Nebuchadnezzar's fiery furnace was a type 
of God's wrath, and that furnace did not 
singe the garments of the three children, 
" nor had the smell of fire passed on them," 
Dan. iii. 27. Jesus Christ went into the 
furnace of his Father's wrath ; and those that 
believe in him, the smell of the fire of hell 
shall never pass upon them. 

A, 2. If we would prevent the wrath of 
God, let us take heed of those sins which will 
bring the wrath of God. Edmund, successor 
of Anselm, had a saying, " I had rather leap 
into a furnace of fire, than willingly commit 
a sin against God." There are several fiery 
sins we must take heed of, which will bring 
the fire of God's wrath. 

(1). The fire of rash anger. Some who pro- 
fess religion, yet cannot bridle their tongue ; 
they care not what they say in their anger, 
they will curse their passions. St James saith, 
r The tongue is set on fire of hell," chap. iii. 
6. O take heed of a " fiery tongue," lest it 
bring thee to " fiery torment I" Dives begged 
a drop of water to cool his tongue : St Cy- 
prian saith, he had offended most in his 
tongue, and now that was most set on fire. 



(2) . Take heed of the fire of malice. 
Malice is a malignant humour, whereby we 
wish evil to one another, — it is a vermin 
lives on blood, — it studies revenge. Caligula 
had a chest where he kept deadly poisons 
for them he had malice against. The fire of 
malice brings men to the fiery ' furnace of 
God's wrath.' 

(3) . Take heed of the sin of uncleanness, 
Heb. xiii. 4, " Whoremongers and adul- 
terers God will judge." Such as burn in 
uncleanness, and are in great danger to burn 
one day in hell. Let one fire put out another ; 
let the fire of God's wrath put out the fire of 
lust. 

3d. To you who have a well-grounded 
hope that you shall not feel this wrath 
which you have deserved, let me exhort 
you, 1. To be very thankful to God, who 
hath given his Son to save you from this 
tremendous wrath. " Jesus hath delivered 
you from wrath to come." The Lamb of 
God was scorched in the fire of God's wrath 
for you. Christ did feel the wrath which 
he did not deserve, that you may escape the 
wrath which you have deserved. Pliny 
observes that there is nothing better to 
quench fire than blood : Christ's blood hath 
quenched the fire of God's wrath for you. 
" Upon me, upon me be thy curse," said 
Rebekah to Jacob, Gen. xxvii. 13. So said 
Christ to God's justice, " Upon me be the 
curse," that my elect may inherit the bless- 
ing. 2. Be patient under all the afflictions 
which you endure. Affliction • is sharp, but 
this is not wrath, this is not hell. Who 
would not willingly drink in the cup of afflic- 
tion, that knows he shall never drink in the 
cup of damnation ? Who would not be will- 
ing to bear the wrath of men, that knows he 
shall never feel the wrath of God ] 

Christian, though thou mayest feel the rod, 
thou shalt never feel the bloody axe. Austin 
once said, " Strike, Lord, where thou wilt, if 
sin be pardoned." So say, " Afflict me, 
Lord, as thou wilt in this life, seeing I shall 
escape the wrath to come." 



350 



OF FAITH. 



OF FAITH. 



Quest. LXXXV. What doth God re- 
quire of us, that we may escape his wrath 
and curse due to us for sin? 

Ans. Faith in Jesus Christ, repentance 
unto life, with the diligent use of all the out- 
ward means whereby Christ communicateth 
to us the benefits of redemption. 

I. I begin with the first, " Faith in Jesus 
Christ," Rom. iii. 22, 25, " Whom God hath 
set forth to be a propitiation through faith in 
his blood." The great privilege in the text is 
to have Christ for a propitiation ; which is not 
only to free us from God's wrath, but to in- 
gratiate us into God's love and favour. And 
the means of having Christ to be our propi- 
tiation is, ' Faith in his blood.' There is a 
twofold faith, Fides quce creditur, i. e. ' the 
doctrine of faith ;' and Fides qua creditur, 
i. e. ' the grace of faith.' The act of justify- 
ing faith lies in recumbency ; we do rest on 
Christ alone for salvation. As a man that is 
ready to drown catcheth hold on the bough 
of a tree : so a poor trembling sinner, seeing 
himself ready to perish, catcheth hold by faith 
on Christ the tree of life, and so is saved. The 
work of faith is by the Holy Spirit ; therefore 
faith is called the " fruit of the Spirit," Gal. 
v. 22. Faith doth not grow in nature, it is an 
outlandish plant, a fruit of the Spirit. This 
grace of faith is sanctissimum humani pec- 
toris bonum, — of all others, the most precious 
rich faith, and most holy faith, and faith of 
God's elect. Hence it is called " precious 
faith," 2 Pet. i. 1. As gold is the most pre- 
cious among the metals, so is faith among the 
graces. Faith is the queen of the graces ; faith 
is the condition of the gospel; "Thy faith 
hath saved thee," Luke vii. 50, not thy tears. 
Faith is the " vital artery of the soul," it ani- 
mates it, Hab. ii. 4, " The just shall live by 
faith. " Unbelievers, though they breathe yet 
want life. Faith is (as Clemens Alexandrinus 
calls it) a mother grace ; it excites and invi- 
gorates all the graces ; not a grace stirs till 
faith sets it awork. Faith sets repentance 
awork ; it is like fire to the still. Faith sets 
hope awork, — first we believe the promise, — 



then we hope for it. Did not faith feed the 
lamp of hope with oil, it would soon die. Faith 
sets love awork, Gal. v. 6, " Faith which 
worketh by love." Who can believe in the 
infinite merits of Christ, and his heart not 
ascend in a fiery chariot of love? Faith is a 
catholicon, or remedy against all troubles, — a 
sheet-anchor we cast out into the sea of God'3 
mercy, and are kept from sinking in despair. 
Other graces have done worthily, — thou, O 
Faith, excellest them all ! Indeed in heaven, 
love will be the chief grace ; but, while we are 
here militant, love must give place to faith. 
Love takes possession of glory, but faith gives 
a title to it. Love is the crowning grace in 
heaven, but faith is the conquering grace upon 
earth, 1 John v. 4, " This is the victory that 
overcometh the world, even our faith." Faith 
carries away the garland from all the other 
graces ; other graces help to sanctify us, but 
it is faith only that hath the honour to justify ; 
Rom. v. 1, " Being justified by faith." 

Quest. But how comes faith to be so 
precious ? 

Ans. Not as it is a more holy quality, or 
as if it had more worthiness than other graces, 
but respectu objecti, — " as it lays hold on 
Christ the blessed object," and fetcheth in 
his fulness, John ix. 16. Faith in itself con- 
sidered, is but manus mendica, — " the beg- 
gar's hand ;" but as this hand receives the 
rich alms of Christ's merits, so it is precious, 
and doth challenge a superiority over the rest 
of the graces. 

Use 1st. Of all sins beware of the rock of 
unbelief, Heb. iii. 12, " Take heed lest there 
be in any of us an evil heart of unbelief." 
Men think, as long as they are not drunkards 
or swearers, it is no great matter to be un- 
believers. This is the gospel-sin, it dyes 
your other sins in grain. 

(1). Unbelief is a Christ-reproaching sin. 
Unbelief disparageth Christ's infinite merit, 
as if it could not save ; unbelief makes the 
wound of sin to be broader than the plas- 
ter of Christ's blood. This is a high con- 
tempt offered to Christ, and is a deeper 



OF FAITH. 



351 



spear than that which the Jews thrust into 
his side. 

(2) . Unbelief is an ungrateful sin. Ingra- 
tus vitandus est ut dirum scelus, tellus ipsa 
fadius nihil creat. Ingratitude is a prodigy 
of wickedness ; unbelief is ungrateful, being 
against the richest mercy. Suppose a king 
should redeem a captive, and to redeem him 
should part with his crown of gold from his 
head ; and when he had done this, should say 
to the man redeemed, " All I desire of thee 
in lieu of my kindness, is to believe that I 
love thee." Now, if he should say " No, I 
do not believe any such thing ; or that thou 

j carest at all for me :" I appeal to you were 
not this odious ingratitude ] So is this case 
here : God hath sent his Son to shed his 
blood. God requires only to believe in him, 
that he is able and willing to save us. "No," 
saith unbelief, " his blood was not shed for 

! me, I cannot persuade myself that Christ 
hath any purpose of love to me." Is not this 
horrid ingratitude 1 And this enhanceth a 
sin, and makes it of a crimson colour. 

(3) . Unbelief is a leading sin. It is the 
breeder of sin. Qualitas malce vitce initium 
sumit ab injidelitate. Unbelief is a root-sin, 
and the devil labours to water this root, that 
the branches may be fruitful. (1). Unbelief 
breeds hardness of heart ; therefore they are 
put together, Mark xvi. 14, Christ upbraideth 
them with their unbelief and hardness of 

! heart. Unbelief breeds the stone of the heart ; 

he who believes not in Christ, is not affected 
j with his sufferings, he melts not in tears of 

love. Unbelief freezeth the heart ; first it 
jj defiles and hardens. (2). Unbelief breeds 
lj profaneness ; an unbeliever will stick at no 

sin, — neither at false weights, nor false oaths. 
I He will swallow down treason ; Judas was 
\ first an unbeliever, and then a traitor, John 

vi. 64. He who hath no faith in his heart 

I' will have no fear of God before his eyes. 
(4). Unbelief is a wrath procuring sin ; it 
is inimica salutis, Bern. John iii. 18. Jam 
condemnatus est, dying so, he is as sure to 
be condemned as if he were so already, John 
iii. 36, " He that believeth not the Son shall 
not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on 
him." He who believes not in the blood of 
; the Lamb, must feel the wrath of the Lamb. 



The Gentiles that believe not in Christ 
will be as well damned as the Jews who 
blaspheme him. And if unbelief be so fear- 
ful and damnable a sin, shall we not be afraid 
to live in it 1 

2d. Above all graces, set faith a work on 
Christ : John iii. 15, " That whosoever be- 
lieveth in him should not perish." Eph. vi. 
16, " Above all, taking the shield of faith." 
Say as queen Esther, " I will go in unto the 
king : and if I perish, I perish." She had 
nothing to encourage her, — she ventured 
against law, — yet the golden sceptre was held 
forth to her. We have promises to encou- 
rage our faith, John vi. 37, " He that cometh 
unto me, I will in no wise cast out." Let us 
then advance faith by a holy recumbency on 
Christ's merits. Christ's blood will not jus- 
tify without believing : they are both put 
together in the text, " Faith in his blood." 
The blood of God, without faith in Christ, 
will not save. Christ's sufferings are the 
plaster to heal a sin-sick soul, but this plaster 
must be applied by faith. It is not money in 
a rich man's hand, though offered to us, will 
enrich us, unless we receive it : -so it is not 
Christ's virtues or benefits will do us good, 
unless we receive them by the hand of faith. 
Above all graces, set faith on work ; remem- 
ber this grace is most acceptable to God, and 
that upon many accounts. 

(1) . Because it is a God-exalting grace; 
it glorifies God, Rom. iv. 20, Abraham being 
strong in faith, gave glory to God. To be- 
lieve that there is more mercy in God, and 
merit in Christ than sin in us, — and that 
Christ hath answered all the demands and 
challenges of the law, — and that his blood 
hath fully satisfied for us, — this is in a high 
degree to honour God. Faith in the Media- 
tor brings more glory to God, than martyr- 
dom, or the most heroic act of obedience. 

(2) . Faith in Christ is so acceptable to 
God, because it is such a self-denying grace, 
it makes a man go out of himself, renounce 
all self-righteousness, and wholly rely on 
Christ for justification. Faith is very hum- 
ble, it confesseth its own indigence, and 
lives wholly upon Christ. As the bee sucks 
sweetness from the flower, so faith sucks all 
its strength and comfort from Christ. 



352 



OF FAITH. 



(3). Faith is a grace so acceptable to God, 
because by faith we present a righteousness 
to God, which doth best please him ; we 
bring the righteousness of Christ into the 
court, which is called the righteousness of 
God, 1 Cor. v. 21. To bring Christ's right- 
eousness, is to bring Benjamin with us. A 
believer may say, " Lord, it is not the right- 
eousness of Adam, or of the angels, but of 
Christ who is God-man, that I bring before 
thee." The Lord cannot choose but smell 
a sweet savour in Christ's righteousness. 

Use 2d. Trial. Let us try our faith. 
There is something that looks like faith, and 
is not. Pliny saith, there is a Cyprian stone, 
which is in colour, like a diamond, but it is 
not of the right kind : there is a false spurious 
faith in the world. Some plants have the 
same leaf with others, but the herbalist can 
distinguish them by the root and taste ; some- 
thing may look like true faith, but it may be 
distinguished several ways. 

(1) . True faith is grounded upon know- 
ledge ; knowledge carries the torch before 
faith. There is a knowledge of Christ's 
orient excellencies, Phil. iii. 7. He is all 
made up of love and beauty. True faith is a 
judicious intelligent grace, it knows whom 
it believes, and why it believes. Faith is 
seated as well in the understanding as the 
will. It hath an eye to see Christ, as well 
as a wing to fly to him. Such therefore as 
are inveiled with ignorance, or have only an 
implicit faith, to believe as the Church be- 
lieves, have no true genuine faith. 

(2) . Faith lives in a broken heart, Mark 
ix. 24, " He cried out with tears, Lord, I be- 
lieve." True faith is always in a heart 
bruised for sin : such therefore, whose hearts 
were never touched for sin, have no faith. 
If a physician should tell us, there were 
an herb would help us against all infections, 
but it always grows in a watery place, — if 
we should see an herb like it in colour, leaf, 
smell, blossom, but it grows upon a rock, we 
would conclude this were the wrong herb : 
so saving faith doth always grow in a heart 
humbled for sin ; it grows in a weeping 
eye, watery conscience ; therefore, if there 
be a show of faith, but it grows upon a rock, a 
hard impenitent heart, this is not the true faith. 



I (3). True faith is at first nothing but an 
embryo, it is minute and small ; it is full of 
doubtings, temptations, fears ; it begins in 
weakness. It is like the smoking flax, Matt. 

xii. 20. It smokes with desires, but doth 
not flame with comfort ; it is at first so small 
that it is scarce discernible. Such as, at 
the first dash, have a strong persuasion 
that Christ is theirs, who leap out of sin 
into assurance, their faith is false and spu- 
rious : that faith, which is come to its full 
stature on its birth-day, is a monster. The 
seed that sprang up suddenly, withered, Matt. 

xiii. 5. 

(4) . Faith is a refining grace, it conse- 
crates and purifies. Moral virtue may wash 
the outside, faith washeth the inside, Acts 
xv. 9. Having purified their hearts by 
faith, faith makes the heart a sacristy or 
temple with this inscription, 4 holiness to 
the Lord ;' such, whose hearts have legions 
of lusts in them, were never acquainted 
with the true faith. For one to say, he 
hath faith, yet live in sin, is as if one should 
say, he were in health, yet his vitals are 
perished. Faith is a virgin-grace ; it is 
joined with sanctity, 1 Tim. iii. 9, " Hold- 
ing the mystery of the faith in a pure con- 
science." The jewel of faith is always 
put in the cabinet of a pure conscience. The 
woman that touched Christ by faith, fetch- 
ed a healing and cleansing virtue from 
him. 

(5) . True faith is obediential, Rom. xvi. 
26, " The obedience of faith." Faith melts 
our will into the will of God. If God com- 
mands duty, (though cross to flesh and blood) 
faith obeys ; Heb. xi. 8, " By faith Abraham 
obeyed." Faith doth not only believe the 
promise, but obey the command. It is not 
having a speculative knowledge will evidence 
you to be believers ; the devil hath know- 
ledge, but that which makes him a devil is, 
he wants obedience. 

(6) . True faith is increasing, Rom. i. 17, 
" From faith to faith," i. e. From one de- 
gree of faith to another. Faith doth not 
lie in the heart, as a stone in the earth ; 
but, as seed in the earth it grows. Joseph 
of Arimathea was a disciple of Christ, but 
afraid to confess him ; afterwards he went 



OF REPENTANCE. 



353 



boldly to Pilate and begged the body of Jesus, 
John xix. 36. And a Christian's increase in 
faith is known two ways : 

1. By steadfastness. He is a pillar in the 
temple of God, Col. ii. 7, " Rooted and built 
up in him ; and stablished in the faith." 
Unbelievers are sceptics in religion, they 
are unsettled'; they question every truth, but, 
when faith is on the increasing hand, it doth 
stabilire animum — it doth corroborate a 
Christian ; he is able to prove his principles ; 
he holds no more than he will die for ; as 
that martyr-woman said, " I cannot dispute 
for Christ, but I can burn for him." An in- 
creasing faith is not like a ship in the midst 
of the sea, that fluctuates, and is tossed upon 
the waves, but like a ship at anchor which is 
firm and steadfast. 

2. A Christian's increase in faith is known 
by his strength ; he can do that now, which 
he could not do before. When one is man- 
grown, he can do that which he was not able 
to do when he was a child ; he can carry a 
heavier burden ; so a Christian can bear 
crosses with more patience. 

Obj. But I fear I have no faith, it is so 
weak ? 

Ans. If you have faith, though but in its 
infancy, be not discouraged, for, 1st. a little 
faith is faith, as a spark of fire is fire ; 2d. a 
weak faith may lay hold on a strong Christ. 
A weak hand can tie the knot in marriage, as 
well as a strong. She, in the gospel, who 
but touched Christ, fetched virtue from him. 
3d. The promises are not made to strongfaith, 



but to true. The promise doth not say, he 
who hath a giant faith, who can believe God's 
love through a frown,— who can rejoice in af- 
fliction, — who can work wonders, remove 
mountains, stop the mouth of lions, — shall be 
saved ; but, whosoever believes, be his faith 
never so small. A reed is but weak, espe- 
cially when it is bruised, yet the promise is 
made to it : Mat. xii. 20, " A bruised reed 
will he not break." 4th. A weak faith may 
be fruitful. Weakest things multiply most. 
The vine is a weak plant, but it is fruitful. 
The thief on the cross, who was newly con- 
verted, was but weak in grace ; but how many 
precious clusters grew upon that tender 
plant ! Luke xxiii. 40, he chides his fellow- 
thief, " Dost thou not fear God ?" He judg- 
eth himself, " We indeed suffer justly." He 
believes in Christ, when he said, " Lord." 
He makes a heavenly prayer, " Remember 
me when thou comest into thy kingdom." 
Weak Christians may have strong affections. 
How strong is the first love, which is after 
the first planting of faith ! 5th. The weak- 
est believer is a member of Christ, as well as 
the strongest ; and the weakest member of 
the body mystical shall not perish. Christ 
will cut off rotten members, but not weak 
members. Therefore, Christian, be not dis- 
couraged. God, who would have us receive 
them that are weak in faith, Rom. xiv. 1, will 
not himself refuse them. 

II. The second means whereby we escape 
the curse and wrath due to sin, is by repent- 
ance. 



OF REPENTANCE. 
Acts xi. 18. Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life. 



Repentance seems to be a bitter pill to 
take, but it is to purge out the bad humour of 
sin. Repentance is by some Antinomian 
spirits cried down as a legal doctrine ; but 
Christ himself preached it. Mat. iv. 17, 
" From that time Jesus began to preach, and 
say, Repent," &c. And, in his last farewell, 
when he was ascending to heaven, he com- 
manded that " Repentance should be preach- 
2 Y 



ed in his name," Luke xxiv. 47. Repent- 
ance is a pure gospel-grace. The covenant 
of works would not admit of repentance ; it 
cursed all that could not perform perfect and 
personal obedience, Gal. iii. 10. Repentance 
comes in by the gospel ; it is the fruit of 
Christ's purchase, that repenting sinners shall 
be saved. Repentance is wrought by the 
ministry of the gospel, while it sets before 



354 



OF REPENTANCE. 



our eyes Christ crucified. Repentance is not 
arbitrary, but necessary ; there is no being- 
saved without it ; Luke xiii. 3, " Except ye 
repent, ye shall all likewise perish." And we 
may be thankful to God, that he hath left us 
this plank after shipwreck. 

1st. I shall show the counterfeits of repent- 
ance. 

1. Natural softness and tenderness of spirit. 
Some have a tender affection, arising from 
their complexion, whereby they are apt to 
weep and relent when they see any object of 
pity. These are not repenting tears ; for 
many weep to see another's misery, who 
cannot weep at their own sin. 

2. Counterfeit, legal affrightments. A man 
has lived in a course of sin ; at last he is 
made a little sensible ; he sees hell ready to 
devour him, and he is rilled with anguish and 
horror ; but, within a while the tempest of 
conscience is blown over, and he is quiet ; 
then he concludes he is a true penitent, be- 
cause he hath felt some bitterness in sin : 
this is not repentance. Judas had some trou- 
ble of mind. If anguish and trouble were 
sufficient to repentance, then the damned 
would be most penitent, for they are most in 
anguish of mind. There may be trouble of 
mind, where there is no grieving for the of- 
fence against God. 

3. Counterfeit, a slight superficial sorrow. 
When God's hand lies heavy upon a man, 
(he is sick or lame) he may vent a sigh or 
tear, and say, ' Lord, have mercy ;' yet this 
is no true repentance. Ahab did more than 
all this, 1 Kings xxi. 27, " He rent his clothes, 
and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went 
softly." His clothes were rent, but not his 
heart. The eye may be watery, and the 
heart flinty. An apricot may be soft without, 
but it hath a hard stone within. 

4. Counterfeit, good motions arising in the 
heart. Every good motion is not repentance. 
Some think if they have motions in their 
hearts to break off their sins, and become re- 
ligious, this is repentance. As the devil may 
stir up bad motions in the godly, so the Spi- 
rit of God may stir up good motions in the 
wicked. Herod had many good thoughts 
and inclinations stirred up in him by John 
Baptist's preaching, yet he did not truly re- 
pent, for he still lived in incest. 



5. Counterfeit, vows and resolutions* 
What vows and solemn protestations do some 
make in their sickness. If God recover them 
they will be new men, but afterwards are as 
bad as ever : Jer. ii. 20, " Thou saidst, I will 
not transgress ;" here was a resolution ; but 
for all this, she ran after her idols ; " Under 
every green tree thou wanderest, playing the 
harlot." 

6. Counterfeit, leaving off some gross sin. 
But that is a mistake : for, 1. A man may 
leave some sins, and keep others. Herod 
did reform many things amiss, but kept his 
Herodias. 2. An old sin may be left to en- 
tertain a new. A man may leave off riot 
and prodigality, and turn covetous ; this is to 
exchange a sin. These are the counterfeits 
of repentance. Now, if you find that yours 
is a counterfeit repentance, and you have not 
repented aright, mend what you have done 
amiss ; as in the body, if a bone be set wrong, 
the chirurgeon hath no way but to break it 
again, and set it aright : so must you do by 
your repentance ; if you have not repented 
aright, you must have you heart broken again 
in a godly manner, and be more deeply af- 
flicted for sin than ever. 

2d. And that brings me to the second, to 
show wherein true repentance consists : it 
consists in two things ; 

1st, Humiliation, Lev. xxvi. 41, " If their 
uncircumcised hearts be humbled." There 
is (as the schoolmen) a twofold humiliation, 
or breaking of the heart. 1. Attrition ; as 
when a rock is broken in pieces. This is 
done by the law, which is a hammer to break 
the heart. 2. Contrition ; as when ice is 
melted into water. This is done by the gos- 
pel, which is as a fire to melt the heart, Jer. 
xxiii. 9. It is the sense of abused kindness 
causeth contrition. 

2d. Transformation, or change, Rom. xii. 
2, " Be ye transformed by the renewing of 
your mind." Repentance works a change in 
the whole man; as wine put into a glass 
where water is, the wine runs into every part 
of the water, and changeth its colour and 
taste ; so true repentance doth not rest in 
one part, but doth diffuse and spread itself 
into every part. 

1. Repentance causeth a change in the 
mind. Whereas, before a man did like well 



OF REPENTANCE. 



355 



of sin, and say in defence of it, as Jonah, " I 
do well to be angry," chap. iv. 9. So, I did 
well to swear, and break the sabbath. When 
once a man becomes a penitent, his judgment 
is changed, he now looks upon sin as the 
greatest evil. The Greek word for repent- 
ance, signifies after-wisdom ; when, having 
seen how deformed and damnable a thing sin 
is, we change our mind. Paul, before con- 
version, verily " thought within himself, I 
ought to do many things contrary to the name 
of Jesus," Acts xxvi. 9 ; but, when he became 
a penitent, now he was of another mind, Phil, 
iii. 8, " I count all things but loss for the ex- 
cellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus." 
Repentance causeth a change of judgment. 

2. Repentance causeth a change in the 
affections which move under the will as the 
commander-in-chief. Repentance doth me- 
tamorphose the affections. It turns rejoicing 
in sin into sorrow for sin ; it turns boldness 
in sin into holy shame ; it turns the love of 
sin into hatred. As Amnon hated Tamar 
more than ever he loved her, 2 Sam. xiii. 15 : 
so the true penitent hateth sin more than 
ever he loved it, Ps. cxix. 104, " I hate every 
false way." 

3. Repentance works a change in the life. 
Though repentance begins at the heart, it 
doth not rest there, but goes into the life. I 
say, it begins at the heart, Jer. iv. 14, " O 
Jerusalem, wash thy heart." If the spring be 
corrupt, there can no pure stream run from it. 
But though repentance begins at the heart, it 
doth not rest there, but changeth the life. 
What a change did repentance make in Paul ! 
It changed a persecutor into a preacher. 
What a change did it make in the jailor 1 Acts 
xvi. 33, He took the apostles, and washed 
their stripes, and set meat before them. 
What a change did it make in Mary Magda- 
lene 1 She that before did kiss her lovers with 
wanton embraces, now kisseth Christ's feet ; 
she that did use to curl her hair, and dress it 
with costly jewels, now she makes it a towel 
to wipe Christ's feet ; her eyes that used to 
sparkle with lust, and with impure glances 
to entice her lovers, now she makes them a 
fountain of tears to wash her Saviour's feet ; 
her tongue that used to speak vainly and 
loosely, now it is an instrument set in tune 



to praise God. And this change of life hath 
two things in it ; 

(1). The terminus a quo, — a breaking off 
sin, Dan. iv. 27, " Break off thy sins by right- 
eousness." And this breaking off sin must 
have three qualifications, 1. It must be uni- 
versal, a breaking off all sin. One disease 
may kill as well as more ; one sin lived in may 
damn as well as more. The real penitent 
breaks off secret, gainful, complexion sins ; 
he takes the sacrificing knife of mortification, 
and runs it through the heart of his dearest 
lusts. — 2. Breaking off sin must be sincere ; 
it must not be out of fear or design, but upon 
spiritual grounds. As, 1st, From antipathy 
and disgust. — 2dly, From a principle of love 
to God. If sin had not such evil effects, yet 
a true penitent would forsake it out of love 
to God. The best way to separate things 
that are frozen, is by fire : when sin and the 
heart are frozen together, the best way to 
separate them is by the fire of love. Shall I 
sin against a gracious Father, and abuse that 
love which pardons me 1 — 3. The breaking off 
sin must be perpetual, so as never to have to 
do with sin any more, Hos. xiv. 8, " What 
have I to do any more with idols 1" Repent- 
ance is a spiritual divorce, which must be till 
death. 

(2). Change of life hath in it, terminus ad 
quern, — a returning unto the Lord. It is call- 
ed "repentance towards God," Acts xx. 21. 
'Tis not enough, when we repent, to leave old 
sins ; but we must engage in God's service ; as 
when the wind leaves the west, it turns into a 
contrary corner. The repenting prodigal did 
not only leave his harlots, but did arise and 
go to his father, Luke xv. 18. In true re- 
pentance the heart points directly to God, as 
the needle to the north pole. 

Use. Let us all set upon this great work 
of repentance ; let us repent sincerely and 
speedily ; let us repent of all our sins, our 
pride, rash anger, unbelief. " Without re- 
pentance no remission ;" it is not consistent 
with the holiness of God's nature to pardon 
a sinner while he is in the act of rebellion. 
O meet God, not with weapons, but tears in 
your eyes ! And, to stir you up to a melting, 
penitent frame, 

1. Consider what is there in sin that you 



356 



OF REPENTANCE. 



should continue in the practice of it. It is 
the " accursed thing," Josh. vii. 11. It is the 
spirits of mischief distilled. (1). It defiles 
the soul's glory ; it is like a stain to beauty ; 
'tis compared to a plague-sore, 1 Kings viii. 
38. Nothing so changeth one's glory into 
shame, as sin. (2). Without repentance, sin 
tends to final damnation. Peccatum transit, 
actu manet reatu. Sin at first shows its 
colour in the glass, but afterwards it bites 
like a serpent. Those locusts, Rev. ix. 7, 
were an emblem of sin : " On their heads 
were crowns like gold, and they had hair as 
the hair of women, and their teeth were as 
the teeth of lions, and there were stings in 
their tails." Sin unrepented of ends in a 
tragedy. Sin hath the devil for its father, 
shame for its companion, and death for its 
wages, Rom. vi. 23. What is there in sin 
then, that men should continue in it? Say 
not, it is sweet. Who would desire that 
pleasure which kills 1 

2. Repentance is very pleasing to God. 
No sacrifice like a broken heart, Ps. li. 17, 
" A contrite and a broken heart, O God, thou 
wilt not despise." St Austin caused this 
sentence to be written over his bed when he 
was sick. When the widow brought empty 
vessels to Elisha, the oil was poured into 
them, 2 Kings iv. 6 : bring God the broken 
vessel of a contrite heart, and he will pour 
in the oil of mercy. Repenting tears are the 
joy of God and angels, Luke xv. Doves de- 
light to be about the waters ; and surely God's 
Spirit (who once descended in the likeness 
of a dove) takes great delight in the waters 
of repentance. Mary stood at Jesus' feet 
weeping, Luke vii. 38. She brought two 
things to Christ, tears and ointment,— her 
tears were more precious to Christ than her 
ointment. 

3. Repentance ushers in pardon ; therefore 
they are joined together, Acts v. 31, " Re- 
pentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins." 
Pardon of sin is the richest blessing ; it is 
enough to make a sick man well, Isa. xxxiii. 
24, " The inhabitant shall not say, I am sick ; 
the people that dwell therein shall be for- 
given their iniquity." Pardon settles upon 
us the richer charter of the promises. Par- 
doning mercy is the sauce that makes all 



other mercies relish the sweeter ; it sweetens 
our health, riches, honour. David had a 
crown of pure gold set upon his head, Ps. 
xxi. 3. But that which David did most bless 
God for was, not that God had set a crown 
of gold upon his head, but that God set a 
crown of mercy upon his head : Ps. ciii. 4, 
" Who crowneth thee with mercies." But 
what was this crown of mercy 1 You may see, 
v. 3, " Who forgiveth all thine iniquities." 
David more rejoiced that he was crowned 
with forgiveness, than that he wore a crown 
of pure gold. Now, what is it makes way 
for pardon of sin, but repentance'? When 
David's soul was humbled and broken, then 
the prophet Nathan brought him that good 
news, 2 Sam. xii. 13, "The Lord hath put 
away thy sin." 

Obj. But sure, my sins are so great, that 
if I should repent, God would not pardon 
them. 

Ans. God will not go from his promise : 
Jer. iii. 12, " Return thou backsliding Israel, 
saith the Lord, and I will not cause mine 
anger to fall upon you, for I am merciful." 
If thy sins are as rocks, yet upon thy repent- 
ance, the sea of God's mercy can drown these 
rocks, Isa. i. 16, "Wash you, make you 
clean." Wash in the laver of repentance, v. 
18, " Come now, and let us reason together, 
saith the Lord : though your sins be as scarlet, 
they shall be as white as snow." Manasseh 
was a crimson sinner ; but when he humbled 
himself greatly, the golden sceptre of mercy 
was held forth ; when his head was a foun- 
tain to weep for sin, Christ's side was a 
fountain to wash away sin. 'Tis not the 
greatness of sin, but impenitency, destroys. 
The Jews, some of them that had a hand 
in crucifying Christ, upon their repentance, 
the blood they shed was a sovereign balm 
to heal them. When the prodigal came 
home to his father, he had the robe and the 
ring put upon him, and his " father kissed 
him," Luke xv. If you break off your sins, 
God will become a friend to you ; all that 
is in God shall be yours ; his power shall 
be yours, to help you, — his wisdom shall 
be yours, to counsel you, — his Spirit shall 
be yours, to sanctify you, — his promises 
shall be yours, to comfort you, — his angels 



THE WORD READ AND PREACHED, HOW EFFECTUAL. 



357 



shall be yours, to guard you, — his mercy shall 
be yours, to save you. 

4. There's much sweetness in repenting 
tears. The soul is never more enlarged and 
inwardly delighted than when it can melt 
kindly for sin. Weeping days are festival 
days. The Hebrew word to repent, nicham, 
signifies, consolari, 1 to take comfort,' John 
xvi. 20, " Your sorrow shall be turned into 
joy." Christ turns the water of tears into 
wine. David, who was the great mourner in 
Israel, was the sweet singer ; and the joy a 
true penitent finds, is a prelibation and fore- 
taste of the joy of paradise. The wicked 
man's joy turns to sadness ; the penitent's 
sadness turns to joy. Though repentance 
seems at first to be thorny and bitter, yet of 
this thorn a Christian gathers grapes. All 
which considerations may open a vein of 
godly sorrow in our souls, that we may 
both weep for sin, and turn from sin. If 
ever God restores comfort, it is to his 
mourners, Isa. lvii. 18. And when we have 
wept, let us look up to Christ's blood for 
pardon. Say, as that holy man, lava Do- 
mine lachrymas meus, — " Lord, wash my 
tears, in thy blood !" We drop sin with 



our tears, and need Christ's blood to wash 
them ; and this repentance must be not only 
for a few days, like the mourning for a friend, 
which is soon over ; but it must be the work 
of our lives ; the issue of godly sorrow must 
not be stopt till death. After sin is par- 
doned, we must repent. We run afresh 
upon the score ; " we sin daily, therefore 
must repent daily." Some shed a few tears 
for sin ; and when their tears, like the widow's 
oil, have run a while they cease. Many, if 
the plaster of repentance begin to smart a 
little, pluck it off ; whereas this plaster of 
repentance must still lie on, and not be 
plucked off till death; when, as all other 
tears, so these of godly sorrow, shall be 
wiped away. 

Quest. What shall we do to obtain a 
penitential frame of heart 1 

Ans. Seek to God for it. It is his promise 
to give a ' heart of flesh,' Ezek. xxxvi., and 
to pour on us a spirit of mourning, Zech. xii. 
10. Beg God's ' Holy Spirit.' Ps. cxlvii. 
18, " He causeth his wind to blow, and the 
waters flow." When the wind of God's 
Spirit blows upon us, then the waters of re- 
pentant tears will flow from us. 



THE WORD READ AND PREACHED, HOW EFFECTUAL. 



III. The third way to escape the wrath 
and curse of God, and obtain the benefit of 
redemption by Christ, is, " The diligent use 
of ordinances," in particular, " the word, 
sacraments, and prayer." 

I begin with the first of these ordinances. 

1. The " word," 1 Thess. ii. 13,—" which 
effectually worketh in you that believe." 

Quest. What is meant by the word's 
working effectually 1 

Ans. The word of God is said to work 
effectually, when it hath that good effect upon 
us for which it was appointed of God ; namely, 
when the word works powerful illumination, 
and thorough reformation ; Acts xxvi. 18, "To 
open their eyes, and turn them from the power 
of Satan to God." The ' opening their eyes,' 
denotes illumination ; and, ' turning them from 
Satan to God,' denotes reformation. 



Quest. 2. How is the word to be read 
and heard, that it may become effectual to 
salvation ? 

This question consists of two branches. 

1. How may the word be read effectually 1 

First, I shall begin with the first branch of 
the question, ' How is the word to be read, 
that it may become effectual to salvation V 

Ans. That we may so read the word, that 
it may conduce effectually to our salvation, 

1. Let us have a reverent esteem of every 
part of canonical scripture : Ps. xix. 10, 
" More to be desired are they than gold." 
Value this book of God a.bove all other books. 
It is a golden epistle, indited by the Holy 
Ghost, sent us from heaven. More particu- 
larly to raise our esteem, (1). The scripture 
is a spiritual glass to dress our souls by ; it 
shows us more than we can see by the light 



358 



THE WORD READ AND PREACHED, HOW EFFECTUAL. 



of a natural conscience ; that may discover 
gross sins, but the glass of the word shows 
us heart-sins, vain thoughts, unbelief, &c. 
And it not only shows us our spots, but 
washeth them away. (2). The scripture is 
a magazine out of which we may fetch our 
spiritual artillery to fight against Satan. 
When the devil tempted our Saviour, he 
fetched armour and weapons from scripture, 
"it is written," Matt. iv. 4, 7. (3). The 
holy scripture is a 'panacea, or universal 
medicine for the soul ; it gives a recipe to 
cure deadness of heart, Ps. cxix. 50. Pride, 
1 Pet. v. 5. Infidelity, John iii. 36. It is a 
physic garden, where we may gather an herb 
or antidote to expel the poison of sin. The 
leaves of scripture, like the leaves of the tree 
of life, are for the " healing of the nations," 
Rev. xxii. 2. And may not this cause a 
reverent esteem of the word I 

2. If we would have the word written 
effectual to our souls, let us peruse it with 
' intenseness of mind :' John v. 39, " Search 
the scriptures." The Greek word [erynate] 
signifies to search as for ' a vein of silver.' 
The Bereans, Acts xvii. 11, " searched the 
scriptures daily." The word [anakrimontes] 
signifies to make a curious and critical search. 
And Apollos was mighty in the scriptures, 
Acts xviii. 24. Some gallop over a chapter 
in haste and get no good by it : if we would 
have the word effectual and saving, we must 
mind and observe every passage of scripture. 
And that we may be diligent in the perusal 
of scripture, consider, 

First, The word written is norma cultus, 
— the rule and platform by which we are to 
square our lives ; it contains in it all things 
needful to salvation, Ps. xix. 7, what duties 
we are to do, what sins we are to avoid. 
God gave Moses a pattern how he would 
have the tabernacle made ; and he was to go 
exactly according to the pattern, Exod. xxv. 
9. The word is the pattern God hath given 
us in writing for modelling our lives ; there- 
fore, how careful should we be in the pursu- 
ing and looking over this pattern ] 

Secondly, The written word, as it is our 
pattern, so it will be our judge, John xii. 48, 
" The word that I have spoken, the same 
shall judge him in the last day." We read 



of the opening of the books, Rev. xx. 12. 
This is one book God will open, the book of 
the Scripture, and will judge men out of it. 
He will say, Have you lived according to 
the rule of this word? The word hath a 
double work, to teach, and to judge. 

3. If we would have the word written 
effectual, we must bring faith to the reading 
of it, — believe it to be the word of the eter- 
nal Jehovah. The word written comes with 
authority, — it shows its commission from 
heaven, " Thus saith the Lord." It is of 
divine inspiration, 2 Tim. iii. 16. The ora- 
cles of scripture must be surer to us than a 
voice from heaven, 1 Pet. i. 18. Unbelief 
enervates the virtue of scripture, and ren- 
ders it ineffectual. First men question the 
truth of the scripture, and then fall away 
from it. 

4. If we would have the word written effec- 
tual to salvation, we must delight in it as our 
spiritual cordial, Jer. xv. 16, " Thy words 
were found, and I did eat them, and the word 
was unto me the joy and rejoicing of my 
heart." All true solid comfort is fetched out 
of the word. The word (as Chrysostom 
saith) is a spiritual garden ; and the promises 
are the fragrant flowers or spices in this gar- 
den. How should we delight to walk among 
these beds of spices ?. Is it not a comfort in all 
dubious perplexed cases, to have a counsellor 
to advise us 1 Ps. cxix. 24, " Thy testimonies 
are my counsellors." Is it not a comfort to 
find our evidences for heaven ] And where 
should we find them but in the word ? 1 Thess. 
i. 4, 5. The word written is a sovereign elixir, 
or comfort in an hour of distress, Ps. cxix. 
50, " This is my comfort in my affliction, for 
thy word hath quickened me." It can turn 
all our " water into wine." How should we 
take a great complacency and delight in the 
word 1 They only who come to the word 
with delight, go from it with success. 

5. If we would have the scripture effec- 
tual and saving, we must be sure, when we 
have read the word, to hide it in our hearts, 
Ps. cxix. 11, " Thy word have I hid in my 
heart." The word, locked up in the heart, 
is a preservative against sin. Why did 
David hide the word in his heart I In the 
next words, " That I might not sin against 



THE WORD READ AND PREACHED, HOW EFFECTUAL. 



359 



thee." As one would carry an antidote about 
him when he comes near a place infected, 
so David carried the word in his heart as a 
sacred antidote to preserve him from the in- 
fection of sin. When the sap is hid in the 
root, it makes the branches fruitful ; when 
the seed is hid in the ground, then the corn 
springs up ; so, when the word is hid in the 
heart, then it brings forth good fruit. 

6. If we would have the word written 
effectual, let us labour not only to have the 
light of the word in our heads, but the power 
of the word in our hearts. Let us endeavour 
to have the word copied out, and written a 
second time in our hearts, Ps. xxxvii. 31, 
" The law of God is in his heart." The 
word saith, "Be clothed with humility," 
1 Pet. v. 5 : let us be low and humble in our 
own eyes. The word calls for sanctity : Let 
us labour to partake of the divine nature, and 
to have something conceived in us which is 
of the Holy Ghost, 2 Pet. i. 4. When the 
word is thus copied out into our hearts, and 
we are changed into the similitude of it, now 
the word written is made effectual to us, and 
becomes a savour of life. 

7. et ult. When we read the Holy Scrip- 
tures let us look up to God for a blessing ; 
beg the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, that 
we may see the " deep things of God," 1 Cor. 
ii. 10. Pray to God, that the same Spirit that 
wrote the scripture would enable us to under- 
stand it. Pray that God would give us that 
" savour of knowledge," 2 Cor. ii. 14, that we 
may relish a sweetness in the word we read. 
David tasted it " sweeter than the honey- 
comb," Ps. xix. 10. Let us pray that God 
would not only give us his word as a rule of 
holiness, but his grace as a principle of holi- 
ness. 

2d Branch of the 2d Question. How 
may we so hear the word, that it may be 
effectual and saving to our souls 1 

Ans. 1. Give great attention to the word 
preached ; let nothing pass without taking 
special notice of it, Luke xix. 48, " All the 
people were very attentive to hear him," they 
hung upon his lips. Acts xvi. 14, " Lydia a 
seller of purple, which worshipped God, heard 
us, whose heart the Lord opened, that she 
attended to the things which were spoken of 



Paul," Give attention to the word, as to a 
matter of life and death. And, to that pur- 
pose have a care, (1). To banish vain imper- 
tinent thoughts, which will distract you, and 
take you off from the work in hand. These 
fowls will be coming to the sacrifice, Gen. 
xv. 11, therefore we must drive them away. 
An archer may take a right aim ; but if one 
stand at his elbow, and jog him when he is 
going to shoot, he will not hit the mark : 
Christians may have good aims in hearing ; 
but take heed of impertinent thoughts which 
will jog and hinder you in God's service. 
(2). Banish dulness. The devil gives many 
hearers a sleepy sop, they cannot keep their 
eyes open at a sermon ; they eat so much on a 
Lord's day, that they are fitter for the pillow 
and couch, than the temple. Frequent and 
customary sleeping at a sermon, shows high 
contempt and irreverence of the ordinance ; 
it gives a bad example to others ; it makes 
your sincerity to be called in question ; it is 
the devil's seed-time, Matt. xiii. 25, " While 
men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares." 
O shake off drowsiness, as Paul shook off the 
viper ! Be serious and attentive in hearing 
the word, Deut. xxxii. 47, "For it is not a 
vain thing for you, because it is your life." 
When people do not mind what God speaks 
to them in his word, God doth as little mind 
what they say to him in prayer. 

A. 2. If you would have the word preached 
effectual, come with a holy appetite to the 
word, 1 Pet. ii. 2. The thirsting soul is the 
thriving soul. In nature, one may have an 
appetite and no digestion ; but it is not so in 
religion. Where there is a great appetite to 
the word, there is for the most part digestion ; 
the word doth concoct and nourish. Come 
with hungerings of soul after the word ; and 
therefore desire the word, that it may not 
only please you, but profit you. Look not 
more at the garnishing of the dish than at the 
meat, — at eloquence and rhetoric more than 
solid matter. It argues both a wanton palate, 
and surfeited stomach, to feed on sallads and 
kickshaws rather than wholesome food. 

A. 3. If you would have the preaching of 
the word effectual, come to it with a tender- 
ness upon your heart, 2 Chron. xiii. 7. Be- 
cause thy heart was tender. If we preach 



{ 



360 



THE WORD READ AND PREACHED, HOW EFFECTUAL. 



to hard hearts, it is like shooting against a 
brazen wall, the word doth not enter ; it is 
like setting a gold seal upon marble, which 
takes no impression. O come to the word 
preached with a melting frame of heart ! It 
is the melting wax receives the stamp of the 
seal. When the heart is in a melting frame, 
it will better receive the stamp of the word 
preached. When Paul's heart was melted 
and broken for sin, then he cries, "Lord, 
what wilt thou have me to do," Acts ix. 6. 
Come not hither with hard hearts ; who can 
expect a crop when the seed is sown upon 
stony ground 1 

A. 4. If you would have the word effectual, 
receive it with meekness, James i. 21, " Re- 
ceive with meekness the ingrafted word." 
Meekness is a submissive frame of heart to 
the word, — a willingness to hear the counsels 
and reproofs of the word. Contrary to this 
meekness, is (1). Fierceness of spirit, where- 
by men are ready to rise up in rage against 
the word. Proud men, and guilty, cannot 
endure to hear of their faults. Proud Herod 
put John in prison, Mark vi. 17. The guilty 
Jews being told of their crucifying Christ, 
stoned Stephen, Acts vii. 59. To tell men 
of sin, is to hold a glass to one that is de- 
formed, who cannot endure to see his own 
face. (2). Contrary to meekness is stub- 
bornness of heart, whereby men are resolved 
to hold fast their sins, let the word say what 
it will, Jer. xliv. 17, " We will burn incense 
to the queen of heaven." O take heed of 
this ! If you would have the word preached 
work effectually, lay aside fierceness and 
stubbornness, receive the word with meek- 
ness. By meekness the word preached comes 
to be ingrafted. As a good scion that is 
grafted in a bad stock, doth change the na- 
ture of the fruit and make it taste sweet ; so 
when the word comes to be ingrafted into 
the soul, it sanctifies it, and makes it bring 
forth the sweet fruit of righteousness. 

A. 5. Mingle the word preached with faith, 
Heb. iv. 2, " The word preached did not 
profit, not being mixed with faith." If you 
leave out the chief ingredient in a medicine, 
it hinders the operation : do not leave out 
this ingredient of faith. Believe the word, 
and so believe it as to apply it. When you 



hear Christ preached, apply him to your- 
selves ; this is to put on the Lord Jesus, Rom. 
xiii. 14. When you hear a promise spoken 
of, apply it ; this is to suck the flower of the 
promise, and turn it to honey. 

A. 6. Be not only attentive in hearing but 
retentive after hearing : Heb. ii. 1, " We ought 
to give the more earnest heed to the things we 
have heard, lest at any time we let them slip." 
Lest we should let them run out, as water out 
of a sieve ; if the ground doth not retain the 
seed sown into it, there can be no good crop. 
Some have memories like leaking vessels, the 
sermons they hear are presently gone, and 
then there is no good done. If meat doth not 
stay and concoct on the stomach, it will not 
nourish. Satan labours to steal the word out 
of our mind, Mark iv. 15, " When they have 
heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh 
away the word that was sown." Our memo- 
ries should be like the chest of the ark where 
the law was put. 

A. 7. Reduce your hearing to practice ; 
live on the sermons you hear : Ps. cxix. 166, 
"I have done thy commandments." Rachel 
was not content that she was beautiful, but 
her desire was to be fruitful. What is a 
knowing head without a fruitful heart ? Phil, 
i. 11, " Filled with the fruits of righteous- 
ness." It is obedience crowns hearing; that 
hearing will never save the soul, which doth 
not reform the life. 

A. 8. Beg of God that he will accompany 
his word with his presence and blessing. 
The Spirit must make all effectual ; minis- 
ters may prescribe physic, but it is God's 
Spirit must make it work. "He hath his 
pulpit in heaven that converts souls," Austin. 
Acts x. 44, "While Peter yet spake, the 
Holy Ghost fell on all them that heard." It 
is said, the alchymist can draw oil out of 
iron : God's Spirit can produce grace in the 
most obdurate heart. 

A. 9. If you would have the word work 
effectually to your salvation, make it fami- j 
liar to you ; discourse of the word you have | 
heard, when you come home, Ps. cxix. 172, 
" My tongue shall speak of thy word." 
That may be one reason why some people 
get no more good by what they hear, be- 
cause they never speak one to another of 



OF BAPTISM. 



361 



what they have heard ; as if sermons were 
such secrets, that they must not be spoken of 
again ; or as if it were a shame to speak of 
matters of salvation, Mai. iii. 16, " They that 
feared the Lord spake often one to another, 
and a book of remembrance was written." 

Use. Caution. Take heed, as you love 
your souls, that the word become not in- 
effectual to you. There are some to whom 
the word preached is ineffectual. (1). Such 
as censure the word ; instead of judging 
themselves judge the word. (2). Such as 
live in contradiction to the word ; Isa. xxx. 
8. (3). Such as are more hardened by the 
word, Zech. vii. 12, "They made their 
hearts as an adamant." And when men 
harden their hearts wilfully, God hardens 
them judicially, Isa. vi. 10, " Make their 
ears heavy." The word to these is ineffect- 
ual : were it not sad, if a man's meat should 
not nourish ; nay, if it should turn to poison 1 
O take heed that the word preached be not 
ineffectual and to no purpose ! Consider 
three things. 

(1). Tf the word preached doth us no good, 
there is no other way by which we can be 
saved. This is God's institution, and the 
main engine he useth to convert souls, Luke 
xvi. 31, " If they hear not Moses and the 
prophets, neither will they be persuaded 
though one rose from the dead." If an 
angel should come to you out of heaven, and 
preach of the excellency of the glorified J 



estate, and the joys of heaven, and that in 
the most pathetical manner, — if the word 
preached doth not persuade, neither would 
you be wrought upon by such an oration from 
heaven. If a damned spirit should come 
from hell, and preach to you in flames, and 
tell you what a place hell is, and roar out 
the torments of the damned, it might make 
you tremble, but it would not convert, if the 
preaching of the word would not do it. 

(2) . To come to the word, and not be 
savingly wrought upon, is that which the 
devil is pleased with ; he cares not though 
you hear frequently, if it be not effectually ; 
he is not an enemy to hearing but profiting. 
Though the minister holds out the breasts of 
the ordinances to you, he cares not as long 
as you do not suck the sincere milk of the 
word. The devil cares not how many ser- 
mon-pills you take, so long as they do not 
work upon your conscience. 

(3) . If the word preached be not effectual 
to men's conversion, it will be effectual to 
their condemnation ; the word will be effect- 
ual one way or other ; if it doth not make 
your hearts better, it will make your chains 
heavier. We pity them who have not the 
word preached, but it will be worse with them 
who are not sanctified by it: dreadful is their 
case, who go loaded with sermons to hell. 
But I will conclude with the apostle, Heb. 
vi. 9, " We are persuaded better things of 
you, and things that accompany salvation." 



OF BAPTISM. 



Matt, xxviii. 19, 20. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name 
of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost ; teaching them 



We are still upon that question in the 
catechism, 

What are the outward means whereby 
Christ communicateth to us the benefits of 
redemption ? 

Ans. They are his ordinances, especially 
the word, sacraments, and prayer. 

I have spoken to the first, " The word read 
and preached." I now proceed to the second, 

II. The way whereby Christ communica- 
2 Z 



teth to us the benefits of redemption, is, in 
the use of the sacraments. 

Quest. 1. What are sacraments in gen- 
eral ? 

Ans. They are visible signs of invisible 
grace. 

Quest. 2. Is not the word of God suffi- 
cient to salvation ? What need then is 
there of sacraments ? 

Ans. We must not be wise above what 



362 



OF BAPTISM. 



is written : this may satisfy, it is God's will 
that his church should have sacraments ; and 
it is God's goodness, thus by sacraments to 
condescend to weak capacities, John iv. 48, 
" Except ye see signs, ye will not believe." 
God to strengthen our faith, confirms the 
covenant of grace, not only by promises but 
by sacramental signs. 

Quest. 3. What are the Sacraments of 
the New Testament? 

Ans. Two : baptism and the Lord's supper. 

Quest. 4. But are there no more ? The 
papists tell of five more, viz. confirmation, 
penance, matrimony, orders, and the ex- 
treme unction. 

Ans. 1. There were but two sacraments 
under the law, therefore there are no more 
now, 1 Cor. x. 2, 3, 4. 

A. 2. These two sacraments are sufficient : 
the one signifying our entrance into Christ, 
and the other our growth and perseverance 
in him. 

I begin with the first sacrament, Baptism. 
" Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, bap- 
tizing them in the name of the Father, and of 
the Son, and of the Holy Ghost ; teaching 
them" — ' Go teach all nations :' the Greek 
word is 4 Make disciples of all nations.' If it 
be asked, how should we make them disciples 1 
It follows, " Baptizing them and teaching 
them." In a heathen nation, first teach them, 
and then baptize them ; but in a Christian 
church, first baptize them, and then teach 
them. 

Quest. 5. What is baptism? 

Ans. In general, it is a matriculation, or 
visible admission of children into the con- 
gregation of Christ's flock. More particular- 
ly, 'Baptism is a sacrament, wherein the 
washing or sprinkling with water, in the name 
of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,' doth sig- 
nify and seal our ingrafting into Christ, and 
partaking of the benefits of the covenant of 
grace, and our engagement to be the Lord's. 

Quest. 6. What is the meaning of the pa- 
rent, in presenting his child to be baptized ? 

Ans. The parent, in presenting his child 
to be baptized, doth, 1st. Make a public ac- 
knowledgment of original sin ; that the soul 
of his child is polluted, therefore needs wash- 
ing away of sin by Christ's blood and Spirit ; 



both which washings are signified by the 
sprinkling of water in baptism. 2d. The pa- 
rent by bringing his child to be baptized, doth 
solemnly devote his child to the Lord, and en- 
rol him in God's family ; and truly this may be 
a great satisfaction to a religious parent, that 
he hath given up his child to the Lord in bap- 
tism. How can a parent look with comfort on 
that child who was never yet dedicated to God % 
Quest. 7. What then is the benefit of 
baptism ? 

Ans. The party baptized hath, 1st. An en- 
trance into the visible body of the church. 
2d. The party baptized hath a right sealed 
to the ordinances, which is a privilege full 
of glory, Rom. ix. 4. 3d. The child baptized 
is under a more special providential care of 
Christ, who appoints the tutelage of angels 
to be the infant's life guard. 

Quest. 8. Is this all the benefit? 

Ans. No. To such as belong to the elec- 
tion, baptism is a " seal of the righteousness 
of the faith," Rom. iv. 11, — a laver of regen- 
eration, and a badge of adoption. 

Quest. 9. How doth it appear that child- 
ren have a right of baptism ? 

Ans. Children are parties of the covenant 
of grace. The covenant was made with them, 
Gen. xvii. 7, " I will establish my covenant 
between me and thee, and thy seed after thee, 
for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto 
thee, and thy seed after thee." And Acts ii. 
39, " The promise is unto you and to your 
children." The covenant of grace may be 
considered either, (1). More strictly, as an 
absolute promise to give saving grace ; and 
so none but the elect are in covenant with 
God. Or, (2). More largely, as a covenant 
containing in it many outward glorious privi- 
leges, in which respects the children of be- 
lievers do belong to the covenant of grace : 
the promise is to you and to your seed. The 
infant-seed of believers may as well lay a 
claim to the covenant of grace as their pa- 
rents ; and having a right to the covenant, 
they cannot justly be denied baptism, which 
is the seal. I would ask this question of 
them who deny infant-baptism, it is cer- 
tain the children of believers were once vis- 
ibly in covenant with God, and did receive 
the seal of their admission into the church ; 



OF BAPTISM. 



363 



now where do we find this covenant-interest, 
or church membership of infants, was ever 
repealed or made void? Certainly Jesus 
Christ did not come to put believers and their 
children into a worse condition than they 
were in before. If the children of believers 
should not be baptized, they are in a worse 
condition now than they were in before 
Christ's coming. Before I come to prove 
the baptizing of infants, I shall answer the 
objections made against it. 

Ob j. 1. The scripture is silent herein, 
and doth not mention inf ant-baptism. 

Ans. Though there is not the word in- 
fant-baptism in scripture, yet there is the 
thing. There is not mention made in scrip- 
ture of women's receiving the sacrament, 
but who doubts but the command, " Take, 
eat, this is my body," concerns them 1 Doth 
not their faith need strengthening as well as 
others ? So the word Trinity is not to be 
found in scripture, but there is that which is 
equivalent, 1 John v. 7, " There are Three 
that bear record in heaven, the Father, the 
Word, and the Holy Ghost ; and these three 
are one." So, though the word infant-bap- 
tism is not mentioned in scripture, yet the 
practice of baptizing infants may be drawn 
out of scripture by undeniable consequence. 

Quest. How is that proved? 

Ans. The scripture mentions whole fami- 
lies baptized : as the household of Lydia, 
Crispus, and the jailor, Acts xvi. 33, " He 
was baptized, he and all his house." Where- 
in we must rationally imagine that there were 
some little children. If it be said, there is no 
mention there made of children : I answer, 
neither are servants named, yet it cannot be 
supposed but that, in so great a family, there 
were some servants. 

Obj. 2. But infants are not capable of 
the end of baptism : for baptism signifies 
the washing away of sin by the blood of 
Christ. Now infants cannot understand 
this ; therefore, what benefit can baptism be 
to them ? 

Ans. Whereas it is said, infants cannot 
understand the mystery of baptism, neither 
could the child that was to be circumcised 
understand circumcision ; yet the ordinance 
of circumcision was not to be omitted or de- 



ferred. An infant, though it understand not 
the meaning of baptism, yet it may partake of 
the blessing of baptism. The little children 
that Christ took in his arms, understood not 
Christ's meaning, but they had Christ's bless- 
ing, Mark x. 16, " He put his hands upon 
them and blessed them." 

Quest. But what benefit can the child 
have of baptism, if it understand not the 
nature of baptism ? 

Ans. It may have a right to the promise 
sealed up, which it shall have an actual in- 
terest in when it comes to have faith. A 
legacy may be of use to the child in the 
cradle, though it now understand not the 
legacy, yet when it is grown up to years, it 
is fully possessed of it. But it may be fur- 
ther objected : 

Obj. 1. The party to be baptized is to be 
engaged to God; but how can the child en- 
gage? 

Ans. The parents can engage for it, which 
God is pleased to accept as equivalent to the 
child's personal engaging. 

Obj. 2. If baptism comes in the room of 
circumcision, only the males were circum- 
cised, Gen. xvii. 27. Then what warrant is 
there for baptizing females ? 

Ans. The females were included, and were 
virtually circumcised in the males. What is 
done to the head is done to the body ; the 
man therefore being the head of the woman, 
1 Cor. xi. 3. What was done to the male 
sex was interpretatively done to the female. 
Having answered these objections, I come 
now to prove by argument, infant-baptism. 

1st Argument. If children during their 
infancy are capable of grace, then they are 
capable of baptism ; but children in their in- 
fancy are capable of grace, therefore they are 
capable of baptism. I prove the minor, that 
they are capable of grace, thus : if children 
in their infancy may be saved, then they are 
capable of grace ; but children in their in- 
fancy may be saved ; which is proved thus : 
if the kingdom of heaven may belong to them, 
then they may be saved, but the kingdom of 
heaven may belong to them, as it is clear 
from Mark x. 14, " Of such is the kingdom 
of God." Who then can forbid that the seal 
of baptism should be applied to them } 



364 



OF BAPTISM. 



2d Arg. If infants may be among the 
number of God's servants, then there is no 
reason why they should be shut out of God's 
family ; but infants may be in the number of 
God's servants, that is evident, because God 
calls them his servants, Lev. xxv. 41, 42, 
" He shall depart from thee and his children 
with him, for they are my servants." There- 
fore children in their infancy being God's 
servants, why should they not have baptism, 
which is the tessera, — the mark or seal which 
God sets upon his servants 1 

3d Arg. Is from 1 Cor. vii. 14, " But now 
are your children holy." Children are not 
called holy, as if they were free from origi- 
nal sin ; but in the judgment of charity they 
are to be esteemed holy, and true members 
of the church of God, because their parents 
are believers. Hence that excellent divine, 
Mr Heldersam saith, " that the children of 
the faithful as soon as they are born, have a 
covenant-holiness, and so a right and title to 
baptism, which is the token of the covenant." 

Ath Arg. From the opinion of the fathers 
and the practice of the church. (1). The 
ancient fathers were strong asserters of in- 
fant-baptism, Irensus, Basil, Lactantius, Cy- 
prian and Austin. (2). It was the practice 
of the Greek church to baptize her infants. 
Erasmus saith, that infant-baptism hath been 
used in the church of God for above fourteen 
hundred years. And St Austin, in his book 
against Pelagius, affirms, that it hath been the 
custom of the church in all ages to baptize 
infants. Yea, it was an apostolical practice ; 
St Paul affirms, that he baptized the whole 
house of Stephanus, 1 Cor. i. 16. 

And as you have seen scripture-arguments 
for infant-baptism, so let us consider whether 
the practice of those who delay the baptizing 
of children till riper years, be warrantable. 
For my part, I cannot gather it from scrip- 
ture. For though we read of persons adult 
and grown up to years of discretion, in the 
apostles' times, baptized, yet those were such 
as were converted from heathenish idolatry 
to the true orthodox faith ; but that in a Chris- 
tian church the children of believers should be 
keptunbaptized several years, I know neither 
precept nor example for it in scripture, but 
it is wholly apocryphal. The baptizing of 



persons grown up to maturity, we may argue 
against ab effectu, — from the ill consequence 
of it : they dip the persons they baptize over 
head and ears in cold water, and naked, 
which as it is indecent, so it is dangerous, 
and hath been oftentimes the occasion of 
chronical diseases, yea, death itself, and so 
it is a plain breach of the sixth command- 
ment. And how far God hath given up 
many persons, who are for the deferring of 
baptism, to other vile opinions and vicious 
practices, is evident, if we consult with his- 
tory, especially if we read over the acting of 
the anabaptists in Germany. 

Use 1st. See the riches of God's goodness 
who will not only be the God of believers, 
but takes their seed into covenant, Gen. xvii. 
7, " I will establish my covenant between me 
and thee, and thy seed after thee, to be a God 
unto thee and thy seed." A father counts it 
a great privilege, not only to have his own 
name, but his child's name put in a will. 

Use 2d. It blames those parents who for- 
bid little children to be brought to Christ : 
they withhold the ordinance. By denying 
their infants baptism, they exclude them from 
having a membership in the visible church, 
and so their infants are sucking pagans. 
Such as deny their children baptism, make 
God's institutions under the law more full of 
kindness and grace to children, than they are 
now under the gospel ; which how strange a 
paradox it is, I leave you to judge. 

Use 3. Of exhortation. (1). We that are 
baptised, let us labour to find the blessed 
fruits of baptism in our own souls ; let us 
labour not only to have the signs of the 
covenant, but the grace of the covenant. 
Many glory in this, that they are baptized. 
The Jews gloried in their circumcision, be- 
cause of their royal privileges ; to them be- 
longed the adoption, and the glory and the 
covenants, Rom. ix. 4 ; but many of them 
were a shame and reproach to their circum- 
cision, Rom. ii. 24, " For the name of God 
is blasphemed among the Gentiles through 
you." The scandalous Jews (though cir- 
cumcised) were, in God's account, as hea- 
thens ; Amos ix. 7, " Are ye not as chil- 
dren of the Ethiopians to me 1 saith the 
Lord." Alas ! What is it to have the name 



OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. 



365 



jof Christ, and want his image 1 What is 
baptism of water, without the baptism of the 
Spirit] Many baptized Christians are no 
J better than heathens. O labour to find the 
I fruits of baptism, — that Christ is formed in 
jus, Gal. iv. 19, that our nature is changed, 
I we are made holy and heavenly ! This is to 
, be baptized into Jesus, Rom. vi. 3. Such as 
live unsuitable to their baptism, may go with 
baptismal- water on their faces, and sacra- 
i mental bread in their mouths, to hell. 

(2). Let us labour to make a right use of 
pur baptism. 

First use of baptism. Let us use it as a 
shield against temptations. " Satan, I have 
given up myself to God by a sacred vow in 
baptism ; I am not my own, I am Christ's ; 
therefore I cannot yield to thy temptations, 
but I break my oath of allegiance which I 
made to God in baptism." Luther tells us of 
;a pious woman, who when the devil tempted 
her to sin, she answered Satan, Baptizata 
[sum, — " I am baptized ;" and so beat back 
I the tempter. 

Second use of baptism. Let us use it as a 
[spur to holiness. By remembering our bap- 
itism, let us be stirred up to make good our bap- 
■cismal engagements ; renouncing the world, 
flesh, and devil, let us devote ourselves to 
i God and his service. To be baptized into the 
i name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, 
implies a solemn dedication of ourselves to the 
iservice of all the three persons in the Trinity, 
[lit is not enough that our parents dedicate us 
to God in baptism, but we must dedicate our- 
pelves to him ; this is called a living to the 
i.Lord, Rom. xiv. 8. Our life should be spent 
tin worshipping God, in loving God, in exalt- 
' ing God ; we should walk as becomes the 
gospel, Phil. i. 27. Shine as stars in the 
\ world, and live as earthly angels. 

Third use of baptism. Let us use it as an 



argument to courage. We should be ready 
to confess that holy Trinity into whose name 
we were baptized. With the conversion of the 
heart, must go the confession of the tongue, 
Luke xii. 8, " Whosoever shall confess me 
before men, him shall the Son of man also 
confess before the angels of God." Peter 
openly confessed Christ crucified, Acts iv. 10. 
Cyprian, a man of a brave spirit, was like a 
rock whom no waves could shake, like an 
adamant whom no sword could cut : he con- 
fessed Christ before the proconsul, and suffer- 
ed himself to be proscribed, yea, chose death, 
rather than he would betray the truths of 
Christ. He that dare not confess the holy 
Trinity, shames his baptism, and God will be 
ashamed to own him at the day of judgment. 

lilt. use. See the fearfulness of the sin of 
apostasy ! 'Tis a renouncing of our baptism. 
'Tis damnable perjury to go away from God, 
after a solemn vow : 2 Tim. iv. 10, " Demas 
hath forsaken me." He turned renegado, 
and afterwards became a priest in an idol- 
temple, saith Dorotheus. Julian the apostate 
(Gregory Nazianzen observes) bathed him- 
self in the blood of beasts offered in sacrifice 
to heathen gods ; and so, as much as in him 
lay, washed off his former baptism. The case 
of such as fall away after baptism, is dread- 
ful : Heb. x. 38, " If any man draw back," — 
the Greek word, to draw back, alludes to a 
soldier that steals away from his colours — so, 
if any man steal away from Christ, and run 
over to the devil's side, " my soul shall have 
no pleasure in him ;" that is, I will be severe- 
ly avenged on him ; I will make my arrows 
drunk with his blood. If all the plagues in 
the Bible can make that man miserable, he 
shall be so. 

II. The second sacrament wherein Jesus 
Christ communicates to us the benefits of 
redemption, is the Lord's supper. 



OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. 
Mark xiv. 22. And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, fyc. 



Having spoken to the sacrament of bap- 
tism, I come now to the sacrament of the 



Lord's supper. The Lord's supper is the 
most spiritual and sweet ordinance that ever 



366 



OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. 



was instituted : here we have to do more 
immediately with the person of Christ. In 
prayer, we draw nigh to God ; in -the sacra- 
ment we become one with him. In prayer 
we look up to Christ ; in the sacrament, by 
faith, we touch him. In the word preached, 
we hear Christ's voice ; in the sacrament we 
feed on him. 

Quest. 1. What names and titles in scrip- 
ture are given to the sacrament? 

Ans. 1. It is called, 1. Mensa Domini, — 
the Lord's table, 1 Cor. x. 21. The Papists 
call it an altar, not a table. The reason is, be- 
cause they turn the sacrament into a sacrifice, 
and pretend to offer up Christ corporally in 
the mass. It being- the Lord's table, shows 
with what reverence and solemn devotion we 
should approach to these holy mysteries ; the 
Lord takes notice of the frame of our hearts 
when we come to his table; Matt. xxii. 11, 
" The king- came in to see the guests." We 
dress ourselves when we come to the table of 
some great monarch ; we should think with 
ourselves, we are going to the table of the 
Lord, therefore should dress ourselves by holy 
meditation, and heart-consideration. Many 
think it is enough to come to the sacrament, 
but mind not whether they come in " due 
order," 1 Chron. xv. 13. Perhaps they had 
scarce a serious thought before, whither they 
were going: all their dressing was by the 
glass, not by the Bible. Chrysostom calls it, 
" The dreadful table of the Lord:" so it is to 
such as come unworthily. — 2. The sacrament 
is called Ccena Domini, — the Lord's supper, 
1 Cor. xi. 20, to import, it is a spiritual feast. 
It is indeed a royal feast ; God is in this cheer ; 
Christ, in both natures, God and man, is the 
matter of this supper. 3. The sacrament is 
called a communion, 1 Cor. x. 16, " The 
bread which we break, is it not the commu- 
nion of the body of Christ I" The sacrament 
being called a communion, shows, 

1st, That this ordinance is only for be- 
lievers, because none else can have com- 
munion with Christ in these holy mysteries. 
Communio fundatur in unione : faith only 
gives us union with Christ, and by virtue of 
this we have communion with him in his 
body and blood. None but the spouse com- 
municates with her husband ; a stranger may 



drink of his cup, but she only hath his heart, 
and communicates with him in a conjugal 
manner: so strangers may have the sign, 
drink of the cup, but only believers drink of 
Christ's blood, and have communion with him 
in his privileges. 

2dly, The sacrament being a communion, 
shows, that it is symbolum amoris, — a bond 
of that unity and charity which should be 
among Christians ; 1 Cor. x. 17, " We being 
many are one body." As many grains make 
one bread, so many Christians are one body. 
A sacrament is a love-feast. The primitive 
Christians (as Justin Martyr notes) had their 
holy salutations at the blessed supper, in 
token of that dearness of affection which they 
did bear to each other. It is a communion, 
therefore there must be love and union. The 
Israelites did eat the passover with bitter 
herbs ; so must we eat the sacrament with bit 
ter herbs of repentance, but not with bitter 
hearts of wrath and malice. The hearts of the 
communicants should be knit together wit 
the bond of love. " Thou braggest of th 
faith (saith Austin) but show me thy faith by 
thy love to the saints." For, as in the sun, 
light and heat are inseparable, so faith and 
love are twisted together inseparably. Where 
there are divisions, the Lord's supper is not 
properly a communion, but a disunion. 

Q,uest. 2. What is the Lord's supper ? 

Ans. It is a visible sermon, wherein Christ 
crucified is set before us. Or, it is a sacra- 
ment of the New Testament, wherein by 
receiving the holy elements of bread and 
wine, our communion with Christ is signi- 
fied and sealed up to us. Or thus, it is a 
sacrament divinely instituted, wherein by 
giving and receiving bread and wine, Christ's 
death is showed forth, and the worthy re- 
ceivers are, by faith made partakers of his 
body and blood, and all the benefits flowing 
from thence. 

For the further explaining of the nature of 
the Lord's supper, I shall look back to the 
institution. 

1. "Jesus took bread." Here is the 
Master of the feast, or the institutor of the 
sacrament. The Lord Jesus he took bread. 
He only is fit to institute a. sacrament, who 
is able to give virtue and blessing to it. 



OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. 



267 



2. " He took bread." Christ's taking of the 
bread was one part of his consecration of the 
elements, and setting them apart for a holy 
use. And as Christ did consecrate the ele- 
ments, so we must labour to have our hearts 
consecrated before we receive these holy 
imysteries in the Lord's supper. How un- 

jseemly a sight is it to see any come to these 
■holy elements, having hearts leavened with 
■pride, covetousness, envy ! These do, with 
■Judas, receive the devil in the sop, and are 
■no better than cruciflers of the Lord of glory. 

3. " And blessed it." This is another part 
|]of the consecration of the element, Christ 
■blessed it ; he blesseth, and it shall be bless- 
|ed, viz. he looked up to heaven for a bene- 
Idiction upon this ordinance newly founded. 

4. "And brake it." The bread broken, and 
Ithe wine poured out, was to signify to us the 
■agony and ignominy of Christ's sufferings, — 
■the rending of Christ's body on the cross, — 
land that effusion of blood which was distilled 
■from his blessed sides. 

j 5. "And gave it to them." Christ's giv- 
ling the bread, denotes Christ's giving of him- 
Iself and all his benefits to us freely. Though 
■Christ was sold, yet given ; Judas did sell 
■Christ, but Christ gave himself to us. 
{ 6. " He gave it to them ;" viz. The disci- 
iples. This is children's bread ; Christ doth 
■not cast these pearls before swine. Whether 
■LFudas was present at the supper, is contro- 
iverted ; I rather incline to think he was not ; 
■for Christ said to his disciples, " This is my 
blood, which is shed for you," Luke xxii. 20. 
Christ knew his blood was never shed effect- 
ually and intentionally for Judas. In eating 
the passover, Christ gave Judas a sop, which 
was a bit of unleavened bread dipt in a sauce 
made with bitter herbs ; Judas having re- 
ceived the sop, went immediately out, John 
xiii. 30. But, suppose Judas was there, 
though he received the elements, yet not the 
blessing. 

7. "Take, eat." This expression, of eat- 
ing, denotes four things : 1. The near mys- 
tical union between Christ and his saints. 
As the meat which is eaten incorporates 
with the body, and becomes one with it; so, 
by eating Christ's flesh, and drinking his 
;blood spiritually, we partake of his merits 



and graces, and are mystically " one with 
him," John xvii. 23, " I in them."— 2. " Take, 
eat." Eating shows the infinite delight the 
believing soul hath in Christ. Eating is 
grateful and pleasing to the palate ; so feed- 
ing on Christ by a lively faith is delicious. 
Nullus animcB suavior cibus, Lactantius. 
No such sweet feeding as on Christ crucified. 
This is " A feast of fat things, and wines on 
the lees well refined."— 3. "Take, eat." 
Eating denotes nourishment. Meat, as it 
is delicious to the palate, so it is nourishing to 
the body : so eating Christ's flesh and drink- 
ing his blood, is nutritive to the soul. The 
new creature is nourished at the table of the 
Lord to everlasting life, John vi. 54, " Whoso 
eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath 
eternal life." — 4. "Take, eat," shows the 
wisdom of God, who restores us by the same 
means by which we fell. We fell by taking 
and eating the forbidden fruit, and we are 
recovered again by taking and eating of 
Christ's flesh ; we died by eating the tree of 
knowledge, and we live by eating the tree 
of life. 

8. " This is my body." These words, 
Hoc est corpus meum, have been much con- 
troverted between us and the papists. " This 
is my body ;" that is, by a metonymy : it is a 
sign and figure of my body. The papists 
hold transubstantiation, that the bread is, 
after consecration, turned into the very sub- 
stance of Christ's body. We say, we receive 
Christ's body spiritually ; they say, they re ■ 
ceive Christ's body carnally : which is con- 
trary to scripture. The scripture affirms, 
that the heavens must receive Christ's body 
"until the times of the restitution of all 
things," Acts iii. 21 : Christ's body cannot 
be at the same time in heaven and in the 
host. Aquinas saith, " It is not possible by 
any miracle, that a body should be locally in 
two places at once." Besides, it is absurd 
to imagine that the bread in the sacrament 
should be turned into Christ's flesh, and that 
his body which was hung before, should be 
made again of bread. So that, " This is my 
body," is, as if Christ had said, " This is a 
sign and representation of my body." 

9. " And he took the cup." The cup is 
put, by a metonymy of the subject for the 



368 



OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. 



adjunct, for the wine in the cup. It signifies 
the blood of Christ shed for our sins. The 
taking of the cup denotes the redundancy of 
merit in Christ, and the fulness of our re- 
demption by him. He not only took the 
bread, but the cup. 

10. "And when he had given thanks." 
Christ gave thanks that God had given these 
elements of bread and wine to be signs and 
seals of man's redemption by Christ. Christ's 
giving of thanks, shows his philanthropy, or 
love to mankind, who did so rejoice and bless 
God, that lost man was now in a way of re- 
covery, and that he should be raised higher 
in Christ than ever he was in innocency. 

11. He gave the cup to them. Why then 
dare any withhold the cup 1 This is to pol- 
lute and curtail the ordinance, and alter it 
from its primitive institution. Christ and 
his apostles administered the sacrament in 
both kinds, — the bread and the cup, 1 Cor. 
xi. 24, 25. And the cup was received in the 
ancient church for the space of 1400 years, 
as is confessed by two popish councils. 
Christ saith expressly, " Drink ye all of this." 
He doth not say, Eat ye all of this ; but 
* Drink ye all ;' as foreseeing the sacrilegious 
impiety of the church of Rome in keeping 
back the cup from the people. The popish 
council of Constance speaks plainly but im- 
pudently, " That although Christ instituted 
and administered the sacrament in both 
kinds, the bread and the wine ; yet the au- 
thority of the holy canons, and the custom 
of the mother church, think good to deny the 
cup to the laity." Thus, as the popish priests 
make Christ but half a Saviour, so they ad- 
minister to the people but half a sacrament. 
The sacrament is Christ's last will and tes- 
tament : in the text, " This is my blood of 
the New Testament." Now, to alter or 
take away any thing from a man's will and 
testament, is a great impiety : What is it to 
alter and mangle Christ's last will and tes- 
tament 1 Sure it is a high affront to Christ. 

Quest. 3. What are the ends of the 
Lord's supper ? 

Ans. It is an ordinance appointed to con- 
firm our faith, John iv. 48, " Except ye see 
signs ye will not believe." Christ sets the 
elements before us, that by these signs our 



faith may be strengthened. As faith cometh 
by hearing, so it is confirmed by seeing Christ 
crucified. The sacrament is not only a sign 
to represent Christ, but a seal to confirm our 
interest in him. 

Quest. But it is the Spirit confirms 
faith, therefore not the Sacrament. 

Ans. 1. This is not good logic. The Spirit 
confirms faith, therefore not the sacrament, 
is, as if one should say, God feeds our bo- 
dies, therefore bread doth not feed us ; 
whereas God feeds us by bread ; so the 
Spirit confirms our faith by the use of the 
sacrament. 

Ans. 2. The end of the sacrament is to 
keep up the memory of Christ's death. 1 
Cor. xi. 25, " This do ye in remembrance 
of me." If a friend give us a ring at his 
death, we wear it to keep up the memory 
of our friend ; much more then ought we to 
keep up the memorial of Christ's death in 
the sacrament ; Christ's death lays a foun- 
dation for all the magnificent blessings which 
we receive from Christ. The covenant of 
grace was agreed on in heaven, but sealed 
upon the cross. Christ hath sealed all the 
articles of peace in his blood. Remission 
of sin flows from Christ's death, Mat. xxvi. 
28, « This is my blood of the New Testa- 
ment, which is shed for many, for the re- 
mission of sins." Consecration, or making 
us holy, is the fruit of Christ's death, Heb. 
ix. 14, "How much more shall the blood 
of Christ purge your conscience V Christ's 
intercession is made available to us by 
virtue of his death ; Christ could not have 
been admitted an advocate, if he had not 
been first a sacrifice. Our entering into 
heaven is the fruit of Christ's blood, Heb. x. 
19. Christ could not have prepared man- 
sions for us, if he had not first purchased 
them by his death : so that we have a great 
deal of cause to commemorate Christ's death 
in the sacrament. 

Quest. In what manner are we to re- 
member the Lord's death in the sacrament ? 

Ans. It is not only a historical remem- 
brance of Christ's death and passion ; thus 
Judas remembers Christ's death, and how 
he betrayed him; and Pilate remembers 
Christ's death, and how he crucified him; 



OP THE LORD'S SUPPER. 



369 



but our remembering Christ's death in the 
sacrament must be, 

(1). A mournful remembrance. We must 
not be able to look on Christ crucified with 
dry eyes, Zech. xii. 10, " They shall look on 
him whom they have pierced, and mourn 
over him." O Christian, when thou lookest 
on Christ in the sacrament, remember how 



oft thou hast crucified him ! The Jews did 
it but once, thou often. Every oath is a nail 
with which thou piercest his hands ; ( every 
unjust sinful action, is a spear with which 
thou woundest his heart. O remember Christ 
with sorrow, to think thou shouldest make his 
wounds bleed afresh ! 



Mark xvi. 22, 23, 24. 

(2). It must be a joyful remembrance, 
John viii. 56, " Abraham rejoiced to see ray 
day." When a Christian sees a sacrament- 
day approach, he should rejoice. This ordi- 
nance of the supper is an earnest of heaven ; 
'tis the glass in which we see him whom our 
souls love ; it is the chariot by which we are 
carried up to Christ. " When Jacob saw the 
wagons and the chariots which were to 
carry him to his son Joseph, his spirit reviv- 
ed," Gen. xlv. 27. God hath appointed the 
sacrament, on purpose to cheer and revive a 
sad heart. When we look on our sins, we 
have cause to mourn ; but when we see 
Christ's blood shed for our sins, this may make 
us rejoice. In the sacrament our wants are 
supplied, — our strength is renewed, — here we 
meet with Christ, and doth not this call for 
joy 1 A woman that hath been long debarred 
from the society of her husband, how glad is 
she of his presence ! At the sacrament the 
believing spouse meets with Christ : he saith 
to her, " All I have is thine ; my love is thine, 
to pity thee; my mercy is thine, to save thee." 
How can we think in the sacrament on Christ's 
blood shed, and not rejoice ] Sanguis Christi 
clavis paradisi, — Christ's blood is the key 
which opens heaven, else we had been all 
shut out. 

3. End of the sacrament is, to work in us 
an endeared love to Christ. When Christ 
bleeds over us, well may we say, Behold how 
he loved us ! Who can see Christ die, and 
not be " sick of love ?" That is a heart of 
stone whom Christ's love will not melt. 

4. End of the sacrament, the mortifying of 
corruption. To see Christ crucified for us, is 
a means to crucify sin in us. Christ's death 

3 A 



Jesus took bread, <%c. 

(like the water of jealousy) makes the "thigh 
of sin to rot," Numb. v. 27. How can a wife 
endure to see the spear which killed her hus- 
band ] How can we endure those sins which 
made Christ veil his glory, and lose his 
blood ? When the people of Rome saw Cae- 
sar's bloody robe, they were incensed against 
them that slew him : sin hath rent the white 
robe of Christ's flesh, and dyed it of a crim- 
son colour : the thoughts of this will make 
us seek to be avenged on our sins. 

5. End, the augmentation and increase of 
all the graces, hope, zeal, patience. The word 
preached begets grace, the Lord's supper 
nourisheth it; the body by feeding increaseth 
strength, so doth the soul by feeding on Christ 
sacramentally. Cum defecerit virtus mea 
calicem salutarem accipiam, Bern. " When 
my spiritual strength begins to fail, I know a 
remedy, (saith Bernard) I will go to the ta- 
ble of the Lord ; there will I drink and recover 
my decayed strength." There is a difference 
between dead stones and living plants. The 
wicked, who are stones, receive no spiritual 
increase ; but the godly who are plants of 
righteousness, being watered with Christ'3 
blood, grow more fruitful in grace. 

Quest. 4. Why are we to receive this holy 
supper ? 

Ans. Because it is a duty incumbent, 
" Take, eat." And observe, it is a command 
of love. If Christ had commanded us some 
great matter, would not we have done it 1 
2 Kings v. 13, "If the prophet had bid 
thee do some great thing, wouldest thou 
not have done it ?" If Christ had enjoined 
us to have given him thousands of rams, or 
to have parted with the fruit of our bodies, 



370 



OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. 



would we not have done if? Much more 
when he only saith, "Take," and "Eat:" 
Let my broken body feed you, let my blood 
poured out, save you. " Take," and " Eat." 
This is a command of love, and shall we not 
readily obey ? 

A. 2. We are to celebrate the Lord's sup- 
per, because it is a provoking of Christ to stay 
away. Prov. ix. 1, Wisdom hath "furnished 
her table." So Christ hath furnished his ta- 
ble, set bread and wine (representing his body 
and blood) before his guests, and when they 
wilfully turn their backs upon the ordinance, 
Christ looks upon it as a slighting of his love, 
and that makes the fury rise up in his face, 
Luke xiv. 24, "For I say unto you, that none 
of those men which were bidden shall taste 
of my supper." I will shut them out of my 
kingdom, I will provide them a black banquet, 
where weeping shall be the first course, and 
gnashing of teeth the second. 

Quest. 5. Whether the Lord's supper be 
oft to be administered! 

Ans. Yes : 1 Cor. xi. 26, " As oft as ye 
eat of this bread." The ordinance is not to 
be celebrated once in a year, or once in our 
lives, but often. A Christian's own neces- 
sities may make him come often hither. His 
corruptions are strong, therefore he had need 
come often hither, for an antidote to expel the 
poison of sin ; and his graces are weak. 
Grace is like a lamp, Rev. iii. 2, if it be not 
often fed with oil, it is apt to go out. How 
therefore do they sin against God, who come 
but very seldom to this ordinance ] Can they 
thrive, who for a longtime forbear their food] 
And others there are who do wholly forbear : 
this is a great contempt offered to Christ's 
ordinance. Men do as it were tacitly say, 
let Christ keep his feast to himself. What 
a crossgrained piece is man? He will eat 
when he should not, and he will not eat when 
he should. When God said, " Eat not of 
this forbidden fruit," — then he will be sure to 
eat ; when God saith, " Eat of this bread, 
and drink of this cup," — then he refuseth to 
eat. 

Quest. 6. Are all to come promiscuously 
to this holy ordinance ? 

Ans. No ; that were to make the Lord's 
table an ordinary. Christ forbids to " cast 



pearls before swine," Matt. vii. 6. The sa- 
cramental bread is children's bread, and it is 
not to be cast to the profane. As, at the giv- 
ing of the law, God set bounds about the 
mount that none might touch it, Exod. xix. 
12 : so God's table should be guarded, that 
the profane should not come near. In the 
primitive times, after sermon was done, and 
they were going to celebrate the Lord's sup- 
per, an officer stood up and cried. " Holy 
things for holy men ;" and then several of 
the congregation were to depart. " I would 
have my hand cut off (saith Chrysostom) ra- 
ther than I would give Christ's body and blood 
to the profane." The wicked do not eat 
Christ's flesh but tear it ; they do not drink 
his blood but spill it. These holy mysteries 
in the sacraments are tremendia mysteria, — 
mysteries that the soul is to tremble at. Sin- 
ners defile the holy things of God, they poi- 
son the sacramental cup. We read that the 
wicked are to be set at Christ's feet, Ps. ex., 
not at his table. 

Quest. 7. How may we receive the sup- 
per of the Lord worthily, that so it may be- 
come effectual to us 1 

Ans. That we may receive it worthily, and 
that it may become efficacious, 

1st. We must solemnly prepare ourselves 
before we come ; we must not rush upon the 
ordinance rudely and irreverently, but come 
in due order. There was a great deal of pre- 
paration to the passover, 2 Chron. xxx. 18, 19, 
and the sacrament comes in the room of it. 

Quest. Wherein doth this solemn pre- 
paring for the ordinance consist? 

Ans. 1. In examining ourselves. — 2. In 
dressing our souls before we come, which is 
by washing in the water of repentance.— 3. By 
exciting the habit of grace into exercise. — 4. 
In begging a blessing upon the ordinance. 

(1). Solemn preparing for the sacrament 
consists in self-examining, 1 Cor. xi. 28, 
" But let a man examine himself, and so let 
him eat." It is not only a counsel but a 
charge : " Let him examine himself." As if 
a king should say, "Let it be enacted." 
Jesus Christ having by his institution 
consecrated these elements in the sup- 
per to a high mystery, they represent his 
"body and blood:" therefore there must 



OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. 



371 



be preparation ; and if preparation, then there 
must be first examining ourselves, without 
which there can be no preparation. Let us be 
serious in this examining 1 ourselves, our sal- 
vation depends upon it. We are curious in 
examining other things ; we will not take 
gold, till we examine it by the touch-stone ; 
we will not take land, but we will examine 
the title ; and shall not we be as exact and 
curious in examining the state of our souls 1 
Quest. 1. What is required to this self- 
examining ? 

Ans. There must be a solemn retiring of 
the soul. We must set ourselves apart, and 
retire for some time from all secular employ- 
ment, that we may be more serious in this 
work. There is no casting up of accounts in a 
crowd ; nor can we examine ourselves when 
we are in a crowd of worldly business. We 
read, a man that was in a journey might not 
come to the passover, Num. ix. 13, because 
his mind was full of secular cares, and his 
thoughts were taken up about his journey. 
When we are upon self-examining work, we 
had not need to be in a hurry, or have any 
distracting thoughts, but to retire and lock 
ourselves up in our closet, that we may be 
more intent in the work. 

Quest. 2. What is self-examination 1 
Ans. It is a setting up a court of con- 
science and keeping a register there, that by 
a strict scrutiny a man may see how matters 
stand between God and his soul. Self-ex- 
amination is a spiritual inquisition, a heart- 
anatomy, whereby a man takes his heart, as 
a watch, all in pieces, and sees what is de- 
fective there. It is a dialogue with one's 
self, Ps. Ixxvii. 6, " I commune with my own 
heart." David called himself to account, 
and put interrogatories to his own heart. 
Self-examining is a critical descant or search ; 
as the woman in the parable did light a can- 
dle, and search for her lost groat, Luke xv. 
8, so conscience is the candle of the Lord ; 
search with this candle what thou canst find 
wrought by the Spirit in thee. 

Quest. 3. What is the rule by which we 
are to examine ourselves ? 

Ans. The rule or measure we must ex- 
amine ourselves by, is the Holy Scripture. 
We must not make fancy, or the good opi- 



nion which others have of us, the rule by 
which we judge of ourselves. But as the 
goldsmith brings his gold to the touch-stone, 
so must we bring our hearts to a scripture 
touch-stone, — " To the law, and to the testi- 
mony," Isa. viii. 20. What saith the word! 
Are we divorced from sin ! Are we renewed 
by the Spirit? Let the word decide whether 
we are fit communicants or not. We judge 
of colours by the sun, so we must judge of the 
state of our souls by the sun-light of scripture. 

Quest. 4. What are the cogent reasons 
why we must examine ourselves before we 
approach to the Lord's supper ? 

Ans. 1. It is a duty imposed; 'let him 
examine himself.' The passover was not to 
be eaten raw, Exod. xii. 19. To come to 
such an ordinance slightly, without examina- 
tion, is to come in an undue manner, and is 
like eating the passover raw. 

A. 2. We must examine ourselves before 
we come, because it is not only a duty im- 
posed, but opposed. There is nothing the 
heart naturally is more averse from than 
self-examination; we may know that duty 
is good which the heart opposeth. But why 
doth the heart so oppose it ? Because it doth 
cross the tide of corrupt nature ; 'tis contrary 
to flesh and blood. The heart is guilty ; and 
doth a guilty person love to be examined ? 
The heart opposeth it : therefore the rather 
set upon it ; that duty is good which the 
heart opposeth. 

A. 3. Because self-examining is so need- 
ful a work ; as appears, 1. Without self- 
examination, a man can never tell how it is 
with him, whether he hath grace or not ; and 
this must needs be very uncomfortable. He 
knows not if he should die presently, what 
will become of him, or to what coast he shall 
sail, whether to hell or heaven ; as Socrates 
said, " I am about to die, and the gods know 
whether I shall be happy or miserable." How 
needful therefore is self-examination, that a 
man by search may come to know the true 
state of his soul, and may guess how it will 
go with him to eternity ! 

2. Self-examination is needful in respect 
of the excellency of the sacrament. Let him 
eat de illo pane, "of that bread," 1 Cor. xi. 
28, — that excellent bread, that consecrated 



OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. 

■ — — =— 



372 

bread, that bread which is not only the bread 
of the Lord, but the bread the Lord. Let him 
drink de Mo poculo, " of that cup," — that 
precious cup which is perfumed and spiced 
with Christ's love, — that cup which holds the 
blood of God sacramentally. Cleopatra put a 
jewel in a cup which contained the price of a 
kingdom : this sacred cup we are to drink of, 
enriched with the blood of God, is above the 
price of a kingdom ; it is more worth than hea- 
ven. Therefore coming to such a royal feast, 
having whole Christ, his divine and human 
nature to feed on, how should we examine 
ourselves before-hand, that we may be fit 
guests for such a magnificent banquet ! 

3. Self-examining is needful, because God 
will examine us. That was a sad question, 
Matt. xxii. 12, " Friend, how earnest thou in 
hither, not having a wedding garment?" 
Men are loath to ask themselves the question, 
" O my soul ! art thou a fit guest for the 
Lord's table ? are there not some sins thou 
hast to bewail 1 are there not some evidences 
for heaven that thou hast to get?" Now, 
when persons will not ask themselves the 
question, then God will bring such a question 
as this to them, How came you in hither to 
my table not prepared,— how came ye in 
hither with an unbelieving or profane heart 1 
It shall be such a question as will cause a 
heart-trembling. God will examine a man, as 
the chief captain did Paul, with scourging, 
Acts xxii. 24. 'Tis true, the best saint, if 
God should weigh him in the balance, would 
be found defective ; but, when a Christian 
hath made an impartial search, and hath 
laboured to deal uprightly between God and 
his own soul, Christ's merits will cast in 
some grains of allowance into the scales. 

4. Self-examining is needful, because of 
that secret corruption in the heart, which 
will not be found out without searching. 
There are in the heart plangenda tenebrce, 
Aug., hidden pollutions. It is with a Chris- 
tian, as with Joseph's brethren : when the 
steward accused them of having the cup, 
they were ready to swear they had not the 
cup in their sack, but upon search it was 
found there ; little doth a Christian think 
what pride, atheism, uncleanness is in his 
heart till he searcheth. Therefore, if there 



be such hidden wickedness, like a spring that 
runs under ground, we had need examine 
ourselves, that finding out our secret sin, we 
may be humbled and repent. Hidden sins, 
if not searched out, defile the soul. If corn 
lie long in the chaff, the chaff defiles the 
corn ; hidden sins lain long in, defile our 
duties. Needful therefore it is, before we 
come to the holy supper, to search out these 
hidden sins, as Israel searched for leaven 
before they came to the passover. 

5. Self-examining is needful, because with- 
out it we may easily have a cheat put upon 
us, Jer. xvii. 9, " The heart is deceitful above 
all things." Many a man's heart will tell 
him, he is fit for the Lord's table. As when 
Christ asked the sons of Zebedee, Matt. xx. 
22, " Are ye able to drink of the cup I shall 
drink of?" Can ye drink such a bloody cup 
of suffering'? "They say unto him, we are 
able." So the heart will suggest to a man, 
he is fit 1,0 drink of the sacramental cup, he 
hath on the wedding-garment. Grande pro- 
fundum est homo, Aug. " The heart is a 
grand impostor." It is like a cheating trades- 
man, which will put one off with bad wares : 
the heart will put a man off with seeming 
grace, instead of saving. A tear or two shed 
is repentance ; a few lazy desires is faith ; 
blue and red flowers that grow among the 
corn, look like good flowers, but they are but 
beautiful weeds. The foolish virgins' lamps 
looked as if they had had oil in them, but 
they had none. Therefore, to prevent a 
cheat, that we may not take false grace in- 
stead of true, we had need make a thorough 
disquisition and search of our hearts before 
we come to the Lord's table. 

6. Self-examining is needful, because of 
those false fears the godly are apt to nourish 
in their hearts, which make them go sad to 
the sacrament. As they who have no grace, 
for wan t of examining, presume ; so they who 
have grace, for want of examining, are ready 
to despair. Many of God's children look 
upon themselves through the black spectacles 
of fear ; they fear Christ is not formed in 
them, they fear they have no right to the 
promise ; and these fears in the heart cause 
tears in the eye ; whereas, would they but 
search and examine, they might find they had 



OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. 



373 



grace. Are not their hearts humbled for sin 1 
and what is this but the bruised reed 1 Do 
not they weep after the Lord ] and what are 
these tears but seeds of faith 1 Do they not 
thirst after Christ in an ordinance ? what is 
this but the new creature crying for the 



breast 1 Here are, you see, seeds of grace ; 
and, would Christians examine their hearts, 
they might see there is something of God in 
them, and so their false fears would be pre- 
vented, and they might approach with com- 
fort to these holy mysteries in the eucharist. 



Mark xiv. 22. Jesus took bread, <$-c. 



7. Self-examining is needful, in respect 
of the danger in coming unworthily without 
examination, 1 Cor. xi. 27, " He shall be 
guilty of the body and blood of the Lord." 
Par facit quasi Christum trucidaret, Gro- 
tius. — i. e. God reckons with him as with a 
crucifier of the Lord Jesus. He doth not 
drink Christ's blood, but sheds it ; and so 
brings that curse upon him, as the Jews, 
" his blood be upon us and our children." 
The virtue of Christ's blood, nothing more 
comfortable ; the guilt of it, nothing more 
formidable. 

A. 4. We must examine ourselves before 
the sacrament, in respect of the difficulty of 
self-examining work. Difficulty raiseth a 
noble spirit. Self-examining is difficult, 1st. 
Because it is an inward work, it lies most 
with the heart. External acts of devotion 
are easy ; to lift up the eye, — to bow the 
knee, — to read over a few prayers, — this is 
as easy as for the papists to tell over a few 
beads ; but to examine a man's self, — to take 
the heart, as a watch, all in pieces, — to make 
a scripture-trial of our fitness for the Lord's 
supper, — this is not easy. Reflexive acts are 
hardest; the eye cannot see itself but by a 
glass ; we must have the glass of the word 
and conscience to see our own hearts ; it is 
easy to spy the faults of others, but it is hard 
to find out our own. 2d. Self-examination 
is difficult, in regard of self-love. As igno- 
rance blinds, so self-love flatters ; what So- 
lomon saith of love, Prov. x. 12, " Love 
covereth all sins," is most true of self-love : 
a man looking upon himself in the glass of 
self-love — that flattering glass — his virtues 
appear greater than they are, and his sins 
less. Self-love makes a man rather excuse 
himself than examine himself ; self-love 



makes one think the best of himself ; and he 
who hath a good opinion of himself doth not 
suspect himself ; and not suspecting himself, 
he is not forward to examine himself. The 
work therefore of self-examination being so 
difficult, it requires the more impartiality and 
industry ; difficulty should be a spur to dili- 
gence. 

A. 5. We must examine ourselves before 
we come, because of the beneficialness of 
self-examination. The benefit is great which 
way soever things turn ; if, upon examina- 
tion, we find that we have no grace in truth, 
then the mistake is discovered, and the dan- 
ger prevented ; if we find that we have -grace, 
we may take the comfort of it. He who, 
upon search, finds that he hath the minimum 
quod sit, — the least degree of grace, — he is 
like one that hath found his box of evidences, 
he is a happy man, he is a fit guest at the 
Lord's table, he is heir to all the promises, he 
is as sure to go to heaven as if he were in 
heaven already. These are the reasons why 
we must examine ourselves before we ap- 
proach to the Lord's table. 

Quest. 5. What must we examine ? 

Ans. 1. Our sins. 2. Our graces. 

First, Our sins. Search if any dead fly 
might spoil this sweet ointment. When we 
come to the sacrament, we should do as the 
Jews did before the passover ; they searched 
for leaven, and having found it did burn it. — 
1. Let us search for the leaven of pride ; this 
sours our holy things ; we are born with ^ 
spiritual tympany. Will an humble Christ be 
received into a proud heart? Pride keeps 
Christ out. Intus existens prohibit alienum. 
Pride swells the heart, and Christ cannot 
come into the heart if it be full already. To 
a proud man Christ's blood hath no virtue ; 



374 



OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. 



'tis like dioscordium put into a dead man's 
mouth, which loseth its virtue. Let us search 
for this leaven of pride, and cast it away. — 
2. Let us search for the leaven of avarice. 
The Lord's supper is a spiritual mystery ; 
it represents Christ's body and blood ; what 
should an earthly heart do here % The earth 
puts out the fire ; earthliness quencheth the 
fire of holy love. The earth is elementum 
gravissimum, — it cannot ascend. A soul 
belimed with earth cannot ascend to heaven- 
ly cogitations. Col. iii. 5, " Covetousness 
which is idolatry." Will Christ come into 
that heart where there is an idol 1 Search 
for this leaven before you come to this ordi- 
nance. How can an earthly heart converse 
with that God which is a spirit 1 Can a clod 
of earth kiss the sun? — 3. Search for the 
leaven of hypocrisy, Lukexii. 1, " Beware of 
the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypo- 
crisy." Aquinas describes it simulatio vir- 
tutis ; — hypocrisy is a counterfeiting of virtue. 
The hypocrite is a living pageant, he only 
makes a show of religion ; he gives God his 
knee, but no heart ; and God gives him bread 
and wine in the sacrament, but no Christ. 
Oh let us search for this leaven of hypocrisy 
and burn it ! 

Secondly, We must examine our graces. 
I shall instance only in one, our knowledge. 

1. Whether we have knowledge. 

2. Whether it be rightly qualified. 
First, We are to examine whether we have 

knowledge, else we cannot give God a rea- 
sonable service, Rom. xiii. 1. Knowledge is 
a necessary requisite in a communicant; 
without knowledge there can be no fitness 
for the sacrament ; a person cannot be fit to 
come to the Lord's table who hath no good- 
ness, but without knowledge the mind is not 
good, Prov. xix. 2. Some say they have good 
hearts though they want knowledge ; as if 
one should say, his eye is good, but it wants 
sight. Under the law, when the plague of 
leprosy was in a man's head, the priest was 
to pronounce him unclean. The ignorant 
person hath the plague in his head, he is un- 
clean ; ignorance is the womb of lust, 1 Pet. 
14. Therefore it is requisite, before we come, 
to examine ourselves what knowledge we 
have in the main fundamentals of religion. 



Let it not be said of us, " to this day the vail 
is upon their hearts," 2 Cor. iii. 15. But sure, 
in this intelligent age, we cannot but have 
some insight into the mysteries of the gospel. 
I rather fear, we are like Rachel, who was 
fair and well-sighted, but barren ; therefore, 

(2). Let us examine whether our know- 
ledge be rightly qualified. — 1. Is it influential ; 
doth our knowledge warm our heart. Cla- 
ritas intellectu parit adoram in effeclu. 
Saving knowledge doth not only direct, but : 
quicken ; it is the light of life, John viii. 12. 
— 2. Is our knowledge practical] We hear 
much ; do we love the truths we know 1 That 
is the right knowledge which doth not only 
adorn the mind, but reform the life. 

Secondly, This solemn preparing for the 
sacrament, .as it consists in examining our- 
selves, so in dressing our souls before we 
come. And this soul-dress is in two things : 

1 . Washing in the laver of repenting tears ; 
to come to this ordinance with the guilt of any 
sin unrepented of, makes the way for the fur- 
ther hardening of our heart, and giving Satan 
fuller possession of us, Zech. xii. 10, " They 
shall look on him whom they have pierced, 
and shall mourn for him." The cloud of sor- 
row must drop into tears. We must grieve as 
for the pollution, so for the unkindness in every 
sin. To sin against Christ's love who died for 
us. When Peter thought of Christ's love, who ! 
called him out of his unregeneracy, made him 
an apostle, and carried him up to the mount 
of transfiguration, where he saw the glory of 
heaven in a vision ; and then, to think of his 
denying Christ, it broke his heart, " he went 
out and wept bitterly," Matt. xxvi. 75. To 
think, before we come to a sacrament, of the 
sins against the bowel-mercies of God the 
Father, — the bleeding wounds of God the 
Son, — the blessed inspirations of God the 
Holy Ghost, — it is enough to broach our eyes 
with tears, and put us into a holy agony of 
grief and compunction. And we must be 
so distressed for sin, as to be divorced from 
sin. The serpent before he drinks, casts up 
his poison ; in this, we must be wise as ser- 
pents ; before we drink of the sacramental 
cup, we must cast up the poison of sin by 
repentance. Ille vere plangit commissa, qui 
non committit plangenda, Aug. He doth truly 



OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. 



375 



bewail the sins he hath committed, who doth 
not commit the sins he hath bewailed. And 
this is the dressing- our souls before we come, 
washing in the waters of true repentance. 

2. The soul-dress is the exciting and stir- 
ring up the habit of grace into a lively exer- 
cise, 2 Tim. i. 6, " I put thee in remem- 
brance, that thou stir up the gift of God 
which is in thee," i. e. the gifts and graces 
of the Spirit. The Greek word to stir up 
signifies to blow up grace into a flame. 
Grace is oft like fire in the embers, which 
needs blowing up ; it is possible that even a 
good man may not come so well-disposed to 
this ordinance, because he hath not before 
taken pains with his heart to come in due 
order, he hath not stirred up grace into its 
vigorous exercise ; and so, though he doth 
not eat and drink damnation, yet he doth 
not receive consolation in the sacrament. 
Thus you see what this dressing of our souls 
is, before we come. 

Thirdly, This solemn preparing for the 
sacrament is in begging a blessing upon the 
ordinance. The sacrament is not like physic, 
which hath an inherent operative virtue ; no ; 
but the efficacy of the sacrament depends 
upon the co-operation of the Spirit, and a 
word of blessing. In the institution, Christ 
blessed the elements : " Jesus took bread and 
blessed it," in the text. The sacrament will 
no farther do us good, than as it is blessed to 
us. We ought then, before we come, to pray 
for a blessing on the ordinance, that the 
sacrament may be not only a sign to repre- 
sent, but a seal to conform, and an instru- 
ment to convey Christ and all his benefits to 
us. We are to pray that this great ordinance 
may be poison to our sins, and food to our 
graces. That, as it was with Jonathan, when 
he had tasted the honey-comb, his "eyes 
were enlightened," 1 Sam. xiv. 27, so that 
by our receiving this holy eucharist, our eyes 
may be so enlightened, as to ' discern the 
Lord's body.' Thus should we implore a 
blessing upon the ordinance, before we come. 
The sacrament is like a tree hung full of 
fruit ; but none of this fruit will fall, unless 
shaken by the hand of prayer. 

2d. That the sacrament may be effectual to 
us, as there must be a due preparing for it, so 



a right partaking of it ; which right participa- 
tion of the sacrament is in three things. 

1. When we draw nigh to God's table in an 
humble sense of our unworthiness. We do 
not deserve one crumb of the bread of life ; 
we are poor indigent creatures, who have lost 
our glory, and are like a vessel that is ship- 
wrecked ; we smite on our breasts, as the 
publican, God be merciful to us sinners. 
This is a right partaking of the ordinance ; 
it is part of our worthiness to see our un- 
worthiness. 

2. We rightly partake of the sacrament, 
when at the Lord's table we are filled with 
anhelations of soul and inflamed desires after 
Christ, and nothing can quench our thrist but 
his blood, Matt. v. 6, " Blessed are they that 
thirst." They are blessed not only when they 
are filled, but while they are thirsting. 

3. A right participation of the supper is, 
when we receive in faith. Without faith we 
get no good ; what is said of the word preach- 
ed, It profiteth not, " not being mixed with 
faith," Heb. iv. 2, is as true of the sacrament. 
Christ turned stones into bread; unbelief 
turns the bread into stones, that it doth not 
nourish. Then we partake aright when we 
come in faith. Faith hath a twofold act, an 
adhering, and an applying : by the first act 
we go over to Christ, by the second act we 
bring Christ over to us, Gal. ii. 20. This is 
the great grace we must set a-work, Acts x. 
Philo calls it, fides occulata, — faith is the 
eagle-eye that discerns the Lord's body ; faith 
causeth a virtual contact, it touched Christ. 
Christ said to Mary, " Touch me not," &c. 
John xx. 17. She was not to touch him with 
the hands of her body ; but he saith to us, 
"Touch me," touch me with the hand of 
your faith. Faith makes Christ present to the 
soul ; the believer hath a real presence in the 
sacrament. The body of the sun is in the 
firmament, but the light of the sun is in the 
eye ; Christ's essence is in heaven, but he is 
in a believer's heart by his light and influence, 
Eph. iii. 17, " That Christ may dwell in your 
heart by faith." Faith is the palate which 
tastes Christ, 1 Pet. ii. 3. Faith makes a 
concoction ; it causeth the bread of life to 
nourish. Crede et manducasta, Aug. Faith 
causeth a coalition, it makes us one with 



376 



OF THE LORD'S SUPPER. 



Christ, Eph. i. 23. Other graces make us 
like Christ, faith makes us members of Christ. 

Fourthly, Then we partake aright of the 
sacrament, when we receive in love. 

1. Love to Christ. Who can see Christ 
pierced with a crown of thorns, — sweating 
in his agony, — bleeding on the cross, — but 
his heart must needs be endeared in love to 
him'? "How can we but love him who hath 
given his life a ransom for us 1" Love is the 
spiced wine and juice of the pomegranate 
which we must give Christ, Cant. viii. 2. 
Our love to this superior and blessed Jesus 
must exceed our love to other things ; as the 
oil runs above the water. Though we cannot 
with Mary bring our costly ointment to 
anoint Christ's body, yet we do more than 
this, when we bring him our love, which is 
sweeter to him than all ointments and per- 
fumes. 

2. Love to the saints. This is a love- 
feast : though we must eat this supper with 
the bitter herbs of repentance, yet not with 
the bitter herbs of malice. Were it not sad, 
if all the meat one eats should turn to bad 
humours 1 He who comes in malice to the 
Lord's table, all he eats is to his hurt : "He 
eats and drinks damnation to himself," 1 Cor. 
xi. 29. Come in love. It is with love as it is 
with fire ; you keep fire all the day upon the 
hearth, but upon special occasions you draw 
out the fire larger ; so, though we must have 
love to all, yet to the saints, who are our 
fellow-members, here we must draw out the 
fire of our love larger ; and we must show the 
largeness of our affections to them, by prizing 
their persons, by choosing their company, by 
doing all offices of love to them, counselling 
them in their doubts, comforting them in 
their fears, supplying them in their wants. 
Thus one Christian may be an Ebenezer to 
another, and as an angel of God to him ; the 
sacrament cannot be effectual to him who 
doth not receive in love. If a man drinks 
poison, and then takes a cordial, the cordial 
will do him little good ; he who hath the 
poison of malice in his soul, the cordial of 
Christ's blood will do him no good; come 
therefore in love and charity. And thus we 
see how we may receive the supper of the 
Lord, that it may be effectual to our salvation. 



Use 1st. From the whole doctrine of the 
sacrament learn, how precious should a sa- 
crament be to us. It is a sealed deed to 
make over the blessings of the new covenant 
to us, — -justification, sanctification, glory. A 
small piece of wax put to a parchment is 
made the instrument to confirm a rich con- 
veyance or lordship to another : so these 
elements in the sacrament of bread and 
wine, though in themselves of no great 
value, yet being consecrated to be seals to 
confirm the covenant of grace to us, so they 
are of more value than all the riches of the 
Indies. 

Use 2d. The sacrament being such a holy 
mystery, let us come to this holy mystery 
with holy hearts. There is no receiving a 
crucified Christ, but into a consecrated heart ; 
Christ in his conception, lay in a pure vir- 
gin's womb, and, at his death, his body was 
wrapped in clean linen, and put into a new 
virgin-tomb, never yet defiled with rotten- 
ness. If Christ would not lie in an unclean 
grave, sure he will not be received into an 
unclean heart, Isa. lii. 11, "Be ye clean that 
bear the vessels of the Lord." If they who 
did carry the vessels of the Lord, were to be 
holy, then they who are to be the vessels of 
the Lord, and are to hold Christ's body and 
blood, ought to be holy. 

Use 3d. Consolation. Christ's body and 
blood in the sacrament is a most sovereign 
elixir or comfort to a distressed soul. Christ 
having poured out his blood, now God's jus- 
tice is fully satisfied. There is in the death of 
Christ enough to answer all doubts. What if 
sin is the poison, here is the flesh of Christ 
an antidote against it ! What if sin be red as 
scarlet, is not Christ's blood of a deeper 
colour, and can wash away sin ! If Satan 
strikes us with his darts of temptation, here 
is a precious balm comes out of Christ's 
wounds to heal us ! Isa. liii. 5. What though 
we feed upon the bread of affliction, as long 
as in the sacrament we feed upon the bread 
of life ! So that Christ received aright sacra- 
mentally, is a universal medicine for the heal- . 
ing, and a universal cordial for the cheering : 
of our distressed souls. 

III. The benefits of our redemption are | 
applied to us by prayer. 



OF PRAYER. 



377 



OF PRAYER. 



Psalm cix. 4. But I give myself unto prayer. 
I shall not expatiate upon prayer at large, | must send from heaven and save ; if we are 



being to speak more fully to it in the Lord's 
prayer. But to the words, "I give myself 
unto prayer." It is one thing to pray, and 
another thing to be given to prayer ; he who 
prays frequently, is said to be given to prayer, 
as he who often distributes alms, is said to be 
given to charity. Prayer is a glorious ordi 
nance ; it is the soul's trading with heaven ; 
God comes down to us by his Spirit, and we 
go up to him by prayer. 

Quest. 1. What is prayer! 

Ans. " It is an offering up of our desires 
to God, for things agreeable to his will, in 
the name of Christ." 

1st. " Prayer is an offering up of our de- 
sires." Therefore it is called a making 
known of our requests, Phil. iv. 6. In prayer 
we come as humble petitioners, begging to 
have our suit granted. 

2d. 'Tis " offering up our desires to God." 
Prayer is not to be made to any but God. 
The papists pray to saints and angels, but 
they know not our grievances, Isa. lxiii. 16, 
" Abraham be ignorant of us." And all an- 
gel worship is forbidden, Col. ii. 18, 19. We 
must not pray to any but whom we may be- 
lieve in, Rom. x. 14, " How then shall they 
call on him in whom they have not believed'?" 
But we cannot believe in an angel, therefore 
we must not pray to him. 

Quest. Why must prayer be made only 
to God ? 

Ans. 1. Because he only hears prayer, Ps. 
lxv. 2, " O thou that nearest prayer !" Here- 
by God is known to be the true God, in that 
he hears prayer, 1 Kings xviii. 37, " Hear 
Sie, O Lord, hear me, that this people may 
know that thou art the Lord God !" 

A. 2. Because God only can help. We 
may look to second causes, and cry, as the 
woman did, 2 Kings vi. 26, 27, " Help, my 
Lord, O King ! And he said, if the Lord 
loth not help thee, whence shall I help 
pee V- If we are in outward distress, God 
3 B 



in inward agonies, he only can pour in the 
oil of joy ; therefore prayer is to be made to 
him only. 

3d. "For things agreeable to his will." 
When we pray for outward things, — for 
riches or children, — perhaps God sees these 
things are not good for us ; our prayers must 
comport with God's will. We may pray 
absolutely for grace : "for this is the will of 
God, our sanctification," 1 Thess. iv. 3. 
There might be no strange incense offered, 
Exod. xxx. 9. When we pray for things 
which are not agreeable to God's will, it is 
offering strange incense. 

4f A. " In the name of Christ." To pray in 
the name of Christ, is not only to mention 
Christ's name in prayer, but to pray in the 
hope and confidence of Christ's merits, 1 
Sam. vii. 9, " Samuel took a suckling lamb 
and offered it," &c. We must carry the 
lamb Christ in the arms of our faith, and so 
we prevail in prayer. When Uzziah would 
offer incense without a priest, God was an- 
gry, and struck him with leprosy, 2 Chron. 
xxvi. 16. When we do not pray in Christ's 
name, in the hope of his mediation, we offer 
up incense, without a priest ; and what can 
we expect but to meet with rebukes, and to 
have God answer us by terrible things 1 
Quest. 2. What are the parts of prayer 1 
Ans. 1st. There is the confessory part, 
which is the acknowledgment of sin. 2d. 
The supplicatory part, when we either de- 
precate and pray against some evil, or re- 
quest the obtaining of some good. 3d. The 
gratulatory part, when we give thanks for 
mercies received, which is the most excel- 
lent part of prayer. In petition, we act like 
men ; in giving thanks, we act like angels. 

Quest. 3. What are the several sorts of 
prayer ? 

Ans. 1st. There is mental prayer in the 
mind, 1 Sam. i. 13. 2d. Vocal, Ps. Ixxvii. 
1. 3d. Ejaculatory, which is a sudden and 



378 



OF PRAYER. 



short elevation of the heart to God, Neh. ii. 
4, " So I prayed to the God of heaven." 
Ath. Conceived prayer ; when we pray for 
those things which God puts into our heart, 
Rom. viii. 26. The Spirit helps us with sighs 
and groans. Both the expressions of the 
tongue, so far as they are right, and the im- 
pressions of the heart, are from the Spirit. 
hth. Prescribed prayer ; our Saviour hath 
set us a pattern of prayer. God prescribed 
a set form of blessing for the priests, Numb, 
vi. 23. 6th. Public prayer ; when we pray 
in the audience of others. Prayer is more 
powerful, when many join and unite their 
forces. Vis unita fortior, Matt, xviii. 19. 
7th. Private prayer ; when we pray by our- 
selves, Matt. vi. 6, " Enter into thy closet." 

Quest. 4. What is that prayer which is 
most like to prevail with God ? 

Ans. When prayer is rightly qualified. 
That is a good medicine which hath the 
right ingredients ; that prayer is good, and 
is most like to prevail with God, which hath 
these seven ingredients in it : 

(1) . Prayer must be mixed with faith, 
James i. 6, " But let him pray in faith." 
Believe God hears, and will in his due time 
grant ; believe God's love and truth ; believe 
that he is love, therefore will not deny you ; 
believe that he is truth, therefore will not 
deny himself. Faith sets prayer a-work. 
Faith is to prayer, as the feather is to the ar- 
row : faith feathers the arrow of prayer, and 
makes it fly swifter, and pierce the throne of 
grace. Prayer that is faithless is fruitless. 

(2) . A melting prayer, Ps. li. 17, " The 
sacrifices of God are a broken spirit." The 
incense was to be beaten to typify the break- 
ing of the heart in prayer. " O !" saith a 
Christian, " I cannot pray with such gifts 
and elocution as others ; as Moses said, ' I 
am not eloquent.' " But canst thou weep 1 
Doth thy heart melt in prayer? Weeping 
prayer prevails. Tears drop as pearls from 
the eye. "Jacob wept and made supplica- 
tion ; and had power over the angel," Ho- 
sea xii. 4. 

(3) . Prayer must be fired with zeal and 
fervency, James v. 16, "Effectual fervent 
prayer prevails much." Cold prayers, like 
cold suitors, never speed. Prayer, without 



fervency, is like a sacrifice without fire. 
Prayer is called a pouring out of the soul, 1 
Sam. i. 15, to signify vehemency. Formality 
starves prayer. Prayer is compared to in- 
cense, Ps. cxli. 2, " Let my prayer be set 
forth before thee as incense." Hot coals were 
to be put to the incense, to make it odorifer- 
ous and fragrant ; fervency of affection is like 
coals put to the incense; it makes prayer 
ascend as a sweet perfume. Christ prayed 
with strong cries, Heb. v. 7. Clamor iste 
penetrat nubes, Luther. Fervent prayer, 
like a petard set against heaven's gates, 
makes them fly open. To cause holy fervour 
and ardour of soul in prayer, consider, 1. 
Prayer without fervency, is no prayer : it is 
speaking, not praying ; lifeless prayer is no 
more prayer, than the picture of a man is a 
man. One may say, as Pharaoh, Gen. xli., 
" I have dreamed a dream :" it is a dreaming, 
not praying. Life and fervency baptizeth a 
duty, and gives it a name. 2. Consider in 
what need we stand of those things which we 
ask in prayer. We come to ask the favour 
of God ; and if we have not his love, all wel 
enjoy is cursed to us. We pray that our! 
souls may be washed in Christ's blood; if he 
wash us not we have "no part in him," John 
xiii. 8. When will we be in earnest, if not 
when we are praying for the life of our souls? 
3. It is only fervent prayer hath the promise 
of mercy affixed to it, Jer. xxix. 13, " Then 
shall ye find rae, when ye search for me with 
all your heart." It is dead praying with- 
out a promise ; and the promise is made only 
to ardency. The Aediles among the Ro- 
mans, had their doors always standing open, 
that all who had petitions might have free 
access to them : God's heart is ever open to 
fervent prayer. 

(4). Prayer must be sincere ; sincerity 
is the silver thread which must run through 
the whole duties of religion. Sincerity in 
prayer is, when we have gracious holy ends 
in prayer ; our prayer is not so much for 
temporal mercies as spiritual. We send 
out our prayer, as a merchant sends out 
his ship, that we may have large returns of 
spiritual blessings ; our aim in prayer is, 
that our heart may be more holy, that we 
may have more communion with God ; our 



OF PRAYER. 



379 



design is, that by prayer we may increase 
the stock of grace. Prayer which wants a 
good aim, wants a good issue. 

(5). Prayer that will prevail with God, 
must have a fixation of mind, Ps. lvii. 7, " O 
God, my heart is fixed !" Since the fall, the 
mind is like quicksilver that will not fix ; it 
hath principium motus, but non quietus; 
the thoughts will be roving and dancing up 
and down in prayer, just as if a man that is 
travelling to such a place should run out of 
the road, and wander he knows not whither. 
In prayer, we are travelling to the throne of 
grace, but how often do we by vain cogita- 
tions, turn out of the road ! Which is rather 
wandering than praying. 

Quest. But how shall we cure these vain 
impertinent thoughts, which do so distract 
us in prayer, and we may fear, hinder the 
acceptance ! 

Ans. 1. Be very apprehensive in prayer 
of the infiniteness of God's majesty and puri- 
ty. God's eye is upon us in prayer, and we 
may say, as David, Ps. lvi. 8, " Thou tellest 
my wanderings." The thoughts of this would 
make us hoc agere, — mind the duty we are 
about. If a man were to deliver a petition 
to an earthly prince, would he at that time 
be playing with a feather ] Set yourselves, 
when you pray, as in God's presence ; could 
you but look through the key-hole of heaven, 
and see how devout and intent the angels 
are in their worshipping of God, sure you 
would be ready to blush at your vain thoughts 
and vile impertinences in prayer. 

A. 2. If you would keep your mind fixed 
in prayer, keep your eye fixed, Ps. cxxiii. 1, 
" Unto thee lift I up mine eyes, O thou that 
dwellest in the heavens 1" Much vanity 
comes in at the eye. When the eye wanders 
in prayer, the heart wanders. To think to 
keep the heart fixed in prayer, and yet let the 
eye gaze, is as if one should think to keep his 
house safe, yet let the windows be open. 

A. 3. If you would have your thoughts 
fixed in prayer, get more love to God. Love 
is a great fixer of the thoughts. He who is 
in love, cannot keep his thoughts off the 
object. He who loves the world, his 
thoughts run undisturbedly upon the world. 
Did we love God more, our minds would 



be more intent upon him in prayer. Were 
there more delight in duty, there would be 
less distraction. 

A. 4. Implore the help of God's Spirit to 
fix our minds, and make them intent and 
serious in prayer. The ship without a pilot 
rather floats than sails ; that our thoughts do 
not float up and down in prayer, we need the 
blessed Spirit to be our pilot to steer us ; 
only God's Spirit can bound the thoughts. 
A shaking hand may as well write a line 
steadily, as we can keep our hearts fixed in 
prayer without the Spirit of God. 

A. 5. Make holy thoughts familiar to you 
in your ordinary course of life. David was 
oft musing on God, Ps. cxxxix. 18, " When 
I awake, I am still with thee." He who 
gives himself liberty to have vain thoughts 
out of prayer, will scarce have other thoughts 
in prayer. 

A. 6. If you would keep your mind fixed on 
God, watch your hearts ; not only watch them 
after prayer, but in prayer. The heart will 
be apt to give you the slip, and have a thou- 
sand vagaries in prayer. We read of angels 
ascending and descending on Jacob's ladder : 
so in prayer you shall find your hearts as- 
cending to heaven, and in a moment descend- 
ing upon earthly objects. O Christians, 
watch your hearts in prayer ! What a shame 
is it to think, that when we are speaking to 
God in prayer, our hearts should be in the 
fields, or in our counting-house, or one way 
or other, running upon the devil's errand ! 

A. 7. Labour for more degrees of grace. 
The more ballast the ship hath, the better it 
sails : so the more the heart is ballasted with 
grace, the steadier it will sail to heaven in 
prayer. 

(6). Prayer that is likely to prevail with 
God must be argumentative ; God loves to 
have us plead with him, and use arguments 
in prayer. See how many arguments Jacob 
used in prayer, Gen. xxxii. 11, " Deliver me, 
I pray thee, from the hand of my brother." 
The arguments he used, are, 1. From God's 
command, v. 9, " The Lord which saidst to 
me return to thy country ;" as if he had said, 
I did not take this journey of my own head, 
but by thy direction ; therefore thou canst 
not but in honour protect me. And heuseth 



380 



OF PRAYER. 



another argument, v. 12, " Thou saidst, I will 
surely do thee good." Lord, wilt thou go 
back from thy own promise 1 Thus he was 
argumentative in prayer; and he got not only 
a new blessing but a new name, v. 28, " Thy 
name shall be called no more Jacob, but 
Israel ; for as a prince hast thou power with 
God, and hast prevailed." God loves to be 
overcome with strength of argument. Thus, 
when we come to God in prayer for grace, 
be argumentative ; Lord, thou callest thyself 
the God of all grace ; and whither should we 
go with our vessel, but to the fountain? 
Lord, thy grace may be imparted, yet not im- 
paired : hath not Christ purchased grace for 
poor indigent creatures 1 Every drachm of 
grace cost a drop of blood. Shall Christ die 
to purchase grace for us, and shall not we 
have the fruit of his purchase ? Lord, it is 
thy delight to milk out the breast of mercy 
and grace, and wilt thou abridge thyself of 
thy own delight] Thou hast promised to give 
thy spirit to implant grace ; can truth lie 1 
can faithfulness deceive 1 God loves thus to 
be overcome with arguments in prayer. 

(7). Prayer that would prevail with God, 
must be joined with reformation, Job xi. 13, 
14, " If thou stretch out thy hands towards 
him ; if iniquity be in thy hand, put it far 
away." Sin, lived in, makes the heart hard, 
and God's ear deaf. 'Tis foolish to pray 
against sin, and then sin against prayer, sin 
fly-blows our prayers, Ps. lxvi. 18, " If I re- 
gard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not 
hear me." The loadstone loseth its virtue 
when bespread with garlic ; so doth prayer 
when polluted with sin. The incense of 
prayer must be offered upon the altar of a 
holy heart. 

Thus you see what is that prayer which 
is most likely to prevail with God. 

Use 1st. It reproves, 1st. Such as pray not 
at all : 'Tis made the note of a reprobate, he 
calls not upon God, Ps. cxliv. Doth he think 
to have an alms, who never asks it? do they 
think to have mercy from God, who never 
seek if? Then God should befriend them 
more than he did his own Son, Heb. v. 7. 
Christ offered up prayers with strong cries. 
None of God's children are born dumb, Gal. 
iv. 6.*— 2d. It reproves such as have left off 



prayer, a sign they never felt the fruit and 
comfort of it. He that leaves off prayer, a 
sign he leaves off to fear God, Job xv. 4, 
"Thou castest off fear, and restrainest prayer 
before God." A man that hath left off 
prayer is fit for any wickedness. When 
Saul had given over inquiring after God, 
then he went to the witch of Endor. 

Use 2d. Of exhortation. Be persons giv- 
en to prayer. " I give myself (saith David) 
to prayer." Pray for pardon and purity ; 
prayer is the golden key that opens heaven. 
The tree of the promise will not drop its 
fruit, unless shaken by the hand of prayer. 
All the benefits of Christ's redemption are 
handed over to us by prayer. 

Obj. But I have prayed a long time for 
mercy, and have no answer, Ps. lxix. 3, " / 
am weary of crying." 

Ans. ] st. God may hear us, when we do 
not hear from him; as soon as prayer is 
made, God hears it, though he doth not pre- 
sently answer. A friend may receive our 
letter, though he doth not presently send us 
an answer of it. 2d. God may delay prayer, 
yet not deny. 

Quest. But why doth God delay an an- 
swer of prayer. 

Ans. 1. Because he loves to hear the voice 
of prayer, Prov. xv. 8, " The prayer of the 
upright is his delight." You let the musi- 
cian play a great while ere you throw him 
down money, because you love to hear his 
music, Cant. ii. 14. 

A. 2. God may delay prayer, when he will 
not deny, that he may humble us ; perhaps 
God hath spoken to us a long time in his 
word to leave such sins, but we would not 
hear him ; therefore he lets us speak to him 
in prayer, and seems not to hear us. 

A. 3. God may delay prayer when he will 
not deny, because he sees we are not yet fit 
for the mercy ; perhaps we pray for deliver- 
ance, we are not fit for it ; our scum is not 
yet boiled away, we would have God swift to 
deliver, and we are slow to repent. 

A. 4. God may delay prayer, when he will 
not deny, that the mercy we pray for may 
be the more prized, and may be sweeter 
when it comes. The longer the merchant's 
ships stay abroad, the more he rejoiceth 



OF THE PREFACE TO THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



381 



when they come home laden with spices and 
jewels; therefore be not discouraged, but 
follow God with prayer: though God may 
delay, he will not deny. Prayer vincit in- 
vincibilem, — it overcomes the Omnipotent, 
Hos. xii. 4. The Tyrians tied fast their god 
Hercules with a golden chain, that he should 



not remove: the Lord was held by Moses' 
prayer, as with a golden chain, Exod. xxxii. 
10, "Let me alone;" why; what did Moses? 
he only prayed. Prayer ushers in mercy. 
Be thy case ever so sad ; if thou canst but 
pray, thou needest not fear, Ps. x. 17. There- 
fore give thyself to prayer. 



OF THE PREFACE TO THE LORD'S PRAYER. 

Our FA THER which art in Heaven. 



Having (through the good providence of 
God) gone over the chief grounds and funda- 
mentals of religion, and enlarged upon the 
decalogue or ten commandments, I shall now, 
at the close, speak something upon the Lord's 
prayer. 

Matt. vi. 9, " After this manner therefore 
pray ye, Our Father which art in heaven, 
hallowed," &c. 

In this scripture are two things observable, 

1st. The introduction to the prayer. 

2d. The prayer itself, which consists of 
three parts. 1. A preface; 2. Petitions; 
3. The conclusion. 

I. The introduction to the Lord's prayer, 
" After this manner therefore pray ye." 
Our Lord Jesus, in these words prescribed 
to his disciples and us a directory for prayer. 
The ten commandments are the rule of our 
life, — the creed is the sum of our faith, — 
and the Lord's prayer is the pattern of our 
prayer. As God did prescribe Moses a 
pattern of the tabernacle, Exod. xxv. 9, 
so Christ hath here prescribed us a pattern 
of prayer, " After this manner therefore 
pray ye," &c. The meaning is, let this be 
the rule and model according to which ye 
frame your prayers. Ad hanc regulam pre- 
ces nostras exigere necesse est, Calvin. 
Not that we are tied to the words of the 
Lord's prayer ; Christ saith not, " After these 
words, pray ye ;" but " After this manner ;" 
that is, let all your petitions agree and sym- 
bolize with the things contained in the 
Lord's prayer; and indeed, well may we 
make all our prayers consonant and agree- 
able to this prayer, it being a most exact 



prayer. Tertullian calls it, Breviarium to- 
tins evangelii, — a breviary and compendium 
of the gospel ; it is like a heap of massy 
gold. The exactness of this prayer appears, 
1st. In the dignity of the Author ; a piece of 
work hath commendation from the artificer, 
and this prayer hath commendation from the 
Author; it is the Lord's prayer. As the 
moral law was written with the finger of 
God, so this prayer was dropt from the lips 
of the Son of God. Non vox hominem 
sonat, est Deus. 2d. The exactness of this 
prayer appears in the excellency of the mat- 
ter. I may say of this prayer, it "is as silver 
tried in the furnace, purified seven times," Ps. 
xii. 6. Never was there prayer so admirably 
and curiously composed as this. As Solo- 
mon's Song, for its excellency, is called, ' the 
song of songs ;' so may this well be called, 
' the prayer of prayers.' The matter of it is 
admirable, 1. For its succinctness, 'tis short 
and pithy, multum in parvo, — a great deal 
said in a few words. It requires most art to 
draw the two globes curiously in a little map. 
This short prayer is a system or body of di- 
vinity. 2. Its clearness. This prayer is plain 
and intelligible to every capacity. Clearness 
is the grace of speech. 3. Its completeness. 
This prayer contains in it the chief things 
that we have to ask, or God hath to bestow. 

Use. Let us have a great esteem of the 
Lord's prayer ; let it be the model and pattern 
of all our prayers. There is a double benefit 
ariseth from framing our petitions suitably 
to the Lord's prayer. 1st. Hereby error in 
prayer is prevented : it is not easy to write 
wrong after this copy ; we cannot easily err, 



382 



OF THE PREFACE TO 



THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



having our pattern before us. 2d. Hereby 
mercies requested are obtained, for the 
apostle assures us, God will hear us, when 
we pray " according to his will," 1 John v. 
14. And sure we pray according to his will, 
when we pray according to the pattern he 
hath set us. So much for the introduction 
to the Lord's prayer, "After this manner 
therefore pray ye." 

II. The prayer itself, which consists of 
three parts : 1. A preface ; 2. Petitions ; 3. 
The conclusion. 

First, The preface to the prayer: 1. "Our 
Father." 2. " Which art in heaven." To 
begin with the first words of the preface. 

" Our Father." Father is sometimes taken 
personally, John xiv. 28, " My Father is 
greater than I:" but Father in the text is 
taken essentially for the whole Deity. This 
title, Father, teacheth us to whom we must 
address ourselves in prayer; to God alone. 
Here is no such thing in the Lord's prayer, as, 
" O ye saints or angels that are in heaven, hear 
us !" but, " Our Father which art in heaven." 

Quest. In what order must we direct our 
prayers to God? Here is only the Father 
named : may not we direct our prayers to the 
Son and Holy Ghost ? 

Ans. Though the Father only be named 
in the Lord's prayer, yet the other two Per- 
sons are not hereby excluded ; the Father is 
mentioned because he is first in order ; but 
the Son and Holy Ghost are included, because 
they are the same in essence. As all the 
three Persons subsist in one Godhead : so, 
in our prayers, though we name but one Per- 
son, we must pray to all. To come then 
more closely to the first words of the preface, 
" Our Father." Princes on earth give them- 
selves titles expressing their greatness, as 
*" High and Mighty ;" God might have done 
so, and expressed himself <thus, " Our King 
of glory, our Judge :" but he gives himself 
another title, ' Our Father,' an expression of 
love and condescension. God, that he might 
encourage us to pray to him, represents 
himself under this sweet notion of a 1 Father, 
" Our Father," — Dulce nomen Patris. The 
name Jehovah carries majesty in it, the name 
of Father carries mercy in it. 

Quest. 1. In what sense is God a Father? 



Ans. 1. By creation ; it is he that hath 
made us, Acts xvii. 28, " We are also his 
offspring:" Mai. ii. 10, "Have we not all 
one Father?" Hath not one God created 
us ] But there is little comfort in this ; for 
so God is Father to the devils by creation ; 
but he that made them will not save them. 

A. 2. God is a Father by election, having 
chosen a certain number to be his children, 
whom he will entail heaven upon. Eph. i. 
4, " He hath chosen us in him." 

A. 3. God is a Father by special grace ; he 
consecrates the elect by his Spirit, and in- 
fuseth a supernatural principle of holiness, 
therefore they are said to be born of God, 1 
John iii. 9. Such only as are sanctified can 
say, 1 Our Father which art in heaven.' 

Quest. 1. What is the difference between 
God being the Father of Christ, and the 
Father of the elect ? 

Ans. God is the Father of Christ in a more 
glorious transcendent manner. Christ hath 
the primogeniture; he is the eldest Son, a 
Son by eternal generation, Prov. viii. 23, "I 
was set up from everlasting, from the begin- 
ning, or ever the earth was." Isa. liii. 8, 
" Who shall declare his generation V Christ 
is a son to the Father ; yet so as he is of the 
same nature with the Father, having all the 
incommunicable properties of the Godhead 
belonging to him : but we are sons of God by 
adoption and grace, GaL iv. 5, "That we 
might receive the adoption of sons." 

Quest. 2. What is that which makes God 
our Father ? 

Ans. Faith : Gal. iii. 26, " Ye are all the 
children of God by faith in Christ Jesus." 
An unbeliever may call God his Creator, 
and his Judge, but not his Father. Fa;ith 
doth legitimate us, and make us of the blood- 
royal of heaven. " Ye are the children of 
God by faith." Baptism makes us church- 
members, but faith makes us children : with- 
out faith the devil can show as good a coat 
of arms as we. 

Quest. 3. How doth faith make God to 
be our Father ? 

Ans. As faith is an uniting grace; by 
faith we have coalition and union with 
Christ, and so the kindred comes in ; being 
united to Christ, the natural Son, we be- 



OF THE PREFACE TO 



THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



383 



come adopted sons. God is the Father of 
Christ ; faith makes us Christ's brethren, 
Heb. ii. 11, and so God comes to be our' 
Father. 

Quest. 5. Wherein doth it appear that 
God is the best Father ? 

Ans. 1. In that he is most ancient, Dan. 
vii. 9, " The Ancient of days did sit." A 
figurative representation of God who was 
before all time, this may cause veneration. 

A. 2. God is the best Father, because he 
is perfect, Matt. v. 48, " Your Father which 
is in heaven is perfect ;" he is perfectly good. 
Earthly fathers are subject to infirmities : 
Elias (though a prophet) " was a man sub- 
ject to like passions," James v. 17, but God 
is perfectly good. All the perfection we can 
arrive at in this life is sincerity : we may a 
little resemble God, but not equal him ; he is 
infinitely perfect. 

A. 3. God is the best Father in respect of 
wisdom, 1 Tim. i. 17, " The only wise God." 
He hath a perfect idea of wisdom in himself ; 
he knows the fittest means to bring about his 
own designs ; the angels light at his lamp. 
In particular this is one branch of his wis- 
dom, that he knows what is best for us. An 
earthly parent knows not, in some intricate 
cases, how to advise his child, or what may 
be best for him to do : but God is a most wise 
Father, — he knows what is best for us, — he 
knows what comfort is best for us, — he keeps 
his cordials for fainting, 2 Cor. vii. 6, " God 
that comforteth those that are cast down," 
— he knows when affliction is best for us, 
and when it is fit to give a bitter potion. 
1 Pet. i. 6, " If need be ye are in heaviness." 
He is the only wise God ; he knows how to 
make evil things work for good to his chil- 
dren, Rom. viii. 28. He can make a sove- 
reign treacle of poison : thus he is the best 
Father for wisdom. 

A. 4. He is the best Father, because the 
most loving, 1 John iv. 16, " God is love." 
He who causeth bowels of affection in others, 
must needs have more bowels himself; quod 
efficit tale. The affections in parents are 
but marble and adamant in comparison of 
God's love to his children ; he gives them 
the cream of his love, electing love, saving- 
rove, Zeph. iii. 17, "He will rejoice over 



thee with joy, he will rest in his love, he will 
joy over thee with singing." No father like 
God for love ! If thou art his child, thou 
canst not love thy own soul so entirely as he 
loves thee. 

A. 5. God is the best Father, for riches ; 
God hath land enough to give to all his chil- 
dren, he hath unsearchable riches, Eph.'iii. 
8. He gives the hidden manna, the tree of 
life, rivers of joy ; God hath treasures that 
cannot be completed, gates of pearl. Who 
ever saw gates of pearl, — pleasures that can- 
not be ended 1 Earthly fathers, if they should 
be ever giving, they would have nothing left 
to give : God is ever giving to his children, 
yet hath not the less ; his riches are impart- 
ed not impaired ; like the sun that still shines, 
yet hath not the less light. He cannot be 
poor who is infinite. Thus God is the best 
Father ; he gives more to his children, than 
any father or prince can bestow. 

A. 6. God is the best Father, because he 
can reform his children. A father, when his 
son takes bad courses, knows not how to 
make him better; but God knows how to 
make the children of the election better ; he 
can change their hearts. When Paul was 
breathing out persecution against the saints, 
God soon altered his course, and set him a- 
praying, Acts ix. 11, " behold he prayeth." 
None of those who belong to the election are 
so rough-cast and unhewn, but God can 
polish them with his grace, and make them 
fit for the inheritance. 

A. 7. God is the best Father, because he 
never dies, 1 Tim. vi. 16, " Who only hath 
immortality." Earthly fathers die, and their 
children are exposed to many injuries, but 
God lives for ever, Rev. i. 8, " I am Alpha 
and Omega, the beginning and the end." 
God's crown hath no successors. 

Quest. 6. Wherein lies the dignity of 
such as have God for their Father ? 

Ans. 1. They have greater honour than is 
conferred on the princes of the earth ; they 
are precious in God's esteem, Isa. xliii. 4, 
" Since thou wast precious in my eyes, thou 
hast been honourable ;" the wicked are dross, 
Ps. cxix. 119, and chaff, Ps. i. 4, but God 
numbers his children among his jewels, Mai. 
iii. 17. He writes all his children's names 



§ 



384 



OF THE PREFACE TO 



THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



in the book of life, Phil. iv. 3, " Whose 
names are in the book of life." Among the 
Romans the names of their senators were 
written down in a book, — patres conscripti : 
God enrolls the names of his children, and 
will not blot their names out of the register, 
Rev. iii. 5, " I will not blot his name out of 
the book of life." God will not be ashamed 
of his children, Heb. xi. 16, " God is not 
ashamed to be called your God." One might 
think it were something below God, and he 
might disdain to father such children as are 
dust and sin mingled : but he is not ashamed 
to be called our God ; and that we may see 
he is not ashamed of his children, he writes 
his own name upon them, Rev. iii. 12, " I 
will write upon him the name of my God ;" 
that is, I will openly acknowledge him before 
all the angels to be my child ; I will write my 
name upon him, as the son bears his father's 
name : what an honour and dignity is this ! 

A. 2. God confers honourable titles upon 
his children : he calls them the excellent of 
the earth, Ps. xvi. 3, or the magnificent, as 
Junius renders it. They must needs be ex- 
cellent, who are e regio sanguine nati, — of 
the blood royal of heaven ; they are the 
spiritual phoenixes of the world, the glory of 
the creation. God calls his children his 
glory, Isa. xlvi. 13, " Israel my glory." God 
honours his children with the title of kings, 
Rev. i. 6, " And hath made us kings." All 
God's children are kings ; though they have 
not earthly kingdoms : yet, 1st. They carry 
a kingdom about them, Luke xvii. 21, " The 
kingdom of God is within you," grace is a 
kingdom set up in the hearts of God's chil- 
dren ; they are kings to rule over their sins, 
to bind those kings in chains, Ps. cxlix. 8. 
2d. They are like kings ; they have their in- 
signia regalia, — their ensigns of royalty and 
majesty. They have their crown ; in this 
life they are kings in a disguise ; they are not 
known, therefore they are exposed to poverty 
and reproach ; they are kings in a disguise ; 
1 John iii. 2, " Now we are the sons of God, 
and it doth not yet appear what we shall be." 
Why, what shall we be? Every son of God 
shall have his crown of glory, 1 Pet. v. 4, 
and white robes, Rev. vi. 11. Robes signify 
dignity, and white signifies sanctity. 



A. 3. This is their honour who have God 
for their Father, they are all heirs ; the 
youngest son is an heir. 1. God's children 
are heirs to the things of this life; God 
being their Father, they have the best title 
to earthly things, they have a sanctified 
right to them ; though they have often the 
least share, yet they have the best right ; and 
they have a blessing with what they have, 
i. e. God's love and favour. Others may 
have more of the venison, but God's chil- 
dren have more of the blessing : thus they 
are heirs to the things of this life. 2. They 
are heirs to the other world ; " heirs of sal- 
vation," Heb. i. 14 ; " Joint heirs with 
Christ," Rom. viii. 17. They are co-sharers 
with Christ in glory. Among men com- 
monly the eldest son carries away all, but 
God's children are all joint heirs with Christ, 
they have a co-partnership with him in his 
riches. Hath Christ a place in the celestial 
mansions ?- so have the saints, John xiv. 2, 
" In my Father's house are many mansions, 
I go to prepare a place for you." Hath 
he his Father's love ? so have they, Ps. 
cxlvi. 8. John xvii. 26, " That the love 
wherewith thou hast loved me, may be in 
them." Doth Christ sit upon a throne 1 so 
do God's children, Rev. iii. 21. What a high 
honour is this ! 

A. 4. God makes his children equal in 
honour to the angels, Luke xx. 36. They 
are equal to the angels, nay, those saints who 
have God for their father, are in some sense 
superior to the angels, for Jesus Christ 
having taken our nature, naturam nostrum 
nobilitavit, Aug., hath ennobled and honour- 
ed it above the angelical, Heb. ii. 16. God 
hath made his children, by adoption, nearer 
to himself than the angels. The angels are 
the friends of Christ, believers are the 
members of Christ, and this honour have 
all the saints. Thus you see the dignity 
of such as have God for their Father. What 
a comfort is this to God's children who are 
here despised, and loaded with calumnies 
and invectives 1 1 Cor. iv. 13, " We are 
made as the filth of the world," &c. But 
God will put honour upon his children at the 
last day, and crown them with immortal bliss, 
to the envy of their adversaries. 



OF THE PREFACE TO THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



385 



Quest. 7. How may we know that God is 
i our Father ? All cannot say, ' Our Father ;' 
£/*e Jews boasted that God was their Father, 
John viii. 41, " We have one Father, even 
! God." Christ tells them their pedigree, ver. 
| 44, " Ye are of your father the devil." They 
who are of satanical spirits, and make use 
of their power to beat down the power of 
godliness, cannot say, God is their Father ; 
\ they may say, < Our Father which art in 
hell.' Well then how may we know that 
God is our Father ? 
Ans. 1. By having a filial disposition : this 
, is seen in four things, 1. To melt in tears for 
sin : a child weeps for offending his father. 
When Christ looked on Peter, and he re- 
membered his sin in denying Christ, he fell 
a-weeping. Clemens Alexandrinus reports 
of Peter he never heard a cock crow, but he 
wept. This is a sign that God is our Father, 
I when the heart of stone is taken away, and 
there is a gracious thaw in the heart ; it melts 
I into tears for sin ; and he who hath a child- 
i like heart, mourns for sin in a spiritual man- 
ner, as it is sin ; he grieves for it, (1). As it 
is an act of pollution. Sin deflowers the 
virgin-soul ; it defaceth God's image ; it turns 
beauty into deformity ; 'tis called the " plague 
of the heart," 1 Kings viii. 38. It is the spirits 
of evil distilled. A child of God mourns for 
the defilement of sin ; sin hath a blacker 
aspect than hell. (2). He who hath a child- 
like heart, grieves for sin, as it is an act of 
enmity. Sin is diametrically opposite to God. 
It is called a walking contrary to God, Lev. 
xxvi. 40, " If they shall confess their iniquity, 
\ and that also they have walked contrary to 
; me." Sin doth all it can to spite God ; if God 
j be of one mind, sin will be of another ; sin 
would not only unthrone God, but it strikes 
at his very being ; if sin could help it, God 
should be no longer God. A childlike heart 
grieves for this ; " O," saith he, " that I 
should have so much enmity in me, that my 
will should be no more subdued to the will of 
my heavenly Father?" This springs a leak 
of godly sorrow. (3). A childlike heart 
I weeps for sin, as it is an act of ingratitude ; 
sin is an abuse of God's love ; it is taking the 
jewels of God's mercies, and making use of 
them to sin. God hath done more for his 
3 C 



children than others; he hath planted his 
grace and given them some intimations of his 
favour ; and to sin against kindness, dyes a 
sin in grain, and makes it crimson. Like 
Absalom, who, as soon as his Father kissed 
him, and took him into favour, plotted treason 
against him : nothing so melts a childlike 
heart in tears, as sins of unkindness : " O that 
I should sin against the blood of a Saviour,, 
and the bowels of a Father ! I condemn in- 
gratitude in my child, yet I am guilty of in- 
gratitude against my heavenly Father." This 
opens a vein of godly sorrow, and makes the 
heart bleed afresh : certainly this evidenceth 
God to be our Father, when he hath given us 
this childlike frame of heart, to weep for sin 
as it is sin, an act of pollution, enmity, in- 
gratitude : a wicked man may mourn for the 
bitter fruit of sin, but only a child of God can 
grieve for the odious nature of sin. 

2. A filial (or childlike) disposition is to 
be full of sympathy ; we lay to heart the dis- 
honours reflected upon our heavenly Father ; 
when we see God's worship adulterated, his 
truth mingled with the poison of error, it is 
as a sword in our bones, to see God's glory 
suffer, Ps. cxix. 158, " I beheld the trans- 
gressors and was grieved." Homer describ- 
ing Agamemnon's grief when he was forced 
to sacrifice his daughter Iphigenia, brings in 
all his friends weeping and condoling with 
him ; so, when God is dishonoured, we sympa- 
thize, and are as it were clad in mourning. 
A child that hath any good nature, is cut to the 
heart to hear his father reproached : an heir 
of heaven takes a dishonour done to God more 
heinous than a disgrace done to himself. 

3. A filial disposition, is to love our hea- 
venly Father ; he is unnatural that doth not 
love his father. God who is crowned with 
excellency, is the proper object of delight ; 
and every true child of God saith, as Peter, 
" Lord, thou knowest that I love thee." But 
who will not say he loves God ] If ours be a 
true genuine love to our heavenly Father, it 
may be known, 1st. By the effects : 1. Then 
we have a holy fear ; there is a fear which 
ariseth from love to God, that is, we fear the 
loss of the visible tokens of God's presence, 
1 Sam. iv. 13, ' Eli's heart trembled for the 
ark.' It is not said his heart trembled for 



386 



OF THE PREFACE TO 



THE LORD'S PRAYER, 



his two sons Hophni and Phinehas ; but his 
heart trembled for the ark, because the ark 
was the special sign of God's presence ; and 
if that were taken, the glory was departed. 
He who loves his heavenly Father, fears lest 
the tokens of his presence should be re- 
moved, lest profaneness should break in like 
a flood, lest popery should get head, and 
God should go from a people ; the presence 
of God in his ordinances is the glory and 
strength of a nation. The Trojans had the' 
image of Pallas, and they had an opinion 
that as long as that image was preserved 
among them, they should never be conquered : 
so long as God's presence is with a people, 
so long they are safe ; every true child of 
God fears lest God should go, and the glory 
depart. Try by this, whether we have a 
filial disposition : Do we love God, and doth 
this love cause fear and jealousy ] Are we 
afraid lest we should lose God's presence, 
lest the Sun of Righteousness remove out of 
our horizon 1 Many are afraid lest they should 
lose some of their worldly profits, but not lest 
they lose the presence of God ; if they may 
have peace and trading, they care not what 
become of the ark of God. A true child of 
God fears nothing so much as the loss of his 
Father's presence, Hos. ix. 12, " Wo also to 
them when I depart from them." — 2. Love 
to our heavenly Father is seen by loving his 
day, Isa. lviii. 13, " If thou call the sabbath 
a delight." The ancients called this regina 
dierum, — 'the queen of days.' If we love 
our Father in heaven, we spend this day in 
devotion, in reading, hearing, meditating ; on 
this day manna falls double. God sanctified 
the sabbath ; he made all the other days in 
the week, but he hath sanctified this day ; 
this day he hath crowned with a blessing. — 
3. Love to our heavenly Father is seen by 
loving his children, 1 John v. 1, " Every one 
that loveth him that begat, loveth him also 
that is begotten of him." If we love God, 
the more we see of God in any, the more we 
love them ; we love them though they are 
poor ; a child loves to see his father's picture, 
though hung in a mean frame ; we love the 
children of our Father, though they are per- 
secuted, 2 Tim. i. 16, " Onesiphorus was not 
ashamed of my chain." Constantine did kiss 



the hole of Paphnusius's eye, because he 
suffered the loss of his eye for Christ ; it 
appears they have no love to God, who have 
no love to his children ; they care not for 
their company ; they have a secret disgust and 
antipathy against them ; hypocrites pretend 
great reverence to the saints departed, they 
canonize dead saints but persecute living 
saints : I may say of these, as the apostle, 
Heb. xii. 8, "Then are bastards and not 
sons." — \.th. Effect of love : If we love our 
heavenly Father, then- we will be advocates 
for him, and stand up in the defence of his 
truth ; he who loves his father will plead for 
him when he is traduced and wronged ; he 
hath no childlike heart, no love to God, who 
can hear God's name dishonoured, and be 
silent. Doth Christ appear for us in heaven, 
and are we afraid to appear for him on earth 1 
Such as dare not own God and religion in 
times of danger, God will be ashamed to be 
called their God ; it would be a reproach to 
him to have such children as will not own 
him. 2d, A childlike love to God is known, 
as by the effects, so by the degree ; it is a 
superior love. We love our Father in heaven 
above all other things ; above estate, or rela- 
tions, as oil runs above the water, Ps. lxxiii. 
25. A child of God seeing a supereminency 
of goodness, and a constellation of all beauties 
in God, he is carried out in love to him in the 
highest measure ; as God gives his children 
such a love as he doth not bestow upon the 
wicked, electing love, so God's children give 
such a love as they bestow upon none else, 
adoring love ; they give him the flower and 
spirits of their love ; they love him with a 
love joined with worship, this spiced wine 
they keep only for their Father to drink of, 
Cant. viii. 2. 

4. A childlike disposition is seen in ho- 
nouring our heavenly Father, Mai. i. 6, "A 
son honoureth his father." 

Quest. How do we show our honour to 
our Father in heaven ? 

Ans. 1. By having a reverential awe of 
God upon us, Lev. xxv. 17, "Thou shalt 
fear thy God." This reverential fear of 
God, is, when we dare do nothing that he 
hath forbidden in his word, Gen. xxxix. 9, 
" How can I do this great wickedness, and 



OF THE PREFACE TO 



THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



387 



sin against God 1 It is the part of the honour 
a son gives to a Father, he fears to displease 
; him. We show our honour to our heavenly 
' Father, by doing all we can to exalt God, and 
■ make his excellencies shine forth : though 
we cannot lift up God higher in heaven, yet 
we may lift him higher in our hearts, and 
in the esteem of others. When we speak 
well of God, set forth his renown, display 
the trophies of his goodness, — when we as- 
| cribe the glory of all we do to God, — when 
! we are the trumpeters of God's praise, — 
this is an honouring our Father in heaven, 
and a certain sign of a childlike heart, Ps. 1. 
23, " Whoso offereth praise, glorifieth me." 

A. 2. We may know God is our Father, 
by our resembling of him ; the child is his fa- 
! ther's picture, Judg. viii. 18, " Each one re- 
! sembled the children of a king ;" every child 
of God resembles the king of heaven. Here- 
! in God's adopting children and man's differ : 
a man adopts one for his son and heir, that 
; doth not at all resemble him, but whosoever 
God adopts for his child, is like him ; he not 
only bears his heavenly Father's name, but 
image, Col. iii. 10, " And have put on the 
new man, which is renewed after the image 
J of him that created him." He who hath God 
: for his Father, resembles God in holiness ; 
! holiness is the glory of the Godhead, Exod. 
xv. 11. The holiness of God is the intrinsic 
purity of his essence. He who hath God for 
his Father, partakes of the divine nature ; 
! though not of the divine essence, yet of the 
' divine likeness ; as the seal sets its print and 
likeness upon the wax, so he who hath God 
for his Father, hath the print and effigies of 
his holiness stamped upon him, Ps. cvi. 16, 
"Aaron the saint of the Lord." Wicked 
men desire to be like God hereafter in glory, 
but do not affect to be like him here in grace ; 
they give it out to the world that God is 
their Father, yet have nothing of God to be 
seen in them ; they are unclean ; they not 
only want his image, but hate it. 

A. 3. We may know God is our Father, 
by having his Spirit in us : 1st. By having 
the intercession of the Spirit ; it is a spirit of 
prayer, Gal. iv. 6, " Because ye are sons, 
God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son in- 
to your hearts, crying, Abba, Father." Prayer 



is the soul's breathing itself into the bosom of 
its heavenly Father : none of God's children 
are born dumb. Implet Spiritus Sanctus 
organum suum, et tanquam pila chordarum 
tangit Spiritus Dei corda sanctorum, 
Prosper. Acts ix. 11, "Behold he prayeth." 
But it is not every prayer evidenceth God's 
Spirit in us. Such as have no grace may 
excel in gifts, and affect the hearts of others 
in prayer, when their own hearts are not af- 
fected ; as the lute makes a sweet sound in 
the ears of others, but itself is not sensible. 
How therefore shall we know our prayers 
are indited by God's Spirit, and so he is our 
Father I 

1. When they are not only vocal, but 
mental ; when there are not only gifts but 
groans, Rom. viii. 26. The best music is in 
concert ; the best prayer is when heart and 
tongue join together in concert. 

2. When they are zealous and fervent, 
James v. 16, " The effectual fervent prayer 
of a righteous man availeth much." The 
eyes melt in prayer, the heart burns. Ferven- 
cy is to prayer, as fire to the incense; it makes 
it ascend to heaven as a sweet perfume. 

3. When prayer hath faith sprinkled in it ; 
prayer is the key of heaven, and faith is the 
hand that turns it, Rom. viii. 15, " We cry, 
Abba, Father," ' We cry,' there is fervency 
in prayer ; " Abba, Father," there is faith. 
Those prayers suffer shipwreck which dash 
upon the rock of unbelief. Thus we may 
know God is our Father by having his Spirit 
praying in us ; as Christ intercedes above, so 
the Spirit intercedes within. 1st, By having 
the renewing of the Spirit, which is nothing 
else but regeneration, which is called a being 
born of the Spirit, John iii. 5. This regene- 
rating work of the Spirit is a transformation 
or change of nature, Rom. xii. 2, " Be ye 
transformed by the renewing of your mind." 
He who is born of God, hath a new heart ; 
new, not for substance, but for qualities. The 
strings of a viol may be the same, but the 
tune is altered. Before this regeneration, 
there are spiritual pangs, much heart-break- 
ing for sin. Regeneration is called a circum- 
cision of the heart, Col. ii. 11. In circum- 
cision there was a pain in the flesh ; so in 
this spiritual circumcision there is a pain in 



388 



OF THE PREFACE TO 



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the heart, there is much sorrow arising from 
the sense of guilt and wrath. The gaoler's 
trembling, Acts xvi. 30, was a pang in the 
new birth. God's spirit is a spirit of bondage, 
before it be a spirit of adoption. This blessed 
work of regeneration spreads over the whole 
soul ; it irradiates the mind ; it consecrates 
the heart, and reforms the life ; though rege- 
neration be but in part, yet it is in every 
part, 1 Thess. v. 23, regeneration is the sig- 
nature and engraving of the Holy Ghost 
upon the soul ; the new born Christian is be- 
spangled with the jewels of the graces, which 
are the angels' glory. Regeneration is the 
spring of all true joy ; at our first birth we 
come weeping into the world, but at our new 
birth there is cause of rejoicing, for now, God 
is our Father, and we are begotten to a lively 
hope of glory, 1 Pet. i. 3. We may try by 
this our relation to God. Hath a regenerating 
work of God's Spirit passed upon our souls'? 
Are we made of another spirit, humble and 
heavenly 1 this is a good sign of sonship, and 
we may say, " Our Father which art in hea- 
ven." 3d. By having the conduct of the 
Spirit ; we are led by the Spirit ; Rom. viii. 
14, « As many as are led by the Spirit of God, 
they are the sons of God." God's Spirit 
doth not only quicken us in our regeneration 
but leads us on till we come to the end of our 
faith, salvation. It is not enough the child 
have life, but he must be led every step by 
the nurse, Hos. xi. 3, " I taught Ephraim 
also to go, taking them by their arms." Their 
arms ; as the Israelites had the cloud and pil- 
lar of fire to go before them, and be a guide 
to them, so God's Spirit is a guide to go be- 
fore us, and lead us into all truth, and coun- 
sel us in all our doubts, and influence us in 
all our actions, Ps. lxxiii. 24, " Thou shalt 
guide me with thy counsel." None can call 
God' Father, but such as have the conduct of 
the Spirit. Try then what spirit you are led 
by. Such as are led by a spirit of envy, lust, 
avarice, these are not led by the Spirit of 
God ; it were blasphemy for them to call 
God, Father ; these are led by the spirit of 
Satan, and may say, " Our Father which art 
in hell." 4Jh. By having the witness of the 
Spirit, Rom. viii. 16, "The Spirit itself 
beareth witness with our spirit, that we are 



the children of God." This witness of the 
Spirit, snggesting that God is our Father, is 
not a vocal witness or voice from heaven ; 
" the Spirit, in the word witnesseth :" the 
Spirit, in the word saith, he who is qualified, 
who is a hater of sin, and a lover of holiness, 
is a child of God, and God is his Father. If 
I can find such qualifications wrought, here 
is the Spirit witnessing with my spirit, that I 
am a child of God. Besides, we may carry 
it higher ; the Spirit of God witnesseth to 
our spirit, by making more than ordinary 
impressions upon our hearts, and giving some 
secret hints and whispers that God hath pur- 
poses of love to us, here is a concurrent wit- 
ness of the Spirit with conscience, that we 
are heirs of heaven, and God is our Father ; 
this witness is better felt than expressed; this 
witness scatters doubts and fears, silenceth 
temptations. But what shall one do that hath 
not this witness of the Spirit ] If we want 
the witness of the Spirit, let us labour to find 
the work of the Spirit ; if we have not the 
Spirit testifying, labour to have it sanctifying, 
and that will be a support to us. 

A. 4. If God be our Father, we are of 
peaceable spirits : Matt. v. 9, " Blessed be 
the peace-makers, they shall be called the 
children of God." Grace infuseth a sweet, 
amicable disposition ; it files off the rugged- 
ness of men's spirits ; it turns the lion-like 
fierceness into a lamb-like gentleness, Isa. 
xi. 7. They who have God to be their Fa- 
ther, follow peace as well as holiness. God 
the Father is called the " God of peace," 
Heb. xiii. 20 ; God the Son, the < Prince of 
peace,' Isa. x. 6 ; God the Holy Ghost is a 
Spirit of peace," it is called " the unity of 
the Spirit in the bond of peace," Eph. iv. 3. 
The more peaceable, the more like God. It 
is a sad sign God is not their Father, 1st. 
Who are fierce and cruel, as if with Romu- 
lus, they had sucked the milk of a wolf, 
Rom. iii. 17, " The way of peace have they 
not known," they sport in mischief ; these 
are they who are of a persecuting spirit, as 
Maximinus, Dioclesian, Antiochus, who (as 
Eusebius) took more tedious journies, and 
ran more hazards in vexing and persecuting 
the Jews, than any of his predecessors had 
done in getting of victories. These furies 



OF THE PREFACE TO THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



389 



cannot call God Father ! if they do, they will 
have as little comfort in saying Father, as 
Dives had in hell, when he said, " Father 
Abraham," Luke xvi. 24. 2dly. Who are 
makers of division, Rom. xvi. 17, "Mark 
them which cause divisions, and avoid them. 
Such as are born of God, are makers of peace ; 
what shall we think of such as are makers of 
divisions I Will God father these 1 The 
devil made the first division in heaven ; they 
may call the devil father ; they may give the 
cloven foot in their coat of arms ; their sweet- 
est music is in discord ; they unite to divide. 
Samson's fox tails were tied together, only to 
set the Philistines' corn on fire, Judges xv. 
4. Papists unite, only to set the church's 
peace on fire. Satan's kingdom grows up 
by division. St Chrysostom observes of the 
church of Corinth, when many converts were 
brought in, Satan knew no better way to 
dam up the current of religion, than to throw 

! in an apple of strife, and divide them into 
parties ; one was for Paul, and another for 
Apollos, but few for Christ. Would Christ 

I not have his coat rent, and can he endure to 
have his body rent ? Sure God will never 
father them who are not sons of peace. Of 

| all them whom God hates, he is named for 
one, who is a sower of discord among bre- 
thren, Prov. vi. 19. 

A. 5. If God be our Father ; then we love 

I to be near God, and have converse with him. 
An ingenuous child delights to approach near 
to his father, and go into his presence. 
David envied the birds that they built their 

- nests so near God's altars, when he was de- 
barred his Father's house, Ps. lxxxiv. 3. 
True saints love to get as near to God as 
they can ; in the word they draw near to his 
holy oracle, in the sacrament they draw near 

| to his table ; a child of God delights to be in his 

: Father's presence ; he cannot stay away long 

. from God ; he seeth a sabbath-day approach- 

i ing, and rejoiceth ; his heart hath been often 
melted and quickened in an ordinance ; he 
hath tasted the Lord is good, therefore he 
loves to be in his Father's presence ; he cannot 
keep away long from God. Such as care not 
for ordinances cannot say, " Our Father 

' which art in heaven." Is God their Father, 
who cannot endure to be in his presence 1 



Use 1st. Of instruction. See the amaz- 
ing goodness of God, that is pleased to enter 
into this sweet relation of a Father. God 
needed not to adopt us ; he did not want a 
Son, but we wanted a Father. God showed 
power in being our Maker, but mercy in 
being our Father ; when we were ene- 
mies, and our hearts stood out as garrisons 
against God, that he should conquer our 
stubbornness, and of enemies make us chil- 
dren, and write his name, and put his image 
upon us, and bestow a kingdom of glory, 
what a miracle of mercy is this ! Every 
adopted child may say, " Even so Father, for 
so it seemed good in thy sight," Matt. xi. 26. 

2d. Branch, or Inference. If God be a 
Father, then hence I infer, Whatever he doth 
to his children, is love. 

1. If he smiles upon them in prosperity, it 
is love ; they have the world not only with 
God's leave, but with his love. God saithto 
every child of his, as Naaman to Gehazi, 
2 Kings v. 23, " Be content, take two ta- 
lents." So saith God to his child, ' I am thy 
Father, take two talents.' Take health, and 
take my love with it ; take an estate, ,and 
take my love with it ; take two talents. God's 
love is a sweetening ingredient into every 
mercy. 

Quest. How doth it appear that a child 
of God hath worldly things in love ? 

Ans. 1. Because he hath a good title to 
them. God is his Father, therefore he hath 
a good title. A wicked man hath a civil 
title to the creature, but no more ; he hath 
it not from the hand of a father ; he is like 
one that takes up cloth at the draper's, and 
it is not paid for ; but a believer hath a good 
title to every foot of land he hath ; his Father 
hath settled it upon him. 

A. 2. A child of God hath worldly things 
in love, because they are sanctified to him : 
1. They make him better, and are loadstones 
to draw him nearer to God. 2. He hath his 
Father's blessing with them. A little blest 
is sweet, Exod. xxiii. 25, " He shall bless thy 
bread and thy water." Esau had the veni- 
son, but Jacob got the blessing. While the 
wicked have their meat sauced with God's 
wrath, Ps. lxxviii. 30, 31, believers have their 
comforts seasoned with a blessing. It was 



390 



OF THE PREFACE TO 



THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



a sacred blessing from God made Daniel's 
pulse nourish him more, and made him look 
fairer than they that ate of the king's meat, 
Dan. i. 15. 

A. 3. A child of God hath worldly things 
in love, because whatever he hath is an earn- 
est of more ; every bit of bread is a pledge 
and earnest of glory. 

2. God being a Father, if he frown, if he 
dip his pen in gall, and write bitter things ; 
if he correct, it is in love ; a father loves his 
child as well when he doth chastise and dis- 
cipline him, as when he settles his land on 
him, Rev. iii. 19, " As many as 1 love, I re- 
buke." Afflictions are sharp arrows (saith 
Gregory Nazianzen) but they are shot from 
the hand of a loving Father. Correctio est 
virtutis gymnasium. God afflicts with the 
same love he gives Christ ; he doth it to 
humble and purify ; gentle correction is as 
necessary as daily bread, nay, as needful as 
ordinances, as word and sacraments. There 
is love in all ; God smites that he may save. 

3. God being a Father, if he desert and 
hide his face from his child, it is in love. 
Desertion is sad in itself, a short hell, Job 
vi. 9. When the light is withdrawn, the dew 
falls. Yet we may see a rainbow in the 
cloud, the love of a father in all this. 1st, 
God hereby quickens grace. Perhaps grace 
lay dormant, Cant. v. 2. It was as fire in 
the embers ; and God withdraws comfort, to 
invigorate and exercise grace ; faith is a star 
sometimes shines brightest in the dark night 
of desertion, Jonah ii. 4. 2t%, When God 
hides his face from his child, yet still he is a 
Father, and his heart is towards his child ; as 
Joseph, when he spake roughly to his bre- 
thren, and made them believe he would take 
them for spies, still his heart was full of love, 
and he was fain to go aside and weep : so 
God's bowels yearn to his children, when he 
seems to look strange, Isa. liv. 8, " In a little 
wrath I hid my face from thee, but with ever- 
lasting kindness will I have mercy on thee." 
Though God may have the look of an enemy, 
yet still he hath the heart of a Father. 

3d. Branch, or Inference. Learn hence 
the sad case of the wicked : they cannot say, 
" Our Father in heaven ;" they may say, 
' Our Judge,' but not 1 Our Father ;' they 



fetch their pedigree from hell, John viii. 44, 
" Ye are of your father the devil." Such as 
are unclean and profane are the spurious 
brood of the old serpent, and it were blas- 
phemy for them to call God, Father. The 
case of the wicked is deplorable ; if they are 
in misery, they have none to make their 
moan to ; God is not their Father, he dis- 
claims all kindred with them, Matt. vii. 23, 
" I never knew you : depart from me, ye that 
work iniquity ;" the wicked, dying in their 
sins, can expect no mercy from God as a 
Father ; many say, He that made them will 
save them ; but, Isa. xxvii. 11, " It is a peo- 
ple of no understanding, therefore he that 
made them, will not have mercy on them." 
Though God was their Father by creation, 
yet because they were not his children by 
adoption, ' therefore he that made them would 
not save them.' 

Use 2d. Of exhortation. To persuade all 
who are yet strangers to God, to labour to 
come into this heavenly kindred ; never leave 
till you can say, " Our Father which art in 
heaven." 

Quest. But will God be a Father to me, ■ 
who have 'profaned his name, and been a 
great sinner ? 

Ans. If thou wilt now at last seek to God 
by prayer, and break off thy sins, God hath 
the bowels of a father for thee, and will in no 
wise cast thee out. When the prodigal did 
arise and go to his father, " his father had 
compassion, and ran and fell on his neck, 
and kissed him," Luke xv. 20. Though 
thou hast been a prodigal, and almost spent 
all upon thy lusts, yet, if thou wilt give a bill 
of divorce to thy sins, and flee to God by re- 
pentance, know that he hath the bowels of a 
father ; he will embrace thee in the arms of 
his mercy, and seal thy pardon with a kiss. 
What though thy sins have been heinous ? 
the wound is not so broad as the plaster of 
Christ's blood. The sea covers great rocks ; 
the sea of God's compassion can drown thy 
great sins ; therefore be not discouraged, — 
go to God, — resolve to cast thyself upon his 
fatherly bowels, — God may be entreated of 
thee as he was of him : see Manasseh's case, 
2 Chron. xxxiii. 13. 

Use 3d. Of comfort, to such as can upon 



OF THE PREFACE TO THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



391 



good grounds call God, Father. There's 
more sweetness in this word Father than if 
we had ten thousand worlds. David thought 
it a great matter to be son-in-law to a king, 
1 Sam. xviii. 18, " What is my father's 
family, that I should be son-in-law to the 
king'?" But what is it to be born of God, 
and have God for our Father] 

Quest. Wherein lies the happiness of 
having God for our Father ? 

Ans. 1. If God be our Father, then he will 

I teach us. What father will refuse to counsel 
his son? Doth God command parents to 
instruct their children, Deut. iv. 10, and will 
not he instruct his? Isa. xlviii. 17, " I am 
the Lord thy God, which teacheth thee to 
profit." Ps. lxxi. 17, "O God thou hast 
taught me from my youth !" If God be our 
Father, he will give us the teachings of his 
Spirit : " The natural man receiveth not the 
things of God, neither can he know them," 

I 1 Cor. ii. 14. The natural man may have 

; excellent notions in divinity, but God must 
teach us to know the mysteries of the gospel 
after a spiritual manner. A man may see the 
figures upon a dial, but he cannot tell how the 
day goes, unless the sun shine ; we may read 
many truths in the Bible, but we cannot know 
them savingly, till God by his Spirit shine 
upon our soul. God teacheth not only our 
ear, but our heart ; he not only informs our 
mind, but inclines our will ; we never learn 
till God teach us. If God be our Father, he 
will teach us how to order our affairs with 
discretion, Ps. cxii. 5. How to carry our- 
selves wisely, 1 Sam. xviii. 5, " David behaved 
himself wisely." He will teach us what to 
answer when we are brought before govern- 

! ors ; he will put words into our mouths, Matt, 
x. 18, 19, 20, " Ye shall be brought before 
governors and kings for my sake, but take no 
thought how or what ye shall speak ; for it is 

! not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your 
Father which speaketh in you." 

2. If God be our Father, then he hath 
bowels of affection towards us. If it be so 
unnatural for a father but to love his child, 
can we think God can be defective in his 
love? All the affections of parents come 
from God, yet are but a spark from his flame. 
He is the " Father of mercies," 2 Cor. i. 3. 



He begets all the mercies and bowels in the 
creature ; his love to his children, is a love 
" which passeth knowledge," Eph. iii. 19. It 
exceeds all dimensions ; it is higher than 
heaven, it is broader than the sea. That you 
may see God's fatherly love to his children : 

1. Consider God makes a precious valuation 
of them, Isa. xliii. 4, " Since thou wast pre- 
cious in my sight." A father prizeth his 
child above his jewels ; their names are pre- 
cious, for they have God's own name written 
upon them, Rev. iii. 12, " I will write upon 
him the name of my God." Their prayers 
are a precious perfume ; their tears God bot- 
tles, Ps. lvi. 8. God esteems his children as 
a crown of glory in his hands, Isa. lxv. 3. — 

2. God loves the places they were born in 
the better for their sakes, Ps. lxxxvii. 6, " Of 
Zion it shall be said, This man was born in 
her ;" this and that believer was born there ; 
God loves the ground his children tread upon ; 
hence Judea, the seat of God's children and 
chosen, God calls a " delightsome land," 
Mai. iii. 12. It was not only pleasant for 
situation and fruitfulness, but because God's 
children, who were his Hephzibah, or de- 
light, lived there. — 3. He charged the great 
ones of the world not to prejudice his chil- 
dren ; their persons are sacred, Ps. cv. 14, 
15, " He suffered no man to do them wrong ; 
yea, he reproved kings for their sakes, saying, 
' Touch not mine anointed.' " By anointed, 
is meant the children of the high God, who 
have the unction of the Spirit, and are set 
apart for God. — 4. God delights in their 
company ; he loves to see their countenance, 
and hear their voice, Cant. ii. 13. He cannot 
refrain long from their company : let but two 
or three of his children meet and pray to- 
gether, he will be sure to be among them, 
Matt, xviii. 20, " Where two or three are 
met together in my name, I am in the midst 
of them." — 5. God bears his children in his 
bosom, as a nursing father doth the sucking 
child, Numb. xi. 12, Isa. xlvi. 4. To be 
carried in God's bosom, shows how near his 
children lie to his heart. — 6. God is full of 
solicitous care for them, 1 Pet. v. 7, " He 
careth for you." His eye is still upon them, 
they are never out of his thoughts. A father 
cannot always take care for his child, he 



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sometimes is asleep ; but God is a Father 
that never sleeps. Ps. cxxi. 4, He neither 
slumbereth nor sleepeth. — 7. He thinks 
nothing too good to part with to his children ; 
he gives them the kidneys of the wheat, and 
honey out of the rock, and " Wine on the 
lees well-refined," Isa. xxv. 6. He gives 
them three jewels more worth than heaven, 
the blood of his Son, the grace of his Spirit, 
the light of his countenance. Never was 
there such an indulgent, affectionate Father. 
— 8. If God hath one love better than another, 
he bestows it upon them ; they have the 
cream and quintessence of his love ; " he will 
rejoice over thee, he will rest in his love," 
Zeph. iii. 17. God loves his children with 
such a love as he loves Christ, John xvii. 26. 
It is the same love, for the unchangeableness 
of it ; God will no more cease to love his 
adopted sons, than he will to love his natural 
Son. 

3. If God be our Father, he will be full of 
sympathy, Ps. ciii. 13, " As a father pitieth 
his children, so the Lord pitieth them that 
fear him," Jer. xxxi. 20, " Is Ephraim my 
dear son? my bowels are troubled for him." 
God pities his children in two cases ; 1st. In 
case of infirmities ; 2d. Injuries. 

(1) . In case of infirmities. If the child be 
deformed, or hath any bodily distemper, the 
father pities it: if God be our Father, he 
pities our weaknesses, and he so pities them 
as to heal them, Isa. lvii. 18, " I have seen 
his ways, and will heal him." As God hath 
bowels to pity, so he hath balsam to heal. 

(2) . In case of injuries. Every blow of 
the child goes to the father's heart : when 
the saints suffer, God doth sympathize, Isa. 
lxiii. 9, " In all their afflictions he was afflict- 
ed." He did, as it were, bleed in their 
wounds. " Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou 
me V 1 When the foot was trod on, the head 
cried out, Judges x. 16 ; God's soul was 
grieved for the children of Israel. As when 
one string in a lute is touched, all the rest of 
the strings sound : when God's children are 
stricken, his bowels sound, Zech. ii. 8, " He 
that toucheth you, toucheth the apple of my 
eye." 

4. If God be our Father, he will take notice 
of the least good he sees in us ; if there be 



but a sigh for sin, God hears it, Ps. xxxviii. 
9, " My groaning is not hid from thee." If 
there be but a penitential tear comes out of 
our eye, God sees it, Isa. xxxviii. 5, " I have 
seen thy tears." If there be but a good in- 
tention, God takes notice, 1 Kings viii. 18, 
" Whereas it was in thy heart to build an 
house to my name, thou didst well that it was 
in thine heart." God punisheth intentional 
wickedness, and crowns intentional good- 
ness, " Thou didst well that it was in thine 
heart." God takes notice of the least scin- 
tilla, the least spark of grace in his children, 
1 Pet. iii. 6, " Sarah obeyed Abraham, call- 
ing him lord ;" the Holy Ghost doth not men- 
tion Sarah's unbelief, or laughing at the pro- 
mise, — he puts a finger upon the scar, winks 
at her failing, — and only takes notice of the 
good that was in her, her obedience to her 
husband; she "obeyed Abraham, calling him 
lord." Nay, that good which the saints 
scarce take notice of in themselves, God in 
a special manner observes, Matt. xxv. 35, 
37, "I was an hungered and ye gave me 
meat, I was thirsty and ye gave me drink. 
Then shall the righteous say, Lord, when saw 
we thee an hungered and fed thee?' They 
did as it were overlook and disclaim their own 
works of charity, yet Christ doth take notice, 
" I was an hungered and ye fed me." What 
comfort is this ! God spies the least good in 
his children ; he can see a grain of corn hid 
under chaff, grace hid under corruption. 

5. If God be our Father, he will take all 
we do in good part. Those duties we our- 
selves censure, God will crown. When a 
child of God looks over his best duties, he 
sees so much sin cleaving to them, that he 
is even confounded : " Lord," saith he, 
" there is more sulphur than incense in my 
prayers." But for your comfort, if God be 
your Father, he will crown those duties 
which you yourselves censure ; God sees 
there is sincerity in the hearts of his chil- 
dren, and this gold — though light — shall 
have grains of allowance ; though there 
may be defects in the services of God's 
children, yet God will not cast away their 
offering, 2 Chron. xxx. 20, " The Lord heal- 
ed the people." The tribes of Israel being 
straitened in time, wanted some legal pu- 



OF THE PREFACE TO THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



393 



rifications ; yet because their hearts were 
right God healed them, he pardoned them. 
God accepts of the good will, 2 Cor. viii. 12. 
A father takes a letter from his son kindly, 
though there are blots or bad English in it. 
What blottings are there in our holy things ? 
Yet our Father in heaven accepts ; saith God, 
i It is my child, and he will do better ; I will 
look upon him, through Christ, with a merci- 
ful eye." 

6. If God be our Father, then he will cor- 
rect us in measure, Jer. xxx. 11, " I will cor- 
rect thee in measure ;" and that two ways : 
1st, It shall be in measure, for the kind ; God 
will not lay upon us more than we are able to 
bear, 1 Cor. x. 13. He knows our frame, Ps. 
ciii. 14. He knows we are not steel or mar- 
ble, therefore will deal gently ; he will not 
over-afflict ; as the physician that knows the 
temper of the body, will not give physic too 
strong for the body ; nor will he give one 
drachm or scruple too much. God hath not 
only the title of a father, but the bowels of a 
father ; he will not lay too heavy burthens on 
his children, lest their spirits fail before him. 
2dly, He will correct in measure for the dura- 
tion ; he will not let the affliction lie on too 
long, Ps. cxxv. 3, " The rod of the wicked 
shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous." 
It may be there, and not rest, Isa. lvii. 16, 
" I will not contend for ever." Our heavenly 
Father will love for ever, but he will not con- 
tend for ever. The torments of the damned 
are for ever, Rev. xiv. 11, "The smoke of 
their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever." 
The wicked shall drink a sea of wrath, but 
God's children only taste of the cup of afflic- 
tion, and their heavenly Father will say, 
transeat calix, — let this cup pass away from 
them, Isa. xxxv. 10. A sting a-wing. 

7. If God be our Father, he will intermix 
mercy with all our afflictions ; if he gives us 
wormwood to drink, he will mix it with 
honey. In the ark the rod was laid up, and 
manna ; with our Father's rod there is always 
some manna. " Asher's shoes were iron and 
brass, but his foot was dipt in oil," Deut. 
xxxiii. 24. Affliction is the shoe of brass 
that pincheth ; but there is mercy in the afflic- 
tion, — there is the foot dipt in oil. When 
God afflicts the body, he gives peace of con- 

3D 



science ; there is mercy in the affliction. An 
affliction comes to prevent falling into sin ; 
there is mercy in an affliction. Jacob had his 
thigh hurt in wrestling, — there was the afflic- 
tion ; but when he saw God's face, and re- 
ceived a blessing from the angel, Gen. xxxii. 
30, there was mercy in the affliction. In 
every cloud a child of God may see a rain- 
bow of mercy shining. As the limner mixeth 
dark shadows and bright colours together, so 
our heavenly Father mingles the dark and 
bright together, crosses and blessings ; and is 
not this a great happiness, for God thus to 
chequer his providences, and mingle good- 
ness with severity 1 

8. If God be our Father, the evil one shall 
not prevail against us. Satan is called ' the 
evil one,' emphatically ; he is the grand 
enemy of the saints ; and that both in a mili- 
tary sense, as he fights against them with 
his temptations, — and in a forensical or law 
sense, as he is an accuser, and pleads against 
them ; yet neither way shall he prevail against 
God's children. As for his shooting his fiery 
darts, God will bruise Satan shortly under 
the saints' feet, Rom. xvi. 20. As for Tiis 
accusing, Christ is advocate for the saints, 
and answers all bills of indictment brought 
in against them. God will make all Satan's 
temptations promote the good of his children. 
1st, As they set them more a-praying, 2 Cor. 
xii. 8. Temptation is a medicine for security. 
2dly, As they are a means to humble them, 
2 Cor. xii. 7, Lest I should be exalted above 
measure, there was given me a thorn in the 
flesh. The thorn in the flesh was a tempta- 
tion ; this thorn was to prick the bladder of 
pride. Sdly, As they establish them more in 
grace ; a tree shaken by the wind is more 
settled and rooted ; the blowing of a tempta- 
tion doth but settle a child of God more in 
grace. Thus the evil one, Satan, shall not 
prevail against the children of God. 

9. If God be our Father, no real evil shall 
befall us, Ps. xci. 10, " There shall no evil 
befall thee." It is not said, no trouble : but, 
no evil. God's children are privileged per- 
sons; they are privileged from the hurt of 
every thing, Luke x, 19, "Nothing shall 
by any means hurt you." The hurt and 
malignity of the affliction is taken away ; 



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affliction to a wicked man hath evil in it ; it 
makes him worse, Rev. xvi. 9, " Men were 
scorched with great heat and blasphemed the 
name of God." But no evil befalls a child of 
God ; he is bettered by affliction, Heb. xii. 10, 
" That ye might be made partakers of his holi- 
ness." What hurt doth the furnace to the 
gold ? It only makes it purer. What hurt 
doth afflictions to grace? Only refine and 
purify it. What a great privilege is this, to 
be freed, though not from the stroke of afflic- 
tion, yet from the sting ! No evil shall touch 
a saint ; when the dragon hath poisoned the 
water, they say, the unicorn with his horn 
doth draw out the poison : Christ hath drawn 
out the poison of every affliction, that it can- 
not prejudice a child of God. Again, no 
evil befalls a child of God, because no con- 
demnation, Rom. viii. 1, " No condemnation 
to them that are in Christ Jesus." God doth 
not condemn them, nor conscience doth not 
condemn them. Both jury and judge acquit 
them ; then no evil befalls them, for nothing 
is really an evil but that which damns. 

10. If God be our Father, this may make 
us go with cheerfulness to the throne of 
grace. Were a man to petition his enemy, 
there were little hope ; but when a child peti- 
tions his father, he may work with confidence 
to speed. The word father works upon God, 
it toucheth his very bowels. What can a 
father deny his child? " If a son ask bread 
will he give him a stone ?" Matt. vii. 9. This 
may embolden us to go to God for pardon of 
sin, and further degrees of sanctity. We 
pray to a Father of mercy sitting upon a 
throne of grace, Luke xi. 13, " If ye then, 
being evil, know how to give good gifts to 
your children, how much more shall your 
heavenly Father give his Spirit to them that 
ask him?" This did quicken the church, and 
add wings to prayer, Isa. lxiii. 15, " Look 
down from heaven ;" v. 16, " Doubtless thou 
art our Father." Who doth God keep his 
mercies for, but his children ? Three things 
may cause boldness in prayer : we have a 
Father to pray to, and the Spirit to help us 
to pray, and an Advocate to present our 
prayers. God's children should in all their 
troubles run to their heavenly Father, as that 
sick child, 2 Kings iv. 19, " He said unto his 



father, my head, my head." So pour out thy 
complaint to God in prayer, "Father, my 
heart, my heart ! my dead heart ! quicken it ; 
my hard heart, soften it in Christ's blood ! 
Father, my heart ! my heart !" Sure, God, 
that hears the cry of the ravens, will hear 
the cry of his children. 

11. If God be our Father, he will stand 
between us and danger ; a father will keep 
off danger from his child. God calls himself 
Scutum, a shield ; a shield defends the head, 
guards the vitals : God shields off danger from 
his children. Acts xviii. 10, " I am with thee, 
and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee." 
God is a hiding-place, Ps. xxyii. 5. God pre- 
served Athanasius strangely ; he put it into 
his mind to depart out of the house he was in, 
the night before the enemy came to search 
for him. As God hath a breast to feed, so he 
hath wings to cover his children, Ps. xci. 4, 
" He shall cover thee with his feathers, and 
under his wings shalt thou trust." God ap- 
points his holy angels to be a lifeguard about 
his children, Heb. i. 14. Never was any 
prince so well guarded as a believer. The 
angels, 1st. are a numerous guard, 2 Kings 
vi. 17, " The mountain was full of horses and 
chariots of fire round about Elisha." The 
horses and chariots of fire were the angels of 
God, to defend the prophet Elisha. 2dly. A 
strong guard; one angel, in a night, slew 
a hundred and fourscore, and five thou- 
sand, 2 Kings xix. 32. If one angel slew 
so many, what would an army of angels 
have done? 3dty. The angels are a swift 
guard ; they are ready in an instant to help 
God's children : therefore they are described 
with wings, to show their swiftness ; they 
fly to our help, Dan. ix. 21, 23, "At the 
beginning of thy supplication the command- 
ment came forth, and I am come to thee." 
Here was a swift motion for the angel to 
come from heaven to earth between the 
beginning and ending of Daniel's prayer. 
falily. The angels are a watchful guard ; 
not like Saul's guard, asleep when their lord 
was in danger, 1 Sam. xxvi. 12. The an- 
gels are a vigilant guard, they watch over 
God's children to defend them, Ps. xxxiv. 7, 
" The angel of the Lord encampeth round 
about them that fear him." There is an in- 



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395 



visible guardianship of angels about God's 
children. 

12. If God be our Father, we shall not 
want any thing that he sees is good for us, 
Ps. xxxiv. 10, " They that seek the Lord shall 
not want any good thing." God is pleased 
sometimes to keep his children to hard com- 
mons, but it is good for them ; sheep thrive 
best on short pasture : God sees too much 
may not be good : plenty breeds surfeit. 
Luxuriant animi rebus secundis. God sees 
it good sometimes to diet his children, and 
keep them short, that they may run the hea- 
venly race the better ; it was good for Jacob 
there was a famine in the land, it was a 
means to bring him to his son Joseph : so it 
is that God's children sometimes see the 
world's emptiness, that they may acquaint 
themselves more with Christ's fulness. If 
God see it be good for them to have more of 
the world they shall have it : God will not 
let them want any good thing. 

13. If God be our Father, all the promises 
of the Bible belong to us ; God's children are 
called " heirs of promise," Heb. vi. 17. A 
wicked man can lay claim to nothing in the 
Bible but the curses ; he hath no more to do 
absolutely with the promises, than a plough- 
man hath to do with the city charter ; the 
promises are children's bread ; the promises 
are mulctralia Evangelii, the breasts of the 
gospel milking out consolations ; and who 
are to suck of these breasts but God's chil- 
dren % The promise of pardon is for them, 
Jer. xxxiii. 8, " I will cleanse them from all 
their iniquity, whereby they have sinned 
against me." The promise of healing is for 
them, Isa. lvii. 18. The promise of salva- 
tion, Jer. xxiii. 6. The promises are sup- 
ports of faith ; they are God's sealed deed ; 
they are a Christian's cordial. O the hea- 
venly comforts which are distilled from the 
limbeck of the promises ! Saint Chrysostom 
compares the scripture to a garden, the pro- 
mises are the fruit-trees that grow in this 
garden : a child of God may go to any pro- 
mise in the Bible, and pluck comfort from it : 
he is an heir of the promise. 

14. God makes all his children conquerors : 
1st. They conquer themselves ; fortior est 
qui se, quam qui fortissimo, vincint mania. 



The saints conquer their own lusts ; they 
bind these princes in fetters of iron, Ps. cxlix. 
8. Though the children of God may some- 
times be foiled, and lose a single battle, yet 
not the victory. 2d. They conquer the 
world ; the world holds forth her two breasts 
of profit and pleasure, and many are over- 
come by it, but the children of God have a 
world-conquering faith, 1 John v. 4, "This is 
the victory that overcometh the world, even 
our faith." 3cL They conquer their enemies : 
how can that be, when they oft take away 
their lives 1 (1) . They conquer, by not com- 
plying with them ; the three children would 
not fall down to the golden image, Dan. iii. 
18. They would rather burn than bow ; here 
they were conquerors. He who complies 
with another's lust, is a captive ; he who re- 
fuseth to comply, is a conqueror. (2). God's 
children conquer their enemies by heroic pa- 
tience. A patient Christian, like the anvil, 
bears all strokes invincibly ; thus the martyrs 
overcame their enemies by patience. Nay, 
God's children " are more than conquerors," 
Rom. viii. 37, " We are more than conquer- 
ors." How are God's children more than 
conquerors 1 Because they conquer without 
loss ; and because they are crowned after 
death, which other conquerors are not. 

15. If God be our Father he will now and 
then send us some tokens of his love. God's 
children live far from home, and meet some- 
times with coarse usage from the unkind 
world ; therefore God, to encourage his chil- 
dren, sends them sometimes tokens and 
pledges of his love. What are these 1 He 
gives them a return of prayer, — there is a 
token of love ; he quickens and enlargeth 
their hearts in duty, — there is a token of love ; 
he gives them the first-fruits of his Spirit 
which are love-tokens, Rom. viii. 23. As God 
gives the wicked the first-fruits of hell, horror 
of conscience and despair : so he gives his 
children the first-fruits of his Spirit, joy and 
peace, which are foretastes of glory. Some 
of God's children having received those 
tokens of love from their heavenly Father, 
have been so transported, that they have died 
for joy, as the glass oft breaks with the 
strength of the wine put into it. 

16. If God be our Father, he will indulge 



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and spare us, Mai. iii. 17, " I will spare them, 
as a man spareth his own son that serveth 
him." God's sparing his children, imports 
this, his clemency towards them ; he doth not 
punish them as he might, Ps. ciii. 10, " He 
hath not dealt with us according to our sins." 
We oft do that which merits wrath, grieve 
God's Spirit;, relapse into sin ; God passeth 
by much, and spares us ; God did not spare 
his natural Son, Rom. viii. 22. Yet he will 
spare his adopted sons ; God threatened 
Ephraim, to make him as the chaff driven 
with the whirlwind, but he soon repented, 
Hos. xiii. 4, " Yet I am the Lord thy God ;" 
v. 10, " I will be thy king." Here God 
spared him as a father spares his son. Israel 
oft provoked God with their complaints, but 
God used clemency toward them, he oft an- 
swered their murmurings with mercies ; here 
he spared them as a father spares his son. 

17. If God be our Father, he will put 
honour and renown upon us at the last day. 
— 1. He will clear the innocency of his chil- 
dren. God's children in this life are strange- 
ly misrepresented to the world. They are 
loaded with invectives, they are called fac- 
tious, seditious ; Elijah, the troubler of Israel ; 
Luther was called the trumpet of rebellion ; 
Athanasius was accused to the emperor Con- 
stantino, to be the raiser of tumults ; the pri- 
mitive Christians were accused to be infan- 
ticidii, incestus rei, ' killers of their children,' 
' guilty of incest ;' as Tertullius reported St 
Paul to be a pestilent person, Acts xxiv. 4. 
Famous Wickliff was called the idol of the 
heretics, and said to have died drunk. If Sa- 
tan cannot defile God's children, he will dis- 
grace them ; if he cannot strike his fiery darts 
into their conscience, he will put a dead fly 
into their name ; but God will one day clear 
his children's innocency, he will roll away 
their reproach. As God will make a resur- 
rection of bodies, so of names, Isa. xxv. 8, 
" The Lord God shall wipe away tears from 
off all faces, and the rebuke of his people 
shall he take away." God will be the saints' 
compurgator, Ps. xxxvii. 6, " He shall bring 
forth thy righteousness as the light." The 
night casts its dark mantle upon the most 
beautiful flowers ; but the light comes in the 
morning and dispels the darkness, and every 



flower appears in its orient brightness : so 
the wicked may by misreports darken the 
honour and repute of the saints ; but God will 
dispel this darkness, and cause their names 
to shine forth : " He shall bring forth thy 
righteousness as the light." As God did 
stand up for the honour of Moses, when Aaron 
and Miriam went about to eclipse his fame, 
Numb. xii. 8, " Wherefore then were ye not 
afraid to speak against my servant Moses V' 
So wilJ God say one day to the wicked, where- 
fore were ye not afraid to defame and traduce 
my children 1 They having my image upon 
them, how durst ye abuse my picture 1 At 
last God's children shall come forth out of all 
their calumnies, as a " dove covered with 
silver, and her feathers with yellow gold," 
Ps. lxviii. 13. — 2. God will make an open 
and honourable recital of all their good deeds : 
as the sins of the wicked shall be openly 
mentioned, to their eternal infamy and con- 
fusion ; so all the good deeds of the saints 
shall be openly mentioned, " and then shall 
every man have praise of God," 1 Cor. iv. 5. 
Every prayer made with melting eyes, every 
good service, every work of charity, shall be 
openly declared before men and angels : Matt, 
xxv. 35, 36, "I was an hungered, and ye 
gave me meat ; thirsty, and ye gave me drink ; 
naked, and ye clothed me." Thus God will 
set a trophy of honour upon all his children 
at the last day ; " then shall the righteous 
shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of 
their Father," Matt. xiii. 43. 

18. If God be our Father, he will settle a 
good land of inheritance upon us, 1 Pet. i. 3, 
4, " Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord 
Jesus, who hath begotten us again to a lively 
hope, to an inheritance incorruptible and un- 
defiled." A father may be fallen to decay, 
and have nothing to leave his son but his 
blessing ; but God will settle an inheritance 
on his children, and an inheritance no less 
than a kingdom, Luke xii. 32, " It is your 
Father's good pleasure to give you the king- 
dom." This kingdom is more glorious and 
magnificent than any earthly kingdom ; it is 
set out by pearls and precious stones, the rich- 
est jewels, Rev. xii. 19. What are all the 
rarities of the world to this kingdom, — the 
coasts of pearl, the islands of spices, the rocks 



OF THE PREFACE TO 



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397 



of diamonds'? In this heavenly kingdom is that 
j which is satisfying, — unparalleled beauty, — 
[rivers of pleasure, and this for ever, Ps. xvi. 
Ill, "At thy right hand are pleasures for ever- 
|more." Heaven's eminency is its perma- 
Inency; and this kingdom God's children shall 
[enter into immediately after death : there is 
a sudden transition and passage from death 
to glory, 2 Cor. v. 8, " Absent from the body, 
present with the Lord." God's children shall 
not wait long for their inheritance ; it is but 
winking, and they shall see God. How may 
this comfort God's children, who perhaps are 
low in the world ! Your Father in heaven 
will settle a kingdom upon you at death, such 
a kingdom as eye hath not seen ; he will give 
you a crown not of gold, but glory : he will 
give you white robes lined with immortality. 
" It is your Father's good pleasure to give 
you a kingdom." 

, 19. If God be our Father, it is comfort, 1st. 
In case of loss of relations. Hast thou lost 
a father 1 Yet, if thou art a believer, thou 
art no orphan, thou hast a heavenly Father, 
a Father that never dies, 1 Tim. vi. 16, 
" Who only hath immortality." 2d. It is 
comfort, in case of death ; God is thy Father, 
and at death thou art going to thy Father ; 
well might Paul say, death is yours, 1 Cor. 
iii. 22. It is your friend that will carry you 
home to your Father. How glad are chil- 
dren when they are going home ! This was 
Christ's comfort at death, he was going to 
his Father, John xvi. 28, " I leave this world, 
and go to the Father." And, John xx. 17, 
" I ascend to my Father." If God be our 
Father, we may with comfort at the day of 
death, resign our souls into his hand : so did 
Christ, Luke xxiii. 46, " Father into thy 
hands I commend my Spirit." If a child hath 
| any jewel, he will in time of danger, put it 
! into his father's hands, where he thinks it 
| will be kept most safe : our soul is our rich- 
est jewel ; we may at death, resign our souls 
into God's hands, where they will be safer 
than in our own keeping : " Father, into thy 
hands I commend my spirit." What a com- 
fort is this, death carries a believer to his 
Father's house, "where are delights unspeak- 
able and full of glory !" How glad was old 
Jacob when he saw the wagons and chariots 



to carry him to his son Joseph ! The text 
saith, his spirit revived, Gen. xlv. 27. Death 
is a triumphant chariot to carry every child 
of God to his Father's mansion-house. 

20. If God be our Father, he will not dis- 
inherit his children ; God may for a time de- 
sert them, but not disinherit them. The sons 
of kings have been sometimes disinherited 
by the cruelty of usurpers ; as, Alexander 
the Great his son was put by his just right, 
by the violence and ambition of his Father's 
captains ; but what power on earth, shall 
hinder the heirs of the promise from their in- 
heritance 1 Men cannot, and God will not 
cut off the entail. The Arminians hold fall- 
ing away from grace, and so a child of God 
may be defeated of his inheritance : but I 
shall show that God's children can never be 
degraded or disinherited, their heavenly Fa- 
ther will not cast them off from being chil- 
dren. 1. It is evident God's children cannot 
be finally disinherited by virtue of the eternal 
decree of Heaven. God's decree is the very 
pillar and basis on which the saints' perse- 
verance depends ; God's decree ties the knot 
of adoption so fast, that neither sin, death, 
nor hell, can break it asunder, Rom. viii. 30, 
" Whom he did predestinate, them he also 
called," &c. Predestination is nothing else 
but God's decreeing a certain number to be 
heirs of glory, on whom he will settle the 
crown ; whom he predestinates, he glorifies. 
What shall hinder God's electing love or 
make his decree null and void 1 — 2. Beside 
God's decree, he hath engaged himself by 
promise, that the heirs of heaven shall never 
be put by their inheritance. God's promises 
are not like blanks in a lottery, but as a 
sealed deed which cannot be reversed ; 
the promises are the saints' royal charter ; 
and this is one promise that their heavenly 
Father will not disinherit them, Jer. xxxii. 
40, " I will make an everlssting covenant 
with them, that I will not turn away from 
them ; but 1 will put my fear in their hearts, 
that they shall not depart from me." God's 
fidelity, which is the richest pearl of his 
crown, is engaged in this promise for his 
children's perseverance ; " I will not turn 
away from them." A child of God cannot 
fall away, while he is held fast in these two 



393 



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THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



arms of God — his love, and his faithfulness. 
3. Jesus Christ undertakes, that all God's 
children by adoption shall be preserved in a 
state of grace till they inherit glory. As the 
heathens feined of Atlas that he did bear up 
the heavens from falling : Jesus Christ is that 
blessed Atlas, that bears up the saints from 
falling away. 

Quest. How doth Christ preserve the 
saints' graces, till they come to heaven 1 

Ans. 1. Injluxu Spiritus. Christ carries 
on grace in the souls of the elect, by the in- 
fluence and co-operation of his Spirit. Christ 
doth, Spiritu, continually excite and quicken 
grace in the godly ; his Spirit doth blow up 
the sparks of grace into a holy flame ; Spi- 
ritus est vicarius Christi, — the Spirit is 
Christ's vicar on earth, his proxy, his execu- 
tor, to see that all that Christ hath purchased 
for the saints be made good. Christ hath ob- 
tained an inheritance incorruptible for them, 
1 Pet. i. 5, and the Spirit of Christ is his exe- 
cutor, to see that this inheritance be settled 
upon them. 

A. 2. Christ carries on perseveringly in the 
souls of the elect, vi orationis, by the preva- 
lency of his intercession : Heb. vii. 25, " He 
ever lives to make intercession for them." 
Christ prays that every saint may hold out in 
grace till he comes to heaven : can the chil- 
dren of such prayers perish % If the heirs of 
heaven should be disinherited, and fall short 
of glory, then God's decree must be reversed, 
his promise broken, Christ's prayer frustrated, 
which were blasphemy to imagine. 

A. 8. That God's children cannot be dis- 
inherited or put by their right to the crown 
of heaven, is evident from their mystical 
union with Christ. Believers are incorpo- 
rated into Christ ; they are knit to Christ, as 
the members to the head, by the nerves and 
ligaments of faith, so that they cannot be 
broken off, Eph. i. 22, 23, " The church which 
is his body." What was once said of Christ's 
natural body, is as true of his mystical, ' A 
bone of it shall not be broken.' As it is im- 
possible to sever the leaven and the dough 
when they are once mingled and kneaded to- 
gether ; so it is impossible, when Christ and 
believers are once united, that they should 
ever, by the power of death or hell, be sepa- 



rated. Christ and his spiritual members make i 
one Christ : now, is it possible that any part 
of Christ should perish] How can Christ 
want any member of his body mystical and be 
perfect] Every member is an ornament to 
the body, and adds to the honour of it. How 
can Christ part with any mystical member, 
and not part with some of his glory too] So 
that by all this it is evident that God's chil- 
dren must needs persevere in grace, and can- 
not be disinherited. If they could be disin- 
herited then the Scripture could not be ful- 
filled which tells us of glorious rewards for 
the heirs of promise, Ps. lviii. 11, " Verily 
there is a reward for the righteous." Now, 
if God's adopted children should fall away 
finally from grace, and miss of heaven, what 
reward were there for the righteous ] And 
Moses did indiscreetly to look for the recom- 
pense of the reward, and so there would be 
a door opened to despair. 

Ob j. This doctrine of God's children per- 
severing, and having the heavenly inherit- 
ance settled on them, may cause carnal se- 
curity, and make them less circumspect in 
their walking. 

Ans. Corrupt nature may, as the spider, 
suck poison from this flower; but a sober 
Christian, who hath felt the efficacy of grace 
upon his heart, dares not abuse this doctrine ; 
he knows perseverance is attained in the use 
of means, therefore he walks holily, that so 
in the use of means he may arrive at perse- 
verance. St Paul knew that he should not 
be disinherited, and that nothing could sepa- 
rate him from the love of Christ : but who 
more holy and watchful than he ] 1 Cor. ix. 
27, " I keep under my body :" and Phil. iii. 
14, " I press towards the mark." God's chil- 
dren have that holy fear in them, which keeps 
them from security and wantonness ; they 
believe the promise, therefore they rejoice in 
hope ; they fear their hearts, therefore they 
watch and pray. Thus you see what strong 
consolation there is for all the heirs of the 
promise. Such as have God for their Father 
are the happiest persons on earth ; they are 
in such a condition that nothing can hurt 
them ; they have their Father's blessing, all 
things conspire for their good ; they have a 
kingdom settled on them, and the entail 



OF THE PREFACE TO 



THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



399 



can never be cut off. How may God's chil- 
dren be comforted in all conditions, let the 
times be what they will ! Their Father is in 
heaven, he rules all ; if troubles arise, they 
shall but carry God's children so much the 
sooner to their Father. The more violently 
the wind beats against the sails of a ship, the 
sooner the ship is brought to the haven ; 
and the more fiercely God's children are 
assaulted, the sooner they come to their 
Father's house, 1 Thess. iv. 18, " Wherefore 
comfort one another with these words." 

Use 4:th. Of exhortation. Let us behave 
and carry ourselves as the children of such a 
Father, in several particulars. 

1. Let us depend upon our heavenly Fa- 
ther, in all our straits and exigencies ; let us 
believe that he will provide for us. Children 
rely upon their parents for the supply of 
wants : if we trust God for salvation, shall 
we not trust him for a livelihood ? There is a 
lawful provident care to be used, but beware 
of a distrustful care, Luke xii. 24, " Consider 
the ravens, they neither sow t nor reap, and 
God feedeth them." Doth God feed the 
birds of the air, and will he not feed his chil- 
dren] v. 27, " Consider the lilies how they 
grow ; they spin not : yet Solomon in all his 
glory was not arrayed like one of these." 
Doth God clothe the lilies, and will he not 
clothe his lambs ? Even the wicked taste of 
God's bounty, Ps. lxxiii. 7, "Their eyes 
stand out with fatness." Doth God feed his 
slaves, and will he not feed his family? 
God's children may not have so liberal a 
share in the things of this life, but little meal 
in the barrel ; they may be drawn low, but 
not drawn dry ; they shall have so much as 
God sees is good for them, Ps. xxxiv. 10, 
"They that seek the Lord shall not want 
any good thing." If God gives them not ad 
voluntatem, he will ad sanitatem; if he gives 
them not always what they crave, be will 
give them what they need ; if he gives them 
not a feast, he will give them a viaticum, a 
bait by the way ; let God's children therefore 
depend upon God's fatherly providence, — 
give not way to distrustful thoughts, distract- 
ing cares, or indirect means, — God can pro- 
vide for you without your sins, 1 Pet. v. 7, 
" Casting all your care upon him, for he 



careth for you." An earthly parent may 
have affection for his child, and would pro- 
vide for him, but sometimes he is not able, 
but God can create a supply for his children, 
yea, he hath promised a supply, Ps. xxxvii. 
3, "Verily thou shalt be fed." Will God 
give his children heaven, and will he not give 
them enough to bear their charges thither'? 
Will he give them a kingdom, and deny 
them daily bread? O depend upon your 
heavenly Father ! He hath said, " I will 
never leave thee nor forsake thee," Heb. 
xiii. 5. 

2. If God be our Father, let us imitate him. 
The child doth not only bear his Father's 
image, but doth imitate him in his speech, 
gesture, behaviour : if God be our Father, let 
us imitate him, Eph. v. 1, " Be ye followers 
of God as dear children." — 1. Imitate God 
in forgiving injuries, Isa. lxiv. 22, " I have 
blotted out as a thick cloud thy transgres- 
sions." As the sun scatters not only thin 
mists, but thick clouds, so God pardons 
great offences ; imitate God in this, Eph. iv. 
32, " Forgiving one another." Cranmer was 
a man of a forgiving spirit, he did bury in- 
juries, and requite good for evil: he who 
hath God for his Father, hath God for his 
pattern. — 2. Imitate God in works of mercy; 
"He looseth the prisoners," Ps. cxlvi. 7. 
" He opens his hand, and satisfieth the de- 
sire of every living thing," Ps. cxlv. 16. 
He drops his sweet dew as well upon the 
thistle as the rose : imitate God in works of 
mercy, — relieve the wants of others, — be rich 
in good works, — Luke vi. 36, " Be merciful 
as your Father also is merciful." Be not so 
hardhearted, as to shut the poor out of the 
lines of communication. Dives denied La- 
zarus a crumb of bread, and Dives was de- 
nied a drop of water. 

3. If God be our Father, let us submit 
patiently to his will ; if he lay his strokes 
on us, they are the corrections of a Father, 
not the punishments of a judge ; this made 
Christ so patient, John xviii. 11, " Shall I 
not drink the cup which my Father hath 
given me?" He sees me need affliction, 
1 Pet. i. 6 ; he appoints it as a diet-drink, to 
purge and sanctify us, Isa. xxvii. 9, there- 
fore dispute not, but submit: Heb. xn. 9, 



400 OF THE PREFACE TO 

" We had fathers of our flesh which corrected 
us, and we gave them reverence ;" they might 
correct out of an humour, but God doth it 
for our profit, Heb. xii. 10 ; therefore say, as 
Eli, 1 Sam. iii. 18, " It is the Lord, let him 
do what seemeth him good." What gets 
the child by struggling, but more blows'? 
What got Israel by their murmuring and 
rebelling, but a longer and more tedious 
march, and at last their carcases fell in the 
wilderness ? 

4. If God be our Father, let this cause in 
us a childlike reverence, Mai. i. 6, " If I be a 
father where is my honour'?" This is a part 
of the honour we give to God, when we 
reverence and adore him. If you have not 
always a childlike confidence, yet always 
preserve a childlike reverence. And how 
ready are we to run into extremes, either to 
despond or grow wanton 1 Because God is a 
Father, therefore do not think you may be 
secure and take liberty to sin ; if you do, God 
may carry it so as if he were no Father, he 
may throw hell into your conscience. When 
David presumed upon God's paternal affec- 
tion, and began to wax wanton under mercy, 
God made him pay dear for it, — he withdrew 
the sense of his love, — and though he had 
the heart of a Father, yet he had the look of 
an enemy. David prayed, Cause me to hear 
the voice of joy, Ps. li. 8. He lay several 
months in desertion, and it is thought he 
never recovered his full joy to the day of his 
death. Oh keep alive holy fear ! With a 
childlike confidence, preserve an humble 
reverence ; the Lord is a Father, therefore 
love to serve him ; he is the mighty God, 
therefore fear to offend him. 

5. If God be our Father, let us walk obe- 
diently, 1 Pet. i. 14, " As obedient children." 
When God bids you be humble and self- 
denying, deny yourselves ; part with your 
bosom-sin ; be sober in your attire, savoury 
in your speeches, grave in your deportment, 
obey your Father's voice ; open to God, as 
the flower opens to the sun ; as you expect 
your Father's blessing, obey him in whatever 
he commands, first and second table duties. 
A lutanist, that he may make sweet music, 
toucheth upon every string of the lute : the 
ten commandments are like a ten-stringed | 



THE LORD'S PRAYER. 

instrument, touch upon every string, obey 
every commandment, or you cannot make 
sweet melody in religion. Obey your hea- 
venly Father, though he commands things 
contrary to flesh and blood. — 1. When he 
commands to mortify sin, that sin which hath 
been dear to you ; pluck out this right eye, 
that you may see the better to go to heaven. 
— 2. When he commands you to suffer for 
sin, be ready to obey, Acts xxi. 13. Every 
good Christian hath a spirit of martyrdom 
in him, and is ready rather to suffer for the 
truth, than the truth should suffer. Luther 
said he had rather be a martyr than a mo- 
narch. Peter was crucified with his head 
downwards, as Eusebius. Ignatius called his 
chains his spiritual pearls, and did wear his 
fetters as a bracelet of diamonds. This is to 
carry it as God's children, when we obey his 
voice, and count not our lives dear, so that 
we may show our love to our heavenly Fa- 
ther, Rev. xii. 11, "They loved not their 
lives to the death." 

6. If God be your Father, show it by your 
cheerful looks that you are the children of 
such a Father. Too much drooping and de- 
spondency disparageth the relation you stand 
in to God. What though you meet with 
hard usage in the world ? You are now in a 
strange land far from home ; it will be shortly 
better with you, when you are in your own 
country, and your Father hath you in his 
arms. Doth not the heir rejoice in hope? 
Shall the sons of a king walk dejected'? 
2 Sam. xiii. 4, " Why art thou, being the 
king's son, lean V* Is God an unkind Father? 
Are his commands grievous ? Hath he no 
land to give his heirs'? Why then do God's 
children walk so sad? Never had children 
such privileges as they who are of the seed- 
royal of heaven, and have God for their Fa- 
ther : they should rejoice, therefore, who are 
within a few hours to be crowned with glory. 

7. If God be our Father, let us honour 
him by walking very holily, 1 Pet. i. 16, 
" Be ye holy, for I am holy." A young 
prince asking a philosopher how he should 
behave himself, the philosopher said, Me- 
mento tefilium esse regis, — ' Remember thou 
art a king's son do nothing but what be- 
comes the son of a king: so remember you 



OF THE PREFACE TO THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



401 



are the adopted sons and daughters of the 
high God, do nothing unworthy of such a 
Irelation. A debauched child is the disgrace 
of his father. " Is this thy son's coat?" said 
they to Jacob, when they brought it home 
dipped in blood, Gen. xxxvii. 23 : so when 
we see a person defiled with malice, passion, 
drunkenness, we may say, is this the coat of 
God's adopted son ? Doth he look as an heir 
of glory? 'Tis a blaspheming the name of 
God, to call him Father, yet live in sin. Such 
as profess God is their Father, yet live un- 
holily, they will slander and defraud ; these 
are as bad to God as heathens, Amos ix. 7, 
" Are ye not as children of the Ethiopians to 
me, O children of Israel, saith the Lord?" 
The Ethiopians were uncircumcised, a base, 
ill-bred people ; when Israel grew wicked, 
they were no better to God than Ethiopians. 
Loose, scandalous livers under the gospel, 
are no better in God's esteem than Pagans 
and Americans; nay, they shall have a hot- 
ter place in hell. O let all who profess God 
to be their Father, honour him by their un- 
spotted lives. Scipio abhorred the embraces 
of an harlot, because he was the general of 
an army: abstain from all sin, because you 
are born of God, and have God for your 
Father, 1 Thess. v. 22, " Abstain from all 
appearance of evil." It was a saying of 
Augustus, an emperor should not only be free 
from crimes, but from the suspicion of them. 
By a holy life you would bring glory to your 
heavenly Father, and cause others to become 
his children. Causinus in his hieroglyphics, 
speaks of a dove, whose wings being per- 
fumed with sweet ointments, did draw the 
other doves after her : the holy lives of God's 
children is a sweet perfume to draw others to 
religion, and make them to be of the family 
of God. Justin Martyr saith, that which 
converted him to Christianity, was the be- 
holding the blameless lives of the Christians. 

8. If God be our Father, let us love all 
that are his children, Ps. cxxxiii. 1, " How 
pleasant is it for brethren to dwell together 
in unity?" 'Tis compared to ointment, v. 
2, for the sweet fragrancy of it; 1 Pet. ii. 
17, " Love the brotherhood." Idem est motus 
anima in imaginem et rem. The saints 
are the walking pictures of God ; if God be 
3 E I 



our Father, we love to see his picture of 
holiness in believers, — we pity them for their 
infirmities, but love them for their graces, — 
we prize their company above others, Ps. 
cxix. 63. It may justly be suspected that 
God is not their Father who love not God's 
children ; though they retain the communion 
of saints in their creed, yet they banish the 
communion of saints out of their company. 

9. If God be our Father, let us show 
heavenly-mindedness ; they who are born of 
God do set their " affections on things that 
are above," Col. iii. 2. O ye children of the 
high God, do not disgrace your high birth by 
sordid covetousness ! What, a son of God, 
and a slave to the world! What, sprung 
from heaven, and buried in the earth! For 
a Christian, who pretends to derive his pedi- 
gree from heaven, yet wholly to mind earthly 
things, is to debase himself; as if a king 
should leave his throne to follow the plough, 
Jer. xlv. 5, " Seekest thou great things for 
thyself?" As if the Lord had said, " What ! 
thou Barak, — thou who art born of God, — 
akin to angels, and by thy office a Levite, — 
dost thou debase thyself, and spot the silver 
wings of thy grace, by beliming them with 
earth! Seekest thou great things? Seek 
them not." The earth chokes the fire ; earth- 
liness chokes the fire of good affections. 

10. If God be our Father, let us own our 
heavenly Father in the worst times, — stand 
up in his cause, defend his truths. Atha- 
nasius owned God when most of the world 
turned Arians. If sufferings come, do not 
deny God ; he is a bad son, who denies his 
father. Such as are ashamed of God in 
times of danger, God will be ashamed to 
own them for his children, Mark viii. 38, 
" Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of 
me and my words in this adulterous sinful 
generation, of him also shall the Son of man 
be ashamed, when he comes in the glory of 
his Father, with the holy angels." So I 
have done with the first part of the preface, 
" Our Father." 

11. The second part of the preface (which 
I shall but briefly touch on) is, "Which 
art in heaven." God is said to be in heaven, 
not that he is so included there, — that he is 
nd where else, — for the " heaven of heavens 



402 



OF THE PREFACE TO 



THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



cannot contain him," 1 Kings viii. 27; but 
the meaning is, God is chiefly resident in 
the empyrean heaven, which the apostle 
calls "the third heaven," 2 Cor. xii. 2; there 
God doth most give forth glory to his saints 
and angels. 

Quest. What may we learn from this 
that God is in heaven? 

Ans. 1. Hence we learn that we are to 
raise our minds in prayer above the earth. 
God is no where to be spoken with but in 
heaven ; God never denied that soul his suit 
who went as far as heaven to ask it. 

A. 2. We learn from God's being in hea- 
ven, his sovereign power. Hoc vocabulo 
intelligitur omnia subesse ejus imperio, 
Calvin. Ps. cxv. 3, " Our God is in the hea- 
vens, he hath done whatever he pleased." God 
being in heaven, governs the universe, and 
orders all occurrences here below for the good 
of his children ; when the saints are in straits 
and dangers, and see no way of relief, he can 
send from heaven and help them, Ps. Ivii. 3, 
" He shall send from heaven, and save me." 

A. 3. We learn God's glory and majesty; 
he is in heaven, therefore he is covered with 
light, Ps. civ. 2, — " clothed with honour," 
Ps. civ. 1, — and is far above all worldly 
princes as heaven is above earth. 

A. 4. We learn, from God's being in hea- 
ven, his omnisciency. " All things are naked, 
and opened to his eye," Heb. iv. 13. Men 
plot and contrive against the church ; but God 
is in heaven, and they do nothing but what 
our Father sees. If a man were on the top 
of a tower or theatre, he might thence see all 
the people below : God is in heaven, as in a 
high tower or theatre, and he sees all the 
transactions of men. The wicked make 
wounds in the backs of the righteous, and 
then pour in vinegar ; God writes down their 
cruelty, Exod. iii. 7, " I have surely seen the 
afflictions of my people." God is in heaven, 
and he can thunder out of heaven upon his 
enemies, Ps. xviii. 13, 14, " The Lord also 
thundered in the heavens ; yea, he sent out 
arrows, and scattered them, and he shot out 
lightnings, and discomfited them." 

A. 5. We learn from God's being in hea- 
ven, comfort for the children of God; when 
they pray to their Father, the way to heaven 



cannot be blocked up. One may have a 
father living in foreign parts, but the way, 
both by sea and by land, may be so blocked 
up, that there is no coming to him ; but thou, 
saint of God, when thou prayest to thy Father, 
he is in heaven ; and though thou art ever so 
confined, thou mayest have access to him. 
A prison cannot keep thee from thy God ; 
the way to heaven can never be blocked up. 

So I have done with the word ' Father :* 
I shall next speak of the pronoun " Our, 
Father." In the first there is an appellation, 
" Father;" in the second, an appropriation, 
" Our Father." Christ, by this word Our, 
would teach us thus much ; " that in all our 
prayers to God, we should act faith." Our 
Father : ' Father,' denotes reverence ; ' Our 
Father,' denotes faith. In all our prayers to 
God we should exercise faith, " Our Father." 
Faith is that which baptizeth prayer, and 
gives it a name ; it is called ' the prayer of 
faith,' Jam. v. 15. Without faith, it is speak- 
ing, not praying. Faith is the breath of 
prayer ; prayer is dead unless faith breathe in 
it. Faith is a necessary requisite in prayer. 
The oil of the sanctuary was made up of 
several sweet spices, pure myrrh, cassia, cin- 
namon, Exod. xxx. 23. Faith is the chief 
spice, or ingredient in prayer, which makes 
it go up to the Lord, as sweet incense, Jam. 
i. 0, " Let him ask in faith," Ma^t. xxi. 22, 
" Whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believ- 
ing, ye shall receive." Invoco te, Domine, 
quanquam languida et imbecilla fide, tamen 
fide, — " Lord, (said Cruciger) I pray, though 
with a weak faith, yet with faith." Prayer 
is the gun we shoot with, fervency is the fire 
that dischargeth it, and faith is the bullet 
which pierceth the throne of grace. Prayer 
is the key of heaven, faith is the hand that 
turns it ; pray in faith, < Our Father.' Faith 
must take prayer by the hand, or there is no 
coming nigh to God ; prayer without faith is 
unsuccessful. If a poor handy-craftsman, 
that lives by his labour, hath spoiled his 
tools that he cannot work, how shall he 
subsist] Prayer is the tool we work with, 
which procures all good for us : but unbe- 
lief spoils and blunts our prayers, and then 
we can get no blessing from God ; a prayer 
that is faithless is fruitless. As Joseph 



OF THE PREFACE TO THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



403 



said, " You shall not see my face, unless you 
bring your brother Benjamin with you," Gen. 
xliii. 3, so prayer cannot see God's face, un- 
less it bring its brother faith with it. What 
is said of Israel, " They could not enter in 
because of unbelief," Heb. iii. 19, is as true 
of prayer, it cannot enter into heaven, because 
of unbelief. This makes prayer often suffer 
shipwreck, because it dasheth upon the rock 
'of unbelief. O sprinkle faith in prayer ! We 
must say, 4 Our Father.' 

Quest. 1. What doth praying in faith 
imply ? 

Ans. Praying in faith implies the having 
of faith ; the act implies the habit. To walk 
timplies a principle of life ; so to pray in faith 
jimplies a habit of grace. None can pray in 
faith but believers. 

: Quest. 2. What is it to pray in faith ? 

Ans. 1. To pray in faith, is to pray for 
that which God hath promised ; where there 
is no promise, we cannot pray in faith. 

A. 2. To pray in faith, is to pray in Christ's 
meritorious name, John xiv. 13, " Whatso- 
ever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do." 
To pray in Christ's name, is to pray in the 
hope of confidence in Christ's merit. When 
. we present Christ to God in prayer, — when 
we carry the Lamb slain in our arms, — when 
we say " Lord, we are sinners, but here is 
our surety, for Christ's sake be propitious," — 
this is coming to God in Christ's name} and 
this is to pray in faith. 

A. 3. To pray in faith is, in prayer to fix 
our faith on God's faithfulness, believing 
that he doth hear, and will help ; this is a 
taking hold of God, Isa. lxiv. 7. By prayer 
we draw nigh to God, by faith we take hold 
of him ; 2 Chron. xiii. 14, the children of 
j Judah cried unto the Lord ; and this was the 
crying of faith ; v. 18, they " prevailed, be- 
cause they relied on the Lord God of their 
1 fathers." Making supplication to God, and 
staying the soul on God, is praying in faith. 
To pray, and not rely on God for the grant- 
ing our petitions, irrisio Dei est, saith Peli- 
can ; " it is to abuse and put a scorn on God." 
By praying, we seem to honour God ; by not 
believing we affront him. In prayer we say, 
' Almighty, merciful Father ;' by not believ- 
ing, we blot out all his titles again. 



Quest. 3. How may we know that we do 
truly pray in faith ? We may say, Our Fa- 
ther, and think we pray in faith, when it is 
in presumption : how therefore may we know 
that we do indeed pray in faith ? 

Ans. 1. When our faith in prayer is hum- 
ble. A presumptuous person hopes to be 
heard in prayer for some inherent worthiness 
in himself ; he is so qualified, and hath done 
God good service, therefore he is confident 
God will hear his prayer ; see an instance, 
Luke xviii. 11, 12, " The Pharisee stood and 
prayed thus, God, I thank thee, that I am 
not as other men are, extortioners, unjust : I 
fast twice in the week ; I give tythes of all 
that I possess." This was a presumptuous 
prayer ; but a sincere heart doth as well act 
humility in prayer as faith ; Luke xviii. 13, 
" The publican standing afar off would not 
lift up so much as his eyes to heaven, but 
smote upon his breast, saying, 'God be mer- 
ciful to me a sinner !' " " God be merciful !" 
there was faith ; " to me a sinner," there was 
humility and a sense of unworthiness. 

A. 2. We may know we pray in faith, when, 
though we have not the present thing we pray 
for, yet we believe God will grant it, there- 
fore we will stay his leisure. A Christian 
having a command to pray, and a promise, 
he is resolved to follow God with prayer, and 
not give over ; as Peter, he knocked, yet the 
door was not opened, but he continued 
knocking, and at last it was opened, Acts xii. 
16. So a Christian prays and prays, but hath 
no answer ; but he will continue knocking at 
heaven's door, knowing an answer will come, 
Ps. lxxxvi. 7, " Thou wilt answer me." Here 
is one that prays in faith. Christ saith, 
" Pray and faint not," Luke xviii. 1. A be- 
liever, at Christ's word, lets down the net of 
prayer, and though he catch nothing, he will 
cast the net of prayer again, believing that 
mercy will come. Patience in prayer is no- 
thing but faith spun out. 

Use 1st. It reproves them that pray in 
formality, not in faith ; they question whether 
God hears or will grant, James iv. 3, " Ye 
ask and receive not, because ye ask amiss." 
He doth not say, ye ask that which is unlaw- 
ful ; but ye ask amiss, and therefore ye re- 
ceive not. Unbelief clips the wings of prayer, 



404 



OF THE PREFACE TO 



THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



that it will not fly to the throne of grace ; the 
rubbish of unbelief stops the current of 
prayer. 

Use 2d. Of exhortation. Let us set faith 
a-work in prayer, ' Our Father.' The hus- 
bandman sows in hope : prayer is the seed 
we sow ; when the hand of faith scatters this 
seed, it brings forth a fruitful crop of bless- 
ing ; prayer is the ship we send out to hea- 
ven : when faith makes an adventure in this 
ship, it brings home large returns of mercy. 
O pray in faith ! Say, ' Our Father.' And 
that we may act faith in prayer, consider, 

1. God's readiness to hear prayer. Deus 
paratus ad vota exaudienda, Calvin. Did 
God forbid all addresses to him, it would put 
a damp upon the trade of prayer ; but God's 
ear is open to prayer. It is one of the names 
by which God is known, Ps. lxv. 2, " O thou 
that hearest prayer." The iEdiles among 
the Romans had their doors always standing 
open, that all who had petitions might have 
free access to them : God is both ready to 
hear and grant prayer ; this may encourage 
faith in prayer. And, whereas some may 
say, they have prayed, but have had no an- 
swer : 1st. God may hear prayer, though he 
do not presently answer. We write a letter 
to a friend ; he may have received it, though 
we have yet had no answer of it. Perhaps 
thou prayest for the light of God's face ; God 
may lend thee an ear, though he doth not 
show thee his face. 2d. God may give an 
answer to prayer, when we do not perceive 
it. His giving a heart to pray, and inflam- 
ing the affections in prayer is an answer of 
prayer, Ps. cxxxviii. 3, " In the day when I 
cried, thou answeredst me, and strengthen- 
edst me with strength in my soul." David's 
inward strength was an answer of prayer, 
therefore let God's readiness to hear prayer 
encourage faith in prayer. 

2. That we may act faith in prayer, con- 
sider we do not pray alone. Christ prays 
over our prayers again ; Christ's prayer is 
the ground why our prayer is heard. Christ 
takes the dross out of our prayer, and pre- 
sents nothing to his Father but pure gold. 
Christ mingles his sweet odours with the 
prayers of the saints, Rev. v. 8. Think of 
the dignity of his person, he is God ; and 



the sweetness of his relation, he is a Son. 1 
O what encouragement is here, to pray in J 
faith ! Our prayers are put into the hand of 
a Mediator. Christ's prayer is mighty and 
powerful. 

3. We pray to God for nothing but what is 
pleasing to him, and he hath a mind to grant ; 
if a son ask nothing but what his father is , 
willing to bestow, this may make him go to 
him with confidence. When we pray to God i 
for holy hearts, there's nothing more pleas- 
ing to him, 1 Thess. iv. 3, "This is the will J 
of God, even your sanctification." We pray \ 
that God would give us a heart to love him, j 
and there is nothing he more desires than 
our love. How may this make us pray in ; 
faith, when we pray for nothing but what is ■ 
acceptable to God, and which he delights to j 
bestow ! 

4. To encourage faith in prayer, consider 
the many sweet promises that God hath made 
to prayer. The cork keeps the net from 
sinking : the promises are the cork to keep j 
faith from sinking in prayer. God hath 
bound himself to us by his promises. The 
Bible is bespangled with promises made to 
prayer : Jsa. xxx. 19, " He will be very gra- 
cious to thee at the voice of thy cry." Rom. 
x. 12, " The Lord is rich unto all that call 
upon him." Jer. xxix. 13, " Then shall ye 
find me, when ye search for me with all your 
heart." Ps. cxlv. 19, « He will fulfil the 
desire of them that fear him." The Tyrians 
tied their god Hercules with a golden chain 
that he should not remove : God hath tied 
himself fast to us by his promises. How 
should these animate and spirit faith in 
prayer? Faith gets strength in prayer by 
sucking from the breast of a promise. 

5. That we may act faith in prayer, consider, 
Jesus Christ hath purchased that which we 
pray for ; we may think the things we ask for 
in prayer too great for us to obtain, but they 
are not too great for Christ to purchase. We 
pray for pardon, Christ hath purchased it with 
his blood ; we pray for the Spirit to animate 
and inspire us, the sending down of the Holy 
Ghost into our hearts is the fruit of Christ's 
death, John xvi. This may put life into 
our prayers, and make us pray in faith ; 
because the things we ask in prayer, though 



OF THE PREFACE TO THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



405 



they are more than we deserve, yet not more 
than Christ hath purchased for us. 

6. To make us pray in faith, consider 
there is such a bountifulness in God that he 
often exceeds the prayers of his people ; he 
gives them more than they ask ; as Hannah 
asked a son, and God not only gave her a 
son but a prophet. Solomon asked wisdom, 
and God gave him not only wisdom, but riches 
and honour besides ; Jacob prayed that God 
would but give him food and raiment, and 
the Lord increased his pilgrim's staff into 
two bands, Gen. xxxii. 10. God is oft better 
to us than our prayers, as when Gehazi asked 
but one talent, Naaman would needs force 
two upon him, 2 Kings v. 23. We ask one 
talent of mercy, and God gives two talents. 
The woman of Canaan asked but a crumb, 
namely, to have the life of her child ; and 
Christ gave her more, he sent her home with 
the life of her soul. 

7. The great success the prayer of faith 
hath found ; like Jonathan's bow, it hath not 
returned empty. Vocula pater dicta in cor do, 
saith Luther, — this little word Father, pro- 
nounced in faith, hath overcome God, Gen. 
xxxii. 11, " Deliver me, I pray thee." And 
this was mixed with faith in the promise, v. 
12, " Thou saidst I will surely do thee good ;" 
and this prayer had power with God, and 
■ prevailed, Hos. xii. 4. The prayer of faith 

hath opened prison-doors, — stopt the chariot 
of the sun, — locked and unlocked heaven, 
Jam. v. 17. The prayer of faith hath strangled 
the plots of enemies in the birth ; it hath 
routed their forces ; Moses's prayer against 
Amalek did more than Joshua's sword ; and 
may not this hearten and corroborate faith in 
prayer 1 

8. If all this will not prevail, consider how 
heartless and comfortless it is to pray, and 
not in faith ; the heart misgives secretly, God 
doth not hear, nor will he grant. Faithless 
praying must needs be comfortless ; for there 
is no promise made to unbelieving prayer. 



It is sad sailing where there is no anchoring, 
and sad praying where there is no promise to 
anchor upon, Jam. i. 7. The disciples toiled 
all night and caught nothing : the unbeliever 
toils in prayer and catcheth nothing, — he re- 
ceives not any spiritual blessings, pardon 
of sin, or grace ; as for the temporal mercies 
the unbeliever hath, he cannot look upon 
them as the fruit of prayer, but as the over- 
flowing and spillings of God's bounty. Oh 
therefore labour to exert and put forth faith 
in prayer ! 

Obj. But there is so much sin cleaves to 
my prayer, that I fear it is not the prayer 
of faith, and God will not hear it. 

Ans. If thou mournest for this, it hinders 
not but that thy prayer may be in faith, and 
God may hear it. Weakness in prayer shall 
not make void the saint's prayers, Ps. xxxi. 
22, "I said in my haste, I am cut off." 
There was much unbelief in this prayer : " I 
said in my haste :" in the Hebrew, " in my 
trembling." David's faith did tremble and 
faint, yet God heard his prayer. The saint's 
passions do not hinder the saint's prayers, 
Jam. v. 17. Therefore be not discouraged ; 
though sin will cleave to thy holy offering, 
yea these two things may comfort, thou 
may est pray with faith, though with weak- 
ness ; and God sees the sincerity, and will 
pass by the infirmity. 

Quest. How shall we do to pray in faith? 

Ans. Implore the Spirit of God. We can- 
not say, ' Our Father,' but by the Holy Ghost. 
God's Spirit helps us, not only to pray with 
sighs and groans, but with faith. The Spirit 
carries us to God, not only as to a Creator, 
but a Father, Gal. iv. 6, " He hath sent forth 
the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, 
Abba, Father." ' Crying,' there the Spirit 
causeth us to pray with fervency; 'Abba, 
Father,' there the Spirit helps us to pray 
with faith. Prayer is the key of heaven ; 
the Spirit helps faith to turn this key, and 
then it unlocks heaven. 



406 



OF THE FIRST PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



OF THE FIRST PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 
Matt. vi. 9. Hallowed be thy name. 



Having spoken of the introduction to the 
Lord's prayer, " after this manner pray ye," 
— and the preface, " Our Father which art in 
heaven," — I come now, thirdly, to the prayer 
itself, which consists of seven petitions. A 
short body of divinity is contained in them. 
I begin with the first petition. 

I. " Hallowed be thy name." In the Latin, 
it is, sanctificetur nomen tuum, — sanctified 
be thy name. In this petition, " hallowed be 
thy name," we pray, that God's name may 
shine forth gloriously, and that it may be 
honoured and sanctified by us, in the whole 
course and tenor of our lives. It was the an- 
gels' song, "glory to God in the highest;" 
that is, let his name be glorified and hallowed. 
This petition, " Hallowed be thy name," is 
set in the forefront, to show, that the hallow- 
ing of God's name is to be preferred before all 
things. 1st. It is to be preferred before life ; 
we pray, " Hallowed be thy name," before 
we pray, " Give us this day our daily bread." 
It is to be preferred before salvation, Rom. ix. 
1. God's glory is more worth than the salva- 
tion of all men's souls. As Christ said of 
love, Matt. xxii. 36, "This is the first and 
great commandment ;" so I may say of this 
petition, " Hallowed be thy name," it is the 
first and great petition ; it contains the most 
weighty thing in religion, God's glory. When 
some of the other petitions shall be useless 
and out of date, we shall not need to pray in 
heaven, " Give us our daily bread," because 
there shall be no hunger ; nor, " Forgive us 
our trespasses," because there shall be no 
sin ; nor, " Lead us not into temptation," be- 
cause the Old Serpent is not there to tempt ; 
yet the hallowing of God's name shall be of 
great use and request in heaven ; we shall be 
ever singing hallelujahs, which is nothing 
else but the hallowing of God's name. Every 
person in the blessed Trinity, God the Fa- 
ther, Son, and Holy Ghost, must have this 
honour, to be hallowed; their glory being 
equal, and their majesty co-eternal. " Hal- 



lowed be thy name." To admire God's 
name is not enough ; we may admire a con- 
queror, but when we say, " Hallowed be thy 
name ;" we set God's name above every 
name, and not only admire him, but adore 
him ; and this is proper only to the Deity. 
For the further explication, I shall propound 
three questions : 

1. What is meant by God's name ? 

2. What is meant by hallowing God's 
name ? 

3. When may we be said to hallow or 
sanctify God's name ? 

Quest. 1. What is meant by God's name ? 

Ans. 1. By God's name is meant his es- 
sence, Ps. xx. 1, " The name of the God of 
Jacob defend thee ;" that is, the God of Jacob 
defend thee. 

A. 2. By God's name is meant any thing 
by which God may be known ; as a man is 
known by his name ; God's name is his at- 
tributes, wisdom, power, holiness, goodness; 
by these God is known as by his name. 

Quest. 2. What is meant by hallowing 
God's name ? 

Ans. To hallow, is a communi separare, — 
to set apart a thing from the common use 
to some sacred end. As the vessels of the 
sanctuary were said to be hallowed, so to 
hallow God's name, is to set it apart from all 
abuses, and to use it holily and reverently. 
In particular, hallowing of God's name is to 
give him high honour and veneration, and 
render his name sacred. We can add no- 
thing to God's essential glory ; but we are 
said to honour and sanctify his name, when 
we lift him up in the world, and make him 
appear greater in the eyes of others. When 
a prince is crowned, there is something added 
really to his honour; but when we go to 
crown God with our triumphs and hallelujahs, 
there is nothing added to his essential glory ; 
God cannot be greater than he is, only we 
may make him appear greater in the eyes of 
others. 



OF THE FIRST PETITION 



IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



407 



Quest. 2. When may we be said to hal- 
low and sanctify God's name ? 

Ans. 1. When we profess his name. Our 
meeting in his holy assembly is an honour 
done to God's name ! this is good, but it is 
not enough. All that wear God's livery by 
profession, are not true servants ; there are 
some professors Christ will at the last day 
profess against, Matt. vii. 23, " I will profess 
I never knew you." Therefore, to go a lit- 
tle further, 

A. 2. We hallow and sanctify God's name, 
when we have a high appreciation and es- 
teem of God ; we set him highest in our 
thoughts. The Hebrew word to honour sig- 
nifies to esteem precious; we conceive of 
God in our minds as the most super excellent 
and infinite good : we apprehend in God, a 
constellation of all beauties and delights : we 
adore God in his glorious attributes, which 
are the several beams by which his divine 
nature shines forth ; we adore God in his 
works, which are bound up in three great 
volumes, creation, redemption, providence ; 
we hallow and sanctify God's name, when we 
lift him highest in our souls : we esteem him 
a supereminent and incomprehensible God. 

A. 3. We hallow and sanctify God's name, 
when we trust in his name, Ps. xxxiii. 21. 
" We have trusted in his holy name ;" no 
way can we bring more revenues of honour 
to God, or make his crown shine brighter, 
than by confiding in him, Rom. iv. 20, 
" Abraham was strong in faith, giving glory 
to God; there was a hallowing of God's 
name, as unbelief stains God's honour, and 
eclipseth his name, 1 John v. 10, " He that 
believeth not, God hath made him a liar :" 
so faith doth glorify and hallow God's name. 
The believer trusts his best jewels in God's 
hands, Ps. xxxi. 5, " Into thy hands I com- 
mit my spirit ; faith in a Mediator doth more 
honour and sanctify God's name, than mar- 
tyrdom, or the most sublime acts of obedi- 
ence. 

A. 4. We hallow and sanctify God's name, 
when we never make mention of his name 
but with the highest reverence ; God's name 
is sacred, and it must not be spoken of, but 
with veneration. The scripture, when it 
speaks of God, gives him his titles of honour, 



Gen. xiv. 20, " Blessed be the most high 
God ;" Neh. ix. 5, " Blessed be thy glorious 
name, which is exalted above all blessing 
and praise." To speak vainly or slightly of 
God, is a profaning his name, and is a taking 
his name in vain ; let his name be hallowed ; 
by giving God his venerable tities, we do as 
it were hang his jewels on his crown. 

A. 5. We hallow and sanctify God's name, 
when we love his name, Ps. v. 11, " Let 
them that love thy name be joyful ;" and 
that love which is honouring God's name, 
must be a special discriminating love, the 
cream and flower of our love, — such a love 
as we give to none besides ; as the wife ho- 
nours her husband, by giving him such a 
love as she gives to none else, a conjugal 
love, so we hallow God's name, by giving 
him such love as we give to none else, a 
love joined with worship, Ps. xlv. 11, " He is 
thy Lord, and worship thou him." 

A. 6. We hallow and sanctify God's name, 
when we give him a holy and spiritual 
worship : 1st. When we give him the same 
kind of worship that he hath appointed : Lev. 
x. 3, "I will be sanctified in them that come 
nigh to me :" that is, I will be sanctified with 
that very worship I have appointed. It is 
the purity of worship God loves better than 
the pomp. It is a dishonouring of God's 
name, to bring any thing into his worship 
which he hath not instituted : as if God were 
not wise enough to appoint the manner how 
he will be served. Men will go to prescribe 
him, and superadd their inventions : this 
God looks upon as offering strange fire, and 
it is a high provocation. 2d. When we 
give God the same heart devotion in worship 
as he hath appointed, Rom. xii. 11. " Fer- 
vent in spirit, serving the Lord." The word 
for fervent, is a metaphor that alludes to 
water that seeths and boils over ; so our af- 
fections should boil over in holy duties. To 
give God outside worship, and not the devo- 
tion of the heart, is, instead of hallowing and 
sanctifying him in an ordinance, to abuse 
him : as if one calls for wine, and you give 
him an empty glass ; it is to deal with God, 
as Prometheus did with Jupiter, who did eat 
the flesh and present Jupiter with nothing 
but bones covered over with skin. Then we 



408 



OF THE FIRST PETITION 



IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



hallow God's name, and sanctify him in an 
ordinance, when we give him the vitals of 
religion, and a heart flaming with zeal. 

A. 7. We hallow and sanctify God's name, 
when we hallow his day, Jer. xvii. 22, " Hal- 
low ye the sabbath-day." Our Christian 
sabbath — which comes in the room of the 
Jews' sabbath — is called the Lord's day, Rev. 
i. 10. This was anciently called dies lucis, 
— a day of light, wherein Christ the Sun of 
Righteousness shines in an extraordinary 
manner. It is an honour done to God, to 
hallow his sabbath. 1st. We must rest on 
this day from all secular works, Jer. xvii. 
22. Bear no burden on the sabbath day. 
As Joseph, when he would speak with his 
brethren, thrust out the Egyptians, so when 
we would have converse with God on this 
day, we must thrust out all earthly employ- 
ments. It is observable, Mary Magdalene 
refused to anoint Christ's dead body on the 
sabbath day, Luke xxiii. 56 ; she had before 
prepared her ointment and spices, but came 
not to the sepulchre till the sabbath was past ; 
she rested on that day from civil work, though 
it were a commendable and glorious work, 
the anointing of Christ's dead body. 2d. We 
must in a solemn manner devote ourselves 
to God on this day ; we must spend this 
whole day with God. Some will hear the 
word, but leave all their religion at church; 
they do nothing at home, they do not pray 
or repeat the word in their houses, and so 
they rob God of a part of his day. It is be- 
wailing to see how God's day is profaned ! 
Let no man think God's name is hallowed 
while his sabbath is broken. 

A. 8. We hallow and sanctify God's name, 
when we ascribe the honour of all we do to 
him, Ps. xcvi. 8, " Give unto the Lord the 
glory due unto his name." Herod, instead 
of hallowing God's name, stained the honour 
of his name, in assuming that praise to him- 
self which was due to God, Acts xii. 23. We 
ought to take the honour from ourselves and 
give it to God, 1 Cor. xv. 10, " I laboured 
more abundantly than they all." One would 
think this had savoured of pride, but the 
apostle pulls the crown from his own head, 
and sets it upon the head of free grace : 
" Yet not I, but the grace of God which was 



with me. If a Christian hath any assistance 
in duty, or victory over temptation, he rears 
up a pillar and writes upon it, Hucusque ad- 
juvavit Deus, — hitherto the Lord hath help- 
ed me. John Baptist transferred all the ho- 
nour from himself to Christ ; he was content 
to be eclipsed that Christ might shine the 
more, John i. 15, " He that cometh after me 
is preferred before me." I am but the herald, 
— the voice of one crying, — he is the prince ; 
I am but a lesser star, — he is the sun ; I bap- 
tize only with water, — he with the Holy 
Ghost. This is a hallowing God's name, 
when we translate all the honour from our- 
selves to God, Ps. cxv. 1, " Not unto us, O 
Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give 
glory !" The king of Sweden wrote that 
motto on the battle at Leipsic. Ista a Do- 
mino fact a sunt, — the Lord hath wrought this 
victory for us. 

A. 9. We hallow and sanctify God's name 
by obeying him. How doth a son more ho- 
nour his father, than by obedience ] Ps. xl. 
8, "I delight to do thy will, O my God!" 
The wise men showed honour to Christ, not 
only by bowing the knee to him, by present- 
ing him with gold and myrrh, Mat. ii. 11. 
We hallow God's name, not only by lifting 
up our eyes and hands to heaven, and bowing 
the knee in prayer, but by presenting God 
with golden obedience. As the factor trades 
for the merchant, so we trade for God, and 
lay out our strength in his service. It was 
a saying of reverend Dr Jewel, "I have 
spent and exhausted myself in the labours of 
my holy calling." 1 To obey is better than 
sacrifice.' The cherubims representing the 
angels, are set forth with their wings display- 
ed, to show how ready they are to do ser- 
vice to God. To obey is angelical. To 
pretend honour to God's name, yet not to 
obey, is but a devout compliment. Abra- 
ham honoured God by obedience ; he was 
ready to sacrifice his son, though the son 
of his old age, and a son of the promise, 
Gen. xxii. 16, 17, " By myself have I sworn, 
saith the Lord, because thou hast done 
this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, 
thy only son ; that in blessing, I will bless 
thee." 

A. 10. We hallow and sanctify God's 



OF THE FIRST PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 409 



name when we lift up God's name in our 
praises. God is said to sanctify, and man is 
said to sanctify : God sanctifies us, by giving 
us grace, — and we sanctify him by giving 
him praise. What were our tongues given 
us for but to be organs of God's praise ] Ps. 
Ixxi. 8, " Let my mouth be filled with thy 
praise, and with thy honour all the day," 
Rev. v. 13, " Blessing, and honour, and 
glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth 
upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, for ever." 
Thus God's name is hallowed and sanctified 
in heaven ; the angels and glorified saints are 
singing hallelujahs ; let us begin the work of 
heaven here. David did sing forth God's 
praises and doxologies in a most melodious 
manner, therefore was called the sweet singer 
of Israel, 2 Sam. xxiii. 1. Praising God is a 
hallowing of God's name, — it spreads his re- 
nown, — it displays the trophies of his excel- 
lency, — it exalts him in the eyes of others, 
Ps. 1. 23, " Whoso offereth praise glorifieth 
me." This is one of the highest and purest 
acts of religion ; in prayer we act like men, 
— in praise we act like angels ; this is the 
music of heaven, — this is a work fit for a 
saint, Ps. cxlix. 5, 6, " Let the saints be joy- 
ful, let the high praises of God be in their 
mouths !" None but saints can in a right 
manner thus hallow God's name by praising 
him. As every one hath not skill to play on 
the viol and organ, so every one cannot 
rightly sound forth God's harmonious praises ; 
only the saints can do it; they only can 
make their tongue and heart join in concert, 
Ps. ix. 1, " I will bless thee, O Lord, with 
my whole heart ;" and Ps. lxvi. 17, " He 
was extolled with my tongue." There was 
joining in concert. This hallowing God's 
name by praise is very becoming a Chris- 
tian ; it is unbecoming to murmur, this is a 
dishonouring God's name, but it becomes the 
saints to be spiritual choristers in singing 
forth the honour of God's name. It is called 
" the garment of praise," Isa. lxi. 3. How 
comely and handsome is this garment of 
praise for a saint to wear ! Ps. xxxiii. 1, 
" Praise is comely for the upright." Espe- 
cially, it is a high degree of hallowing God's 
name, when we can speak well of God, and 
bless him in an afflicted state, Job i. 21, 
3F 



" The Lord hath taken away, blessed be the 
name of the Lord !" Many will bless God 
when he gives, but to bless him when he 
takes away is in a high degree to honour God 
and hallow his name. Let us thus magnify 
God's name. Hath not God given us abun- 
dant matter of praising him ? He hath given 
us grace, — a mercy spun and woven out of 
his bowels ; and he intends to crown grace 
with glory, — this should make us hallow God's 
name by being trumpets of his praise. 

A. 11. We hallow and sanctify God's 
name when we sympathize with him ; we 
grieve when his name suffers. 1st. We lay 
to heart his dishonour. How was Moses 
affected with God's dishonour ! He breaks 
the tables, Exod. xxxii. 19. We grieve to 
see God's sabbaths profaned, his worship 
adulterated, the wine of truth mingled with 
error. — 2d. We grieve when God's church 
is brought low, because now God's name 
suffers. Nehemiah lays to heart the mise- 
ries of Sion ; his complexion begins to alter, 
and he looks sad, Neh. ii. 2, " Why is thy 
countenance sad V What ! sad, when the 
king's cup-bearer, and wine is so near ! O 
but it fared ill with the church of God, and 
religion seemed to lose ground, and God's 
name suffered : therefore Nehemiah grows 
weary of the court, — he leaves his wine and 
mingles his drink with weeping ! This holy 
sympathy and grieving when God's name 
suffers, God esteems an honouring and sanc- 
tifying his name. Hezekiah grieved when 
the king of Assyria reproached the living 
God, Isa. xxxvii. 17. " He went up into the 
house of the Lord, and spread the letter of 
blasphemy before the Lord," 2 Kings xix. 
14. And no doubt watered the letter with 
his tears ; he seemed not to be so much 
troubled at the fear of losing his own life 
and kingdom, as that God should lose his 
glory. 

A. 12. We hallow and sanctify God's name 
when we give that same honour to God the 
Son as we give to God the Father, John v. 
23, " That all men should honour the Son, 
even as they honour the Father." The So- 
cinians deny Christ's divinity, saying that he 
is a mere man : this is to make him below 
the angels, Ps. viii. 5, for the human nature, 



410 OF THE FIRST PETITION 



IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



considered in itself, is below the angelical ; 
this is to reflect dishonour upon the Lord of 
glory. We must give equal honour to the 
Son as to the Father ; we must believe 
Christ's Deity ; he is the picture of his Fa- 
ther's glory, Heb. i. 3. If the Godhead be in 
Christ, he must needs be God ; but the God- 
head shines in him, Col. ii. 9, " In him dwell- 
eth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily ;" 
therefore, he is God. How could these divine 
titles be given to Christ, Omnipotency, Heb. 
i. 3, — Ubiquity, Matt, xxviii. 20, — a power 
of sealing pardons, Matt. ix. 6, — Co-equality 
with God the Father, both in power and dig- 
nity, John v. 21, 23, — how, I say, could these 
titles of honour be ascribed to Christ, if he 
were not crowned with the Deity ? When 
we believe Christ's Godhead, and build our 
hope of salvation on the corner-stone of his 
merit, — when we see neither the righteous- 
ness of the law, nor of angels, can justify, 
but we flee to Christ's blood as to the altar 
of refuge, — -this is an honouring and sancti- 
fying God's name. God never thinks his 
name to be hallowed, unless his Son be ho- 
noured. 

A. 13. We hallow God's name by standing 
up for his truths. Much of God's glory lies 
in his truths ; God's truths are his oracles. 
God intrusts us with his truths as a treasure ; 
we have not a richer jewel to intrust God 
with than our souls, nor God hath not a 
greater jewel to intrust us with than his 
truths. God's truths set forth his glory ; 
now when we are zealous advocates for God's 
truths, this is an honour done to God's name. 
Athanasius was called 4 the bulwark of truth ;' 
he stood up in the defence of God's truths 
against the Arians, and so was a pillar in the 
temple of God; better have truth without 
peace, than peace without truth. It con- 
cerns the sons of Zion to stand up for the 
great doctrines of the gospel : the doctrine of 
the Trinity, — the Hypostatical union, — -justi- 
fication by faith, — the saints' perseverance. 
We are bid to contend earnestly, Jude 3, to 
strive as in an agony for the faith, that is, the 
doctrine of faith ; this contending for the 
truth, brings great revenues to heaven's ex- 
chequer ; this is a hallowing of God's name. 
Contend for the truth ; some can contend for 
ceremonies, but not for the truth. We should 



count him unwise, that should contend more 
for a box of counters than for his box of evi- 
dences. 

A. 14. We hallow and sanctify God's 
name, by making as many proselytes as we 
can to him ; when, by all holy expedients, 
counsel, prayer, example, we endeavour the 
salvation of others. How did Monica, St 
Austin's mother, labour for his conversion » 
She had sorer pangs in travail for his new 
birth, than for his natural birth. It is a hal- 
lowing of God's name, when we diffuse the 
sweet savour of godliness and propagate re- 
ligion to others ; when not only we ourselves 
honour God, but are instruments to make 
others honour him ; certainly when the heart 
is seasoned with grace, there will be an en- 
deavour to season others. God's glory is as 
dear to a saint as his own salvation ; and that 
this glory may be promoted, he endeavours 
the conversion of souls ; every convert is a 
member added to Christ. Let us thus hallow 
God's name by labouring to advance piety in 
others ; especially, let us endeavour that 
those who are nearly related to us, or are 
under our roof, shall honour God, Josh. xxiv. 
15, " As for me and my house, we will serve 
the Lord." Let us make our houses Bethels, 
places where God's name is called upon, Col. 
iv. 15, " Salute Nymphas, and the church 
that is in his house." Let the parent endea- 
vour that his children may honour God, and 
the master that his servants honour him ; 
read the word, drop holy instruction, perfume 
your houses with prayer ; the Jews had sacri- 
fices in their family as well as in the taber- 
nacle, Exod. xii. 3. This is a hallowing 
God's name, when we make proselytes to 
him, and endeavour that all under our charge 
should honour and sanctify his name. 

A. 15. We hallow God's name when we 
prefer the honour of God's name before the 
dearest things. 1st. We prefer the honour 
of God's name before our own credit. The 
saints of old have, for the honour of God, 
been willing to endure reproach, Ps. lxix. 
7, " For thy sake I have borne reproach." 
David cared not what reproach he suffered 
so God's name might not suffer. The pro- 
phet Elijah was called in derision, ' the 
hairy prophet ;' and the prophet Isaiah, ' the 
bearer of burdens ;' and the prophet Zepha- 



OF THE FIRST PETITION 



IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



411 



niah, 4 the bitter prophet;' but they did bind 
these reproaches as a crown about their head ; 
the honour of God's name was dearer to 
them than their own honour. Moses esteem- 
ed the reproaches of Christ greater riches 
than the treasures of Egypt, Heb. xi. 26. 
The apostles went away rejoicing that they 
were counted worthy to suffer shame for the 
name of Christ, Acts v. 41, — that they were 
graced so far as to be disgraced for the name 
of Christ. This is a hallowing God's name, 
when we are content to have our name 
eclipsed, that God's name may shine the 
more. — 2d. We prefer the honour of God's 
name before our worldly profit and interest, 
Matt. xix. 27, " We have forsaken all and 
followed thee." When these two, God and 
estate, come in competition, we will rather 
let estate go than God's love and favour. 
Thus that noble marquis of Vico parted with 
a fair estate using these words, " Let their 
money perish with them, that count all the 
gold and silver in the world worth one hour's 
communion with Jesus Christ. — 3d. We pre- 
fer the honour of God's name before our life, 
Rom. viii. 36, " For thy sake are we killed 
all the day long." The honour done to God's 
name, is not by bringing that outward pomp 
and glory to him as we do to kings, but God's 
honour comes in another way, and that is by 
the sufferings of his people ; when the world 
sees how entirely God's people love him, 
that they will die in his service, this exalts 
and honours God's name ; God's crown doth 
flourish in the ashes of his martyrs. St Basil 
speaks of a virgin, condemned to the fire, 
who having her life and estate offered her, if 
she would bow to the idol, answered, Valeat 
vita, pareat pecunia, — Let life and money 
go, welcome Christ. When God's glory 
weighs heaviest in the balance, and we are 
willing to suffer the loss of all rather than 
God's name should suffer, now we do in a 
high degree hallow God's name. 

A. 16. We do hallow and sanctify God's 
name, by a holy conversation, 1 Pet. ii. 9, 
" Ye are a royal priesthood, a peculiar 
people : that ye should show forth the praises 
of him who hath called you." As an unholy 
life doth dishonour God's name, Rom. ii. 24, 
« The name of God is blasphemed among the 



Gentiles through you," so by our holy and 
Bible-conversation we honour God's name. 
A holy life speaks louder than all the anthems 
and praises in the world; though the main 
work of religion lies in the heart, yet when 
our light so shines, that others behold it, 
now they glorify God; when our lives shine, 
now God's name shines. The Macedonians 
used one day in the year to wear the picture 
of Alexander set with pearl and costly jewels : 
so when we carry the picture of Christ about 
us in our holy example, now we bring honour 
to God's name. 

Use 1st. See the true note and character 
of a godiy person ; he is a sanctifier of God's 
name, " Hallowed be thy name." A true 
saint doth ambitiously endeavour to advance 
God's name. This is the question he asks 
himself in every thing he is going about : 
" Will this action tend to the honour of God's 
name? Will this exalt God?" This was 
St Paul's chief design, that Christ might be 
magnified, Phil. i. 20. viz. that the crown 
upon his head might flourish. A godly man 
thinks it is scarce worth his while to live if 
he may not bring some revenues of honour 
to God's name. 

Use 2d. I may here take up a sad lament- 
ation, and speak, as the apostle Paul, weep- 
ing, Phil. iii. 18, to consider how God's 
name, instead of being hallowed and sancti- 
fied, is dishonoured. God's name — which is 
more worth than the salvation of all men's 
souls — suffers deeply. We are apt to speak 
of our sufferings, — alas ! what are all our 
sufferings ? God's name suffers most. God's 
name is the dearest thing he hath. How do 
men stand upon their name and honour? 
God's name is this day dishonoured, it is like 
the sun in an eclipse. Theodosius took it 
heinously when they threw dirt upon his sta- 
tue ; but now — which is far worse — disgrace is 
thrown upon the glorious name of Jehovah. 
God's name, instead of being hallowed, is 
dishonoured by all sorts, 1. By heathens ; 2. 
Turks ; 3. Jews ; 4. Papists ; 5. Protestants. 

1. By heathens. They have a knowledge 
of a Godhead by the light of nature, Rom. 
i. 19, but they dishonour God, and sin against 
the light of nature. The Egyptians worship 
an ox ; the Persians worship the sun ; the 



412 OF THE FIRST PETITION 



IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



Grecians and Romans, Jupiter ; and the Par- 
tisans worship the devil. 

2. God's name is dishonoured by the 
Turks. They adore Mahomet their great 
prophet, as one divinely inspired ; Mahomet 
was of an impure, vicious life; Mahomet 
plucks the crown from Christ's head denying 
his Deity. 

3. God's name is dishonoured by the Jews 
who give not equal honour and adoration to 
God the Son, as to God the Father. They 
expect a Messiah yet to come, — seculum 
futurum; they believe not in Christ, they 
blaspheme him, and slight righteousness im- 
puted ; they vilify the Christian sabbath. 

4. God's name is dishonoured by the Pa- 
pists. Popery is a God-dishono'uring religion; 
they dishonour God's name, 1st. by their 
idolatry, which is spiritual adultery. Ezek. 
xxiii. 37. Idolatry is to worship a false God, 
or the true God in a false manner; this they 
are guilty of. (1). They dishonour God by 
their idolatry, in making graven images, and 
giving the same honour to them as is due to 
God; images are teachers of lies, Hab. ii. 18, 
they represent God in a bodily shape. (2). 
By their idolatry in the mass ; worshipping 
the host, and offering it up as a sacrifice for 
sin. The apostle saith, Heb. x. 14. " By 
one offering he hath perfected for ever them 
that are sanctified ;" but as if Christ's offer- 
ing on the cross were imperfect, they offer 
him up daily in the mass, which is a dis- 
honour alone to Christ's priestly office. — 
2d. The papist, instead of hallowing God's 
name, dishonour God's name, by locking up 
the scriptures in an unknown tongue ; they 
as the Philistines pluck out the people's eyes, 
and then make sport with them ; the Bible 
is a shining light, but they draw a curtain 
over it ; they take away the key of know- 
ledge, Luke xi. 52, and hinder God's glory 
by hindering men's salvation. — 3d. Instead 
of hallowing God's name, they dishonour it 
by giving men indulgences. They say, the 
pope, as Peter's successor, hath power to 
grant indulgences, by virtue whereof men 
are set free in the sight of God. (1). It is 
to steal a flower from the crown of heaven. 
The pope assumes a power to pardon, which 
is God's prerogative royal, Mark ii. 7, 



" Who can forgive sin but God only]" (2). 
The pope, by his indulgence, encourageth 
men to sin. What need the papists care 
what sins they commit, when they have a 
license and patent from the pope to bear 
them harmless? — 4th, Instead of hallowing 
God's name, they dishonour God's name, by 
their invocation to saints. We are to pray 
only to God, Matt. vi. 6, " Pray to thy 
Father ;" not pray to a saint, or the Virgin 
Mary, but pray to your Father in heaven ; we 
may pray to none, but whom we may believe 
in, Rom. x. 14. The saints in heaven are 
ignorant of our grievances, Isa. lxiii. 16, 
" Abraham be ignorant of us." — 5th. Instead 
of hallowing God's name, they dishonour it 
by their luxury and uncleanness ; they allow 
of stews. At Rome, fornication keeps open 
shop, and is in some cases preferred before 
honourable matrimony, — urbs est jam tola 
lup amir. —6th. Instead of hallowing God's 
name, they dishonour it, by their blasphemies. 
They give equal, nay, more honour to the 
Virgin Mary than to Christ ; they ascribe 
more to her milk, than to his blood ; they 
call her Scala Cceli, — the ladder of heaven ; 
Janua paridisi, — the gate of Paradise. In 
their doxologies they say, " Praise be to the 
Virgin Mary, and also to Christ." What blas- 
phemy is this, to set the creature above the 
Creator ! They say to her, O felix puerpera, 
nostra piaris scelera ! O happy mother of a 
Son that purgest away our crimes 1 — 7th. In- 
stead of hallo wing God's name, they dishonour 
it, by their lies ; their golden legend is an im- 
posture, and is full of lying wonders. They 
show John Baptist's forehead for a relic in 
Spain, yet his whole head they affirm to be 
seen in St Sylvester's in Rome ; they show 
St Peter's shadow at Rome : indeed we read 
of St Peter's shadow, Acts v. 15, but it is 
strange how the papists could catch his sha- 
dow, and keep it by them so long. — 8th. In- 
stead of hallowing God's name, they dishonour 
it, by baptizing sin with the name of virtue. 
Breach of oaths is with the papists a virtue. 
If a man hath bound his soul to God by an 
oath, yet to violate this oath is virtuous, if 
it may propagate the Catholic cause. Kill- 
ing those who are of a different religion, is 
not only venial, but a virtue among catho- 



OF THE FIRST PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



413 



lies. Destroying two hundred thousand of the 
Albigenses who were protestants, was com- 
mended as a glorious action, honoured with a 
triumph at Rome, and crowned with his holi- 
ness's blessing. Is not this a high dishonour 
to God, to gild over the foulest crimes with 
the name of virtue and piety 1 — 9th. Instead 
of hallowing God's name, they dishonour it, 
by their damnable assertions ; (1). The pa- 
pists affirm, that the pope is above scripture ; 
that he may dispense with it, and that his 
canons bind more than the word of God. 
(2). They teach merit by good works ; but if 
a debtor cannot pay his creditor, how can he 
merit at his hands'? (3). That the scripture 
is not a perfect rule of faith and manners ; 
therefore they eke it out with their traditions, 
which they hold to be of equal authority. 
(4). They teach, that an implicit faith is 
saving ; though one may have an implicit 
faith, and yet be ignorant of all the articles of 
religion. (5). They say, that the inward act 
of the mind is not required in God's worship ; 
diversion of the mind in duty, though one 
prays and never thinks of God, is no sin, 
saith Angelus and Sylvester, and other pa- 
pists. (6). The papists make habitual love 
to God unnecessary ; it is not needful, saith 
Bellarmine, to perform any acts of religion 
out of love to God. Stapleton and Cajetan 
affirm that the precept of loving God with ail 
our heart is not binding ; by which they cut 
asunder the sinews and soul of all religion. 
Thus, instead of honouring God's name, the 
papists dishonour it. Let us pray heartily, 
that this Romish religion may never again 
get footing in this nation. God grant that 
this poisonful weed of popery may never be 
watered here ; but that, it being a plant which 
our heavenly Father hath not planted, it may 
be rooted up ! 

5. God's name is dishonoured by carnal 
protestants. How is God's name this day dis- 
honoured in England 1 His name is like the 
sun in an eclipse. Christians instead of hal- 
lowing God's name, reproach and dishonour 
it: 1st. By their tongues. 2d. By their lives. 

1. By their tongues. (1). They speak 
irreverently of God's name. God's name is 
sacred. Deut. xxviii. 58, " That thou may est 
fear this glorious and fearful name : the Lord 



thy God." The names of kings are not men- 
tioned without giving them their titles of 
honour, high and mighty; but men speak 
irreverently of God, as if he were like one of 
them, Ps. 1. 21, this is a taking God's name in 
vain. (2). They swear by his name. Many 
seldom name God's name but in oaths. How 
is God dishonoured, when men rend and tear 
his name by oaths and imprecations ! Jer. 
xxiii. 10, "Because of swearing the land 
mourns." If God will reckon with men for 
idle words, shall not idle oaths be put in the 
account-book ? " O but," saith one, " I can- 
not help it, — it is a custom of swearing I 
have got, and I hope God will forgive me!" 
Ans. Is this a good plea, — a custom of 
swearing 1 This is no excuse, but an ag- 
gravation of sin ; as if one that hid been 
accused for killing a man should plead with 
the judge to spare him because it was his 
custom to murder; this were an aggrava- 
tion of the offence ; will not the judge say, 
" Thou shalt the rather die?" so it is here. 

2. As men dishonour God by their tongues, 
so by their lives. What is it to say, " Hal- 
lowed be thy name," when in their lives they 
profane his name 1 They dishonour God by 
their atheism, sabbath-breaking, uncleanness, 
perjury, intemperance, injustice. Men hang 
out a flag of defiance against heaven ; as the 
Thracians, when it thunders, shoot their 
arrows against heaven, so men shoot their 
sins as bearded arrows against heaven. Sin- 
ners are hardened in sin, — they despise coun- 
sel, — they laugh at reproof, — they have cast 
off the veil of modesty, — Satan hath taken 
such full possession of them, that when they 
sin, they glory in their shame, Phil. iii. 19. 
They brag how many new oaths they have 
invented, — how oft they have been drunk, — 
how many they have defiled ; they declare 
their sin as Sodom ; such horrid impieties 
are committed that a modest heathen would 
blush at. Men, in this age, sin at that rate, 
as if either they did not believe there were a 
hell, or as if they feared hell would be full 
ere they could get thither. Was God's name 
ever so openly dishonoured 1 All our preach- 
ing will not make them leave their sins. 
What a black veil is drawn over the face of 
religion at this day ! Vivimus in temporum 



414 OP THE FIRST PETITION 



IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



fcBcibus. Sen. " We live in the dregs of 
time," wherein the common shore of wicked- 
ness runs. Physicians call it [Gr. kachexid] 
when there is no part of the body free from 
distemper. England hath a kachexy ; it is 
all over disease ; " The whole head is sick, 
the whole heart is faint," Isa. i. 5. As black 
vapours rising out of the earth, cloud and 
darken the sun, so the sins of people in our 
age, like hellish vapours, cast a cloud upon 
God's glorious name. O that our eyes were 
like limbecks, dropping the water of holy 
tears, to consider how God's name, instead 
of being hallowed, is polluted and profaned ! 
And, may not we justly fear some heavy judg- 
ments ? Can God put up with our affronts any 
longer ? Can he endure to have his name re- 
proached? Will a king surfer his crown- 
jewels to be trampled in the dust ? Do not 
we see the symptoms of God's anger? Do 
we not see his judgments hovering over us 1 
Sure God is whetting his sword, he hath bent 
his bow, and is preparing his arrows to shoot ! 
Qualis per arva leo fulvam minace fronte 
concutiens jubam. Sen. The body politic is 
in a paroxysm, or burning fit ; and may not 
the Lord cause a sad phlebotomy ? Seeing we 
will not leave our sins, he may make us lose 
our blood. May we not fear that the ark 
should remove, — the vision cease, — the stars 
in God's church be removed, — and we should 
follow the gospel to the grave ? When God's 
name, which should be hallowed, is profaned 
among a people, it is just with God to write 
that dismal epitaph upon a nation's tomb, 
" The glory is departed." And, that I may 
speak to the consciences of all, and deal im- 
partially, it were well if only the profane 
party were guilty ; but, may not many pro- 
fessors be called to the bar, and indicted of 
this, that they have dishonoured God's name? 
2 Chron. xxviii. 10, " Are there not with you, 
even with you, sins against the Lord your 
God ?" Are these the spots of God's children ? 
Deut. xxxii. 5. If you are diamonds, have 
you no flaws 1 Have not you your vanities ? 
If your discourse be not profane, is it not 
vain I Have not you your self-seekings, rash 
censures, indecent dresses ? If the wicked of 
the land swear, do not you sometimes slander! 
If they are drunk with wine, are not you 



sometimes drunk with passion 1 If their sin 
be blaspheming, is not your sin murmuring'? 
" Are there not with you, even with you, sins 
against the Lord ?" The sins of God's chil- 
dren go nearer to his heart, than the sins of 
others, Deut. xxxii. 19, "When the Lord 
saw it, he abhorred them, because of the 
provoking of his sons and daughters." The 
sins of the wicked anger God ; the sins of 
his own people grieve him ; he will be sure 
to punish them, Amos iii. 2. "You only 
have I known of all the families of the earth ; 
therefore will I punish you for all your ini- 
quities." O that our head were waters, that 
we could make this place a Bochim, a place 
of weepers, that God's children might mix 
blushing with tears that they have so little 
hallowed, and so much eclipsed God's name ! 
Truly God's own people have sinned enough 
to justify God in all his severe actings against 
them ! 

Use 3d. Of exhortation. Let us hallow 
and sanctify God's name. Did we but see a 
glimpse of God's glory, as Moses did in the 
rock, the sight of this would draw adoration 
and praise from us. Could we see " God face 
to face," as the angels in heaven do, — could 
we behold him sitting on his throne like a 
jasper-stone, Rev. iv. 10, — we should pre- 
sently, at the sight of his glory, do as the 
twenty-four elders, Rev. iv. 10, 11, " They 
worship him that liveth for ever, and cast their 
crowns before the throne, saying, ' Thou art 
worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, honour and 
power !' " That we may be stirred up to this 
great duty, the hallowing, adoring and sanc- 
tifying God's name, consider, 

1. It is the very end of our being. Why did 
God give us our life, but that our living may 
be a hallowing of his name ? Why did he give 
us souls but to admire him ; and tongues, but 
to praise him ? The excellency of a thing is, 
when it attains the end for which it was made ; 
the excellency of a star is to give light, of a 
plant to be fruitful ; the excellency of a Chris- 
tian, is to answer the end of his creation, 
which is to hallow God's name, and live to 
that God by whom he lives. He who lives, 
and God hath no honour by him, buries him- 
self alive, and exposeth himself to a curse. 
Christ cursed the barren fig-tree. 



OF THE FIRST PETITION 



IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



415 



2. God's name is so excellent that it de- 
serves to be hallowed, Ps. viii. 9, " How 
excellent is thy name in all the earth !" Ps. 
civ. 1, " Thou art clothed with honour and 
majesty." As the sun hath its brightness, 
whether we admire it or not, so God's name 
is illustrious and glorious whether we hallow 
it or not. In God are all shining perfections, 
holiness, wisdom, mercy ; "he is worthy to 
be praised," 2 Sam. xxii. 4. God is dignus 
honore, — worthy of honour, love, adoration. 
We oft bestow titles of honour upon them 
that do not deserve them ; but God is worthy 
to be praised ; his name deserves hallowing ; 
he is above all the honour and praise which 
the angels in heaven give him. 

3. We pray, " hallowed be thy name :" 
that is, let thy name be honoured and mag- 
nified by us. Now, if we do not magnify his 
name, we contradict our own prayers : to say, 
" hallowed be thy name," yet not to bring 
honour to God's name, is to take his name in 
vain. 

4. Such as do not hallow God's name, and 
bring revenues of honour to him, God will 
get his honour upon them, Exod. xiv. 17, "I 
will get me honour upon Pharaoh." Pha- 
raoh would not hallow God's name ; " Who 
is the Lord, that I should obey him V Well, 
saith God, if Pharaoh will not honour me, I 
will get me honour upon him. When God 
overthrew him and his chariots in the sea, 
then he got his honour upon him ; God's 
power and justice were glorified in his de- 
struction. There are some whom God hath 
raised to great power and dignity, and they 
will not honour God's name, — they make use 
of their power to dishonour God, — they cast 
reproach upon God's name, and revile his 
servants : well, they who will not honour 
God, he will get his honour upon them in 
their final ruin. Herod did not give glory to 
God, and God did get his glory upon him, 
Acts xii. 23, " The angel of the Lord smote 
him because he rave not God the glory, and 
he was eaten of worms." 

5. It will be no small comfort to us when 
we come to die that we have hallowed and 
sanctified God's name ; it was Christ's com- 
fort a little before his death, John xvii. 4, " I 
have glorified thee on the earth." Christ's 



redeeming mankind was a hallowing and 
glorifying of God's name ; never was more 
honour brought to God's name than by this 
great undertaking of Christ ; now, here was 
Christ's comfort before his death, that he had 
hallowed God's name, and brought glory to 
him. So, what a cordial will this be to us at 
last, when our whole life hath been a hallow- 
ing of God's name ! We have loved him 
with our hearts, praised him with our lips, 
honoured him with our lives ; we have been 
to the praise of his glory, Eph. i. 6. At the 
hour of death all your earthly comforts will 
vanish ; to think how rich you have been, or 
what pleasures you have enjoyed upon earth, 
this will not give one drachm of comfort. 
What is one the better for an estate that is 
spent 1 But now, to have conscience wit- 
nessing that you have hallowed God's name, 
your whole life hath been a glorifying of him, 
what sweet peace and satisfaction will this 
give ! That servant who hath been all day 
working in the vineyard, how glad is he when 
evening comes, that he shall receive his pay ! 
Such as have spent their lives in honouring 
God, how sweet will death be when they shall 
receive the recompense of reward ! What 
comfort was it to Hezekiah, when he was on 
his sick bed, and could appeal to God, Isa. 
xxxviii. 3, " Remember, Lord, how I have 
walked before thee with a perfect heart, and 
have done that which is good in thy sight." 
I have hallowed thy name ; I have brought 
all the honour I could to thee ; " I have done 
that which is good in thy sight." 

6. There is nothing lost by what we do for 
God ; if we bring honour to his name, he will 
honour us. Honour is as Balak said to Ba- 
laam, Numb. xxii. 37, " Am not I able indeed 
to promote thee to honour'?" So if we hal- 
low and sanctify God's name, is he not able 
to promote us to honour ? 1. He will honour 
us in our life. (1). He will put honour upon 
our persons; he will number us among his 
jewels, Mai. iii. 17 ; he will make us a royal 
diadem in his hand, Isa. lxii. 3 ; he will lift 
us up in the eyes of others, Zech. ix. 16, 
" They shall be as the stones of a crown lift- 
ed up, as an ensign upon this land :" he will 
esteem us as the cream and flower of the 
creation, Isa. xliii. 4, " Since thou wast pre- 



416 OF THE FIRST PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



cious in my sight, thou hast been honourable." 
(2). God will put honour upon your names, 
Prov. x. 7, " The memory of the just is bless- 
ed." How renowned have the saints been 
in all ages who have hallowed God's name 1 
How renowned was Abraham for his faith, 
Moses for his meekness, David for his zeal, 
Paul for his love to Christ ! Their names as 
a precious ointment, send forth a sweet per- 
fume in God's church to this day. — 2. God 
will honour us at our death ; he will send his 
angels to carry us up with triumph into hea- 
ven, Luke xvi. 22, " The beggar died, and 
was carried by the angels into Abraham's 
bosom." Amasis king of Egypt, had his 
chariot drawn by four kings which he had 
conquered in war: but what is this to the 
glory every believer shall have at his death ] 
He shall be carried by the angels of God. — 
3. God will put honour upon us after death : 
(1). He will put glory upon our bodies ; we 
shall be as the angels, not for substance but 
quality ; our bodies shall be agile and nimble ; 
now our bodies are as a weight, then they 
shall be as a wing, moving swiftly from place 
to place ; our bodies shall be full of clarity 
and brightness, like Christ's glorious body, 
Phil. iii. 21. The bodies of the saints shall 
be as cloth dyed into a scarlet colour, made 
more illustrious ; they shall be so clear and 
transparent, that the soul shall sparkle through 
them as the wine through the glass. (2). 
God will put glory upon our souls ; if the 
cabinet of the body shall be so illustrious, of 
what orient brightness shall the jewel be t 
Then will be the great coronation day, when 
the saints shall wear the robe of immortality, 
and the crown of righteousness which fades 
not away. O how glorious will that garland 
be which is made of the flowers of paradise ! 
Who then would not hallow and glorify God's 
name, and spread his renown in the world, 
who will put such immortal honour upon his 
people, " as eye hath not seen nor ear heard, 
neither hath it entered into the heart of man 
to conceive 1" 



7. Such as do not hallow God's name, but 
profane and dishonour it, God will pour con- 
tempt upon them ; though they be ever so 
great, and though clothed in purple and scar- 
let, yet they are abhorred of God, and their 
name shall rot. Though the name of Judas 
be in the Bible, and the name of Pontius Pi- 
late be in the creed, yet their names stand 
there for infamy, as being traitors to the 
crown of heaven, Nahum i. 14, " I will make 
thy grave, for thou art vile." It is spoken of 
Antiochus Epiphanes, he was a king and his 
name signifies illustrious, yet God esteemed 
him a vile person. To show how base the 
wicked are in God's esteem, he compares 
them to things most vile ; to chaff, Ps. i. 4 ; 
to dross, Ps. cxix. 119 ; and the filth that 
foams out of the sea, Isa. lvii. 20. And as 
God doth thus vilely esteem of such as do not 
hallow his name, so he sends them to a vile 
place at last. Vagrants are sent to the house 
of correction : hell is the house of correction 
which the wicked are sent to when they die. 
Let all this prevail with us to hallow and 
sanctify God's name. 

Quest. What may we do to honour and 
sanctify God's name ? 

Ans. Let us get, 1st. a sound knowledge 
of God ; 2d. a sincere love to God. 

1. A sound knowledge of God ; take a view 
of his superlative excellencies,— his holiness, 
— his incomprehensible goodness. The angels 
know God better than we, therefore they sanc- 
tify his name, andsinghallelujahs to him. And 
let us labour to know him to be our God. Ps. 
xlviii. 14, "This God is our God." We may 
dread God as a judge, but we cannot honour 
him as a father, till we know he is our God. 

2. Get a sincere love to God, — a love of 
appreciation, and a love of complacency to 
delight in him, John xxi. 15, " Lord, thou 
knowest I love thee." He can never honour 
his master who doth not ( love him. The 
reason God's name is no more hallowed is, 
because his name is no more loved. So 
much for the first petition. 



OF THE SECOND PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



417 



OF THE SECOND PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



Matt. vi. 10. Thy kingdom come. 



A soul truly devoted to God joins heart- 
ily in this petition, adveniat regnum tuum, 
" thy kingdom come ;" in which words this 
great truth is implied, that God is a king. 
He who hath a kingdom, can be no less than 
a king, Ps. xlvii. 7, " God is the king of all 
the earth." And he is a king upon his 
throne, Ps. xlvii. 8, " God sitteth upon the 
throne of his holiness." 1st. He hath a re- 
gal title, high and mighty, Isa. lvii. 15, 
" Thus saith the high and lofty One." 2d. 
He hath the ensigns of royalty : his sword, 
Deut. xxxii. 41, " If I whet my glittering 
sword." He hath his sceptre, Heb. i. 8, 
" A sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of 
thy kingdom." — 3d. He hath his crown royal, 
Rev. xix. 12, " On his head were many 
crowns." He hath his jura regalia,— his 
kingly prerogatives ; he hath power to make 
laws, to seal pardons, which are the flowers 
and jewels belonging to his crown. Thus the 
Lord is king. 

And, 2dly, He is a great king, Ps. xcv. 3, 
" A great king above all gods." He is great 
in, and of himself ; and not like other kings, 
who are made great by their subjects. That 
he is so great a king appears, (1.) By the 
immenseness of his being, Jer. xxiii. 24, 
" Do not I fill heaven and earth 1 saith the 
Lord." His centre is everywhere ; he is no 
where included, yet no where excluded ; he 
is so immensely great, that " the heaven of 
heavens cannot contain thee," 1 Kings viii. 
27. (2.) His greatness appears by the ef- 
fects of his power, " Who made heaven and 
earth," Ps. cxxiv. 8, and can unmake it. 'God 
can with a breath crumble us to dust ; with 
a word he can unpin the world, and break 
the axle-tree of it in pieces ; he pours con- 
tempt upon princes," Job xii. 21, " He shall 
cut off the spirit of princes," Ps. lxxvi. 12. 
He is Lord paramount, who doth whatever 
he will, Ps. cxv. 3, " He weigheth the moun- 
tains in scales, and the hills in a balance," 
Isa. xl. 12. 
3G 



Sdly. God is a glorious King, Ps. xxiv. 10, 
" Who is this King of glory ? The Lord of 
hosts, he is the King of glory." He hath 
internal glory, Ps. xciii. 1, " The Lord reign- 
eth, he is clothed with majesty." Other 
kings have royal and sumptuous apparel to 
make them appear glorious to the beholders, 
but all their magnificence is borrowed ; but 
God is clothed with majesty, his own glorious 
essence is instead of royal robes, and ' he 
hath girded himself with strength.' Kings 
have their guard about them to defend their 
persons, because they are not able to defend 
themselves ; but God needs no guard or as- 
sistance from others ; he hath girded him- 
self with strength. His own power is his 
life-guard, Ps. lxxxix. 6, " Who in the hea- 
ven can be compared unto the Lord 1 Who 
among the sons of the mighty can be li- 
kened unto the Lord?" God hath a pre- 
eminence above all other kings for majesty, 
Rev. xix. 16, " He hath on his vesture a 
name written, (Rex Regum,) king of 
kings." He hath the highest throne, the 
richest crown, the largest dominions, and 
the longest possession, Ps. xxix. 10, " The 
Lord sitteth King for ever." Though God 
hath many heirs, yet no successors. He sets 
up his throne where no other king doth ; he 
rules the will and affections ; his power binds 
the conscience : angels serve him ; all the 
kings of the earth hold their crowns and dia- 
dems by immediate tenure from this great 
King, Prov. viii. 15, " By me kings reign 
and to this Lord Jehovah all kings must give 
account, and from God's tribunal there is no 
appeal. 

Use 1st. Branch 1. If God be so great a 
King, and sits King for ever, then it is no 
disparagement for us to serve him. Deo ser- 
vire est regnare ; it is an honour to serve a 
king. If the angels fly swiftly upon the 
King of heaven's message, Dan. ix. 21, then 
well we may look upon it as a favour to be 
taken into his royal service. Theodosius 



418 



OF THE SECOND PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



thought it a greater honour to be God's ser- 
vant than to be an emperor. It is more ho- 
nour to serve God than to have kings serve 
us. Every subject of this king is crowned 
with regal honour, Rev. i. 6, " And hath made 
us kings." Therefore as the queen of Sheba, 
having seen the glory of Solomon's kingdom, 
said, " Happy are these thy servants which 
stand continually before thee," 1 Kings x. 8, 
so, happy are those saints who stand before 
the King of heaven, and wait on his throne. 

Branch 2. If God be such a glorious King, 
crowned with wisdom, armed with power, be- 
spangled with riches, then it shows us what 
prudence it is to have this King to be ours ; 
to say, as Ps. v. 2, " My King, and my God !" 
It is counted great policy to be on the strong- 
est side ; if we belong to the King of heaven, 
we are sure to be on the strongest side ; the 
King of glory can with ease destroy his ad- 
versaries ; he can pull down their pride, befool 
their policy, restrain their malice. That stone 
cut out of the mountain without hands, which 
smote the image, Dan. ii. 34, was an emblem 
(saith Austin) of Christ's monarchical power, 
conquering and triumphing over his enemies. 
If we are on God's side, we are on the strong- 
est side ; he can with a word destroy his ene- 
mies, Ps. ii.-;5, " Then shall he speak unto 
them in his wrath ; nay, he can with a look 
destroy them, Job xl. 12, " Look upon every 
one that is proud and bring him low." It 
needs cost God no more to confound those 
who rise up against him, than a look, a cast 
of his eye, Exod. xiv. 24, 25, " In the morn- 
ing watch the Lord looked to the host of the 
Egyptians, through the pillar of fire, and 
troubled their, host, and took off their chariot- 
wheels." What wisdom is it then to have this 
King to be ours 1 Then we are on the strong- 
est side. 

Use 2d. Of Exhortation. 

Branch 1. If God be so glorious a King, 
fall of power and majesty, let us trust in him, 
Ps. ix. 10, " They that know thy name will 
put their trust in thee." Trust him with your 
soul; you cannot put this jewel in safer hands. 
And trust him with church and state affairs ; 
he is King, Exod. xv. 3, " The Lord is a man 
of war." He can make bare his holy arm in 
the eyes of all the nations. If means fail he 
is never at a loss ; there are no impossibilities 



with him ; he can make the dry bones live, 
Ezek. xxxvii. 10. As a King he can command, 
and as a God he can create salvation, Isa. lxv. 
18, " I create Jerusalem a rejoicing." Let 
us trust all our affairs with this great King. 
Either God can remove mountains or can leap 
over them, Cant. ii. 8. 

Branch 2. If God be so great a King, let 
us fear him, Jer. v. 22, " Fear ye not me 1 
saith the Lord : will ye not tremble at my 
presence V 9 We have enough of fear of men. 
Fear makes danger appear greater, and sin 
lesser ; but let us fear the King of kings, who 
hath power to cast body and soul into hell, 
Luke xii. 5. As one wedge drives out ano- 
ther, so the fear of God would drive out all 
base carnal fear. Let us fear that God whose 
throne is set above all kings ; they may be 
mighty, but he is almighty. Kings have no 
power, but what God hath given them ; their 
power is limited, his is infinte. Let us fear 
this king, whose eyes, " are as a flame of 
fire," Rev. i. 14. " The mountains quake at 
him; and the rocks are thrown down by him," 
Nahum i. 6. If he stamps with his foot, all 
the creatures are presently up in a battalia to 
fight for him. O tremble and fear before this 
God ! Fear is janitor animce, it is the door- 
keeper of the soul ; it keeps sin from enter- 
ing, Gen. xxxix. 9, " How then can I do this 
great wickedness, and sin against God V 9 

Branch 3. If God be so glorious a King, he 
hath jus vitce necisque, — he hath the power 
of life and death in his hand. Let all fthe 
potentates of the earth take heed how they 
employ their power against the king of hea- 
ven ; they employ their power against God, 
who with their sceptre beat down his truth, 
which is the most orient pearl of his crown, 
who crush and persecute his people, who are 
the apple of his eye, Zech. ii. 8. Who 
trample upon his laws, and royal edicts, 
which he hath set forth, Ps. ii. 3. What is 
a king without his laws 1 Let all that are 
invested with worldly power and grandeur, 
take heed how they oppose the King of glo- 
ry ; the Lord will be too hard for all that 
come against him, Job xl. 9, " Hast thou an 
arm like God?" Wilt thou measure arms 
with the Almighty 1 Shall a little child go 
to fight with an archangel ] Ezek. xxii. 14. 
" Can thy heart endure, or can thy hands 



OF THE SECOND PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



419 



be strong in the days that I shall deal with 
thee?" Christ will put all his enemies at last 
under his feet, Ps. ex. 1. All the multitude of 
the wicked who set themselves against God 
shall be but as so many clusters of ripe grapes, 
to be cast into the wine press of the wrath of 
God, and to be trodden by him till their blood 
come forth. The King of glory will come off 
victor at last ; men may set up their standard, 
but God always sets up his trophies of victory. 
The Lord hath a golden sceptre, and an iron 
rod, Ps. ii. 9. Those who will not bow to 
the one, shall be broken by the other. 

Branch 4. Is God so great a King having 
all power in heaven and earth in his hand ] 
Let us learn subjection to him. Such as 
have gone on in sin, and by their impieties 
hung out a flag of defiance against the King 
of heaven, O come in quickly, and make your 
peace, submit to God, Ps. ii. 12, " Kiss the 
Son, lest he be angry !" Kiss Christ with a 
kiss of love, and a kiss of obedience ; obey 
the king of heaven, when he speaks to you 
by his ministers and ambassadors, 2 Cor. v. 
20. When God bids you flee from sin, and 
espouse holiness, obey him ; to obey is better 
than sacrifice. " To obey God (saith Luther) 
is better than to work miracles." Obey God 
willingly, Isa. i. 19. That is the best obe- 
dience that is cheerful, as that is the sweetest 
honey which drops out of the comb ; obey 
God swiftly, Zech. v. 9, " I lift up mine eyes, 
and, behold, two women, and the wind was- 
in their wings." Wings are swift, but wind 
in the wings denotes great swiftness ; such 
should our obedience to God be. Obey the 
King of glory. 

Use 3d. Comfort to those who are the 
subjects of the King of heaven ; God will put 
forth all the royal power for their succour and 
comfort. 

1. The king of heaven will plead their 
cause, Jer. Ii. 36, " I will plead thy cause, 
and take vengeance for thee." 

2. He will protect his people ; he sets an 
invisible guard about them, Zech. ii. 5, " I 
will be unto her a wall of fire round about." 
A wall, that is defensive ; a wall of fire, that 
is offensive. 

3. When it may be for the good of his 
people, he will raise up deliverance to them, 



1 Chron. xi. 14, " The Lord saved them by 
a great deliverance." God, reigning as a 
king, can save any way ; by contemptible 
means, — the blowing of trumpets, — and 
blazing of lamps, Judges vii. 20 ; by contrary 
means, — he made the sea a wall to Israel, 
and the waters were a means to keep them 
from drowning, — the fish's belly was a ship 
in which Jonah sailed safe to shore. God 
will never want ways of saving his people ; 
rather than fail, the very enemies shall do 
his work, 2 Chron. xx. 23. He set Ammon 
and Mount Seir one against another. And 
as God will deliver his people from temporal 
danger, so from spiritual, from sin, and from 
hell ; " Jesus which delivered us from the 
wrath to come," 1 Thess. i. 10. 

Use 4th. Terror to the enemies of the 
church. If God be king, he will set his 
utmost strength against them who are the 
enemies of his kingdom, Ps. xcvii. 3, " A 
fire goes before him and burneth up his ene- 
mies round about." 

1. He will set himself against his enemies ; 
he will set his attributes against them, his 
power and justice ; and, " who knoweth the 
power of thine anger?" Ps. xc. 11. 

2. God will set the creatures against them, 
Judges v. 20. The stars in their courses 
fought against Sisera. Tertullian observes 
that the Persians fighting against the Chris- 
tians, a mighty wind arose, which did make 
the Persians' arrows to fly back in their own 
faces. Every creature hath a quarrel with a 
sinner : the stone out of the wall, Hab. ii. 
11, — the hail and the frost, Ps. lxxviii. 47, 
" He destroyed their vines with hail, and 
their sycamore-trees with frost." 

3. God will set men against themselves. 
(1). He will set conscience against them. 
And how terrible is this rod when turned 
into a serpent ? Melancthon calls it Eryn- 
nis conscientice, — a hellish fury ; it is called 
vermis conscienticB, — the worm of con- 
science, Mark ix. 44. What a worm did 
Spira feel in his conscience'? He was a 
terror to himself. The worst civil wars are 
between a man and his conscience. (2). God 
will set the diseases of men's bodies against 
them, 2 Chron. xxi. 18, The Lord smote 
Jehoram " in his bowels with an incurable 



420 



OF THE SECOND PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



disease." God can raise an army against a 
man, out of his own bowels ; he can set one 
humour of the body against another; the heat 
to dry up the moisture, and the moisture to 
drown the heat ; the Lord needs not go far 
for instruments to punish the sinner; he can 
make the joints of the same body to smite 
one against another, as Dan. v. 6. (3). -Godr 
will set men's friends against them ; where 
they used to have honey, they shall have 
nothing but aloes and wormwood. " When 
a man's ways please the Lord, he shall make 
even his enemies to be at peace with him," 
Prov. xvi. 7; but when he opposeth God, he 
maketh his friends to be his enemies. Corn- 
modus the emperor, his own wife gave him 
poison in perfumed wine. Sennacherib's 
two sons were the death of him, 2 Kings xix. 
37. (4). God will set Satan against them, 
Ps. cix. 6, " Let Satan stand at his right 
hand." What doth Satan at the sinner's 
elbows? 1. He helps him to contrive sin. 
2. He tempts him to commit sin. 3. He 
terrifies him for sin. He that hath Satan 
thus standing at his right hand, is sure to be 
set at God's left hand. Here is the misery 
of such as oppose God's royal sceptre, he 
will set every thing in the world against them ; 
if there be either justice in heaven, or fire in 
hell, sinners shall not be unpunished. 

Use last, If God be such an absolute 
monarch, and crowned with such glory and 
majesty, let us all engage in his service, 
and stand up for his truth and worship; 
dare to own God in the worst time; he is 
King of kings, and is able to reward all his 
servants; we may be losers for him, — we 
shall never be losers by him. We are ready 
to say, as Amaziah, 2 Chron. xxv. 9, " What 
shall we do for the hundred talents?" If I 
appear for God, I may lose my estate, my 
life. I say w T ith the prophet, God is able 
to give you much more than this ; he can 
give you for the present inward peace, and 
for the future a crown of glory which fadeth 
not away. 

Quest. What kingdom doth Christ mean 
here ? 

Ans. Negat. 1. He doth not mean a poli- 
tical or earthly kingdom. The apostles in- 
deed did desire, 1st. Christ's temporal reign, 



Acts i. 6, " Wilt thou at this time restore 
again the kingdom to Israel?" But Christ 
said, his kingdom was not of this world, 
John xviii. 36; so that, when Christ taught 
his disciples to pray, " thy kingdom come," 
he did not mean it of any earthly kingdom, 
that he should reign here in outward pomp 
and splendour. 2d. It is not meant of God's 
providential kingdom, Ps. ciii. 19, " His king- 
dom ruleth over all ;" that is, the kingdom of 
his providence. This kingdom we do not 
pray for, when we say, " thy kingdom come 
for this kingdom is already come ; God exer- 
ciseth the kingdom of his providence in the 
world, Ps. lxxv. 7, " He putteth down one 
and setteth up another." Nothing stirs in 
the world but God hath, a hand in it ; he sets 
every wheel a-working; he humbles the proud, 
and raiseth the poor out of the dust, to set 
them among princes, 1 Sam. ii. 8. The king- 
dom of God's providence ruleth over all ; kings 
do nothing but what his providence permits 
and orders, Acts iv. 27. This kingdom of 
God's providence we do not pray should come, 
for it is already come. What kingdom then 
is meant here when we say, " Thy kingdom 
come ?" Ans. Positively. There is a twofold 
kingdom meant here. 1st. The kingdom of 
grace, which kingdom God exercises in the 
consciences of his people : this is regnum Dei 
mikron, — God's lesser kingdom, Luke v. 3. 
When we pray, " Thy kingdom come :" (1). 
Here is something tacitly implied, that we are 
in the kingdom of darkness. 1. We pray that 
we may be brought out of the kingdom of 
darkness. 2. That the devil's kingdom in the 
world may be demolished. (2). Something 
positively intended, — adveniat regnum gra- 
tis et gloria. 1. We pray, that the king- 
dom of grace may be set up in our hearts and 
increased. 2. When we pray, " Thy king- 
dom come ;" we pray, that the kingdom of 
glory may hasten, and that we may in God's 
good time be translated into it. These 
two kingdoms of grace and glory, differ 
not specifically, but gradually ; they differ 
not in nature, but only in degree. The 
kingdom of grace is nothing but the incho- 
ation or beginning of the kingdom of glory ; 
the kingdom of grace is glory in the seed, 
and the kingdom of glory is grace in the 



OF THE SECOND PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



421 



flower; the kingdom of grace is glory in the 
daybreak, and the kingdom of glory is grace 
in the full meridian ; the kingdom of grace is 
glory militant, and the kingdom of glory is 
grace triumphant. There is such an insepara- 
ble connexion between these two kingdoms, 
grace and glory, that there is no passing into 
the one kingdom but by the other. At Athens 
there were two temples, a temple of virtue 
and a temple of honour, and there was no 
going into the temple of honour, but through 
the temple of virtue : so the kingdoms of 
grace and glory are so close joined together, 
that we cannot go into the kingdom of glory, 
but through the kingdom of grace. Many 
people aspire after the kingdom of glory, but 
never look after grace : but these two, which 
God hath joined together, may not be put 
asunder ; the kingdom of grace leads to the 
kingdom of glory. 

I. I begin with the first thing implied in 
this petition, " Thy kingdom come ;" it is im- 
plied, that we are in the kingdom of darkness ; 
and we pray that we may be brought out of 
the kingdom of darkness ; the state of nature 
is a kingdom of darkness ; 'tis a kingdom ; 
sin is said to reign, Rom. vi. 12. And 'tis a 
kingdom of darkness ; it is called, " the power 
of darkness," Col. i. 13. Man, before the 
fall, was illuminated with perfect knowledge, 
but this light is now eclipsed, and he is fallen 
into the kingdom of darkness. 

Quest. How many ways is a natural man 
in the kingdom of darkness ? 

Ans. 1. He is under the darkness of igno- 
rance, Eph. iv. 18, " Having the understand- 
ing darkened." Ignorance is a black veil 
drawn over the mind ; men by nature may 
have a deep reach in the things of the world, 
but ignorant in the things of God. Nahash 
the Ammonite would make a covenant with 
Israel to thrust out their right eyes, 1 Sam. 
xi. 2. Since the fall, our left eye remains, 
a deep insight into worldly matters ; but our 
right eye is thrust out, we have no saving 
knowledge of God ; something we know by 
nature, but nothing as we ought to know, 
1 Cor. viii. 2. Ignorance draws the curtains 
round about the soul, 1 Cor. ii. 14. 

A. 2. A natural man is under the darkness 
of pollution ; hence sinful actions are called 



" works of darkness," Rom. xiii. 12. Pride 
and lust darken the glory of the soul : a sin- 
ner's heart is a dark conclave, it looks blacker 
than hell. 

A. 3. A natural man is under the darkness 
of misery ; he is exposed to divine venge- 
ance ; and the sadness of this darkness is, 
that men are not sensible of it ; yet they are 
blind, yet they think they see. The dark- 
ness of Egypt was such thick darkness as 
" may be felt," Exod. x. 21 : men are by na- 
ture in thick darkness, but here is the misery ; 
the darkness cannot be felt ; they will not 
believe they are in the dark, till they are past 
recovery. 

Use 1st. See what the state of nature is, 
it is a " kingdom of darkness," and it is a be- 
witching darkness, John iii. 19, " Men loved 
darkness rather than light :" as the Athlantes 
in Ethiopia curse the sun. Such as are still 
in the kingdom of darkness, tremble to think 
of this condition ; this darkness of sin leads to 
the. " chains under darkness," Jude 6. What 
comfort can such take in earthly things ? The 
Egyptians might have food, gold, silver, but 
they could take but little comfort in them, 
while they were in such darkness as might 
be felt : so the natural man may have riches 
and friends to delight in, yet he is in the 
kingdom of darkness, and how dead are all 
these comforts 1 Thou who art in the king- 
dom of darkness, knowest not whither thou 
goest. As the ox is driven to the shambles, 
but he knows not whither he goes, so the 
devil is driving thee before him to hell, 
but thou knowest not whither thou goest. 
Shouldest thou die in thy natural estate, 
while thou art in the kingdom of darkness, 
blackness of darkness is reserved for thee, 
Jude 13, " To whom is reserved the black- 
ness of darkness for ever." 

Use 2d. Let us pray that God will bring 
us out of this kingdom of darkness. God's 
kingdom of grace cannot come into our hearts 
till first we are brought out of the kingdom 
of darkness, 1 Col. i. 13. Why should not 
we strive to get out of this kingdom of dark- 
ness 1 Who would desire to stay in a dark 
dungeon] O fear the " chains of darkness," 
Jude 6. These chains are God's power bind- 
ing men as in chains under wrath for ever. 



422 



OF THE SECOND PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



O pray that God will deliver us out of the 
kingdom of darkness ! 1st. Be sensible of thy 
dark damned estate, that thou hast not one 
spark of fire to give thee light. 2d. Go to 
Christ to enlighten thee, Eph. v. 14, " Christ 
shall give thee light ;" he will not only bring 
thy light to thee, but open thine eyes to see 
it. That is the first thing implied, "thy 
kingdom come ;" we pray that we may be 
brought out of the kingdom of darkness. 

II. The second thing implied in " thy king- 
dom come," we do implicitly pray against 
the devil's kingdom, we pray that Satan's 
kingdom may be demolished in the world. 
Satan's kingdom stands in opposition to 
Christ's kingdom ; and when we pray, " Thy 
kingdom come," we pray against Satan's 
kingdom. Satan hath a kingdom ; he got his 
kingdom by conquest ; he conquered mankind 
in paradise. He hath his throne, Rev. ii. 13, 
" Thou dwellest even where Satan's seat is." 
And his throne is set up in the hearts of men ; 
he doth not care for their purses but their 
hearts, Eph. ii. 2. Satan is served upon the 
knee, Rev. xiii. 4, "They worshipped the 
dragon," that is, the devil. Satan's empire 
is very large ; the most kingdoms in the world 
pay tribute to him. Satan's kingdom hath 
two qualifications or characters : 

1st. It is regnum nequitice, — a kingdom 
of impiety. 

2d. It is regnum servitutis, — a kingdom 
of slavery. 

1. The kingdom of Satan is a kingdom of 
impiety ; nothing but sin goes on in his king- 
dom ; murder and heresy, lust and treachery, 
oppression and division, are the constant 
trade driven in Satan's kingdom ; Satan is 
called "the unclean spirit," Luke xi. 24. 
What else is propagated in his kingdom but 
a mystery of iniquity 3 

2. Satan's kingdom is a kingdom of slavery. 
Satan makes all his subjects slaves. Peccati 
reus dura dcBmonis tyrannide tenetur, Muis. 
Satan is a usurper and a tyrant; he is a 
worse tyrant than any other. (1). Other 
tyrants do but rule over the body, but Satan's 
kingdom rules over the soul; Satan rides 
some men as we do horses. (2). Other 
tyrants have some pity on their slaves ; 
though they make them work in the gallies, 



yet they give them meat, and let them have 
their hours for rest, but Satan is a merciless 
tyrant, he gives his slaves poison instead of 
meat, he gives them " hurtful lusts" to feed 
on, 1 Tim. vi. 9, nor will he let his slaves 
have any rest, he hires them out in doing 
his drudgery, Jer. ix. 5, " They weary them- 
selves to commit iniquity." When the 
devil had entered into Judas, he sends him 
to the chief priests, and from thence to 
the garden, and never let him rest till he 
had betrayed Christ, and hanged himself. 
Thus Satan is the worst tyrant ; when men 
have served him to their utmost strength, 
he will welcome them to hell with fire and 
brimstone. 

Use. Let us pray that Satan's kingdom, 
set up in the world, may be thrown down. 
It is sad to think that though the devil's 
kingdom be so bad, yet that it should have 
so many to support it. Satan hath more to 
stand up for his kingdom, than Christ hath 
for his. What a large harvest of souls hath 
Satan ; and God only a few gleanings ! The 
Pope and the Turk give their power to Satan. 
If in God's visible church the devil hath so 
many loyal subjects that serve him with their 
lives and souls, then how do his subjects 
swarm in places of idolatry and paganism 
where there is none to oppose him, but all 
vote on the devil's side 3 Men are willingly 
slaves to Satan ; they will fight and die for 
him ; therefore Satan is not only called " the 
prince of this world," John xii. 31, but the 
" god of this world," 2 Cor. iv. 4, to show 
what power Satan hath over men's souls. O 
let us pray that God will break the sceptre 
of the devil's kingdom, that Michael may 
destroy the dragon, that by the help of a re- 
ligious magistracy and ministry the hellish 
kingdom of the prince of darkness may be 
beaten down ! Satan's kingdom must be 
thrown down before Christ's kingdom can 
flourish in its power and majesty. 

2. When we pray, " Thy kingdom come ;" 
here is something positively intended : 

1st. We pray that the kingdom of grace 
may be set up in our hearts and increased. 

2d. That the kingdom of glory may hasten, 
and that we may, in God's due time, be 
translated into it. 



OF THE SECOND PETITION 



IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



423 



I begin with the first, the kingdom of grace. 
When we pray, " Thy kingdom come," we 
pray 1st. That the kingdom of grace may 
come into our hearts. This is regnum Dei, 
— God's lesser kingdom, Rom. xiv. 17, " The 
kingdom of God is righteousness." Luke 
xvii. 21, " The kingdom of God is within 
you." 

Quest. 1. Why is grace called a kingdom! 

Ans. Because, when grace comes, there is 
a kingly government set up in the soul. 
Grace rules the will and affections, and brings 
the whole man in subjection to Christ ; grace 
doth king it in the soul ; it sways the sceptre, 
it subdues mutinous lusts, and keeps the soul 
in a spiritual decorum. 

Quest. 2. Why is there such need that 
ive should pray that this kingdom of grace 
may come into our hearts 1 

Ans. 1. Because, till the kingdom of grace 
come, we have no right to the covenant of 
grace. The covenant of grace is sweetened 
with love, bespangled with promises ; the 
covenant of grace is our magna charta, by 
virtue of which God passeth himself over to 
us to be our God ; but who are heirs of the 
covenant of grace ? Only such as have the 
kingdom of grace in their hearts, Ezek.xxxvi. 
26, " A new heart will I give you, and a new 
spirit will I put within you ;" there is the 
kingdom of grace set up in the soul ; then it 
follows, ver. 28, " I will be your God." The 
covenant of grace is to an ungracious person 
a sealed fountain ; it is kept as a paradise 
with a flaming sword, that the sinner may not 
touch it ; without grace you have no more 
right to it than a farmer to the city-charter. 

A. 2. Unless the kingdom of grace be set 
up in our hearts, our purest offerings are de- 
filed ; they may be good as to the matter, but 
not as to the manner ; they want that which 
should meliorate and sweeten them. Under 
the law, if a man who was unclean by a dead 
body, did carry a piece of holy flesh in his 
skirt, the holy flesh could not cleanse him, 
but he polluted it, Hag. ii. 12. Till the king- 
dom of grace be in our hearts, ordinances do 
not purify us, but we pollute them ; the prayer 
of an ungracious person becomes sin, Prov. 
xv. 8. In what a sad condition is a man be- 
fore God's kingdom of grace be set up in his 



heart ! Whether he comes or comes not to 
the ordinance, he sins ; if he doth not come 
to the ordinance, he is a contemner of it ; if 
he doth come, he is a polluter of it ; a sin- 
ner's works are opera mortua, dead works, 
Heb. i. 6, and those works which are dead 
cannot please God : a dead flower hath no 
sweetness. 

A. 3. We had need pray that the kingdom 
of grace may come, because till this kingdom 
come into our hearts, we are loathsome in 
God's eyes, Zech. xi. 8, "My soul loathed 
them." Quanta est fceditas vitiosce mentis, 
Tully. A heart void of grace looks blacker 
than hell ; sin transforms one into a devil, 
John vi. 70, " Have not I chosen you twelve, 
and one of you is a devil ?" Envy is the 
devil's eye, hypocrisy is his cloven foot ; thus 
it is before the kingdom of grace come. So 
deformed is a graceless person, that when 
once he sees his own filth and leprosy, the 
first thing he doth is to loathe himself, Ezek. 
xx. 43, " Ye shall loathe yourself in your own 
sight for all your evils." I have read of a 
woman, who always used flattering glasses ; 
by chance seeing her face in a true glass, in 
insaniam delapsa est, she ran mad : such as 
now dress themselves by the flattering glass 
of presumption, when once God gives them 
a sight of their filthiness, they will abhor 
themselves; "/Ye shall loathe yourselves in 
your own sight for all your evils." 

A. 4. Before the kingdom of grace comes 
into us, we are spiritually illegitimate, of the 
bastard-brood of the old serpent, John viii. 
44. To be illegitimate is the greatest infamy : 
Deut. xxiii. 2, " A bastard shall not enter 
into the congregation of the Lord even to his 
tenth generation." He was to be kept out 
of the holy assemblies of Israel as an infa- 
mous creature ; a bastard, by the law, cannot 
inherit. Before the kingdom of grace come 
into the heart, a person is to God as one ille- 
gitimate, and so continuing he cannot enter 
into the kingdom of heaven. 

A. 5. Before the kingdom of grace be 
setup in men's hearts, the kingdom of Satan 
is set up in them ; they are said to be under 
the power of Satan, Acts xxvi. 18. Satan 
commands the will ; though he cannot force 
the will, he can, by his subtle temptations, 



424 OF THE SECOND PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER, 



draw it ; the devil is said to " take men cap- 
tive at his will," 2 Tim. ii. 26. The Greek 
word signifies to take them alive as the 
fowler doth the bird in the snare. The sin- 
ner's heart is the devil's mansion-house, Matt, 
xii. 44, "I will return unto my house." It 
is officinus diaholce, Satan's shop, where he 
works, Eph. ii. 2, " The prince of the power 
of the air now worketh in the children of dis- 
obedience." The members of the body are 
the tools which Satan works with ; Satan 
possesseth men. In Christ's time many had 
their bodies possessed, but it is far worse to 
have their souls possessed ; one is possessed 
with an unclean devil, another with a re- 
vengeful devil. No wonder the ship goes full 
sail, when the wind blows ; no wonder men 
go full sail in sin, when the devil, the prince 
of the air, blows them ; thus it is till the 
kingdom of grace come, men are under the 
power of Satan, who, like Draco, writes all 
his laws in blood. 

A. 6. Till the kingdom of grace comes, a 
man lies exposed to the wrath of God ; " and 
who knoweth the power of his anger V 9 Ps. 
xc. 11. If, when but a spark of God's wrath 
flies into a man's conscience in this life, it is 
so terrible, what then will it be, when God 
stirs up all his anger ] So inconceivably 
torturing is God's wrath, that the wicked call 
to the rocks and mountains to fall on them, 
and hide them from it, Rev. vi. 1. The hell- 
ish torments are compared to a fiery lake, 
Rev. xx. 15. Other fire is but painted in 
comparison of this ; and this lake of fire burns 
for ever, Mark ix. 44. God's breath kindles 
this fire, Isa. xxx. 22. And, where shall we 
find engines or buckets to quench it ] Time 
will not finish it ; tears will not quench it. 
To this fiery lake are men exposed, till the 
kingdom of grace be set up in them. 

A. 7. Till the kingdom of grace come, men 
cannot die with comfort ; only he who takes 
Christ in the arms of his faith, can look death 
in the face with joy. But it is sad to have 
the king of terrors in the body, and not the 
kingdom of grace in the soul. It is a wonder 
every graceless person doth not die distract- 
ed. What will a grace-despiser do, when 
death comes to him with a writ of habeas 
corpus? Hell follows death, Rev. vi. 8, 



" Behold, a pale horse, and his name that 
sat on him was death, and hell followed him." 
Thus you see what need we have to pray 
that the kingdom of grace may come. He 
that dies without Christ, I may say as Christ, 
Matt. xxvi. 24, " It had been good for that 
man he had not been born." Few do believe 
the necessity of having the kingdom of grace 
set up in their hearts, as appears by this, be- 
cause they are so well content to live with- 
out it. Doth that man believe the necessity 
of a pardon, that is content to be without it 1 
Most people, if they may have trading, and 
may sit quietly under their vine and fig- 
trees, they are in their kingdom, though they 
have not the kingdom of God within them ; 
if the candle of prosperity shine upon their 
head, they care not whether the grace of God 
shine in their hearts ; do these men believe 
the necessity of grace ] Were they convinc- 
ed how needful it were to have the kingdom 
of God within them, they would cry out as 
the jailor, Acts xvi. 30, " What must I do to 
be saved %" 

Quest. 3. How may we know that the 
kingdom of grace is set up in our hearts ? 

Ans. It concerns us to examine this, — our 
salvation depends upon it ; and we had need 
be curious in the search, because there is 
something looks like grace, which is not, 
Gal. vi. 3, " If a man thinks himself to be 
something, when he is nothing, he deceives 
himself." Many think they have the king- 
dom of grace come into their heart and it is 
only a chimera, — a golden dream. Quam 
multi cum nana spe descendant ad infera I 
Aug. Zeuxis did paint grapes so lively that 
he deceived the living birds : there are many 
deceits about grace. 

Deceit 1st. Men think they have the king- 
dom of grace in their hearts because they have 
the means of grace; they live where the silver 
trumpet of the gospel sounds; they are lift up 
to heaven with ordinances, Judges xvii. 13, "I 
have a Levite to my priest," sure I shall go to 
heaven. The Jews cried, Jer. viii. 4, " The 
temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord ;" 
we are apt to glory in this, — the oracles of 
God are committed to us, — we have word and 
sacrament : alas ! this is a fallacy ; we may 
have the means of grace, yet the kingdom 



OF THE SECOND PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



425 



of grace may not be set up in our hearts ; we 
may have the kingdom of God come nigh us, 
Luke xi. 20, but not into us ; the sound of the 
word in our ears, but not the savour of it in 
our hearts. Many of the Jews, who had 
Christ for their preacher, were never the 
better ; hot clothes will not put warmth into 
a dead man. Thou mayest have hot clothes, 
warm and lively preaching, yet be spiritually 
dead, Matt. viii. 12, " The children of the 
kingdom shall be cast out." 

Deceit 2d. Men think they have the king- 
dom of grace set up in their hearts, because 
they have some common works of the Spirit. 

(1) . They have great enlightenings of 
mind, profound knowledge, and almost speak 
like angels dropped from heaven; but the apos- 
tle supposeth a case, that after men have been 
enlightened, they may fall away, Heb. vi. 4, 
5,6. 

Quest. But wherein doth this illumina- 
tion come short ? 

Ans. The illumination of hypocrites is 
not virtual ; it doth not leave an impression 
of holiness behind ; it is like weak physic 
that will not work. The mind is enlightened, 
but the heart is not renewed. A Christian 
that is all head but no feet, he doth not walk 
in the ways of God. 

(2) . Men have had convictions and stir- 
rings of conscience for sin, they have seen 
the evil of their ways, therefore now they 
hope the kingdom of grace is come : but, I 
say, convictions, though they are a step to- 
wards grace, yet they are not grace. Had not 
Pharoah and Judas convictions'? Exod. x. 16. 

Quest. What makes convictions prove 
abortive ? Wherein is the defect ? 

Ans. 1. They are not deep enough; a sin- 
ner never saw himself lost without Christ ; 
the seed that wanted depth of earth withered, 
Matt. xiii. 5. These convictions are like blos- 
soms blown off before they come to maturity. 

A. 2. These convictions are involuntary, 
the sinner doth what he can to stifle these 
convictions : he drowns them in wine and 
mirth ; he labours to get rid of them ; as the 
deer, when it is shot, runs and shakes out the 
arrow, so doth he by the arrow of conviction ; 
or as the prisoner that files off his fetters, 
and breaks loose, so a man breaks loose from 
3 H 



his convictions. His corruptions are stronger 
than his convictions. 

(3) . Men have had some kind of humili- 
ation, and have shed tears for their sins, 
therefore now they hope the kingdom of 
grace is come into their hearts. But this is 
no infallible sign of grace ; Saul wept, Ahab 
humbled himself. 

Quest. Why is not humiliation grace ? 
Wherein doth it come short ? 

Ans. 1. Tears in the wicked do not spring 
from love to God, but are forced by affliction, 
Gen. iv. 13, as water that drops from the 
still is forced by the fire. The tears of sin- 
ners are forced by God's fiery judgments. 2. 
They are deceitful tears, — lacrymce mentiri 
doctce. Men weep, yet go on in sin ; they 
do not drown their sins in their tears. 

(4) . Men have begun some reformation, 
therefore sure now the kingdom of grace is 
come. But there may be deceit in this : 1st. 
A man may leave his oaths and drunkenness, 
yet still be in love with sin ; he may leave 
his sin out of fear of hell, or because it brings 
shame and penury, but still his heart goes 
after it, Hos. iv. 8, " They set their hearts 
on their iniquity ;" as Lot's wife left Sodom, 
but still her heart was in Sodom. Hypo- 
crites are like the snake which casts her 
coat, but keeps her poison ; they keep the 
love of sin, as one that hath been long suit- 
or to another, though his friends break off 
the match, yet still he hath a hankering love 
to her. 2d. It may be a partial reformation ; 
he may leave off one sin, and live in another ; 
he may refrain drunkenness, and live in 
covetousness : he may refrain swearing, and 
live in the sin of slandering ; one devil may 
be cast out, and another as bad may come 
in his room. 3d. A man may forsake gross 
sins, but have no reluctancy against heart- 
sins ; motus primo primi, — proud, lustful 
thoughts ; though he dams up the stream, 
he lets alone the fountain. O therefore if 
there be so many deceits, and men may think 
the kingdom of grace is come into their 
hearts when it is not, how curious and criti- 
cal had we need be in our search whether 
we have the kingdom of grace really come 
into our hearts ! If a man be deceived in the 
title of his land, it is but the loss of his 



426 



OF THE SECOND PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



estate : but if he be deceived about his grace, 
it is the loss of his soul. I should now come 
to answer this question, how may we know 
that the kingdom of grace is set up in our 
hearts 1 

Quest. How may we know the kingdom 
of grace is set up in us ? 

Ans. 1. In general, by having a metamor- 
phosis or change wrought in the soul ; this 
is called ' the new creature,' 2 Cor. v. 17. 
The faculties are not new, but there is a new 
nature ; as the strings of a lute are the same, 
but the tune is altered. When the kingdom 
of grace is set up, there is light in the mind, 
order in the affections, — pliableness of the 
will, — tenderness in the conscience ; such as 
can find no change of heart, they are the 
same as they were, as vain, as earthly, as 
unclean as ever ; there is"no sign of God's 
kingdom of grace in them. 

A. 2. More particularly we may know the 
kingdom of grace is set up in our hearts : 1st. 
By having unfeigned desires after God ; this 
is the smoking flax Christ will not quench. 
A true desire of grace is grace ; by the beat- 
ing of this pulse, conclude there is life, Neh. 
i. 11, " O Lord let now thy ear be attentive 
to the prayers of thy servants who desire to 
fear thy name !" But may not an hypocrite 
have good desires ] Num. xxiii. 10, " Let 
me die the death of the righteous." There- 
fore, I say, unfeigned desires evidence the 
kingdom of God within a man. 

Quest. But how may these unfeigned 
desires be known ? 

Ans. 1. An unfeigned desire is ingenuous ; 
we desire God propter se, — for himself, — for 
his intrinsical excellencies, and the oriency 
of his beauty which shines, — the savour of 
Christ's ointments, that is, his graces, draws 
the virgins' desires after him, Cant. i. 3. A 
true saint desires Christ, not only for what 
he hath, but for what he is ; not only for his 
rewards, but for his holiness. No hypocrite 
can thus desire God ; he may desire him for 
his jewels, but not for his beauty. 

A. 2. An unfeigned desire is insatiable, it 
cannot be satisfied without God ; let the 
world heap her honours and riches, they 
will not satisfy. Not flowers or music will 
content him who is thirsty ; nothing will 



quench the soul's thirst but the blood of 
Christ ; he faints away, his heart breaks 
with longing for God, Ps. lxxxiv. 2, and 
cxix. 20. 

A. 3. An unfeigned desire is active, it 
flourisheth into endeavour, Isa. xxvi. 9, 
" With my soul have I desired thee in the 
night, yea, with my spirit within me will I 
seek thee early." A soul that desires aright 
saith, " Christ I must have, grace I must 
have ; I will have heaven, though I take it by 
storm." He who desires water, will let down 
the bucket into the well to draw it up. 

A. 4. An unfeigned desire is superlative ; 
we desire Christ, not only more than the 
world, but more than heaven, Ps. lxxiii. 25, 
" Whom have I in heaven but thee 1" Hea- 
ven itself would not satisfy without Christ ; 
Christ is the diamond in the ring of glory ; 
if God should say to the soul, " I will put 
thee into heaven, but I will hide my face 
from thee, — I will draw a curtain between 
that thou shalt not behold my glory," — the 
soul would not be satisfied, but say, as Absa- 
lom, 2 Sam. xiv. 32, " now therefore let me 
see the king's face." 

A. 5. An unfeigned desire is gradual ; it 
increaseth as the sun in the horizon ; a little 
of God will not satisfy, but the pious soul 
desireth still more ; a drop of water is not 
enough for the thirsty traveller. Though a 
Christian is thankful for the least degree of 
grace, yet he is not satisfied with the great- 
est ; still he thirsts for more of Christ, and 
his Spirit. Desire is a holy dropsy ; a saint 
would have more knowledge, more sanctity, 
more of Christ's presence. A glimpse of 
Christ through the lattice of an ordinance is 
sweet ; and now the soul will never leave 
longing till it sees him face to face. He 
desires to have grace perfected in glory. 
Dulcissimo Deo totas immergi cupit et in- 
viscerari, — we would be swallowed up in 
God, and be ever bathing ourselves in those 
perfumed waters of pleasure, which run at 
his right hand for ever. Sure this unfeigned 
desire after God is a blessed sign that the 
kingdom of grace is come into our hearts, 
the beating of this pulse shows life ! Est a 
Deo ut bene velimus, Aug. If iron move 
upwards contrary to its nature, it is a sign 



OF THE SECOND PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



427 



some loadstone hath been there drawing it : 
if the soul move towards God in an unfeigned 
desire, it is a sign the loadstone of the Spirit 
hath been drawing it. We may know the 
kingdom of grace is come into our hearts by 
having the princely grace of faith. Fides est 
sanctissima humani pectoris, Gemma. Faith 
cuts us off from the wild olive of nature, and 
ingrafts us into Christ; faith is the vital 
artery of the soul, Heb. x. 38, " The just shall 
live by faith." Faith makes a holy adventure 
on Christ's merits ; when this faith, as a 
princely grace reigns in the soul, now the 
kingdom of God is come unto us. The He- 
brew word for faith comes from a radix which 
signifies to nourish: faith nourisheth the 
soul, and is the nurse of all the graces. But, 
who will not say he is a believer ? Simon 
Magus believed, Acts viii. 13, yet was in the 
gall of bitterness. The hypocrite can put 
on faith's mantle, as the devil did Samuel's. 
How shall we know therefore that our faith 
is sound, — that it is the faith of the operation 
of God, Col. ii. 12, — and so that the kingdom 
of God is within us 1 

Ans. 1. True faith is wrought by the mi- 
nistry of the word, Rom. x. 17, " Faith comes 
by hearing." Peter let down the net of his 
ministry, and at one draught catched three 
thousand souls. Let us examine how was 
our faith wrought 1 Did God in the ministry 
of the word humble us 1 Did he break up the 
fallow-ground of our heart, and then cast in 
the seed of faith ] A good sign ; but, if you 
know not how you came by your faith, sus- 
pect yourselves ; as we suspect men to have 
stolen goods, when they know not how they 
came by them. 

A. 2. True faith is at first minute and 
small, like a grain of mustard-seed ; it is full 
of doubts and fears ; it is smoking flax ; it 
smokes with desire, but doth not flame with 
comfort ; it is so small that a Christian can 
hardly discern whether he hath faith or not. 

A. 3. True faith is long in working, — non 
sit in instanti,— it costs many searchings of 
heart, many prayers and tears; there is a 
spiritual combat,— the soul suffers many sore 
pangs of humiliation before the child of faith 
be born. They whose faith is per saltum, 
they leap out of sin into a confidence that 



Christ is theirs ; I say, as Isaac concerning 
his son's venison, Gen. xxvii. 20, " How is 
it that thou hast found it so quickly V 1 How 
is it that thou earnest by thy faith so soon 1 
The seed in the parable which sprung up 
suddenly withered, Mark iv. 5, Solent prce- 
cocta synito flaccessere. 

A. 4. True faith is joined with sanctity ; 
as a little bezoar is strong in operation, and a 
little musk sweetens, so a little faith purifies, 
1 Tim. iii. 9, " Holding the mystery of the 
faith in a pure conscience." Faith, though 
it doth but touch Christ, fetcheth a healing 
virtue from him. Justifying faith doth that 
in a spiritual sense, which miraculous faith 
doth ; it removes the mountains of sin, and 
casts them into the sea of Christ's blood. 

A. 5. True faith will trust God without a 
pawn. Though a Christian be cut short in 
provisions, the fig-tree doth not blossom, yet 
he will trust in God. Fides famem non 
formidat. Faith fears not famine. God hath 
given us his promise as his bond, Ps. xxxvii. 
3, " Verily thou shalt be fed." Faith puts 
this bond in suit ; God will rather work a 
miracle, than his promise shall fail. He hath 
cause to suspect his faith, who saith, he trusts 
God for the greater, but dares not trust him 
for the lesser ; he trusts God for salvation, 
but dares not trust him for a livelihood. 

A. 6. True faith is prolifical, it brings forth 
fruit ; faith hath Rachel's beauty, and Leah's 
fruitfulness. Fides pinguescit operibus, 
Luther. Faith is full of good works. Faith 
believes as if it did not work, and it works as 
if it did not believe ; faith is the spouse-like 
grace which marries Christ, and good works 
are the children which faith bears. By having 
such a faith we may know the kingdom of God 
is within us ; grace is certainly in our hearts. 

2d. We may know the kingdom of grace 
is come into our hearts, by having the noble 
grace of love ; faith and love are the two 
poles on which all religion turns, Cant. i. 4, 
" The upright love thee." True love is to 
love God out of choice ; love turns the soul 
into a seraphim ; it makes it burn in a flame 
of affection ; love is the truest touchstone of 
sincerity ; love is the queen of the graces, it 
commands the whole soul, 2 Cor. v. 4. If 
our love to God be genuine and real, we let 



428 



OF THE SECOND PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



him have the supremacy ; we set him in the 
highest room of our soul ; we give hirn the 
purest of our love, Cant. viii. 2, " I would 
cause thee to drink of spiced wine, of the 
juice of my pomegranate." If the spouse 
had any thing better than another, — a cup 
more juicy and spiced, — Christ should drink 
of that ; we give the creature the milk of our 
love, but God the cream. In short, if we 
love God aright, we love his laws ; we love 
his picture drawn in the saints by the pencil 
of the Holy Ghost ; we love his presence in 
his ordinances. Sleidan saith that the pro- 
testants in France had a church which they 
called paradise ; as if they thought themselves 
in paradise while they had God's presence in 
his sanctuary. The soul that loves God, 
loves his appearing, 2 Tim. iv. 8. It will be 
a glorious appearing to the saints, when their 
union with Christ shall be complete, then 
their joy shall be full. The bride longs for 
the marriage-day. ■ " The Spirit and the bride 
say, Come : even so come, Lord Jesus," Rev. 
xxii. 17. By this sacred love we may know 
the kingdom of God is within us. 

Sd. We may know the kingdom of grace 
is come into our hearts by spiritualizing the 
duties of religion, 1 Pet. ii. 5, " Ye are a holy 
priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices." 
Spiritualizing duty consists in three things : 

1. Fixedness of mind. 

2. Fervency of devotion. 

3. Uprightness of aim. 

1. Fixedness of mind. Then we spiritual- 
ize duty, when our minds are fixed on God, 
1 Cor. vii. 35, " That you may attend on the 
Lord without, distraction." Though imper- 
tinent thoughts sometimes come into the 
heart in duty, yet they are not allowed, Ps. 
cxix. 13 ; they come as unwelcome guests, 
which are no sooner spied but they are 
turned out. 

2. Fervency of devotion. Rom. xii. 11, 
" Fervent in spirit, serving the Lord." 'Tis 
a metaphor alludes to water that seethes and 
boils over; so the affections boil over, the 
eyes melt in tears, the heart flows in holy 
ejaculations. We not only bring our offering 
to God, but our hearts. 

3. Uprightness of aim. A heart that is 
upright hath three ends in duty : 1. That he 



may grow more like God. As Moses on the 
Mount had some of God's glory reflected on 
him, "his face shined." 2. That he may 
have more communion with God, 1 John i. 
3, "Our fellowship is with the Father." 
3. That he may bring more glory to God, 
1 Pet. iv. 11. Phil. i. 20, " That Christ shall 
be magnified." Sincerity aims at God in 
all ; though we shoot short, yet we take a 
right aim ; this is a sure evidence of grace, 
the spiritualizing duty. The spirits of wine 
are best, so is the spiritual part of duty. 
A little spiritualness in duty is better than 
all the gildings of the temple, or outward 
pompous worship, which doth so dazzle car- 
nal eyes. 

4:th. We may know the kingdom of grace 
is come into us, by antipathy and opposition 
against every known sin, Ps. cxix. 104. " I 
hate every false way." Hatred is against 
the whole kind ; hatred is implacable ; anger 
may be reconciled, hatred cannot. A gra- 
cious soul not only forsakes sin (as a man 
forsakes his country never to return to it 
more) but hates sin. As there is an an- 
tipathy between the crocodile and the scor- 
pion, so if the kingdom of God be within us, 
we not only hate sin for hell, but we hate it 
as hell, as being contrary to God's holiness 
and our happiness. 

5th. We may know the kingdom of grace 
is come into us, when we have given up 
ourselves to God by obedience ; as a ser- 
vant gives up himself to his master, as a 
wife gives up herself to her husband, so we 
give up ourselves to God by obedience. 
And this obedience is, 1st. Free ; as that 
is the sweetest honey which drops from the 
comb. 2d; Uniform ; we obey God in one 
thing as well as another, Ps. cxix. 6, 
"Then shall I not be ashamed;" or, as it 
is in the Hebrew, " I shall not blush when 
I have respect to all thy commandments." 
A good Christian is like a pair of compass- 
es : one foot of the compass stands upon 
the centre, and the other foot of it goes 
round the circle ; so a Christian by faith 
stands on God the centre, and by obedience 
gees round the circle of God's command- 
ments ; a sign the kingdom of grace is not 
come into the heart, when it doth not reign 



OF THE SECOND PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



429 



there by universal obedience. Hypocrites 
would have Christ to be their Saviour ; but 
they pluck the government from his shoul- 
ders, they will not have him rule ; but he who 
hath the kingdom of God within him, submits 
cheerfully to every command of God, — he 

; will do what God will have him do ; he will 
be what God will have him be, — he puts a 

S blank paper into God's hand, and saith, 
" Lord, write what thou wilt, I will sub- 
scribe." Blessed is be that can find all these 
things in his soul, he " is all glorious within," 
Ps. xlv. 13. He carries a kingdom about 

! him ; this kingdom of grace will certainly 
bring to a kingdom of glory. 

I shall answer some doubts and objections, 
that a Christian may make against himself. 

Obj. I fear the kingdom of grace is not 
yet come into my heart. 

Ans. When a Christian is under tempta- 
tion, or grace lies dormant, he is not fit to be 
his own judge ; but in this case he must take 
the witness of others who have the spirit of 

I discerning. But let us hear a Christian's 
objections against himself, why he thinks the 
kingdom of grace is not yet come into his 
heart. 

Obj. 1. I cannot discern grace. 

Ans. A child of God may have the kingdom 
of grace in his heart, yet not know it. The 
cup was in Benjamin's sack, though he did 
not know it was there ; thou mayest have 
faith in thy heart, the cup may be in thy sack, 
though thou knowest it not. Old Jacob wept 
for his son Joseph, when Joseph was alive ; 
thou mayest weep for want of grace, when 
grace may be alive in thy heart. The seed 
may be in the ground, when we do not see it 
spring up ; the seed of God may be sown in 
thy heart, though thou dost not perceive the 
springing of it up. Think not grace is lost 
because it is hid. 

Obj. 2. Before the kingdom of grace come 
into the heart, there must be some prepara- 
tion for it; the fallow ground of the heart 
must be broken up ; I fear the plough of the 
law hath not gone deep enough,— I have not 
been humbled enough —therefore I have no 
grace. 

Ans. God doth not prescribe a just propor- 
tion of sorrow and humiliation ; the scripture 



mentions the truth of sorrow, but not the 
measure. Some are more flagitious sinners 
than others, these must have a greater degree 
of humiliation. A knotty piece of timber re- 
quires more wedges to be driven into it. Some 
stomachs are fouler than others, therefore 
need stronger physic. But wouldest thou 
know when thou hast been humbled enough 
for sin 1 When thou art willing to let go thy 
sins. Then the gold hath lain long enough in 
the furnace when the dross is purged out ; so, 
when the love of sin is purged out, a soul is 
humbled enough to divine acceptation, though 
not to divine satisfaction. Now, if thou art 
humbled enough, (though not so much as 
others) what needs more 1 Frustra sit per 
plura, &c. If a needle will let out the im- 
posthume, what needs a lance 1 Be not more 
cruel to thyself than God would have thee. 

Obj. 3. If the kingdom of God were with- 
in me, it would be a kingdom of power ; it 
would enable me to serve God with vigour of 
soul ; but I have a spirit of infirmity upon 
me, I am weak and impotent, and untuned 
to every holy action. 

Ans. There is a great difference between 
the weakness of grace, and the want of grace : 
a man may have life, though he be sick and 
weak. Weak grace is not to be despised, 
but cherished ; Christ will not break the 
bruised reed. Do not argue from the weak- 
ness of grace to the nullity. 

1. Weak grace will give us a title to Christ, 
as well as strong. A weak hand of faith will 
receive the alms of Christ's merits. 

2. Weak faith is capable of growth. The 
seed springs up by degrees, first the blade, 
and then the ear, and then the full corn in the 
ear ; the faith that is strongest was once in 
its infancy. Grace is like the waters of the 
sanctuary, which did rise higher and higher; 
be not discouraged at thy weak faith, though 
it be but blossoming, it will by degrees come 
to more maturity. 

3. The weakest grace shall persevere, as 
well as the strongest. A sucking child was 
as safe in the ark as Noah. An infant be- 
liever, that is but newly laid to the breast of 
the promise, is as safe in Christ as the most 
eminent heroic saint. 

Obj. 4. J fear the kingdom of grace is 



430 



OF THE SECOND PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



not yet come, because I find the kingdom of 
sin so strong in me. Had I faith, it would 
purify my heart; but I find much pride, 
worldliness, passion. 

Ans. The best of the saints have remain- 
ders of corruption, Dan. vii. 12, " They had 
their dominion taken away, yet their lives 
were prolonged for a season." So in the 
regenerate, though the dominion of sin be 
taken away, yet the life of it is prolonged for 
a season. What pride was there in Christ's 
own disciples, when they strove which should 
be greatest ! The issue of sin will not be quite 
stopped till death. The Lord is pleased to 
let the in-being of sin continue, to humble his 
people, and make them prize Christ the more ; 
but because you find corruptions stirring, do 
not therefore presently unsaint yourselves, 
and deny the kingdom of grace to be come 
into your souls. That you feel sin is an evi- 
dence of spiritual life ; that you mourn for sin, 
— what are these tears but fruits of love to 
God? that you have a combat with sin, argues 
antipathy against it. Those sins which you 
did once wear as a crown on your head, are 
now as fetters on the leg; is not all this from 
the Spirit of grace in you] Sin is in you, 
as poison in the body, which you are sick 
of, and use all scripture antidotes to expel. 
Should we condemn all those who have the 
indwelling of sin, nay, who have had sin — at 
sometimes — prevailing, we should blot some 
of the best saints out of the Bible. 

Obj. 5. Where the kingdom of grace 
comes, it softens the heart ; but I find my 
heart frozen and congealed into hardness; 
I can hardly squeeze out one tear. Do 
flowers grow on a rock? Can there be any 
grace in such a rocky heart? 

Ans. There may be grief where there are 
no tears; the best sorrow is rational. In 
your judgment you esteem sin the most hyper- 
bolical evil, — you have a disgust and dis- 
placency against sin, — this is a rational 
sorrow, and such as God will accept. A 
Christian may have some hardness in his 
heart, yet not have a hard heart ; a field may 
have tares in it, yet we call it a field of wheat ; 
in the best heart is a mixture of hardness, yet 
because there is some softness and melting, 
God looks upon it as a soft heart ; therefore, 



Christian, dispute not against thyself, if thou 
canst find but one thing, that the frame and 
temper of thy soul be holy. Art thou still 
breathing after God, delighting in him 1 Is 
the complexion of thy soul heavenly 1 Canst 
thou say, as David, Ps. cxxxix, " When I 
awake, I am still with thee." As colours 
laid in oil, or a statue carved in gold, abide, 
so doth a holy complexion ; the soul is still 
pointing towards God. If it be thus with 
thee, assure thyself the kingdom of grace is 
come into the soul ; be not unkind to God, to 
deny any work of his Spirit which he hath 
wrought in thee. 

Use 1st. Of exhortation. Labour to find 
that this kingdom of grace is set up in your 
hearts ; while others aspire after earthly 
kingdoms, labour to have the kingdom of God 
within you, Luke xvii. 21. The kingdom of 
grace must come into us, before we can go 
into the kingdom of glory. Motives. 

1st Motive. This kingdom of God within 
us is our spiritual beauty; the kingdom of 
grace adorns a person, and sets him olF in 
the eyes of God and angels. This makes 
the king's daughter all glorious within, Ps. 
xlv. 13. Grace sheds a glory and lustre upon 
the soul. As the diamond to the ring, so is 
grace to the soul. A heart beautified with 
grace hath the king of heaven's picture hung 
in it. 

2d Motive. The kingdom of grace set up 
in the heart is our spiritual defence. Grace 
is called ' the armour of light,' Rom. xiii. 12. 
It is light for beauty, and armour for defence. 
He who hath the kingdom of grace within 
him, is " strengthened with all might accord- 
ing to God's glorious power," Col. i. 11 ; he 
hath the shield of faith, the helmet of hope, 
the breastplate of righteousness ; this armour 
can never be shot through ; it fortifies a 
Christian against the assaults of temptation, 
and the terrors of hell. 

3d Motive. The kingdom of grace set 
up in the heart brings peace with it, Rom. 
xiv. 17, " The kingdom of God is not meat 
and drink, but righteousness and peace." 
There is a secret peace breeds out of holi- 
ness. Peace is the best blessing of a king- 
dom : Pax una triumphis innumeris melior. 
The kingdom of grace is a kingdom of 



OF THE SECOND PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



431 



peace ; grace is the root, peace is the flower 
grows out of it ; it is pax in procella, such 
peace that no worldly affliction can shake. 
The doors of Solomon's temple were made 
of olive-tree carved with open flowers, 
1 Kings vi. 32 : in a gracious heart is the 
olive of peace, and the open flowers of joy. 

Ath Motive. The kingdom of grace en- 
richeth the soul ; a kingdom hath its riches. 
A believer is said to be rich in faith, James 

ii. 5. How rich is he who hath God for his 
God, who is heir to all the promises ! Heb. 
vi. 17. A man may be rich in bills and 
bonds ; a believer, though he may say as 
Peter, " Silver and gold have I none," Acts 

iii. 6, yet he is rich in bills and bonds, he is 
heir to all God's promises ; and to be heir to 
the promises, is better than to be heir to the 
crown. 

bth Motive. When the kingdom of grace 
comes, it doth fix and establish the heart, Ps. 
lvii. 7, "O God my heart is fixed!" Before 
the kingdom of grace comes, the heart is 
very unfixed and unsettled, — like a ship with- 
out a ballast, — like quicksilver that cannot be 
made to fix : but when the kingdom of grace 
comes, it doth stabiliri animum, it fixeth 
the heart upon God, and when the heart is 
fixed, it rests quiet as in its centre. 

(Sth Motive. This kingdom of grace is 
distinguishing ; it is a sure pledge of God's 
love. God may give kingdoms in anger; 
but wherever the kingdom of grace is set 
up, it is in love ; God cannot give grace in 
anger. The crown always goes with this 
kingdom ; let us therefore be ambitious of 
this kingdom of grace. 

Quest. How should we do to obtain this 
kingdom ? 

Ans. 1. In general, take pains for it ; we 
cannot have the world without labour, and do 
we think we have grace ? " If thou seekest 
her as silver," Prov. ii. 4. A man may as 
well expect a crop without sowing, as grace 
without labour. We must not think to have 
grace as Israel had manna ; they did not 
plough nor sow, but it was rained down from 
heaven upon them ; no, we must operant 
dare, — take pains for grace. Our salvation 
cost Christ blood, it will cost us sweat. 

A. 2. Let us go to God to set up this 



kingdom of grace in our hearts; God is 
called, < the God of all grace,' 1 Pet. v. 10. 
Say, " Lord, I want this kingdom of grace, 
— I want a humble, believing heart, — O en- 
rich me with grace, let thy kingdom come !" 
And be importunate suitors. As Achsah said 
to her father Caleb, Josh. xv. 19, "Thou 
hast given me a south land, give me also 
springs of water:" so, "Lord, thou hast 
given me enough of the world,— here is a 
south land, — but Lord, give me the upper- 
springs of grace, let 1 thy kingdom come.' 
What is the venison thou hast given me, 
without the blessing?" When we are im- 
portunate with God, and will take no denial, 
then he will set up his kingdom within us. 

A. 3. Keep close to the word preached ; 
the word preached is virga virtutis, — the rod 
of God's strength ; it is the great engine God 
useth for the setting up the kingdom of grace 
in the heart, Rom. x. 17., " Faith comes by 
hearing." Though God could work grace im- 
mediately by his Spirit, or by the ministry of 
angels from heaven, yet he chooseth to work 
by the word preached ; this is the usual mean 
by which he sets up the kingdom of grace in 
the heart ; and the reason is, because he 
hath put his divine sanction upon it, he hath 
appointed it for the means of working grace, 
and he will honour his own ordinance, 1 Cor. 
i. 21. What reason could be given why the 
waters of Damascus should not have a sove- 
reign virtue to heal Naaman's leprosy, as 
the waters of Jordan 1 Only this, because 
God did appoint and sanctify the waters of 
Jordan to heal, and not the others ; therefore 
let us keep the word preached, because the 
power of God goes along with it. 

Use 2d. Such as have this kingdom of God 
set up in them, it calls for gratulation and 
thanksgiving. What will you be thankful 
for, if not for a kingdom? Grace is the 
best blessing, it is the result and product 
of God's electing love ; God in setting up 
his kingdom of grace, hath done more for 
you, than if he had made you kings and 
queens ; for now you are born of God, and 
of the blood-royal of heaven. O admire 
and exalt free grace ; " make his praise 
glorious," Ps. Ixvi. 2. The apostle seldom 
mentions the work of grace, but he joins 



432 



OF THE SECOND PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



praise, Col. i. 12, " Giving thanks to the Fa- 
ther, who hath made us meet to be partakers 
of the inheritance of the saints in light." If 
God hath crowned you with the kingdom of 
grace, do you crown him with your praises. 

II. The second thing intended by our Sa- 
viour in this petition is, that the kingdom of 
grace may increase, that it may come more 
into us. And this may answer a question. 

Quest. Why do we pray, thy kingdom 
come, when the kingdom of grace is already 
come into the soul ? 

Ans. Though the kingdom of grace be 
already come into us, yet still we must pray, 
' thy kingdom come,' namely that grace may 
be increased, and that this kingdom may 
flourish still more in our souls. Till we 
come to live among the angels, we shall 
need to pray this prayer, " thy kingdom 
come ;" Lord, let thy kingdom of grace come 
in more power into my soul; let grace be 
more augmented and increased. 

Quest. When doth the kingdom of grace 
increase in the soul 1 When is it a flour- 
ishing kingdom! 

Ans. 1. When a Christian hath further 
degrees added to his graces ; there is more 
oil in the lamp, his knowledge is clearer, his 
love is more inflamed ; grace is capable of 
degrees, and may rise higher as the sun in 
the horizon. It is not with us as it was with 
Christ, who received the Spirit without mea- 
sure, John iii. 34. Christ could not be more 
holy than he was ; but our grace is receptive of 
further degrees, — we may have more sanctity, 
— we may add more cubits to our spiritual 
stature. 

A. 2, Then the kingdom of grace increas- 
eth, when a Christian hath gotten more 
strength than he had, Job xvii. 9, " He 
that hath clean hands shall be stronger and 
stronger." In the Hebrew: " He shall add 
to his strength." A Christian hath strength 
to resist temptation, — to forgive his ene- 
mies,— to suffer affliction. 'Tis not easy 
to suffer; a man must deny himself before 
he take up the cross. The way to heaven 
is like the way which Jonathan and his ar- 
mour-bearer had in climbing up a steep 
place, 1 Sam. xiv. 4, " There was a sharp 
rock on the one side, and a sharp rock on 



the other." It requires much strength to 
climb up this rocky way. That grace which 
will carry us through prosperity, will not 
carry us through sufferings ; the ship needs 
stronger tackling to carry it through a storm 
than a calm. Now, when we are so strong 
in grace that we can bear up under affliction, 
without murmuring or fainting, here is the 
kingdom of grace increased. What mighty 
strength of grace had he who told the em- 
peror Valentinian, you may take away my 
life, but you cannot take away my love to the 
truth ! 

A. 3. Then the kingdom of grace increas- 
eth, when a Christian hath most conflict with 
spiritual corruptions, — when he not only ab- 
stains from gross evils, but hath a combat 
with inward, hidden, close corruptions, as 
pride, envy, hypocrisy, vain thoughts, carnal 
confidence, — these are spiritual wickednesses, 
and do both defile and disturb, 2 Cor. vii. 1, 
" Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness 
of the flesh and spirit." Which shows there 
are two sorts of corruptions, one of the flesh, 
the other of the spirit. When we grieve for 
and combat with spiritual sin — as being the 
root of all gross sins — then the kingdom of 
grace increaseth, and spreads its territories 
in the soul. 

A. 4. Then the kingdom of grace flourish- 
eth, when a Christian hath learned to live by 
faith, Gal. ii. 20, " I live by the faith of the 
Son of God." There is the habit of faith, 
and the drawing of this habit into exercise. 
For a Christian to graft his hope of salvation, 
only upon the stock of Christ's righteousness, 
and make Christ all in justification, — to live 
on the promises, as a bee on the flower, and 
suck out the sweetness of them, — to trust 
God where we cannot trace him, — to believe 
his love through a frown, — to persuade our- 
selves, when he hath the face of an enemy, 
yet he hath the heart of a Father, — when we 
are arrived at this, here is the kingdom of 
grace flourishing in our souls. 

A. 5. When a Christian is arrived at holy 
zeal, Numb. xxv. 13. Phinehas was zeal- 
ous for his God. Zeal is the flame of the 
affections, it turns a saint into a seraphim ; 
a zealous Christian is impatient when God 
is dishonoured, Rev. ii. 2; he will wrestle 



OF THE SECOND PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



433 



| with difficulties, he will swim to Christ 
I through a sea of blood, Acts xxi. 13. Zeal 
loves truth when it is despised and opposed, 
Ps. cxix. 126, 127, " They have made void 
thy law, therefore I love thy commandments." 
Here is grace increasing like the sun in the 
horizon. Zeal resembles the Holy Ghost, 
Acts ii. 3, " There appeared unto them cloven 
tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each 
of them." Tongues of fire were an emblem 
of that fire of zeal, which the Spirit poured 
on them. 

A. 6. Then the kingdom of grace increas- 
ieth, when a Christian is as well diligent in 
his particular calling, as devout in his gene- 
ral. He is the wise Christian, that carries 
| things equally ; that doth so live by faith, that 
he lives in a calling. Therefore it is worth 
our notice, when the apostle had exhorted 
! the Thessalonians to increase in grace, 1 
Thess. iv. 10, he presently adds, v. 11, " And 
that you do your own business, and work 
with your hands." This is a sign grace is 
increasing, when Christians go cheerfully 
about their calling. Indeed to be all the day 
j in the mount with God, and to have the mind 
fixed on glory, is more sweet to a man's self, 
and is a heaven upon earth ; but to be con- 
versant in our callings, is more profitable to 
others. I may allude to that of St Paul, To 
be with Christ is best for me ; yet to abide 
here is more needful for you, Phil. i. 24. 
| So, to converse with God in prayer and 
j sweet meditation all the week long, is more 
for the comfort of a man's own person; 
but to be sometimes employed in the busi- 
ness of a calling, is more profitable for the 
family to which he belongs. It is not good 
to be as the lilies, which toil not, neither do 
they spin. It shows the increase of grace, 
when a Christian keeps a due decorum ; he 
joins piety and industry, when zeal runs forth 
in religion, and diligence is put forth in a 
calling. 

A. 7. Then the kingdom of grace increas- 
eth, when a Christian is established in the 
belief and love of the truth. The heart by 
nature is as a ship without ballast, it wavers 
and fluctuates. Beza writes of one Bolezius, 
his religion changed as the moon and planet 
Mercury. Such as are wandering stars, will 
31 



be falling stars ; but when a soul is built on 
the rock Christ, and no winds of temptation 
can blow it away, now the kingdom of grace 
flourisheth. One calls Athanasius Adamas 
Ecclesice, — an invincible adamant, in respect 
of his stability in the truth, Col. ii. 7, " Root- 
ed and built up in him ;" the rooting of a tree 
evidenceth the growth. 

A. 8. Then the kingdom of grace increas- 
ed in a man's own heart, when he labours 
to be instrumental to set up this kingdom in 
others. Though it is the greatest benefit to 
have grace wrought in ourselves, yet it is the 
greatest honour to be instrumental to work 
it in others, Gal. iv. 19, " Of whom I travail 
in birth again till Christ be formed in you." 
Such as are masters of a family should en- 
deavour to see the kingdom of grace set up 
in their servants ; such as are godly parents, 
let not God alone by prayer, till you see 
grace in your children ; what a comfort would 
it be to you, to be both the natural and spi- 
ritual fathers of your children? Austin saith, 
his mother Monica travailed with greater 
care and pain for his new birth, than his 
natural. This shows the increase of grace, 
when we labour to see the kingdom of grace 
set up in others ; then the water abounds in 
the river, when it overflows and runs into the 
meadows ; then grace increaseth in the soul 
when it hath influence upon others, and we 
endeavour their salvation. 

Quest. Wherein appears the needfulness 
of this, that the kingdom of grace should be 
increased ? 

Ans. 1. This is God's design in keeping 
up a standing ministry in the church, to 
increase the kingdom of grace in men's 
hearts, Eph. iv. 8, " He gave gifts unto 
men ;" that is ministerial gifts : why so ? 
v. 12, " For the edifying of the body of 
Christ." Not only for conversion, but for 
augmentation ; therefore the word preached 
is compared not only to seed, but to milk ; 
because by this breast-milk, God designs our 
growth in grace. 

A. 2. We had need have the kingdom of 
grace increase, in respect we have a great 
deal of work to do, and a little grace will 
hardly carry us through. A Christian's 
life is laborious, — so many temptations to 



484 



OF THE SECOND PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



resist, so many promises to believe, — so many 
precepts to obey, — that it will require a great 
deal of grace. A Christian must not only 
pray, but " be zealous, and repent," Rev. iii. 
19 ; not only love, but be sick of love, Cant, 
ii. 5. How had he need therefore to have 
the kingdom of grace enlarged in his soul ] 
As his work increaseth upon him, so his 
grace had need increase. 

A. 3. If the kingdom of grace doth not 
increase, it will decay, Rev. ii. 4, " Thou 
hast left thy first love." Grace, for want of 
increasing, is sometimes like a winter-plant, 
all the sap runs to the root, and it looks as 
if it were dead, Rev. iii. 2, " Strengthen 
the things that remain, which are ready to 
die ;" though grace cannot expire, it may 
wither ; and a withering Christian loseth 
much of his beauty and fragrancy. What 
great need then have we to pray " thy 
kingdom come," that this kingdom of grace 
may be increased 1 If grace be not im- 
proved, it will soon be impaired. A Chris- 
tian, for want of increasing his grace, loseth 
his strength ; he is like a sick man, that can- 
not either walk or work : his prayers are 
sick and weak, — he is as if he had no life 
in him, — his faith can hardly fetch breath, 
and you can scarce feel the pulse of his love 
to beat. 

A. 4. To have grace increasing is suitable 
to Christianity. Christians are " called 
trees of righteousness," Isaiah lxi. 3. The 
saints are not only jewels for sparkling lus- 
tre, but trees for growth ; they are called 
the lights of the world, Phil. ii. 15. Light 
is still increasing. First there is the cre- 
pusculum, or day-break, and so it shines 
brighter to the meridian. They who are 
the lights of the world must increase till 
they come to the meridian of glory. Not to 
grow is suspicious ; painted things grow T not. 

A. 5. As the kingdom of grace increaseth, 
so a Christian's comforts increase. Comfort 
belongs to the bene esse, — or well-being of a 
Christian ; it is like sweetmeat, delicious to 
the taste, Ps. cxix. 103. The more grace, 
the more joy. As the more sap in the root, 
the more wine in the grape. Who did more 
increase in grace than David] And who 
•more in consolation ? Ps. iv. 7, " Thou hast 



put gladness in my heart." Grace turns to 
joy, as milk to cream. 

Quest. How may they be comforted, who 
bewail their want of growth, and weep that 
they cannot find the kingdom of grace in- 
crease 1 

Ans. 1. To see and bewail our decay in 
grace, argues not only the life of grace, but 
growth. 'Tis a sign a man recovers and gets 
strength, when he feels his weakness ; it is a 
step forward in grace to see our imperfections. 
The more the Spirit shines in the heart, the 
more evil it discovers ; a Christian thinks it 
worse with him than it was, whereas his grace 
may not grow lesser, but his light greater. 

A. 2. If a Christian doth not increase in 
one grace he may in another ; if not in 
knowledge, he may in humility. If a tree 
doth not grow so much in the branches, it 
may in the root ; to grow downwards in the 
root, is a good growth. 

A. 3. A Christian may grow less in affec- 
tion, when he grows more in judgment. As 
a musician when he is old, his fingers are 
stiff, and not so nimble at the lute as they 
were, but he plays with more art and judg- 
ment than before ; so a Christain may not 
have so much affection in duty as at the 
first conversion, but he is more solid in reli- 
gion, and more settled in his judgment than 
he was before. 

A. 4. A Christian may think he doth not 
increase in grace, because he doth not in- 
crease in gifts ; whereas there may be a de- 
cay of natural parts, the memory and other 
faculties, when there is not a decay of grace. 
Parts may be impaired, when grace is im- 
proved : be not discouraged, it is better to de- 
cay in parts, and be enlarged in grace, than to 
be enlarged in parts, and decay in grace. 

A. 5. A Christian may increase in grace, 
yet not be sensible of it. The seed may grow 
in the earth, when we do not perceive it to 
spring up : the grace may grow in time of de- 
sertion, and not be perceived. So I have 
done with the first thing intended in this pe- 
tition, "thy kingdom come ;" we pray that 
the kingdom of grace may come into our 
hearts, and that it may increase and flourish. 

I should come to the second thing intend- 
ed in this petition, « that the kingdom of 



OF THE SECOND PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



435 



glory may hasten, and that we may in due 
time be translated into it.' 

When we pray, "thy kingdom come," 
here is something positively intended; we 
pray, 1st. that the kingdom of grace may be 
set in our hearts ; 2d. that it may increase 
and flourish ; 3d. that the kingdom of glory 
may hasten, and that God would in his due 
time translate us into it. 

1. What this kingdom of glory is. 

2. What are the properties of it. 

3. Wherein it exceeds all other kingdoms. 

4. When this kingdom comes. 

5. Wherein appears the certainty of it. 

6. Why we should pray for its coming. 

First, What this kingdom of glory is. 

Ans. By this kingdom is meant, that glori- 
ous estate which the saints shall enjoy when 
they shall reign with God and angels for ever. 
If a man stand upon the sea-shore, he cannot 
see all the dimensions of the sea, the length, 
breadth, and depth of it, yet he may see it is 
of a vast extension : so, though the kingdom 
of heaven be of that incomparable excellency 
that neither tongue of man or angels can ex- 
press, yet we may conceive of it to be an 
exceeding glorious thing, such as the eye 
hath not seen. 

Concerning the kingdom of heaven I shall 
show, 1. What it implies ; 2. What it imports. 

1. What it implies. 

Ans. It implies a blessed freedom from all 
evil. 

2. What it imports. 

Ans. It imports glorious fruition of all good. 

1. What the kingdom of heaven implies. 

Ans. 1. It implies a freedom from all evil. 

1. A freedom from the necessities of na- 
ture. We are in this life subject to many 
necessities ; we need food to nourish us, — 
clothes to cover us, — armour to defend us, — 
sleep to refresh us ; but in the kingdom of 
heaven there is no need of these things ; and 
it is better not to need them, than to have 
them, as it is better not to need crutches, 
than to have crutches. What need will 
there be of food when our bodies shall be 
made spiritual ? 1 Cor. xv. 44. Though not 
spiritual for substance, yet for qualities. 
What need will there be of clothing when 
our bodies shall be like Christ's glorious 



body 1 What need will there be of armour 
when there is no enemy 1 What need will 
there be of sleep, when there is no night] 
Rev. xxii. 5. The saints shall be freed, in 
the heavenly kingdom, from these necessities 
of nature to which they now lie exposed. 

2. In the kingdom of heaven we shall be freed 
from the imperfections of nature. Since the 
fall, our knowledge hath suffered an eclipse. 

(1) . Our natural knowledge is imperfect, 
it is chequered with ignorance. There are 
many hard knots in nature, which we cannot 
easily untie : Why the sea should be higher 
than the earth, yet not drown it 1 What way 
the light is parted ? Job xxxviii. 24. What is 
the reason of all the occult qualities, sympa- 
thies, and antipathies 1 He who sees clearest, 
hath a mist before his eyes. Socrates said 
on his death-bed, there were many things he 
had yet to learn. Our ignorance is more 
than our knowledge. 

(2) . Our divine knowledge is imperfect; 
" we know but in part," saith Paul, 1 Cor. xiii. 
9. Though he had many revelations, and was 
wrapt up into the third heaven. We have but 
dark conceptions of the Trinity, Job xi. 7, 
"Canst thou by searching find out God?" 
Our narrow capacities will no more contain 
the Trinity, than a little glass vial will hold all 
the water in the sea. We cannot unriddle the 
mystery of the incarnation, — the human na- 
ture assumed into the person of the Son of 
God, — the human nature not God, yet united 
with God; we see now in cenigmate, — in a 
glass darkly, but in the kingdom of heaven 
the vail shall be taken off, all imperfection of 
nature shall be done away. When the sun- 
light of glory shall begin to shine in the hea- 
venly horizon, all dark shadows of ignorance 
shall fly away, our lamp of knowledge shall 
burn bright, we shall have a full knowledge 
of God though not know him fully. 

3. In the kingdom of heaven we shall be 
freed from the toilsome labours of this life. 
God enacted a law in paradise, "In the 
sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread," Gen. 
iii. 19. There is the labour of the hand in 
manufacture, and the labour of the mind in 
study, Eccl. i. 8, "All things are full of 
labour ;" but in the kingdom of heaven we 
shall be freed from our labours. 



436 



OF THE SECOND PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



(1) . There needs no labour when a man 
hath got to the haven, he hath no more need 
of sailing. In heaven there needs no labour, 
because the saints shall have that glory 
which they laboured for. 

(2) . There shall be no labour, Rev. xiv. 
13, They rest from their labours. As God 
when he had finished the work of creation, 
rested from his labours, Gen. ii. 2, so, when 
his saints have finished the work of sanctifi- 
cation, they rest from their labours. Where 
should there be rest, but in the heavenly cen- 
tre 1 Not that this sweet rest in the king- 
dom of heaven excludes all motion, for spirits 
cannot be idle ; but the saints glorified shall 
rest from all wearisome employment ; it shall 
be a labour full of ease, a motion full of de- 
light ; the saints in heaven shall love God, 
and what labour is that 1 Is it any labour to 
love beauty] They shall praise God, and 
that sure is delightful ; when the bird sings, 
it is not so much a labour as a pleasure. 

4. In the kingdom of heaven, we shall be 
freed from original corruption ; this is causa 
causati, the root of all actual sin. There 
would be no actual sin, if there were no origi- 
nal ; there would be no water in the stream, 
if there were none in the fountain. Original 
sin is incorporated into our nature ; it is as 
if the whole mass of blood were corrupted. 
This makes a Christian weary of his life ; 
he offends that God whom he loves. What 
would a Christian give to have his chains 
taken off, to be rid of vain thoughts 1 How 
did Paul (that bird of paradise) bemoan 
himself for his sins ] Rom. vii. 24. We 
cannot act either our duties or our graces 
without sin. The soul that is most refined 
and clarified by grace, is not without some 
dregs of corruption ; but in the kingdom of 
heaven the fountain of original sin shall be 
quite dried up. What a blessed time will 
that be, never to grieve God's Spirit more ! 
In heaven are virgin-souls ; there is beauty 
which is not stained with lust; nothing en- 
ters there that defiles, Rev. xxi. 27. 

5. In the kingdom of heaven we shall be 
freed from all sorrows, Rev. xxi. 4, " There 
shall be no more sorrow." Our life here 
is interlarded with trouble, Ps. xxxi. 10. 
Either losses grieve, or law-suits vex, or 



unkindness breaks the heart. We may as 
well separate moisture from air, or weight 
from lead, as troubles from man's life. 
Quid est diu vivere, nisi diu torqueri ? Aug. 
But, in the kingdom of heaven, sorrow and 
sighing shall fly away. Here the saints sit 
by the rivers weeping, but one smile from 
Christ's face will make them forget all their 
sufferings ; their water then shall be turned 
into wine, their mourning into music. 

6. We shall in the kingdom of heaven 
be freed from the immodesty of temptation. 
Satan is not yet fully cast into prison, but is 
like a prisoner that goes under bail,— he 
walks about tempting, — he labours to trepan 
us into sin, — he is either laying of snares, or 
shooting of darts. Stat inprocinctu diabolus. 
He laid a train of temptation to blow up the 
castle of Job's faith. This is as great a grief 
to a believer to be followed with temptations 
to sin, as it is for a virgin to have her chas- 
tity assaulted ; but in the kingdom of heaven 
the saints shall be freed from the red dragon ; 
he is cast out of paradise, and shall be for 
ever locked up in chains, Jude 6. 

7. In the kingdom of heaven we shall be 
freed from all vexing cares. The Greek 
word for care, comes from a primitive which 
signifies to cut the heart in pieces. Care 
discruciates the mind, it wastes the spirits, it 
eats out the comfort of life. Care is an evil 
spirit that haunts us : care to prevent future 
dangers, and preserve present comforts. 
All care is full of fear, and fear is full of tor- 
ment, 1 John iv. 18. God threatens it as a 
judgment, Ezek. xii. 19, " They shall eat 
their bread with carefulness. Every comfort 
hath its care, as every rose hath its prickle ; 
but in the kingdom of heaven, we shall 
shake off this viper of care. What needs a 
saint glorified to take any care who hath all 
things provided to his hand ? There is the 
tree of life bearing all sorts of fruit. When 
the heart shall be freed from sin, the head 
shall be freed from care. 

8. We shall, in the kingdom of heaven, 
be freed from all doubts and scruples. In 
this life the best saint hath his doubtings, 
as the brightest star hath his twinkling. 
If there were no doubtings, there would 
be no unbelief; assurance itself doth not 



OF THE SECOND PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 437 



exclude all doubting, Ps. xxvi. 3, " Thy lov- 
ing kindness is before mine eyes:" but at 
another time, Ps. lxxxix. 49, " Lord where 
are thy former loving kindnesses"?" A 
Christian is like a ship at anchor, which 
though it be safe, yet it may sometimes be 
tossed upon the water. Sometimes a Chris- 
tian questions his interest in Christ, and his 
title to the promise ; and these doubtings, as 
they eclipse a Christian's comfort, so they 
are a bearing false witness against the Spirit. 
But, when the saints shall come into the 
kingdom of heaven, there shall be no more 
doubtings ; then a Christian shall say, as Pe- 
ter, " now I know of a surety that the Lord 
hath sent his angel, and delivered me," Acts 
xii. 11. So, now I know, that I am passed 
from death to life, and I am got beyond all 
rocks, I have shot the gulf, now I am in my 
Saviour's embraces for ever. 

9. We shall, in the kingdom of heaven, 
be freed from all society with the wicked. 
Here, we are forced sometimes to be in their 
company, Ps. cxx. 5, " Wo is me that I so- 
journ in Mesech, and dwell in the tents of 
Kedar!" Kedar was Ishmael's son, whose 
children dwelt in Arabia, a profane, barba- 
rous people. Here the wicked are still 
raising persecutions against the godly, and 
crucifying their ears with their oaths and 
curses ; Christ's lily is among thorns ; but in 
the heavenly kingdom there shall be no more 
any pricking briar, Matt. xiii. 41, " The Son 
of man shall send forth his angels, and they 
shall gather out of his kingdom all things 
that offend." As Moses said, Exod. xiv. 13, 
" Stand still and see the salvation of the 
Lord : for the Egyptians whom ye have seen 
to-day, ye shall see them again no more for 
ever :" so will God say, " stand still and see 
the salvation of God ; these your enemies, 
that vex and molest you, you shall see them 
again no more for ever." At that day, God 
will separate the precious from the vile ; 
then Christ will thoroughly purge his floor, 
he will gather the wheat into the garner, and 
the wicked, which are the chaff, shall be 
blown into hell. 

10. We shall, in the kingdom of heaven, 
be freed from all signs of God's displeasure. 
Here God may be angry with his people : 



though he hath the heart of a father, he may 
have the look of an enemy ; this is sad. As 
when the sun is gone the dew falls ; when 
the light of God's face is gone tears drop 
from the saints' eyes. But in the kingdom 
of heaven, there shall be no spiritual eclipses, 
there shall never appear any tokens of God's 
displeasure, — the saints shall have a constant 
aspect of love from God, they shall never 
complain any more, as Cant. v. 6, "My 
beloved hath withdrawn himself." 

11. We shall, in the kingdom of heaven, be 
freed from all divisions. That which is the 
saddest thing in the world, is to see divisions 
among them that are good. It is sad, that 
such as have one faith, yet should not be of 
one heart ; Ephraim envies Judah, and Judah 
vexeth Ephraim ; it is matter of tears, to see 
those who are united to Christ, to be divided 
one from another. The soldier's spear pierced 
Christ's side, but the divisions of saints wound 
his heart. But, in the kingdom of heaven, 
there shall be no vilifying one another, or 
censuring; those who before could hardly 
pray together, shall praise God together ; 
there shall not be one jarring string in the 
saints' music. 

12. We shall, in the kingdom of heaven, be 
freed from vanity and dissatisfaction. What 
Job saith of wisdom, chap, xxviii. 14, " The 
depth saith, It is not in me ; and the sea saith, 
It is not with me," the same may I say con- 
cerning satisfaction ; every creature saith, 
" It is not in me." Take things most pleasing; 
and which we promise ourselves most con- 
tent from, still out the siprits and purest quin- 
tessence of them, and we shall say, as Solo- 
mon did, Eccl. ii. 11, " And behold all was 
vanity!" God never did, nor will, put a sa- 
tisfying virtue into any creature. In the 
sweetest music the world makes, either 
there is some string wanting, or out of 
tune. Who would have thought that Ha- 
inan, who was so great in the king's favour, 
" he set his seat above all the princes that were 
with him," Est. iii. 1. Yet for the want of 
the bowing of a knee he is dissatisfied ! but 
in the kingdom of heaven, we shall be freed 
from these dissatisfactions. The world is 
like a landscape, you may see gardens and 
fruit-trees, curiously drawn in the landscape, 



438 



OF THE SECOND PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



but you cannot enter into them ; but you may 
enter into the joys of heaven, " enter thou 
into the joy of thy Lord." The soul shall be 
satisfied while it bathes in those rivers of 
pleasure at God's right hand ; " I shall be sa- 
tisfied, when I awake with thy likeness," Ps. 
xvii. 15. Thus you see what the kingdom of 
glory implies ; namely, a blessed freedom 
from all evil. 

13. We shall in the kingdom of heaven, 
be freed from the torments of hell, 1 Thess. 
i. 10, "Jesus which delivered us from the 
wrath to come." 

(1) . The multiplicity of these torments. 
In this life, the body is usually exercised but 
with one pain, the stone or head-ach ; but 
in hell there is a diversity of torments, — 
there is darkness to affright, — fire to burn, — 
a lake of sulphur to choke, — chains to bind, 
— the worm to gnaw. 

(2) . The torments of hell will seize upon 
every part of the body and soul ; the eye shall 
be tortured with the sight of devils ; the 
tongue that hath sworn so many oaths shall 
be tortured, Luke xvi. 24, "Send Lazarus, 
that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, 
and cool my tongue." The memory shall be 
tormented to remember what mercies have 
been abused, what seasons of grace neglected ; 
the conscience shall be tormented with self- 
accusations. 

(3) . In the pains of hell there is no miti- 
gation, no mixture of mercy. In this life, 
God in anger remembers mercy, Hab. iii. 2 ; 
but in hell there is no alleviation or lessening 
of the pains. As in the sacrifice of jealousy, 
Numb. v. 15, God would have no oil or frank- 
incense put into it : so in hell there is no oil 
of mercy to lenify the sufferings of the damn- 
ed, no incense of prayer to appease God's 
wrath. 

(4) . In the pains of hell there is no inter- 
mission. The poets feign of Endymion, that 
he got leave of Jupiter always to sleep. What 
would the damned in hell give for one hour's 
sleep 1 Rev. iv. 8, " They rest not day and 
night." They are perpetually on the rack. 

(5) . In the pains of hell there is no expir- 
ation ; they must always lie scorching in 
flames of wrath, Rev. xiv. 11, " The smoke 
of their torment ascended up for ever and 



ever :" but, in the heavenly kingdom, the elect 
shall be freed from all infernal torments: 
"Jesus hath delivered us from the wrath to 
come." A prison is not made for the king's 
children. Christ drank that bitter cup of God's 
wrath, that the saints might never drink it. 

A. 2. In the kingdom of heaven there is a 
glorious fruition of all good. Had I as many 
tongues as hairs on my head, I could not fully 
describe this. I may say, as Judges xviii. 9, 
10. Heaven is called " the excellent glory," 
2 Pet. i. 17. I may as well span the firma- 
ment, or drain the ocean, as set forth the glory 
of this kingdom. Ccelum non habit hyperbo- 
lum ; the kingdom of heaven is above all hy- 
perbole. Were the sun ten thousand times 
brighter than it is, it could not parallel the 
lustre of this kingdom ; Apelles' pencil would 
blot, angels* tongues would lessen it ; I can 
but give you the skiagraphia, or dark shadow 
of it ; expect not to see it in all its orient 
colours, till you are mounted above the stars. 
But let us not stand afar off, as Moses, to 
behold this Canaan, but enter into it, and 
taste the honey. Concerning the fruitions 
and privileges of this heavenly kingdom, 

1. We shall have an immediate commu- 
nion with God himself, who is the inex- 
hausted sea of all happiness ; this divines 
call 'the beatifical vision.' The Psalmist 
did triumph in that enjoyment he had of God 
in this life, Ps. lxxiii. 25, " Whom have I 
in heaven but thee?" If God, enjoyed by 
faith, doth give so much comfort to the 
soul ; how much more, when he is enjoyed 
by immediate vision ! Here we see God but 
darkly through the glass of ordinances, but, 
in the kingdom of heaven we shall see him 
"face to face," 1 Cor. xiii. 12. We shall 
have an intellectual sight of God, L e. we 
shall see him with the eyes of our mind; 
we shall know God as much as the angels 
in heaven do, Matt, xviii. 10, and 1 Cor. xiii. 
12, We shall know as we are known. We 
shall have a full knowledge of God, though 
not know him fully ; as a vessel in the sea, 
is full of the sea, though it holds not all the 
sea. To see and enjoy God will be most 
delicious ; in God are beams of majesty, and 
bowels of mercy. God hath all excellencies 
concentered in him, bonum in quo omnia bona. 



OF THE SECOND PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 439 



If one flower should have the sweetness of all 
flowers, how sweet would that flower be ! All 
the beauty and sweetness which lies scattered 
in the creature, is infinitely to be found in 
God ; therefore, to see and enjoy him, will 
ravish the soul with delight. We shall so see 
God as to love him, and be made sensible of 
his love ; and, when we shall have this sweet 
communion with God, then God shall be " all 
in all," 1 Cor. xv. 28, light to the eye, manna 
to the taste, music to the ear. 

2. We shall, in the kingdom of heaven, 
with these eyes, seethe glorified body of Jesus 
Christ. This our Saviour makes a great part 
of the glory of heaven, to view the glory of 
his human nature, John xvii. 24, " That they 
may behold my glory." When Christ was 
transfigured upon earth, it is said, " that his 
face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was 
white as the light," Matt. xvii. 2. If the glory 
of his transfiguration was so great, what will 
the glory of his exaltation be 1 Much of the 
glory of God shines in Christ, by virtue of the 
hypostatical union, Col. ii. 9, "In him dwell- 
eth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily." 
Through Christ's humanity, as through a 
bright mirror, we may see some beams of the 
Divine Majesty shine forth. Put a back of 
steel to a glass, and you may see a face in it : 
Christ's human nature is as a back of steel 
put to the divine nature ; through this we 
may see God ; and then our capacities shall 
be enlarged to a wonderful degree, to receive 
this glorious object ; and we shall not only 
see God's glory, but some of his glory shall 
be put upon us. Non tantum aderit gloria, 
sed inherit, Bern. A beggar may behold 
the glory of a king, and not be the happier ; 
but Christ's glory shall be ours, " we shall be 
like him," 1 John iii. 2. We shall shine by 
his beams. 

3. We shall, in the kingdom of heaven, 
enjoy the society of 'an innumerable com- 
pany of angels,' Heb. xii. 22. 

Quest. But is there not enough in God 
to fill the soul with delight ? Can the sight 
of angels add to the souVs happiness ? What 
need is there of the light of torches, when 
the sun shines ? 

Ans. Because the divine essence, the sight 
of angels is desirable; much of God's cu- 



rious workmanship shines in the angels ; the 
angels are beautiful, glorious creatures ; and 
as the several strings in a lute make the har- 
mony sweeter, and the several stars make the 
firmament brighter, so the society with angels 
will make the delight of heaven the greater; 
and we shall not only see the angels with the 
glorified eye of our understanding, but con- 
verse with them. 

4. We shall, in the kingdom of heaven, 
have sweet society with glorified saints ; then 
the communion of saints will be illustrious. 
O what a blessed time will it be when those 
who have prayed, wept, suffered together, shall 
rejoice together ! We shall see the saints in 
their white linen of purity, and see them as so 
many crowned kings ; in beholding the saints 
glorified, we shall behold a heaven full of 
suns. Some move the question, whether we 
shall know one another in heaven ? Surely our 
knowledge shall not be diminished, but in- 
creased. It is the judgment of Luther and An- 
selm, and many other divines, that we shall 
know one another,— yea, the saints of all ages 
whose faces we never saw ; and, when we 
shall see the saints in glory without their 
spots, viz. their infirmities, pride and passion, 
this will be a glorious sight. We see how Pe- 
ter was transported when he saw but two pro- 
phets in the transfiguration, Matt. xvii. 3; but, 
what a blessed sight will it be when we shall 
see such a glorious company of prophets, and 
martyrs, and holy men of God ! How sweet 
will the music be, when they shall all sing 
together in concert, in the heavenly choir ! 
And though, in this great assembly of saints 
and angels, " one star may differ from an- 
other in glory," yet no such weed as envy 
shall ever grow in the paradise of God ; then 
there shall be perfect love, which, as it casts 
out fear, so also envy ; though one vessel of 
glory may hold more than another, yet every 
vessel shall be full. 

5. In the kingdom of heaven there shall 
be incomprehensible joy. Aristotle saith, 
"joy proceeds from union." When the 
saints' union with Christ is perfected in hea- 
ven, then their joy shall be full ; all the birds 
of the heavenly paradise sing for joy. What 
joy when the saints shall see the great gulf 
shot, and know that they are passed from 



440 



OF THE SECOND PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



death to life ! What joy, when they are as 
holy as they would be, and as God would have 
them to be ! What joy to hear the music of 
angels, — to see the golden banner of Christ's 
love displayed over the soul, — to be drinking 
that water of life which is quintessential, and 
is sweeter than all nectar and ambrosia ! 
What joy when the saints shall see Christ 
clothed in their flesh, sitting in glory above 
the angels ! Then they shall enter into the 
joy of their Lord, Matt. xxv. 21. Here joy 
enters into the saints, in heaven, 'they enter 
into joy.' O thou saint of God who now 
hangest thy harp upon the willows, and min- 
glest thy drink with weeping, in the kingdom 
of heaven thy water shall be turned into wine ; 
you shall have so much felicity, that your 
souls cannot wish for more ! The sea is not 
so full of water, as the heart of a glorified 
saint is of joy ; there can be no more sorrow 
in heaven than there is joy in hell. 

6. In heaven there is honour and dignity 
put upon the saints. A kingdom imports 
honour. All that come into heaven are 
kings ; they have, 1. A crown, Rev. ii. 10. 
Dabi tibi, the crown of life ; corona est in- 
signe regice potestatis. This crown is not 
lined with thorns, but hung with jewels ; it 
is a never-fading crown, 1 Pet. v. 4. — 2. The 
saints in heaven have their robes ; they ex- 
change their sackcloth for white robes, Rev. 
vii. 9, " I beheld, and lo, a great multitude, 
which no man could number, clothed in white 
robes!" Robes signify their glory, -white 
their sanctity. — And, 3. They sit with Christ 
upon the throne, Rev. iii. 21. We read, 1 
Kings vi. 32, the doors of the holy of holies 
were made of palm-trees and open flowers 
covered with gold : an emblem of that victory 
and that garland of glory which the saints 
shall wear in the kingdom of heaven. When 
all the titles and ensigns of worldly honour 
shall lie in the dust, — the mace, the silver 
star, the garter, — then shall the saint's 
honour remain. 

7. We shall, in the kingdom of heaven, 
have a blessed rest. Rest is the end of mo- 
tion; heaven is centrum quietatimum animce, 
the blessed centre where the soul doth acqui- 
esce and rest. In this life we are subject 
to unquiet motions and fluctuations, 2 Cor. 



vii. 5, " We were troubled on every side :" 
like a ship on the sea having the waves beating 
on both sides : but in the kingdom of heaven 
there is rest, Heb. iv. 9. How welcome is rest 
to a weary traveller ! When death cuts asun- 
der the string of the body, the soul, as a dove, 
flies away, and is at rest. This rest is when 
the saints shall lie on Christ's bosom, that 
hive of sweetness, that bed of perfume. 

8. The saints shall, in the kingdom of 
heaven, have their bodies richly bespangled 
with glory ; they shall be full of clarity and 
brightness. As Moses's face shined that Is- 
rael were not able to behold the glory, Exod. 
xxxiv. 30. The bodies of the saints shall 
shine seven times brighter than the sun, 
saith Chrysostom ; they shall have such a 
resplendency of beauty on them, that the 
angels shall fall in love with them ; and no 
wonder, for they shall be made like Christ's 
glorious body, Phil. iii. 21. The bodies of 
saints glorified need no jewels, when they 
shall shine like Christ's body. 

9. In the heavenly kingdom is eternity ; 
'tis an eternal fruition, they shall never be 
put out of the throne, Rev. xxii. 5, " They 
shall reign for ever and ever." It is called 
" the everlasting kingdom," 2 Pet. i. 11, and 
" an eternal weight of glory," 2 Cor. iv. 17. 
The flowers of paradise, of which the saints' 
garland is made, never wither. If there 
could be a cessation of heaven's glory, or 
the saints had but the least fear or suspicion 
of losing their felicity, it would infinitely 
abate and cool their joy ; but their kingdom 
is for ever, the rivers of paradise cannot be 
dried up, Ps. xvi. 11, "At thy right hand 
there are pleasures for evermore." The 
kingdom of heaven was typified by the tem- 
ple, which was built with stone, covered with 
cedar overlaid with gold : to show the fixed 
permanent state of glory, that kingdom abides 
for ever. Well may we pray, " Thy king- 
dom come." 

Having spoken of the kingdom of grace, 
and how we may know that kingdom is set 
up in our hearts, I am next to speak of the 
kingdom of glory, or heaven. 

1. What is meant hy the kingdom of hea- 
ven. 

2. What are the properties of this kingdom. 



OF THE SECOND PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 441 



3. 1 Wherein this heavenly kingdom excels 
all the kingdoms upon earth. 

4. When this kingdom shall be bestowed. 

5. Wherein appears the certainty and in- 
fallibility of it. 

6. Why we should pray for the coming of 
this kingdom. 

Quest. L What is meant by the king- 
dom of heaven ? 

Ans. 1. It imports a blessed freedom from 
all evil. — 2. It implies a glorious fruition of 
all good. (1). Immediate communion with 
God, who is the inexhausted sea of all happi- 
ness. (2). A visible beholding the glorified body 
of Jesus Christ. (3). A glorious vision of saints 
and angels. (4). Dignity and honour, the 
crown, and white robes. (5). A blessed rest. 

Quest. 2. What are the propertiss or 
qualifications of the kingdom of heaven ? 

Ans. L The glory of this kingdom is so- 
lid and substantial ; the Hebrew word for 
glory signifies a weight, to show how solid 
and weighty the glory of the celestial king- 
dom is. The glory of the worldly kingdom 
is airy and imaginary, like a blazing comet, 
or fancy ; Acts xxvi. 23, Agrippa and Ber- 
nice came with a great pomp, with a great 
fancy ; Job xxvi. 7, The earth hangs like a 
ball in the air, without any thing to uphold it. 
The glory of the heavenly kingdom is sub- 
stantial, it hath twelve foundations, Rev. xxi. 

14. That which God and angels count glory 
is true glory. 

A. 2. The glory of this kingdom is satis- 
fying, Ps. xxxvi. 9, " With thee is the foun- 
tain of life." How can they choose but be 
full, who are at the fountain-head 1 Ps. xvii. 

15, " When I awake, I shall be satisfied with 
thy likeness," i. e. when I awake in the 
morning of the resurrection, having some of 
the beams of thy glory shining in me, I shall 
be satisfied, Job xxviii. 14, The creature saith 
concerning satisfaction, " It is not with me." 
If we go for happiness to the creature, we 
go to the wrong box ; only heaven's glory is 
commensurate to the vast desires of an im- 
mortal soul. A Christian bathing himself in 
these rivers of pleasure, cries out in divine 
ecstasy, " I have enough !" The soul is never 
satisfied till it hath God for its portion, and 
heaven for its haven. Dissatisfaction ariseth 

3K 



from some defect, but God is an infinite good, 
and there can be no defect in that which is 
infinite. 

A. 3. The glory of heaven's kingdom is 
pure and unmixed ; the streams of paradise 
are not muddied, — omnia clara, omnia ju- 
cunda, — there, that gold hath no alloy ; no 
bitter ingredient in that glory, pure as the 
honey-drops from the comb ; there grows a 
rose without prickles, the rose of Sharon ; 
there is ease without pain, honour without 
disgrace, life without death. 

A. 4. The glory of this kingdom in con- 
stantly exhilarating and refreshing ; there is 
fulness but no surfeit. Worldly comforts, 
though sweet, yet in time grow stale; a down- 
bed pleaseth a while, but within a while we 
are weary, and would rise. Too much plea- 
sure is a pain ; but the glory of heaven doth 
never surfeit or nauseate ; the reason is, be- 
cause, as there are all rarities imaginable, 
so every moment fresh delights spring from 
God into the glorified soul. 

A. 5. The glory of this kingdom is distri- 
buted to every individual saint. In an earthly 
kingdom the crown goes but to one, a crown 
will fit but one head ; but in that kingdom 
above, the crown goes to all, Rev. i. 6. All 
the elect are kings. The land is settled 
chiefly upon the heir, and the rest are ill pro- 
vided for ; but, in the kingdom of heaven, all 
the saints are heirs, Rom. viii. 17, " Heirs of 
God, and joint heirs with Christ." God hath 
land enough to give to all his heirs. 

A. 6. Lucid and transparent. This king- 
dom of heaven is adorned and bespangled with 
light, 1 Tim. vi. 16. Light is the glory of 
the creation, Eccl. xi. 7, "The light is 
sweet." Hell is a dark dungeon, Matt. xxii. 
13. Fire, but no light. The kingdom of hea- 
ven is a diaphanum, — all embroidered with 
light, clear as crystal. How can they want 
light where Christ the Sun of Righteousness 
displays his golden beams 1 Rev. xxi. 23, 
« The glory of God did lighten it, and the 
Lamb is the light thereof." 

A. 7. The glory of this kingdom is adequate 
and proportionable to the desire of the soul. 
In creature fruitions, that which doth com- 
mend them, and set them off to us, is suitable- 
ness; the content of marriage doth not lie 



442 



OF THE SECOND PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



either in beauty or portion, but the suitable- j 
ness of disposition. The excellency of a feast 
is when the meat is suited to the palate : this 
is one ingredient in the glory of heaven, it ex- 
actly suits the desires of the glorified saints. 
We shall not say in heaven, here is a dish I do 
not love ! There shall be music suits the ear, 
— the anthems of angels ; and food that suits 
with the glorified palate, — the hidden manna 
of God's love. 

A. 8. The glory of this kingdom will be 
seasonable. The seasonableness of a mercy 
adds to its beauty and sweetness ; it is like 
apples of gold to pictures of silver. After a 
hard winter in this cold climate, will it not be 
seasonable to have the spring-flowers of glory 
appear, and the singing of the birds of para- 
dise come 1 When we have been wearied, 
and even tired out in battle with sin and Sa- 
tan, will not a crown be seasonable 1 

Quest. 3. Wherein the kingdom of heaven 
infinitely excels all the kingdoms of the 
earth ? 

Ans. 1. It excels in the architect ; other 
kingdoms have men to raise their structures, 
but God himself laid the first stone in this 
kingdom, Heb. xi. 10. This kingdom is of 
the greatest antiquity : God was the first 
king and founder of it ; no angel was worthy 
to lay a stone in this building. 

A. 2. This heavenly kingdom excels in 
altitude ; it is higher situated than any king- 
dom ; the higher any thing is the more-excel- . 
lent ; the fire being the most sublime element 
is most noble. The kingdom of heaven is 
seated above all the visible orbs. There is, 
1st. The airy heaven which is the space from 
the earth to the sphere of the moon. 2d. The 
starry heaven, the place where are the planets 
of a higher elevation, Saturn, Jupiter, Mars. 
2d. The caelum empyrceum, the empyrean 
heaven, which Paul calls the third heaven ; 
where Christ is, there is the kingdom of glory 
situated. This kingdom is so high that no 
scaling ladders of enemies can reach it — so 
high that the old serpent cannot shoot up his 
fiery darts to it. If wicked men could build 
their nests among the stars, yet the least be- 
liever would shortly be above them. 

A. 3. The kingdom of heaven excels all 
others in splendour and riches ; it is described 



by precious stones, Rev. xxi. 19. What are 
all the rarities of the earth to this kingdom, 
coasts of pearl, rocks of diamonds, islands of 
spices 1 What are the wonders of the world 
to it, the Egyptian pyramids, the temple of 
Diana, the pillar of the sun offered to Jupiter 1 
What a rich kingdom is that where God will 
lay out all his cost ! Those who are poor in 
the world, yet, as soon as they come into this 
kingdom, grow rich, as rich as the angels ; 
other kingdoms are enriched with gold, this 
is enriched with the Deity. 

A. 4. The kingdom of heaven excels all 
other kingdoms in holiness. Kingdoms on 
earth are for the most part unholy ; there is a 
common shore of luxury and uncleanness run- 
ning in them ; kingdoms are stages for sin to 
be acted on, Isa. xxviii. 8, " All tables are full 
of vomit." But the kingdom of heaven is so 
holy that it will not mix with any corruption, 
Rev. xxi. 27, There shall enter into it no- 
thing that defileth. 'Tis so pure a soil that no 
serpent of sin will breed there ; there is beauty 
which is not stained with lust, and honour 
which is not swelled with pride. Holiness is 
the brightest jewel of the crown of heaven. 

A. 5. The kingdom of heaven excels all 
other kingdoms in its pacific nature ; 'tis 
regnum pads, a kingdom of peace. Peace 
is the glory of a kingdom ; pax una trium- 
phis innumeris melior. A king's crown is 
more adorned with the white lily of peace, 
than when it is beset with the red roses of a 
bloody war. But where shall we find an un- 
interrupted peace upon earth 1 Either home- 
bred divisions, or foreign invasions, 2 Chron. 
xv. 5, " There was no peace to him that went 
out, nor to him that came in." But the king- 
dom of heaven is a kingdom of peace ; there 
are no enemies to conflict with ; all Christ's 
enemies shall be under his feet, Ps. ex. 1. 
The gates of that kingdom always stand 
open, Rev. xxi. 25, " The gates shall not be 
shut at all :" to show that there is no fear of 
an assault of an enemy. The saints, when 
they die, are said to enter into peace. Isa. 
Ivii. 2. There's no beating of drums or roar- 
ing of cannons ; but the voice of harpers 
harping, in token of peace, Rev. xiv. 2. In 
heaven, " righteousness and peace kiss each 
other." Ps. lxxxv. 10. 



OF THE SECOND PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



443 



A. 6. The kingdom of heaven excels in 
magnitude ; it is of vast dimensions. Thouo-h 

o 

the gate of the kingdom be strait, we must 
pass into it through the strait gate of mor- 
tification ; yet, when once we are in it, it is 
very large : though there be an innumerable 
company of saints and angels, yet there is 
room enough for them. The kingdom of 
heaven may be called by the name of that 
well, Gen. xxvi. 22, " Jacob called the name 
of it Rehoboth ; for he said, now the Lord 
hath made room for us." Thou, who art 
now confined to a small cottage, when thou 
comest into the celestial kingdom, thou shalt 
not be straitened for room. As every star 
hath a large orb to move in, so it shall be 
with the saints, when they shall shine as 
stars in the kingdom of heaven. 

A. 7. The kingdom of heaven excels in 
unity ; all the inhabitants agree together in 
love ; love will be the perfume and music of 
heaven ; as love to God will be intense, so to 
the saints. Perfect love, as it casts out fear, 
so it casts out envy and discord. Those 
Christians who could not live quietly together 
on earth — which was the blemish of their 
profession — yet, in the kingdom of heaven, 
the fire of strife shall cease ; there shall be no 
vilifying, or censuring one another, or raking 
into one another's sores, but all shall be tied 
together with the heartstrings of love ; there 
Luther and Zuinglius are agreed ; Satan 
cannot put in his cloven foot there to make 
divisions ; there shall be perfect harmony and 
concord, and not one jarring string in the 
saints' music. It were worth dying to be in 
that kingdom! 

A. 8. This kingdom exceeds all earthly 
kingdoms in joy and pleasure ; therefore it is 
called paradise, 2 Cor. xii. 4. For delight, 
there are all things to cause pleasure ; there is 
the water of life pure as crystal ; there is the 
honeycomb of God's love dropping ; 'tis call- 
ed entering into the joy of our Lord, Matt. xxv. 
23. There are two things which cause joy, 

(1) . Separation from sin shall be shaken 
off, then joy follows. There can be no more 
sorrow in heaven, than there is joy in hell. 

(2) . Perfect union with Christ. Joy, as 
Aristotle saith, flows from union with the 
object. When our union with Christ shall 



be perfect, then our joy shall be full. If the 
joy of faith be so great, 1 Pet. i. 8, then what 
will the joy of sight be 1 Joseph gave his 
brethren provision for the way, but the full 
sacks of corn were kept till they came to 
their father's house : God gives the saints a 
taste of joy here, but the full sacks are kept 
till they come to heaven. Not only the 
organical parts, — the outward senses, the 
eye, ear, taste, shall be filled with joy,— but 
the heart of a glorified saint shall be filled 
with joy. The understanding, will, and 
affections, are such a triangle, as none can 
fill but the Trinity ; there must needs be in- 
finite joy, where nothing is seen but beauty, 
nothing is tasted but love. 

A. 9. This kingdom of heaven excels all 
earthly kingdoms in self-perfection. Other 
kingdoms are defective, they have not all 
provision within themselves, but are fain to 
traffic abroad to supply their wants at home ; 
king Solomon did send to Ophir for gold, 2 
Chron. viii. 18 ; but there is no defect in the 
kingdom of heaven ; it hath all commodities 
of its own growth, Rev. xxi. 7. There is the 
pearl of price, the morning-star, the moun- 
tains of spices, the bed of love ; there are 
those sacred rarities, wherewith God and 
angels are delighted. 

A. 10. This kingdom of heaven excels all 
others in honour and nobility. It doth not 
only equal them in the ensigns of royalty, — 
the throne and white robes, but it doth far 
transcend them ; other kings are of the blood- 
royal, but they in this heavenly kingdom are 
born of God ; other kings converse with no- 
bles, the saints glorified are fellow-commoners 
with angels ; they have a more noble crown ; 
'tis made of the flowers of paradise, and is a 
crown that fadeth not away, 1 Pet. v. 4. 
They sit on a better throne. King Solomon, 
1 Kings x. 18, sat on a throne of ivory over- 
laid with gold, but the saints are in heaven 
higher advanced, they sit with Christ upon 
his throne, Rev. iii. 21. They shall judge the 
princes and great ones of the earth, 1 Cor. xvi. 
2. This honour have all the saints glorified. 

A. 11. This kingdom of heaven excels 
all others in healthfulness. Death is a worm 
that is ever feeding at the root of our 
gourd ; kingdoms are oft hospitals of sick 



444 



OF THE SECOND PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



persons ; but the kingdom of heaven is a most 
healthful climate ; physicians there are out 
of date ; no distemper there, no passing bell, 
or bill of mortality, Luke xx. 36, " Neither 
can they die any more." In the heavenly 
climate are no ill vapours to breed diseases, 
but a sweet aromatical smell coming from 
Christ; all his garments smell of myrrh, 
aloes and cassia. 

A. 12. This kingdom of heaven excels in 
duration ; it abides for ever. Suppose earthly 
kingdoms to be more glorious than they are, 
— their foundations of gold, their walls of 
pearl, their windows of sapphire, — yet they 
are corruptible and fading, Hos. i. 4, I will 
cause the kingdom to cease. Troy and 
Athens now lie buried in their ruins. Jam 
seges est ubi Troja fuit. Mortality is the 
disgrace of all earthly kingdoms ; but the 
kingdom of heaven hath eternity written 
upon it ; it is an everlasting kingdom, 2 Pet. 
i. 11. It is founded upon a strong basis, 
God's ornnipotency : this kingdom the saints 
shall never be turned out of, or be deposed 
from their throne, as some kings have been, 
viz. Henry VI. &c. but shall reign for ever 
and ever, Rev. xxii. 5. 

How should all this affect our hearts ! 
What should we mind but this kingdom of 
heaven, which doth more outshine all the 
kingdoms of the earth than the sun outshines 
the light of a taper ! 

Quest. 4. When shall this kingdom be 
bestowed ? 

Ans. This glory in the kingdom of heaven 
shall be begun at death, but not perfected till 
the resurrection. 

1. The saints shall enter upon the kingdom 
of glory immediately after death ; before their 
bodies are buried, their souls shall be crown- 
ed, Phil. i. 23, " Having a desire to depart, 
and to be with Christ." From this connexion, 
departing, and being with Christ, we see 
clearly that there is a subitus transitus, — 
speedy passage from death to glory ; no sooner 
is the soul of a believer divorced from the 
body, but it presently goes to Christ, 2 Cor. v. 
8, " Absent from the body, present with the 
Lord." It were better for believers to stay 
here, if immediately after death they were 
not with Christ in glory ; for here the saints 



are daily increasing their grace ; here they 
may have many prcelibamina, sweet tastes of 
God's love ; so that it were better to stay here, 
if their soul should sleep in their body, and 
they should not have a speedy sight of God in 
glory. But this is the consolation of believers, 
they shall not stay long from their kingdom ; 
it is but winking and they shall see God. It 
will be a blessed change to a believer, from a 
desert to a paradise, from a bloody battle to 
a victorious crown ; and a sudden change : 
no sooner did Lazarus die, but he had a con- 
voy of angels to conduct his soul to the king- 
dom of glory. You who now are full of bodily 
diseases, scarce a day well, Ps. xxxi. 10, 
" My life is spent with grief ;" be of good 
comfort, you may be happy before you are 
aware ; before another week or month be 
over, you may be in the kingdom of glory, 
and then all tears shall be wiped away. 

2. The glory in the kingdom of heaven will 
be fully perfected at the resurrection, and 
general day of judgment ; then the bodies and 
souls of believers will be reunited. What 
joy will there be at the reunion and meeting 
together of the soul and body of a saint ! O 
what a welcome will the soul give to the body! 
" O my dear body, thou didst often join with 
me in prayer, and now thou shalt join with me 
in praise ; thou wert willing to suffer with me, 
and now thou shalt reign with me ; thou wert 
sown a vile body, but now thou art made like 
Christ's glorious body ; we were once for a 
time divorced, but now we are married, and 
crowned together in a kingdom, and shall 
mutually congratulate each other's felicity !" 

Quest. 5. Wherein appears the certainty 
and infallibility of this kingdom of glory ? 

Ans. That this blessed kingdom shall be be- 
stowed on the saints, is beyond all dispute. 

1. God hath promised it, Luke xii. 32, 
" It is your Father's good pleasure to give 
you the kingdom ;" Luke xxii. 29, " I ap- 
point unto you a kingdom." [Gr. diatithe- 
mai] « I bequeath it as my last will and tes- 
tament.' Hath God promised a kingdom, 
and will he not make it good 3 God's pro- 
mise is better than any bond, Tit. i. 2, " In 
hope of eternal life, which God that cannot 
lie, hath promised." The whole earth hangs 
upon the word of God's power ; and cannot 



OF THE SECOND PETITION 



IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



445 



our faith hang upon the word of his pro- 
mise] 

2. There is a price laid down for this king- 
dom. Heaven is not only a kingdom which 
God hath promised, but which Christ hath pur- 
chased ; it is called a ' purchased possession,' 
Eph. i. 14. Though this kingdom is given 
us freely, yet Christ bought it with the price 
of his blood ; Christ's blood is a heaven pro- 
curing blood, Heb. x. 19, " Having boldness 
to enter into the holiest ( i. e. into heaven) by 
the blood of Jesus." Crux Christi clavis pa- 
radisi, — Christ's blood is the key that opens 
the gates of heaven. Should not the saints 
have this kingdom, then Christ should lose 
his purchase. Christ on the cross was in hard 
travail, Isa. liii. 11. He travailed to bring 
forth salvation to the elect; should not they 
possess the kingdom when they die, Christ 
should lose his travail, all his pangs and ago- 
nies of soul upon the cross should be in vain. 

3. Christ prays that the saints may have 
this kingdom settled upon them, John xvii. 
24. " Father, I will, that they also whom thou 
hast given me, be with me where I am," i. e. 
in heaven. This is Christ's prayer that the 
saints may be with him in his kingdom, and 
be bespangled with some of the beams of his 
glory : now, if they should not go into this 
heavenly kingdom, then Christ's prayer would 
be frustrated ; but that cannot be, for he is 
God's favourite, John xi. 42, " I know thou 
hearest me always ;" and besides, what Christ 
prays for, he hath power to give. Observe 
the manner of Christ's prayer, "Father, I 
will ;" Father, there he prays as man ; " / 
will" there he gives as God. 

4. The saints must have this blessed king- 
dom by virtue of Christ's ascension, John 
xx. 17, " I ascend unto my Father and 
your Father, to my God and your God." 
Where lies the comfort of this? Here it 
lies, Jesus Christ ascended to take possess- 
ion of heaven for all believers. As a hus- 
band takes up land in another country in 
the behalf of his wife, so Christ went to 
take possession of heaven, in the behalf of 
all believers, John xiv. 2, " I go to prepare a 
place for you." My ascension is to make 
all things ready against your coming : I go 
to prepare the heavenly mansions for you. 



The flesh that Christ hath taken into heaven 
is a sure pledge that our flesh and bodies 
shall be where he is ere long. Christ did not 
ascend to heaven, as a private person, but as 
a public person, for the good of all believers ; 
his ascension was a certain forerunner of the 
saints ascending into heaven. 

5. The elect must have this blessed king- 
dom, in regard of the previous work of the 
Spirit in their hearts. They have the begin- 
ning of the kingdom of heaven in them here ; 
grace is heaven begun in the soul : besides, 
God gives them primitus spiritus, — " the 
first-fruits of the spirit," Rom. viii. 23. The 
first-fruits are the comforts of the Spirit. 
These first-fruits under the law were a cer- 
tain sign to the Jews of the full crop or vin- 
tage which they should after receive : the 
first-fruits of the Spirit, consisting of joy and 
peace, do assure the saints of the full vintage 
of glory they shall be ever reaping in the 
kingdom of God : and the saints in this life 
are said to have the earnest of the Spirit in 
their hearts, 2 Cor. v. 5. As an earnest is 
part of payment, and an assurance of payment 
in full to be made in due time, so God's Spirit 
in the hearts of believers, giving them his 
comforts, bestows on them an earnest, or 
taste of glory, which doth further assure them 
of that full reward, which they shall have in 
the kingdom of heaven, 1 Pet. i. 8, " Believ- 
ing ye rejoice," there is the earnest of hea- 
ven ; v. 9, " Receiving the end of your faith," 
salvation, there is the full payment. 

6. The elect must have this blessed king- 
dom by virtue of their coalition and union 
with Jesus Christ. They are members of 
Christ, therefore they must be where their 
head is. Indeed the Arminians hold, that a 
justified person may fall from grace, and so 
his union with Christ may be dissolved, and 
the kingdom lost ; but I will demand of them, 
can Christ lose a member of his body 1 Then 
he is not perfect ; and if Christ may lose one 
member of his body, why not as well all, by 
the same reason 1 And so he shall be a head 
without a body ; but be assured a believer's 
union with Christ cannot be broken, and so 
long he cannot be hindered of the kingdom, 
John xvii. 12. What was said of Christ's 
natural body is as true of his mystical, John 



446 



OF THE SECOND PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



xix. 36, " A bone of him shall not be broken." 
Look how every bone and limb of Christ's 
natural body was raised up out of the grave, 
and carried into heaven : so shall every mem- 
ber of his mystical body be carried up into 
glory. 

7. We read of some who have been trans- 
lated into this kingdom. Paul had a sight of 
it, for he was caught up into the third heaven, 
2 Cor. xii. And the converted thief on the 
cross was translated into glory, Luke xxiii. 
43, " To-day shalt thou be with me in para- 
dise." By all that hath been said, it is most 
evident that believers have a glorious king- 
dom laid up for them in reversion, and that 
they shall go to this kingdom when they die. 
There are none that doubt of the certainty 
of the heavenly kingdom, but such as doubt 
of the verity of scripture. 

Quest. 6. Why should we so earnestly 
pray for this heavenly kingdom, thy king- 
dom come 1 

Ans. 1. Because it is a kingdom worth the 
praying for ; it exceeds the glory of all the 
earthly kingdoms, it hath " gates of pearl," 
Rev. xxi. 21. We have heard of a cabinet 
of pearl, but when did we hear of gates of 
pearl 1 In that kingdom is the bed of love, 
the mountains of spices ; there are the cheru- 
bims, not to keep us out, but to welcome us 
into the kingdom. Heaven is a kingdom 
worth the praying for ; there's nothing want- 
ing in that kingdom, which may complete 
the saints' happiness, for, wherein does hap- 
piness consist 1 Is it in knowledge ! We 
" shall know as we are known." Is it in 
dainty fare 1 We shall be at the " marriage 
supper of the Lamb." Is it in rich apparel 1 
We shall be " clothed in long white robes." 
Is it in delicious music 1 We shall hear the 
choir of angels singing. Is it in dominion 1 
We shall reign as kings and judge angels. 
Is it in pleasure ? " We shall enter into the 
joy of our Lord." Sure then this kingdom is 
worth praying for ! " Thy kingdom come !" 
Would God give us a vision of heaven a while, 
as he did Stephen, who saw heaven opened, 
Acts vii. 56, we should fall into a trance ; 
and being a little recovered out of it, how 
importunately would we put up this petition, 
" Thy kingdom come." 



A. 2. We must pray for this kingdom of 
glory, because God will not bestow this 
kingdom on any without prayer, Rom. ii. 7, 
" They who seek for glory and immortality." 
And how do we seek but by prayer ? God 
hath promised a kingdom, and we must by 
prayer put the bond in suit. God is not so 
lavish as to throw away a kingdom on them 
who do not ask it. And certainly, if Christ 
himself, who had merited glory, did yet pray 
for it, John xvii. 5, " Now, O Father, glorify 
me with thy own self;" how much more 
ought we to pray for the excellent glory, who 
have this kingdom granted as a charter of 
God's mere grace and favour. 

A. 3. We must pray that the kingdom of 
glory may come, that by going into it, we may 
make an end of sinning. I think sometimes, 
what a blessed time it will be, never to have 
a sinful thought more ! Though we must not 
pray, " Thy kingdom come," out of discon- 
tent, because we would be rid of the troubles 
and crosses of this life. This was Jonah's 
fault ; he would die in a pet, because God 
took away his gourd ; " Lord (saith he) take 
I beseech thee my life from me," Jonah iv. 8. 
But we must pray, 4 Thy kingdom come,' out 
of a holy design that the fetters of corrup- 
tion may be pulled off, and we may be as the 
angels, those virgin-spirits who never sin. 
This made the church pray, Rev. xxii. 20. 
Veni Domine Jesu. 

A. 4. Because that all Christ's enemies 
shall be put under his feet ; the devil shall 
have no more power to tempt, nor wicked 
men to persecute ; the antichristian heir- 
archy shall be pulled down, and Zion's glory 
shall shine as a lamp, and the Turkish 
strength shall be broken. 

A. 5. We must pray earnestly that the 
kingdom of glory may come, that we may 
see God " face to face," and have an unin- 
terrupted and eternal communion with him 
in the empyrean heaven. Moses desired 
but a glimpse of God's glory, Exod. xxxiii. 
18. How then should we pray to see him 
in all his embroidered robes of glory, when 
he shall shine ten thousand times brighter 
than the sun in its meridian splendour ! 
Here, in this life, we do rather desire God, 
than enjoy him ; how earnestly therefore 



OF THE SECOND PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



447 



should we pray, 4 Thy kingdom of glory 
come !' The beholding and enjoying God 
will be the diamond in the ring, — the very 
quintessence of glory. And must we pray, 
" Thy kingdom come]" How then are they 
ever like to come to heaven, who never pray 
for it 1 Though God gives some profane per- 
sons " daily bread," who never pray for it ; 
yet he will not give them a kingdom, who 
never pray for it. God may feed them, but 
he will never crown them. 
Use 1st. Of information. 

1. Branch. From all this you see then that 
there is nothing within the whole sphere of 
religion imposed upon unreasonable terms. 
When God bids us serve him, it is no un- 
reasonable request ; he will out of free grace 
enthrone us in a kingdom. When we hear 
of repentance, steeping our souls in brinish 
tears for sin, — or of mortification, beheading 
our king-sin, — we are ready to grumble, and 
think this is hard and unreasonable : * but, do 
we serve God for nought V Is it not infinite 
bounty to reward us with a kingdom ] This 
kingdom is as far above our thoughts, as it is 
beyond our deserts. No man can say, with- 
out wrong to God, that he is a hard master ; 
though he sets us about hard work, yet he is 
no hard master. God gives double pay ; he 
gives great vails in his service, — sweet joy 
and peace, — and a great reward after, ' an 
eternal weight of glory.' God gives the 
spring-flowers, and a crop ; he settles upon us 
such a kingdom as exceeds our faith. Pre- 
mium quod fide non attingitur, Aug. Such 
as mortal eye hath not seen, nor can it enter 
into the heart of man to conceive, 1 Cor. ii. 9. 
Alas, what an infinite difference is there be- 
tween duty enjoined, and the kingdom pre- 
pared ! What is the shedding of a tear to a 
crown ! So that God's "commandments are 
not grievous," 1 John v. 3. Our service 
cannot be so hard, as a kingdom is sweet. 

2. Branch. See hence the royal bounty of 
God to his children, that he hath prepared a 
kingdom for them, a kingdom bespangled 
with glory ; it is infinitely above the model 
we can draw of it in our thoughts. The 
painter going to draw the picture of Helena, 
as not being able to draw her beauty to the 
life, drew her face covered with a vail : so, 



when we speak of the kingdom of heaven, 
we must draw a vail, we cannot set it forth 
in all its orient beauty and magnificence ; 
gold and pearl do but faintly shadow it out, 
Rev. xxi. The glory of this kingdom is bet- 
ter felt than expressed. 

1. They who inherit this kingdom are 
amicti stolis albis, — " clothed with white 
robes," Rev. vii. 9. White robes denote three 
things : (1). Their dignity ; the Persians 
were arrayed in white, in token of honour. 

(2) . Their purity ; the magistrates among the 
Romans were clothed in white, therefore 
called candidati, to show their integrity ; 
thus the queen, the Lamb's wife, is arrayed 
in fine linen, pure and white, which is the 
" righteousness of the saints," Rev. xix. 8. 

(3) . Their joy : white is an emblem of joy, 
Eccl. ix. 7, 8, " Eat thy bread with joy, let 
thy garments be always white." 

2. The dwellers in this kingdom have 
"palms in their hands," Rev. vii. 9. In 
token of victory. They are conquerors over 
the world : and, being victors, they have now 
palm-branches. 

3. They sit upon the throne with Christ, 
Rev. iii. 21. When Caesar returned from 
conquering his enemies, there was set for 
him a chair of state in the senate, and a 
throne in the theatre. Thus the saints in 
glory, after their heroic victories, shall sit 
upon a throne with Christ. Here is royal 
bounty in God, to bestow such an illustrious 
kingdom upon the saints. It is a mercy to 
be pardoned, but what is it to be crowned ] 
It is a mercy to be delivered from wrath to 
come, but what is it to be invested into a 
kingdom ? " Behold, what manner of love is 
this]" Earthly princes may bestow great 
gifts and donations upon their subjects, but 
they keep the kingdom to themselves. 
Though king Pharaoh advanced Joseph to 
honour, and took the ring off his finger and 
gave him, yet he would keep the kingdom to 
himself, Gen. xli. 40 ; but God enthrones the 
saints in a kingdom ; God thinks nothing too 
good for his children ; we are ready to think 
much of a tear, a prayer, or to sacrifice a sin 
for him, but he doth think much to bestow a 
kingdom upon us. 

3. Branch. See hence that religion is no 



443 



OF THE SECOND PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



ignominious disgraceful thing. Satan labours 
to cast all the odium and reproach upon it 
that he can ; that it is devout frenzy, folly in- 
grain, Acts xxviii. 22, " For, as concerning 
this sect, we know that it is every where 
spoken against." But wise men measure 
things by^the end. What is the end of a re- 
ligious life ] It ends in a kingdom. Would 
a prince regard the slight! ngs of a few fran- 
tics, when he is going to be crowned 1 You 
who are beginners, bind their reproaches as 
a crown about your head, despise their cen- 
sures as much as their praise ; a kingdom is 
a-coming. 

4. Branch. See what contrary ways the 
godly and the wicked go at death ; the godly 
go to a kingdom, the wicked to a prison ; the 
devil is the jailor, and they are bound with 
the "chains of darkness," Jude 6. But 
what are these chains 1 Not iron chains, but 
worse, — the chain of God's decree, decree- 
ing them to torment, — and the chain of 
God's power, whereby he binds them fast 
under wrath ; this is the deplorable condi- 
tion of impenitent sinners, they do not go 
to a kingdom when they die, but to a prison. 
O think what horror and despair will pos- 
sess the wicked, when they see themselves 
ingulphed in misery, and their condition 
hopeless, helpless, endless ; they are in a 
fiery prison, and no possibility of getting 
out ! A servant under the law, who had a 
hard master, yet every seventh year was a 
year of release when he might go free : but 
in hell there is no year of release when the 
damned shall go free, — the fire, the worm, 
the prison, are eternal. If the whole world, 
from earth to heaven, were filled with grains 
of sand, and once in a thousand years an 
angel should come and fetch away one grain 
of sand, how many millions of ages would 
pass before that vast heap of sand would be 
quite spent ] Yet, if after all this time the 
sinner might come out of hell, there were 
some hope ; but this word ever breaks the 
heart with despair. 

5. Branch. See then that which may 
make us in love with holy duties; every 
duty spiritually performed brings us a step 
nearer to the kingdom. Finis dat amabili- 
tatem mediis. He whose heart is set on 



riches, counts trading pleasant, because it 
brings in riches : if our hearts are set upon 
heaven, we shall love duty because it brings 
us by degrees to the kingdom, — we are going 
to heaven in the way of duty. Holy duties 
increase grace ; and as grace ripens, so glory 
hastens ; the duties of religion are irksome 
to flesh and blood, but we should look upon 
them as spiritual chariots to carry us apace 
to the heavenly kingdom. The Protestants 
in France called their church paradise ; and 
well they might, because the ordinances did 
lead them to the paradise of God. As every 
flower hath its sweetness, so would every 
duty, if we would look upon it as giving us a 
lift nearer heaven. 

6. Branch. It shows us what little cause 
the children of God have to envy the pros- 
perity of the wicked. Quis cerario quis ple- 
nis loculis indiget, Sen. The wicked have 
the " waters of a full cup wrung out to them," 
Ps. lxxiii. 10. As if they had a monopoly 
of happiness, they have all they can desire ; 
nay, they have " more than heart could wish," 
Ps. lxxiii. 7. They steep themselves in plea- 
sure, Job xxi. 12, " They take the timbrel 
and harp, and rejoice at the sound of the 
organ." The wicked are high, when God's 
people are low in the world ; the goats clam- 
ber up the mountains of preferment, when 
Christ's sheep are below in the valley of 
tears ; the wicked are clothed in purple, 
while the godly are in sackcloth ; the pros- 
perity of the wicked is a great stumbling- 
block: this made Averroes deny a provi- 
dence, and made Asaph say, " Verily I have 
cleansed my heart in vain," Ps. lxxiii. 13. 
But there is no cause of envy at their pros- 
perity, if we consider two things. 

1. This is all they must have, Luke xvi. 25, 
" Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime re- 
ceivedst thy good things," — thou hadst all 
thy heaven here. Luther calls the Turkish 
empire a bone which God casts to dogs. 

2. That God hath laid up better things 
for his children ; he hath prepared a king- 
dom of glory for them ; they shall have the 
beatifical vision, — they shall hear the angels 
sing in concert, — they shall be crowned 
with the pleasures of paradise for ever. O 
then envy not the flourishing prosperity of 



OF THE SECOND PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



449 



the wicked ; they go through fair way to exe- 
cution, and the godly go through foul way to 
coronation ! 

7. Branch. Is there a kingdom of glory a- 
coming 1 Then see how happy all the saints 
are at death, they go to a kingdom : they 
shall see God's face, which shines ten thou- 
sand times brighter than the sun in its me- 
ridian glory. The godly at death shall be 
installed into their honour, and have the 
crown royal set upon their head. They have, 
in the kingdom of heaven, the quintessence 
of all delights, — they have the water of life 
clear as crystal, — they have all aromatic per- 
fumes, — they feed not on the dew of Hermon, 
but the manna of angels, — they lie in Christ's 
bosom, that bed of spices. There is such a 
pleasant variety in the happiness of heaven, 
that after millions of years it will be as fresh 
and desirable as at the first hour's enjoying. 
In the kingdom of heaven, the saints are 
crowned with all those perfections which the 
human nature is capable of. The desires of 
the glorified saints are infinitely satisfied; 
there is nothing absent, that they could wish 
might be enjoyed, there is nothing present 
that they could wish might be removed. 
They who are got into this kingdom would 
be loath to come back to the earth again, it 
would be much to their loss ; they would not 
leave the fatness and sweetness of the olive, 
to court the bramble ; the things which tempt 
us, they would scorn. What are golden bags 
to the golden beams of the Sun of Righteous- 
ness 1 In the kingdom of heaven there is 
glory in its highest elevation ; in that king- 
dom is knowledge without ignorance, holi- 
ness without sin, beauty without blemish, 
strength without weakness, light without 
darkness, riches without poverty, ease with- 
out pain, liberty without restraint, rest with- 
out labour, joy without sorrow, love without 
hatred, plenty without surfeit, honour without 
disgrace, health without sickness, peace with- 
out war, contentation without cessation. O 
the happiness of those that die in the Lord ! 
they go into this blessed kingdom. And if 
they are so happy when they die, then let 
me make two inferences. 

1. What little cause have the saints to fear 
death ! Are any afraid of going to a king- 
3L 



dom ? What is there in this world should 
make us desirous to stay here ? Do we not 
see God dishonoured, and how can we bear 
it 1 Is not this world " a valley of tears," 
and do we weep to leave it? Are we not in 
a wilderness among fiery serpents, and are 
we afraid to go from these serpents 1 Our 
best friends live above : God is ever display- 
ing the banner of his love in heaven, and is 
there any love like his 1 ? Are there any 
sweeter smiles, or softer embraces than his 1 
What news so welcome as leaving the world, 
and going to a kingdom 1 Christian, thy 
dying day will be thy wedding day, and dost 
thou fear it ] Is a slave afraid to be redeem- 
ed 1 Is a virgin afraid to be matched into 
the crown 1 Death may take away a few 
worldly comforts, but it gives that which is 
better ; it takes away a flower, and gives a 
jewel ; it takes away a short lease, and gives 
land of inheritance. If the saints possess a 
kingdom when they die, they have no cause 
to fear death. A prince would not be afraid 
to cross the sea, though tempestuous, if he 
were sure to be crowned as soon as he came 
to shore. 

2. If the godly are so happy when they 
die, they go to a kingdom ; then, what little 
cause have we to mourn immoderately for the 
death of godly friends 1 Shall we mourn for 
their preferment 1 Why should we shed 
tears immoderately for them who have all 
tears wiped from their eyes 1 Why should 
we be swallowed up of grief, for them who 
are swallowed up of joy 1 They are gone to 
their kingdom ; they are not lost, but gone a 
little before ; not perished, but translated, 
Non amissi sed pramissi, Cyprian. They 
are removed for their advantage ; as if one 
should be removed out of a smoky cottage to 
a palace. Elijah was removed in a fiery 
chariot to heaven : shall Elisha weep inordi- 
nately because he enjoys not the company of 
Elijah 1 Shall Jacob weep when he knows 
his son Joseph is preferred and made chief 
ruler in Egypt 1 We should not be excess- 
ive in grief, when we know our godly friends 
are advanced to a kingdom. I confess, when 
any of our relations die in their impenitency, 
there is just cause of mourning, but not when 
our friends take their flight to glory. David 



OF THE SECOND PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



lost two sons ; Absalom a wicked son, — he 
mourned for him bitterly ; he lost the child 
he had by Bathsheba, — he mourned not when 
the child was departed. St Ambrose gives 
the reason, David had a good hope, nay, as- 
surance that the child was translated into 
heaven, but he doubted of Absalom ; he died 
in his sins, therefore David wept so for him, 
" O Absalom, my son, my son!" But though 
we are to weep to think any of our flesh 
should burn in hell, yet let us not be cast 
down for them who are so highly preferred 
at death as to a kingdom. Our godly friends 
who die in the Lord, are in that blessed 
estate, and are crowned with such infinite 
delights, that if we could hear them speak to 
us out of heaven, they would say, weep not 
for us, but weep for yourselves, Luke xxiii. 
28. We are in our kingdom, weep not at 
our preferment, " but weep for yourselves," 
who are in a sinful sorrowful world ; you are 
tossing on the troublesome waves, but we are 
got to the haven ; you are fighting with temp- 
tations, while we are wearing a victorious 
crown ; ' weep not for us, but weep for your- 
selves.' 

8. Branch. See the wisdom of the godly, 
they have the serpent's eye in the dove's 
head, wise virgins, Matt. xxv. 2. Their wis- 
dom appears in their choice, they choose 
that which will bring them to a kingdom, 
they choose grace, and what is grace but the 
seed of glory ? They choose Christ with his 
cross, but this cross leads to a crown. Moses 
chose " rather to suffer affliction with the 
people of God," Heb. xi. 25. It was a wise 
rational choice, he knew if he suffered he 
should reign. At the day of judgment, those 
whom the world accounted foolish will appear 
to be wise ; they made a prudent choice, they 
chose holiness, and what is happiness but the 
quintessence of holiness? ' They chose af- 
fliction with the people of God ;' but through 
this purgatory of affliction, they pass to para- 
dise. God will proclaim the saints' wisdom 
before men and angels. 

9. Branch. See the folly of those who, for 
vain pleasures and profits, will lose such a 
glorious kingdom : like that cardinal of 
France, who said, " He would lose his part 
in paradise, if he might keep his cardinalship 



in Paris." I may say, as Eccl. ix. 3, " Mad- 
ness is in their heart." Lysimachus, for a 
draught of water, lost his empire ; so for a 
draught of sinful pleasure these will lose 
heaven. We too much resemble our grand- 
father Adam, who for an apple lost paradise ; 
many for trifles, to get a shilling more in the 
shop or bushel, will venture the loss of hea- 
ven. This will be an aggravation of the sin- 
ner's torment, to think how foolishly he was 
undone ; for a flash of impure joy he lost an 
eternal weight of glory. Would it not vex 
one who is the lord of a manor, to think he 
should part with his stately inheritance for a 
fit of music 1 Such are they who let heaven 
go for a song. This will make the devil in- 
sult at the last day, to think how he hath 
gulled men, and made them lose their souls 
and their happiness for ( lying vanities.' If 
Satan could make good his brag, in giving all 
the glory and kingdoms of the world, it could 
not countervail the loss of the celestial king- 
dom. All the tears in hell are not sufficient 
to lament the loss of heaven. 
Use 2d. Of reproof. 

1. Branch. It reproves such as do not at all 
look after this kingdom of glory ; as if all we 
say about heaven were but a romance, they 
do not mind it. That they mind it not, ap- 
pears, because they do not labour to have the 
kingdom of grace set up in their hearts. If 
they have some thoughts of this kingdom, 
yet it is in a dull careless manner ; they serve 
God, as if they served him not ; they do not 
vires exercere, put forth their strength for 
the heavenly kingdom. How industrious 
were the saints of old for this kingdom ! Phil, 
iii. 13, " Reaching forth unto those things 
which are before ;" the Greek word is epek- 
teinomenes, " stretching out the neck," — a 
metaphor from racers, that trains every limb, 
and reach forward to lay hold on the prize. 
Luther spent three hours a-day in prayer. 
"Anna, the prophetess, departed not from 
the temple, but served God with fasting and 
prayers night and day," Luke ii. 37. How zea- 
lous and industrious were the martyrs to get 
into this heavenly kingdom ! They wore their 
fetters as ornaments, snatched up torments 
as crowns, and embraced the flames as cheer- 
fully as Elijah did the fiery chariot, which 



OF THE SECOND PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



451 



<;ame to fetch him to heaven ; and do we not 
think this kingdom worth our labour 1 The 
great pains the heathens took in their Olym- 
pic races, when they ran but for a crown 
made of olive intermixed with gold, will rise 
up in judgment against such as take little or 
no pains in seeking after the kingdom of 
glory. The dulness of many in seeking after 
heaven is such as if they did not believe there 
was such a kingdom ; or as if it would not 
countervail their labour ; or, as if they thought 
it were indifferent whether they obtained this 
kingdom or not, which is as much as to say, 
whether they were saved or not, — whether 
they were crowned in glory, or chained as 
galley-slaves in hell for ever. 

2. Branch. It reproves them who spend 
their sweat more in getting the world than 
the kingdom of heaven, Phil. iii. 19, " Who 
mind earthly things." The world is the great 
Diana they cry up, as if they would fetch 
happiness out of the earth which God hath 
cursed ; they labour for honour and riches. 
Many are like Korah and Dathan, " the earth 
opened her mouth and swallowed them up," 
Numb. xvi. 32. So the earth swallows up 
their time and thoughts ; these, if they are not 
Pagans, yet they are infidels ; they do not be- 
lieve there is such a kingdom ; they go for 
Christians, yet question that great article in 
their faith, life everlasting ; these, like the 
serpent, lick the dust. O what is there in the 
world, that we should so idolize it, when 
Christ and heaven are not regarded ? What 
hath Christ done for you 1 Died for your sins : 
What will the world do for you 1 Can it 
pacify an angry conscience ? Can it procure 
God's favour ] Can it fly death ? Can it bribe 
our Judge] Can it purchase for you a place 
in the kingdom of heaven ] O how are men 
bewitched with worldly profits and honours, 
that for these things they will let go paradise 1 
It was a good prayer of St Bernard. Sic 
possideamus mundana, ut non perdamus 
(Bterna. Lo, let us so possess things tem- 
poral, that we do not lose things eternal. 

3. Branch. It reproves such who delay 
and put off seeking this kingdom till it be too 
late ; like the foolish virgins who came when 
the door was shut. Mora trahit periculum. 
People let the lamp of life blaze out ; and 



when the symptoms of death are upon them, 
and they know not what else to do, now will 
look up to the kingdom of heaven. Christ 
bids them seek God's kingdom first, and they 
wi]l seek it last ; they put off the kingdom of 
heaven to a death-bed, as if it were as easy 
to make their peace as to make their will. 
How many have lost the heavenly kingdom, 
through delays and procrastinations ! Plu- 
tarch reports of Archias the Lacedemonian, 
being among his cups, one delivered him a 
letter, and desired him to read it presently, 
being of serious business : saith he, " seria 
eras" — I will mind serious things to-morrow, 
— and that night he was slain. Thou that 
sayest, thou wilt look after the kingdom of 
heaven to-morrow, knowest not but that thou 
mayest be in hell before to-morrow. Some- 
times death comes suddenly, it strikes with- 
out giving warning. What folly is it putting 
off seeking the kingdom of heaven till the 
day of grace expire, till the radical moisture 
be spent ! As if a man should begin to run 
a race when a fit of the gout takes him. 

4. Branch. It reproves such as were once 
great zealots in religion, and did seem to be 
touched with a coal from God's altar, 1 but 
since they have cooled in their devotion, and 
have left off the pursuing the celestial king- 
dom, Hos. viii. 3, " Israel hath cast off the 
thing that is good ;" there is no face of reli- 
gion to be seen, they have left off the house 
of prayer, and gone to play-houses ; they have 
left off pursuing the heavenly kingdom. 

Quest. Whence is this ? 

Ans. 1. For want of a supernatural prin- 
ciple of grace. That branch must needs die 
which hath no root to grow upon. That 
which moves from a principle of life lasts as 
the beating of the pulse; but that which 
moves only from an artificial spring, when 
the spring is down, the motion ceaseth. The 
hypocrite's religion is artificial, not vital, he 
acts from the outward spring of applause or 
gain, and if that spring be down, his motion 
toward heaven ceaseth. 

A. 2. From unbelief, Heb. iii. 12, " An 
evil heart of unbelief, departing from the 
living God," Ps. lxxviii. 22, « They believed 
not in God," ver. 41, " They turned back." 
Sinners have hard thoughts of God, they 



452 



OF THE SECOND PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



think they may pray and hear, yet never the 
better, Matt. iii. 14. They question whether 
God will give them the kingdom at last; 
then they turn back, and throw away Christ's 
colours ; they distrust God's love, no wonder 
then they desert his service : infidelity is the 
root of apostacy. 

A. 3. Men leave off pursuing the heavenly 
kingdom ; it is from some secret lust nourish- 
ed in the soul, perhaps a wanton or a covetous 
lust. Demas for love of the world forsook his 
religion, and afterwards turned priest in an 
idol-temple. One of Christ's own apostles was 
caught with a silver bait. Covetousness will 
make men betray a good cause, and make ship- 
wreck of a good conscience. If there be any 
lust unmortified in the soul, it will bring forth 
the bitter fruit either of scandal or apostacy. 

A. 4. Men leave off pursuing the kingdom 
of heaven out of timorousness ; if they persist 
in religion, they may los^ 1 heir places of profit, 
perhaps their lives. The reason (saith Aris- 
totle) why the camelion turns into so many 
colours, is through excessive fear. When car- 
nal fear prevails, it makes men change their 
religion, as fast as the camelion doth its 
colours. Many of the Jews who were great 
followers of Christ, when they saw the swords 
and staves, deserted him. What Solomon 
saith of the sluggard, is as true of the coward, 
he saith, ' there is a lion without,' Prov. xxii. 
13. He sees dangers before him ; he would go 
on in the way to the kingdom of heaven, but 
there is a lion in the way. This is dismal, Heb. 
x. 38, " If any man draw back, (in the Greek, 
if he steals as a soldier from his colours) my 
soul shall have no pleasure in him." 

Use 3c?. Of trial. Let us examine whether 
we shall go to this kingdom when we die : 
heaven is called 1 a kingdom prepared,' Matt, 
xxv. 

Quest. How shall we know this kingdom 
is prepared for us ? 

Ans. If we are prepared for the kingdom. 

Quest. How may that be known ? 

Ans. By being heavenly persons ; an 
earthly heart is no more fit for heaven, than 
a clod of dust is fit to be a star ; there is 
nothing of Christ or grace in such a heart. 
It were a miracle to find a pearl in a gold 
mine, and it is as great a miracle to find 



Christ the pearl of price in an earthly heart. 
Would we go to the kingdom of heaven 1 
Are we heavenly 1 

1. Are we heavenly in our contemplations % 
Do our thoughts run upon this kingdom ? Do 
we get sometimes upon Mount Pisgah, and 
take a prospect of glory ] Thoughts are as 
travellers : most of David's thoughts travelled 
heaven's road, Ps. cxxxix. 17, are our minds 
heavenlized? Ps. xlviii. 12, " Walk about 
Zion, tell the towers thereof, mark ye well her 
bulwarks." Do we walk into the heavenly 
mount, and see what a glorious situation it is ? 
Do we tell the towers of that kingdom? 
While a Christian fixeth his thoughts on God 
and glory, he doth as it were tread upon the 
borders of the heavenly kingdom, and peep 
within the vail : as Moses, who had a sight of 
Canaan, though he did not enter into it, so the 
heavenly Christian hath a sight of heaven, 
though he be not yet entered into it. 

2. Are we heavenly in our affections ] Do 
we set our affections on the kingdom of 
heaven 1 Col. iii. 2. If we are heavenly, we 
despise all things below in comparison of the 
kingdom of God ; we look upon the world 
but as a beautiful prison, and we cannot be 
much in love with our fetters, though they 
are made of gold ; our heart is in heaven. A 
stranger may be in a foreign land to gather 
up his debts owing him, but he desires to be 
in his own kingdom and nation ; so we are 
here a while as in a strange land, but our 
desire is chiefly after the kingdom of heaven, 
where we shall be for ever. The world is 
the place of a saint's abode, not his delight : 
is it thus with us 1 Do we, like the patri- 
archs of old, " desire a better country V Heb. 
xi. This is the temper of a true saint ; 
his affections are set on the kingdom of God, 
his anchor is cast in heaven, and he is carried 
thither with the sails of desire. 

3. Are we heavenly in our speeches] 
Christ after his resurrection did speak of 
the things pertaining to the kingdom of 
God, Acts i. 3. Are your tongues tuned 
to the language of the heavenly Canaan] 
Mai. iii. 16, "Then they that feared the 
Lord, spake often one to another." Do 
you, in your visits, season your discourses 
with heaven? There are many say, they 



OF THE SECOND PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



453 



hope they shall be saved, but you shall never 
hear them speak of the kingdom of heaven ; 
perhaps of their wares and drugs, or of some 
rich purchase they have got, but nothing of 
the kingdom. Can men travel together in a 
journey, and not speak a word of the place 
they are travelling to 1 Are you travellers for 
heaven, and never speak a word of the king- 
dom you are travelling to 1 Herein many 
discover they do not belong to heaven, for 
you shall never hear a good word come from 
them. Verba sunt specula mentis, Bern. 
The words are the looking glass of the mind, 
they show what the heart is. 

4. Are we heavenly in our trading 1 Is our 
traffic and merchandise in heaven 1 Do we 
trade in the heavenly kingdom by faith 1 A 
man may live in one place, and trade in an- 
other, he may live in Ireland, and trade in 
the West Indies, so, do we trade in the hea- 
venly kingdom ? They shall never go to hea- 
ven when they die, who do not trade in heaven 
while they live. Do we send up to heaven 
vollies of sighs and groans ] Do we send 
forth the ship of prayer thither, which fetch- 
eth in returns of mercy 1 Is our communion 
" with the Father and with his Son Jesus ]" 
1 John i. 3. Phil. iii. 20. 

5. Are our lives heavenly ? Do we live as 
if we had seen the Lord with bodily eyes ? 
Do we emulate and imitate the angels in 
sanctity 1 Do we labour to copy out Christ's 
life in ours \ n 1 John ii. 6. It was a custom 
among the Macedonians, on Alexander's 
birth-day, to wear his picture about their necks 
set with pearl and diamond : do we carry 
Christ's picture about us, and resemble him 
in the heavenliness of our conversation 1 If 
we are thus heavenly, then we shall go to the 
kingdom of heaven when we die ; and truly 
there is a great deal of reason why we should 
be thus heavenly in our thoughts, affections, 
conversation, if we consider, 

(1). The main end why God hath given us 
our souls, is, that we may mind the kingdom 
of heaven ; our souls are of a noble extrac- 
tion, they are akin to the angels, a glass of the 
Trinity, as Plato speaks. Now, is it rational 
to imagine, that God would have breathed 
into us such noble souls only to look after 
sensual objects'? Were such bright stars made 



only to shoot into the earth ) Were these im- 
mortal souls made only to seek after dying 
comforts 1 Had this been only the end of our 
creation, to eat and drink, and converse with 
earthly objects, worse souls would have served 
us ; sensitive souls had been good enough for 
us; whatneed our souls be rational and divine, 
to do only that work which a beast may do 1 

(2). Great reason we should be heavenly 
in our thoughts, affections, conversation, if we 
consider what a blessed kingdom heaven is ; 
it is beyond all hyperbole ; earthly kingdoms 
do scarce deserve the name of cottages com- 
pared with it. We read of an angel coming 
down from heaven, who did tread with his 
right foot upon the sea, and with his left foot 
on the earth, Rev. x. 2. Had we but once 
been in the heavenly kingdom, and viewed the 
superlative glory of it, how might we, in a 
holy scorn, trample with one foot on the earth 
and with the other foot upon the sea 1 There 
are rivers of pleasure, gates of pearl, spark- 
ling crowns, white robes,—may not this make 
our hearts heavenly I It is a heavenly king- 
dom, and only such go into it as are heavenly. 

Use Ath. Of exhortation, To all in general. 

1. Branch. If there be such a glorious 
kingdom to come, believe this great truth. 
Socinians deny it. The Rabbins say, the 
great dispute between Cain and Abel, was 
about the world to come ; Abel affirmed it, 
Cain denied it. This should be engraven 
upon our hearts as with the point of a dia- 
mond, there is a blessed kingdom in rever- 
sion, Ps. lviii. 11, " Doubtless there is a 
reward for the righteous." Let us not hesi- 
tate through unbelief. Doubting of principles 
is the next way to denying them. Unbelief, 
as Samson, would pull down the pillars of 
religion. Be confirmed in this, there is a 
kingdom of glory to come. Whoever denies 
this, cuts asunder the main article of the 
creed, " life -everlasting." 

2. Branch. If there be such a blessed 
kingdom of glory to come, let us take heed 
lest we miss of this kingdom, let us fear lest 
we lose heaven by short shooting. Trem- 
bling in the body is a malady, in the soul a 
grace. This fear is not a fear of diffidence 
or distrust, such a fear as discourageth the 
soul, for such a fear frights from religion, it 



454 



OF THE SECOND PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



cuts the sinews of endeavour ; but this holy 
fear, lest we miss of the kingdom of heaven, 
is a fear of diligence ; it quickens us in the 
use of means, and puts us forward that we 
may not fail of our hope, Heb. xi. 7, " Noah, 
being moved with fear, prepared an ark." 
Fear is a watch-bell to awaken sleepy Chris- 
tians ; it guards against security ; it is a spur 
to a sluggish heart ; he who fears he shall 
come short of his journey, rides the faster. 
And indeed this exhortation to fear, lest we 
miss of this kingdom, is most necessary, if 
we consider two things ; 

First, There are many who have gone many 
steps in the way to heaven, yet have fallen 
short of it, Mark xii. 34, " Thou art not far 
from the kingdom of God ;" yet he was not 
near enough. 

Quest. How many steps may a man take 
in the way to the kingdom of God, yet miss 
of it? 

Ans. 1. He may be adorned with civility, 
he may be morally righteous, he may be pru- 
dent, just, temperate, he may be free from 
penal statutes ; this is good, but not enough 
to bring a man to heaven. 

A. 2. He may hang out the flag of a glo- 
rious profession, yet fall short of the kingdom. 
The scribes and pharisees went far ; they sat 
in Moses's chair, — were expounders of the 
law, — they prayed, gave alms, were strict in 
the observation of the sabbath, — if one had 
got a thorn into his foot, they would not pull it 
out on the sabbath-day, for fear of breaking 
the sabbath, — they were so externally devout 
in God's worship, that the Jews thought, that 
if but two in all the world went to heaven the 
•one should be a scribe, and the other a pha- 
risee, — but the mantle of their profession was 
not lined with sincerity : they did all for the 
applause of men, therefore they missed of 
heaven, Matt. v. 20, " Except your right- 
eousness exceed the righteousness of the 
scribes and pharisees, ye shall in no case en- 
ter into the kingdom of God. 

A. 3. A man may be a frequenter of ordi- 
nances, and yet miss of the kingdom. It is 
a good sight to see people flock as doves to 
the windows of God's house ; it is good to lie 
in the way when Christ passeth by ; yet, be 
not offended, if I say, one may be a hearer 



of the word, and fall short of glory. Herod 
heard John the Baptist gladly, yet beheaded 
John instead of beheading his sin ; the pro- 
phet Exekiel's hearers did come with as much 
delight to his preaching, as one would do to 
a fit of music, Ezek. xxxiii. 32, " Thou art 
to them as a lovely song of one that hath a 
pleasant voice, and can play well on an in- 
strument ; for they hear thy words, but they 
do them not." What is it to hear one's duty, 
and not do it ] As if a physician prescribe a 
good recipe, but the patient doth not take it. 

A. 4. A man may have some trouble for 
sin, and weep for it, yet miss of the hea- 
venly kingdom. 

Quest. Whence is this ? 

Ans. 1. A sinner's tears are forced by 
God's judgments ; as water which comes out 
of a still is forced by the fire. — 2. Trouble for 
sin is transient, it is quickly over again. As 
some that go to sea are sea-sick, but when 
they come to land they are well again ; so 
hypocrites may be sermon-sick, but this trou- 
ble doth not last, the sick-fit is soon over. — 
3. A sinner weeps, but goes on in sin ; his 
sins are not drowned in his tears. 

A. 5. A man may have good desires, yet 
miss of the kingdom, Numb, xxiii. 10, " Let 
me die the death of the righteous !" 

Quest. Wherein do these desires come 
short ? 

Ans. 1. They are sluggish. A man would 
have heaven, but will take no pains. As if 
one should say, he desires water, but will not 
let down the bucket into the well, Prov. xxi. 
25. " The desire of the slothful killeth him, 
for his hands refuse to labour." — 2. The sin- 
ner desires mercy, but not grace ; he desires 
Christ as a Saviour, but not as he is the Holy 
One ; he desires Christ only as a bridge to 
lead him over to heaven. Such desires as 
these may be found among the damned. 

A. 6. A man may forsake his sins, oaths, 
drunkenness, uncleanness, yet come short of 
the kingdom. 

Quest. Whence is this ? 

Ans. 1. He may forsake gross sins, yet 
he hath no reluctancy against heart-sins, 
pride, unbelief, and the first risings of ma- 
lice and concupiscence. Though he dams 
up the stream, yet he lets alone the foun- 



OF THE SECOND PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



455 



tain ; though he lop and prune the branches, 
yet he doth not strike at the root of it. — 2. 
Though he leaves sin — for fear of hell, or 
because it brings shame and penury — yet he 
still loves sin, — as if a snake should cast her 
coat, yet keep her poison, Hos. iv. 8, " They 
set their heart on their iniquity." — 3. It is but 
a partial forsaking of sin ; though he leaves 
one sin, he lives in some other. Herod re- 
formed very much, Mark vi. 20, " He did 
many things ;" but he lived in incest. Some 
leave drunkenness, and live in covetousness ; 
they forbear swearing, and live in slandering. 
It is but a partial reformation, and so they 
miss of the kingdom of glory. Thus you see 
there are some who have gone many steps 
in the way to heaven, yet have come short. 
Some have gone so far in profession, that 
they have been confident their estate hath 
been good, and they should go to the kingdom 
of heaven, yet have missed it, Luke xiii. 25. 
" When once the master of the house is 
risen up, and hath shut the door, and ye 
begin to stand without, and to knock, saying, 
Lord, Lord, open to us." How confident 
were these of salvation ! They did not be- 
seech, but knock, as if they did not doubt 
but to be let into heaven ; yet to these Christ 
saith, "I know you not whence you are; 
depart from me, ye workers of iniquity." 
Therefore fear and tremble, lest any of us 
miss of this kingdom of heaven. 

Secondly, This fear is necessary, if we 
consider what a loss it is to lose the heavenly 
kingdom. All the tears in hell are not suffi- 
cient to lament the loss of heaven. They 
who lose the heavenly kingdom, lose God's 
sweet presence, the ravishing views and 
smiles of God's glorious face. God's pre- 
sence is the diamond in the ring of glory, Ps. 
xvi. 11, " In thy presence is fulness of joy." 
If God be the fountain of all bliss, then, to be 
separated from him, is the fountain of all 
misery. They who lose the heavenly king- 
dom, lose the society of angels ; and, what 
sweeter music, than to hear them praise God 
in concert] They lose all their treasure, 
their white robes, their sparkling crowns; 
they lose their hopes, Job viii. 14, " Whose 
hope shall be cut off." Their hope is not an 
anchor, but a spider's web. If hope deferred 



makes the heart sick, Prov. xiii. 12, what 
then is hope disappointed I They lose the 
end of their being. Why were they created, 
but to be enthroned in glory ? Now, to lose 
this, is to lose the end of their being, as if an 
angel should be turned to a worm. There 
are many aggravations of the loss of this 
heavenly kingdom. 

1. The eyes of the wicked shall be opened 
to see their loss ; now they care not for the 
loss of God's favour, because they know not 
the worth of it. A man that loseth a rich 
diamond, and took it but for an ordinary stone, 
is not much troubled at the loss of it ; but 
when he comes to know what a jewel he lost, 
then he laments. He, whose heart would 
never break at the sight of his sins, shall now 
break at the sight of his loss. Phinehas his 
wife, when she heard the ark was lost, cried 
out, " The glory is departed," 1 Sam. iv. 21. 
When the sinner sees what he hath lost, that 
he hath lost the beatifical vision, he hath lost 
the kingdom of heaven ; then he will cry out 
in horror and despair, " The glory, the ever- 
lasting glory is departed." 

2. A second aggravation of the loss of 
this kingdom will be, that sinners shall be 
upbraided by their own conscience ; this is 
the worm that never dies, Mark ix. 44, viz. 
a self-accusing mind. When sinners shall 
consider they were in a fair way to the 
kingdom, — they had a possibility of salva- 
tion, though the door of heaven was strait, 
yet it was open, — they had the means of 
grace, — the jubilee of the gospel was pro- 
claimed in their ears, — God called, but they 
refused, — Jesus Christ offered them a plaster 
of his own blood to heal them, but they tram- 
pled it under foot, — the Holy Spirit stood at 
the door of their heart, knocking and crying 
to them to receive Christ and heaven, but 
they repulsed the Spirit, and sent away this 
dove, — and now they have, through their own 
folly and wilfulness, lost the kingdom of hea- 
ven, — this self-accusing conscience will be 
terrible, like a venomous worm gnawing at 
the heart. 

3. A third aggravation of the loss of heaven 
will be to look upon others that have gained 
the kingdom ; the happiness of the blessed 
will be an eye-sore, Luke xiii. 28, "There 



456 



OF THE SECOND PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when 
ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, 
and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, 
and you yourselves thrust out." When the 
wicked shall see those whom they hated and 
scorned, to be exalted to a kingdom, and shine 
with robes of glory, and they themselves miss 
of the kingdom, this will be a dagger at the 
heart, and make them gnash their teeth for 
envy. 

4. A fourth aggravation is, this loss of the 
kingdom of heaven is accompanied with the 
punishment of sense. He who leaps short of 
the bank, falls into the river ; such as come 
short of heaven, fall into the river of fire and 
brimstone, Ps. ix. 17, *' The wicked shall be 
turned into hell." And how dreadful is that ! 
If, when but a spark of God's anger lights 
into the conscience here, it is so torturing, 
what will it be to have mountains of God's 
wrath thrown upon the soul'? Ps. xc. 11, 
" Who knoweth the power of thine anger'?" 
The angel never poured out his vial, but 
some wo followed, Rev. xvi. 3. When the 
bitter vials of God's wrath are poured out, 
damnation follows. Dives cries out, " I am 
tormented in this flame !" Luke xvi. 24. In 
hell there is not a drop of mercy. There 
was no oil nor frankincense used in the 
sacrifice of jealousy, Numb. v. 15. In hell 
no oil of mercy to lenify the sufferings of the 
damned, nor incense of prayer to appease 
God's wrath. 

5. A fifth aggravation of the loss of this 
kingdom will be, to consider on what easy and 
reasonable terms men might have had this 
kingdom. If indeed God had commanded im- 
possibilities, to have satisfied justice in their 
own persons, it had been another matter : but 
what God did demand was reasonable, only 
to do that which was for their good, to accept 
of Christ for their Lord and Husband, not 
only to part with that which would damn 
them, if they kept their sins. These were the 
fair terms on which they might have enjoyed 
the heavenly kingdom : now, to lose heaven, 
which might have been had upon such easy 
terms, will be a cutting aggravation ; it will 
rend a sinner's heart with rage and grief, to 
think how easily he might have prevented 
the loss of the heavenly kingdom. 



6. It will be an aggravation of the loss of 
heaven for sinners to think how active they 
were in doing that which lost them the king- 
dom ; they were felo de se. What pains did 
they take to resist the Spirit, to stifle con- 
science 1 They sinned while they were out 
of breath, Jer. ix. 5, " They weary them- 
selves to commit iniquity." What difficulties 
did men go through 1 what did they endure 
for their sins ? How much shame and pain ? 
How sick was the drunkard with his cups ? 
How sore in his body was the adulterer 1 ? 
And what marks of sin did he carry about 
him 1 What dangers did men adventure upon 
for their lusts'? They adventured God's 
wrath, and adventured the laws of the land. 
O how will this aggravate the loss of heaven ! 
How will this make men curse themselves, 
to think how much pains they were at to 
lose happiness ? How will this sting men's 
consciences, to think, had they but taken as 
much pains for heaven, as they did for hell, 
they had not lost it. 

7. Aggravation of the loss of this kingdom, 
it will be an eternal irreparable loss ; heaven, 
once lost, can never be recovered. Worldly 
losses may be made up again ; if a man lose 
his health, he may have it repaired by physic ; 
if a man be driven out of his kingdom, he 
may be restored to it again, as king Nebu- 
chadnezzar was, Dan. iv. 36, " My honour 
returned to me, and I was established in my 
kingdom." King Henry VI. was deposed 
from his throne, yet restored again to it. 
But they who once lose heaven, can never 
be restored to it again : after millions of 
years, they are as far from obtaining glory 
as at first. Thus you see how needful this 
exhortation is, that we should fear lest we 
fall short of this kingdom of heaven. 

Quest. What shall we do, that we may 
not miss of this kingdom of glory ? 

Ans. 1. Take heed of those things which 
will make you miss of heaven. 1. Take 
heed of spiritual sloth. Many Christians 
are settled upon their lees, they are loath 
to put themselves to too much pains. It is 
said of Israel, " They despised the pleasant 
land," Ps. cvi. 24. Canaan was a para- 
dise of delights, a type of heaven : ay, but 
some of the Jews thought it would cost 



OF THE SECOND PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



457 



them a great deal of trouble and hazard in the 
getting, and they would rather go without it ; 
" They despised the pleasant land." I have 
read of certain Spaniards that live where 
there is great store of fish, yet are so lazy, 
that they will not be at the pains to catch 
them, but buy of their neighbours ; such a 
sinful sloth is upon the most, that though the 
kingdom of heaven be offered to them, yet 
they will not put themselves to any labour for 
it. They have some faint velleities and de- 
sires, O that I had this kingdom ! Like a 
man that wisheth for venison, but will not 
hunt for it, Prov. xiii. 4, " The soul of the 
sluggard desireth, and hath nothing." Men 
could be content to have the kingdom of 
heaven, if it would drop as a ripe fig into 
their mouth, but they are loath to fight for it. 
O take heed of spiritual sloth ; God never 
made heaven to be a hive for drones ! We 
cannot have the world without labour, and do 
we think to have the kingdom of heaven'? 
Heathens will rise up in judgment against 
many Christians : what pains did they take 
in their Olympic races, when they ran but for 
a crown of olive or myrtle intermixed with 
gold ; and do we stand still when we are run- 
ning for a kingdom 1 Prov. xix. 15, " Sloth- 
fulness casteth into a deep sleep." Sloth is 
the souPs sleep. Adam lost his rib when he 
was asleep. Many a man loseth the king- 
dom of heaven when he is in this deep sleep 
of sloth. 

A. 2. Take heed of unbelief. Unbelief 
kept Israel out of Canaan, Heb. iii. 19. So 
we see " they could not enter in because of 
unbelief." And it keeps many out of heaven. 
Unbelief is an enemy to salvation, it is a 
damning sin ; it whispers thus, " To what 
purpose is all this pains for the heavenly 
kingdom 1 I had as good sit still ; I may 
come near to heaven, yet come short of hea- 
ven :" Jer. xviii. 12, " And they said, there is 
no hope." Unbelief destroys hope ; and if 
you once cut this sinew, a Christian goes but 
lamely in religion, if he goes at all. Unbelief 
raiseth jealous thoughts of <W,it represents 
him as a severe judge; this discourageth 
many a soul, and takes it off from duty. Be- 
ware of unbelief ; believe the promises, Lam. 
iii. 25, " God is good to the soul that seeks 
3M 



him ;" seek him earnestly and he will open 
both heart and heaven to you. Deus volen- 
tibus non deest. Do what you are able, and 
God will help you. While you spread the 
sails of your endeavour, God's Spirit will 
blow upon these sails, and carry you swiftly 
to the kingdom of glory. 

A. 3. If you would not miss of the heavenly 
kingdom, take heed of mistake, imagining 
the way to the kingdom of heaven to be easier 
than it is ; it is but a sigh, or, 1 Lord have 
mercy !' There's no going to heaven per 
saltum; one cannot leap out of Delilah's 
lap into Abraham's bosom. The sinner is 
" dead in trespasses," Eph. ii. 1. Is it easy 
for a dead man to restore himself to life ] Is 
regeneration easy 1 Are there no pangs in 
the new birth ] Doth not the scripture call 
Christianity a warfare and a race'? And, do 
you fancy this easy ] The way to the king- 
dom is not easy, but the mistake about the 
way is easy. 

A. 4. If you would not miss of the heavenly 
kingdom, take heed of delays and procrasti- 
nations. Mora trahit periculum. It is an 
usual delusion, I will mind the kingdom of 
heaven, but not yet ; when I have gotten an 
estate and grown old, then I will look after 
heaven ; and, on a sudden, death surpriseth 
men, and they fall short of heaven. Delay 
strengthens sin, hardens the heart, and gives 
the devil fuller possession of a man. Take 
heed of adjourning and putting off seeking 
the kingdom of heaven, till it be too late. 
Csesar, deferring to read a letter put into his 
hand, was killed in the senate-house. Con- 
sider how short your life is ; it is a taper soon 
blown out. Animantis cujusque vita in 
fuga est. The body is like a vessel tuned 
with breath, sickness broacheth it, death 
draws it out. Delay not the business of sal- 
vation a day longer; sometimes death strikes, 
and gives no warning. 

A. 5. If you would not come short of the 
kingdom of heaven, take heed of prejudice. 
Many take a prejudice at religion, and on 
this rock dash their souls. They are preju- 
diced at Christ's person, his truths, his fol- 
lowers, his ways. 

(1). They are prejudiced at his person, 
Matt. xiii. 57, " And they were offended in 



458 



OF THE SECOND PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



him." What is there in Christ, that men 
should be offended at him 1 He is the " pearl 
of price," Matt. xiii. 40. Are men offended 
at pearls and diamonds 1 Christ is the won- 
der of beauty, Ps. xlv. 2, " Fairer than the 
children of men." Is there any thing in 
beauty to offend 1 Christ is the mirror of 
mercy, Heb. ii. 17. Why should mercy 
offend any ? Christ is a Redeemer ; why 
should a captive slave be offended at him who 
comes with a sum of money to ransom him 1 
The prejudice men take at Christ is from the 
inbred pravity of their hearts. The eye that 
is sore cannot endure the light of the sun ; 
the fault is not in the sun, but in the sore eye. 
There are two things in Christ men are pre- 
judiced at : 1st. His meanness. The Jews 
expected a monarch for their Messiah ; but 
Christ came not with outward pomp and 
splendour : ' his kingdom was not of this 
world.' The stars which are seated in the 
brightest orbs, are least seen ; Christ, who is 
the bright morning-star, was not much seen ; 
his divinity was hid in the dark lanthorn of his 
humanity ; all who saw the man did not see 
the Messiah ; this the Jews stumbled at, the 
meanness of his person. 2d. Men are pre- 
judiced at Christ's strictness ; they look upon 
Christ as austere, and his laws too severe, Ps. 
ii. 3, " Let us break their bands, and cast 
away their cords from us." Though to a saint, 
Christ's laws are no more burthensome than 
wings are to a bird ; yet, to the wicked, 
Christ's laws are a yoke, and they love not to 
come under restraint : hence it is they hate 
Christ. Though they pretend to love him as a 
Saviour, yet they hate him as he is the holy 
One. 

(2). Men are prejudiced at the truths of 
Christ. 1st. Self-denial. A man must deny his 
righteousness, Phil. iii. 9. His duties and mo- 
ralities : he will graft the hope of salvation 
upon the stock of his own righteousness. 
2d. He must deny his unrighteousness. The 
scripture seals no patents to sin : it teacheth 
us to "deny all ungodliness and worldly lusts," 
Tit. ii. 11. We must divorce those sins which 
bring in pleasures and profit. 3d. Forgiving 
of injuries, Mark xi. 25. These truths men are 
prejudiced at ; they can rather want forgive- 
ness from God, than they can forgive others. 



(3) . Men are prejudiced at the followers 
of Christ. 1st. Their paucity ; there are but 
few (in comparison) that embrace Christ : 
but why should this offend 1 Men are not 
offended at pearls and precious stones, be- 
cause they are but few. 2d. Their poverty ; 
many that wear Christ's livery are low in the 
world : but why should this give offence 1 
(1). Christ hath better things than these to 
bestow upon his followers ; the holy anoint- 
ing, the white stone, the hidden manna, the 
crown of glory. (2). All Christ's followers 
are not humbled with poverty. Abraham was 
rich with gold and silver, as well as rich in 
faith. Though not many noble are called, 
yet some noble, Acts xvii. 12, " Honourable 
women which were Greeks believed." Con- 
stantine and Theodosius were godly emper- 
ors. So that this stumbling-block is removed. 
3d. Their scandals ; some of Christ's fol- 
lowers, under a mask of piety, commit sin ; 
this begets a prejudice against religion ; but 
doth Christ or his gospel teach any such 
thing ] The rules he prescribes are holy ; 
why should the master be thought the worse 
of, because some of his servants prove bad ? 

(4) . Men are prejudiced at the ways of 
Christ. They expose them to sufferings, Matt, 
xvi. 24, " Let him take up his cross and fol- 
low me." Many stumble at the cross. There 
are, as Tertullian, delicatuli, silken Chris- 
tians, who love their ease ; they will follow 
Christ to mount Tabor, to see him transfigur- 
ed, but not to mount Golgotha, to suffer with 
him. But, alas, what is affliction to the 
glory that follows ! The weight of glory makes 
affliction light. Adimant caput non coronam. 
O take heed of prejudice ; this hath been a 
stumbling-stone in men's way to heaven, and 
hath made them fall short of the kingdom ! 

A. 6. If you would not miss of the king- 
dom of heaven, take heed of presumption. 
Men presume all is well, and take it as a 
principle not to be disputed that they shall 
go to heaven. The devil hath given them 
opium to cast them into a deep sleep of se- 
curity. The presumptuous sinner is like 
the Leviathan, made " without fear ;" he 
lives as bad as the worst, yet hopes he shall 
be saved as well as the best ; he blesseth 
himself and saith, he shall have peace, 



OF THE SECOND PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



459 



though he goes on in sin, Deut. xxix. 19. 
As if a man should drink poison, yet not fear 
but he should have his health. But whence 
doth this presumptuous hope arise] Surely 
from a conceit that God is made up all of 
mercy. 'Tis true God is merciful, but withal 
he is just too, Exod. xxxiv. 7, " Keeping 
mercy for thousands, and that will by no 
means clear the guilty." If a king did pro- 
claim that only those should be pardoned, 
who came in and submitted, ought any still 
persisting in rebellion, to claim the benefit of 
that pardon % Dost thou hope for mercy, who 
wilt not lay down thy weapons, but stand 
out in rebellion against heaven ] None might 
touch the ark but the priests ; none may 
touch this ark of God's mercy, but holy, con- 
secrated persons. Presumption is heluo 
animarum, — the great devourer of souls. A 
thousand have missed of heaven, by putting 
on the broad spectacles of presumption. 

A. 7. If you would not miss of the hea- 
venly kingdom, take heed of the delights and 
pleasures of the flesh. Soft pleasures harden 
the heart ; many people cannot endure a 
serious thought, but are for comedies and 
romances ; they play away their salvation. 
Homines capiunter voluptate, ut pisces 
hamo, Cicero. Pleasure is the sugared bait 
men bite at, but there is a hook under, Job 
xxi. 12, " They take the timbrel and harp ; 
and rejoice at the sound of the organ." And 
a parallel scripture, Amos vi. 4, 5, 6, " That 
lie upon beds of ivory, that chant to the sound 
of the viol, that drink wine in bowls, and 
anoint themselves with the chief ointments." 
The pleasures of the world do keep many 
from the pleasures of paradise. What a 
shame is it, that the soul, that princely thing, 
which sways the sceptre of reason, and is 
akin to angels, should be enslaved by sinful 
pleasure 1 Beard, in his theatre, speaks of 
one who had a room richly hung with fair 
pictures, — he had most delicious music, — 
he had the rarest beauties,— he had all the 
candies, and curious preserves of the con- 
fectioner; thus did he gratify his senses 
with pleasure, and swore he would live one 
week as a god, though he were sure to be 
damned in hell the next day. Diodorus Sicu- 
lus observes, that the dogs of Sicily while 



they are hunting among the sweet flowers, 
lose the scent of the hare : so, many while 
they are hunting after the sweet pleasures 
of the world lose the kingdom of heaven. 
'Tis (saith Theophylact) one of the worst 
sights, to see a sinner go laughing to hell. 

A. 8. If you would not fall short of the 
kingdom of heaven, take heed of worldly 
mindedness ; a covetous spirit is a dunghill 
spirit, it chokes good affections, as the earth 
puts out the fire. The world hindered the 
young man from following Christ, — abiit 
tristis, he went away sorrowful, Luke xviii. 
23, which extorted these words from our 
Saviour, ver. 24, " How hardly shall they 
that have riches enter into the kingdom of 
God !" Divitice scbcuU sunt laquei diaboli, 
Bern. Riches are golden snares. If a man 
were to climb up a steep rock, and had 
weights tied to his legs, it would hinder him 
from his ascent; too many golden weights 
will hinder him from climbing up that steep 
rock which leads to heaven, Exod. xiv. 3, 
" They are entangled in the land, the wilder- 
ness hath shut them in." So it may be said 
of many, they are entangled in earthly affairs, 
the world hath shut them in ; the world is no 
friend to grace ; the more the child sucks the 
weaker the nurse is ; and the more the world 
sucks and draws from us, the weaker our 
grace is, 1 John ii. 15, " Love not the world." 
Had a man a monopoly of all the wealth of 
the world, — were he able to empty the west- 
ern parts of gold and the eastern of spices, — 
could he heap up riches to the starry heaven, 
yet his heart would not be filled : covetous- 
ness is a dry dropsy. Joshua, who could 
stop the course of the sun, could not stop 
Achan in his covetous pursuit of the wedge 
of gold ; he whose heart is locked up in his 
chest, will be locked out of heaven. Some 
ships, that have escaped the rocks, have been 
cast away upon the sands : many, who have 
escaped gross sins, have been cast away upon 
the world's golden sands. 

A. 9. If you would not come short of the 
kingdom of heaven, take heed of indulging 
any sin ; one millstone will drown, as well 
as more ; and one sin lived in will damn, as 
well as more. Ubi regnat peccatum, non 
potest regnare Dei regnum, Hierom. If 



460 OF THE SECOND PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



any one sin reign, it will keep you from reign- 
ing in the kingdom of heaven. Especially 
keep from sins of presumption, which waste 
conscience. Vastare conscientiam, Tertul. 
And the sin of your natural constitution, — the 
peccatum in dilitiis, Aug. Thy darling sin, 
Ps. xviii. 23, " I have kept myself from mine 
iniquity," that sin which my heart would 
soonest decoy and flatter me into. As in the 
hive there is one master-bee, so in the heart 
one master-sin : O take heed of this ! 

Quest. How may this sin be known 1 

Ans. (1). That sin which a man cannot 
endure the arrow of a reproof should shoot 
at, that is the bosom-sin. Herod could not 
brook to have his incest meddled with, — that 
was a noli me tingere ; men can be content 
to have other sins declaimed against, but if a 
minister put his finger upon the sore, and 
toucheth upon one special sin, then igne 
micant oculi, they are enraged, and spit the 
venom of malice. 

A. (2). That sin which a man's heart runs 
out most to, and he is most easily captivated 
by, that is the Delilah in the bosom. One man 
is overcome with wantonness, another by 
worldliness. It is a sad thing a man should 
be so bewitched by a beloved sin, that if it 
ask him to part with not only one half the 
kingdom, but the whole kingdom of heaven, 
he must part with it to gratify that lust. 

A. (3). That sin which doth most trouble 
a man and fly in his face in an hour of sick- 
ness and distress, that is the sin he hath 
allowed himself in, and is his complexion- 
sin. When Joseph's brethren were distress- 
ed, their sin in selling their brother came 
into their remembrance, Gen. xlii. 21, " We 
are verily guilty concerning our brother," 
&c. So, when a man is upon his sick-bed, 
and conscience shall say, thou hast been 
guilty of such a sin, the sin of slandering or 
uncleanness, conscience reads a man a sad 
lecture ; it affrights him most for one sin, that 
is the complexion-sin. 

A. (4). That sin which a man is loathest 
to part with, that is the endeared sin. Jacob 
could of all his sons most hardly part with 
Benjamin, Gen. xlii. 35, " Ye will take Ben- 
jamin away." So saith the sinner, this and 
that sin I have left, but must Benjamin go 



too? Must I part with this delightful sin? 
That goes to the heart. As it is with a castle 
that hath several forts about it; the first and 
second forts are yielded, but when it comes 
to the main castle, the governor will rather 
fight and die than yield that; so a man may 
suffer many of his sins to be demolished, but 
when it comes to one, that is like the taking 
of the castle, he will never yield to part with 
that; surely that is the master-sin. Take 
heed especially of this sin ; the strength of 
sin lies in the beloved sin ; that is like a 
humour striking to the heart, which brings 
death. 1 have read of a monarch, that being 
pursued by the enemy, he threw away the 
crown of gold on his head, that he might run 
the faster ; so that sin, which thou didst wear 
as a crown of gold, throw it away, that thou 
may est run the faster to the kingdom of 
heaven. O, if you would not lose glory, 
mortify the beloved sin ; set it, as Uriah, in 
the forefront of the battle to be slain; by 
plucking out this right eye you shall see the 
better to go to heaven ! 

A. 10. If you would not fall short of the 
kingdom of heaven, take heed of inordinate 
passion; many a ship hath been lost in a 
storm, and many a soul hath been lost in a 
storm of unruly passions. Every member of 
the body is infected with sin, as every branch 
of wormwood is bitter ; but 1 the tongue is full 
of deadly poison,' James iii. 8. Some care 
not what they say in their passion ; they will 
censure, slander, wish evil to others; how 
can Christ be in the heart, when the devil 
hath taken possession of the tongue 1 Passion 
disturbs reason, it is brevis insania, a short 
frenzy*. Jonah in a passion flies out against 
God, Jon. iv. 9, " I do well to be angry even 
unto death." What ! to be angry with God, 
and to justify it? " I do well to be angry ;" 
the man was not well in his wits. Passion 
unfits for prayer, 1 Tim. ii. 8, " I will, there- 
fore, that men pray, lifting up holy hands, 
without wrath." He that prays in wrath 
may lift up his hands in prayer, but he doth 
not lift up holy hands. Water, when it is 
hot, soon boils over ; so, when the heart is 
heated with anger, it soon boils over in fiery 
passionate speeches. Some curse others in 
their passion ; they whose tongues are set 



OF THE SECOND PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



461 



on fire, let them take heed that they do not 
one day in hell desire a drop of water to 
cool their tongue. O, if you would not miss 
of the heavenly kingdom, beware of giving 
way to your unbridled passions ! Some say, 
words are but wind ; but they are such a wind 
as may blow them to hell. 

A. 11. If you would not fall short of the 
heavenly kingdom, beware of too much in- 
dulging the sensual appetite, Rom. xiii. 14, 
" Make no provision for the flesh." The 
Greek word, pronoian poiein, ' to make pro- 
vision,' signifies to be caterers for the flesh, 
Phil. iii. 19, « Whose god is their belly." The 
throat is a slippery place ; Judas received the 
devil in the sop ; and often the devil slides 
down in the liquor ; excess in meat and drink 
clouds the mind, chokes good affections, pro- 
vokes lust ; many a man digs his own grave 
with his teeth ; the heathens could say, mag- 
nus sum et majora natus quam ut sim cor- 
poris mei municipium, Sen. He was higher 
born than to be a slave to his body. To pam- 
per the body, and neglect the soul, is to feed 
the slave and to starve the wife. Take such a 
proportion of food as may recruit nature, not 
surfeit it ; excess in things lawful hath lost 
many the kingdom of heaven. A bee may 
suck a little honey from the leaf, but put it 
in a barrel of honey, and it is drowned : to 
suck temperately from the creature, God 
allows, but excess ingulphs men in perdition. 

A. 12. If you would not fall short of the 
kingdom of heaven, take heed of injustice in 
your dealings ; defrauding lies in two things, 
1st. Mixing commodities : as if one mix bad 
wheat with good, and sell it for pure wheat, 
this is to defraud, Isa. i. 22, " Thy wine is 
mixed with water." 2d. Giving scant mea- 
sure, Amos viii. 5, " Making the ephah small." 
The ephah was a measure which the Jews 
used in selling; they made the ephah small, 
they scarce gave measure. I wish this be 
not the sin of many, Hos. xii. 7, " He is a 
merchant, the balances of deceit are in his 
hand." Can they be holy, which are not 
just? Micah vi. 11, "Shall I count them 
pure with the wicked balances V Is his heart 
sincere, who hath false weights 1 This hath 
made many they could not reach heaven, 
because of their over-reaching. 



A. 13. If you would not miss of the king- 
dom of heaven, take heed of evil company ; 
there is a necessary commerce with men in 
buying and selling, else, as the apostle saith, 
We must go out of the world, 1 Cor. v. 10, 
but do not voluntarily choose the company of 
the wicked, 1 Cor. v. 11, " I have written to 
you not to keep company." Do not incor- 
porate into the society of the wicked, or be 
too much familiar with them ; the wicked are 
God haters ; and 2 Chron. xix. 2, Shouldest 
thou join with them that hate the Lord 1 A 
Christian is bound by virtue of his oath of 
allegiance to God in baptism, not to have 
intimate converse with such as are God's 
sworn enemies ; it is a thing of bad report. 
What doth Christ's doves among birds of 
prey % What do virgins among harlots 1 The 
company of the wicked is very defiling, it is 
like going among them that have the plague ; 
"He that toucheth pitch shall be defiled." 
Ps. cvi. 35, " They were mingled among the 
heathen, and learned their works." If you 
mingle bright armour with rusty, the bright 
armour will not brighten the rusty, but the 
rusty armour will spoil the bright. Such as 
have had religious education, and have some 
inclinations to good, yet by mixing among 
the wicked, they will be apt to receive hurt : 
the bad will sooner corrupt the good, than 
the good will convert the bad. Pharaoh 
learned Joseph to swear, but Joseph did not 
learn Pharaoh to pray. There is a strange 
attractive power in ill company to corrupt 
and poison the best dispositions ; they damp 
good affections. Throw a fire-ball into the 
snow, and it is soon quenched. Among the 
wicked you lose your heat of zealous affec- 
tions : by holding familiar correspondence 
with the wicked, one shall hear them dis- 
suading him from strict godliness, that it will 
debar him of his liberty and pleasure, Acts 
xxviii. 22, " This sect is every where spoken 
against." Hereupon he, who before did look 
towards heaven, begins to be discouraged, 
and gradually declines from goodness. 

(1) . There steals upon him a dislike of his 
former religious course of life ; that he was 
righteous over-much, stricter than needed. 

(2) . There is instilled into his heart a se- 
cret delight of evil ; he begins to like foolish, 



462 



OF THE SECOND PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



scurrilous discourse ; he can hear religion 
spoken against, and be silent, nay, well pleas- 
ed; he loves vanity, and makes sport of sin. 

(3). He is by degrees so metamorphosed, 
and made like the company he converseth 
with, that he now grows into a disgust, and 
hatred of his former sober ways ; he is ill- 
affected towards good men, he is transformed 
into scoffing Ishmael, a breathing devil ; and 
becomes at last as much the child of hell, as 
any of that graceless damned crew he con- 
versed with. And what is the end of all 1 A 
blot in the name, — a moth in the estate, — a 
worm in the conscience. O, if you would not 
miss of the kingdom of heaven, beware of 
evil company ! Bad company is the bane and 
poison of the youth of this age ; such as were 
once soberly inclined, yet by coming among 
the profane, they grow familiar, till at last 
they keep one another company in hell. 

A. 14. If you would not miss of the king- 
dom of heaven, take heed of parlying with 
the fleshly part ; the flesh is a bosom-traitor. 
When an enemy is gotten within the walls 
of a castle, it is in great danger to be taken. 
The flesh is an enemy within ; the flesh is a 
bad counsellor; the flesh saith, " There is a 
lion in the way." It discourageth from a 
religious strictness, the flesh saith, as Peter 
did to Christ, ' spare thyself ;' the flesh saith, 
as Judas, 'what needs all this waste?' 
What needs this praying] Why do you 
waste your strength and spirits in religion 1 
What needs all this waste 1 The flesh cries 
out for ease and pleasure. How many, by 
consulting with the flesh, have lost the king- 
dom of heaven ! 

A. 15. If you would not fall short of hea- 
ven, take heed of carnal relations ; our car- 
nal friends are often bars and locks in our 
way to heaven ; they will say, religion is 
preciseness and singularity. A wife in the 
bosom may be a tempter ; Job's wife was 
so, Job ii. 9, " Dost thou still retain thy 
integrity % Curse God, and die." What ! 
still pray 1 What dost thou get by serving 
God ] Job, where are thy earnings ] What 
canst thou show thou hast had in God's ser- 
vice, but boils and ulcers ] And dost thou 
still retain thy integrity 1 Throw off God's 
livery, renounce religion. Here was a ten- 



tation handed over to him by his wife ; the 
woman was made of the rib, the devil turned 
this rib into an arrow, and would have shot 
Job to the heart, but his faith quenched this 
fiery dart. Beware of carnal relations : we 
read that some of Christ's kindred laid hold 
on him, and would have hindered him when 
he was going to preach, Mark iii. 21, " They 
said, he is beside himself." Our kindred 
sometimes would stand in our way to hea- 
ven, and, judging all zeal rashness, would 
hinder us from being saved. Such carnal 
relations Spira had ; for, advising with them 
whether he should remain constant in his 
orthodox opinion, they persuaded him to 
recant ; and so, abjuring his former faith, 
he fell into horror and despondency of mind. 
Galeacius, marquis of Vico, found his carnal 
relations a great block in his way ; and what 
ado had he to break through their tenta- 
tions ] Take heed of a snare in your bosom. 
It is a brave saying of Jerom, Si mater 
mihi ubera ostendat, tfc. "If my parent 
should persuade me to deny Christ, — if my 
mother should show me her breast that gave 
me suck, — if my wife should go to charm 
me with her embraces, — I would forsake all, 
and fly to Christ." 

A. 16. If you would not fall short of the 
kingdom of heaven, take heed of falling off ; 
beware of apostacy ; he misseth of the prize, 
who doth not hold out in the race ; he who 
makes shipwreck of the faith, cannot come 
to the haven of glory. We live in the fall of 
the leaf ; men fall from that goodness they 
seemed to have, — some are turned to error, 
others to vice, — some to drinking and dicing, 
and others to whoring, — the very mantle of 
their profession is fallen off : It is dreadful 
for men to fall off from hopeful beginnings ! 
The apostate (saith Tertullian) seems to put 
God and Satan in the balance, and having 
weighed both their services, prefers the devil's 
service, and proclaims him to be the best 
master; in which respect, the apostate is 
said to put Christ to open shame, Heb. vi. 6. 
This is sad at last, Heb. x. 38. If you would 
not miss of the glory, take heed of apostacy ; 
those who fall away, must needs fall short of 
the kingdom. 

1. If we would not come short of this 



OF THE SECOND PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 463 



heavenly kingdom, let us be much in the ex- 
ercise of self-denial, Matt. xvi. 24, " If any 
man will come after me, let him deny him- 
self." He who would go to heaven must deny 
self-righteousness. Cavendum est apropria 
justitia : Phil. iii. 9, " That I may be found 
in him, not having my own righteousness." 
The spider weaves a web out of her own bow- 
els ; an hypocrite would spin a web out of 
his own righteousness, we must deny our 
civility in point of justification. Civility is a 
good staff to walk with among men, but it is 
a bad ladder to climb up to heaven. We 
must deny our holy things in point of justi- 
fication. Alas, how are our duties chequered 
with sin ! Put gold in the fire, and there 
comes out dross ; our most golden services 
are mixed with unbelief. Deny self-right- 
eousness ; use duty, but trust to Christ ; 
Noah's dove made use of her wings to fly, 
but trusted to the ark for safety ! Let duties 
have your diligence, but not your confidence. 
Self-denial is via ad regnum ; there is no 
getting into heaven, but through this strait 
gate of self-denial. 

2. The second means for the obtaining the 
kingdom, is serious consideration ; most men 
fall short of heaven for want of consideration. 

1st. Consideration. We should often 
consider what a kingdom heaven is ; it is 
called regnum paratum, — a " kingdom pre- 
pared," Matt. xxv. 34, which implies some- 
thing that is rare and excellent. God hath 
prepared in his kingdom u such things as eye 
hath not seen nor ear heard," 1 Cor. ii. 9. 
Heaven is beyond all hyperbole. In particu- 
lar, in this celestial kingdom are two things. 
1. A stately palace. 2. A royal feast. 

1. A stately palace. (1). It is large, and 
hath several stories ; for the dimensions of 
it, it is twelve thousand furlongs, Rev. xxi. 
15. Or as it is in some Greek copies, twelve 
times twelve thousand furlongs, a finite num- 
ber put for an infinite ; no arithmetician can 
number these furlongs ; though there be an 
innumerable company of saints and angels 
in heaven, yet there is infinitely enough of 
room to receive them. (2). The palace of 
this kingdom is lucid and transparent ; it is 
adorned with light, the light is sweet. Hell 
is a dark dungeon, but the palace above is 



bespangled with light, Col. i. 12. Such il- 
lustrious beams of glory shine from God, as 
shed a brightness and splendour upon the em- 
pyrean heaven. (3). This palace of the king- 
dom is well situated for a good air, and a 
pleasant prospect ; there is the best air, which 
is perfumed with the odours of Christ's oint- 
ments ; and a most pleasant prospect of the 
bright morning-star. (4). The palace is rich 
and sumptuous ; it hath gates of pearl, Rev. 

xxi. 21. It is enriched with white robes and 
crowns of glory ; and this palace never falls to 
decay, and the dwellers in it never die, Rev. 

xxii. 5, " They shall reign forever and ever." 
2. A royal feast. It is called, " the mar- 
riage-supper of the Lamb," Rev. xix. 9, 
which Bullinger and Gregory the Great, un- 
derstand of the magnificent supper prepared 
in the kingdom of heaven. A glorious feast it 
will be, in respect of the founder, God, — the 
glorified saints shall feast their eyes with 
God's beauty and their hearts with his love ; 
a delicious feast it will be, in respect of the 
festivity and holy mirth, — what joy when there 
shall be the anthems and triumphs of glorified 
spirits 1 When saints and angels shall twist 
together in an inseparable union of love, and 
lie in each others sweet embraces ; a royal 
banquet it shall be, where there is no surfeit, 
because continually a fresh course is served 
in. The serious consideration what a king- 
dom heaven is, would be a means to quicken 
our endeavours in the pursuit after it. What 
causeth men to make voyages to the Indies, 
but the consideration of the gold and spices 
which are to be had there ? Did we survey 
and contemplate the glory of heaven, we 
would soon take a voyage, and never leave 
till we had arrived at the celestial kingdom. 

2d. Consideration. How it will trouble 
you, if you should perish, to think you came 
short of heaven for want of a little more 
pains ! The prophet Elisha bid the king of 
Israel smite the ground six times, and he 
smote but thrice and stayed, 2 Kings xiii. 
19 ; and he lost many victories by it ; so, 
when a man shall think thus, " I did some- 
thing in religion, but did not do enough ; I 
prayed but it was coldly ; I did not put coals 
to the incense ; I heard the word, but did 
not meditate on it ; I did not chew the cud ; 



464 



OF THE SECOND PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



I smote but thrice, and I should have smitten 
six times ; had I taken a little more pains, I 
had been happy, but I have lost the kingdom 
of heaven by short-shooting,"— the consider- 
ation, how terrible the thoughts of this will 
be, that we should lose heaven for want of a 
little more pains, will be a means to spur on 
our sluggish hearts, and make us more dili- 
gent to get the kingdom. 

3. The third means for obtaining this king- 
dom, is to keep up daily prayer, Ps. cix. 4. 
" I give myself to prayer." Prayer inflames 
the affections, and oils the wheels of endea- 
vour ; prayer prevails with God, it unlocks 
his bowels, and then he unlocks heaven ; all 
that have got to heaven, have crept thither 
upon their knees ; the saints now in heaven, 
have been men of prayer ; Daniel prayed three 
times a day, Jacob wrestled with God in pray- 
er, and as a prince prevailed ; this prayer 
must be fervent, else it is thuribulum sine 
prunis, as Luther, a golden censer without 
fire. O follow God with prayers and tears ! 
Say as Jacob to the angel, Gen. xxxii. 26, 
" I will not let thee go except thou bless me." 
Prayer vincit invincibilem, Luther ; it con- 
quers" the Omnipotent. Elijah, by prayer, 
opened heaven ; by ardent and constant 
prayer, heaven is at last opened to us. 

4. If you would obtain the heavenly kingdom, 
get a love to heaven. Love puts a man upon 
the use of all means to enjoy the thing loved. 
He that loves the world, how active is he 1 
He will break his sleep and peace for it. He 
that loves honour, what hazards will he run 1 
He will swim to the throne in blood. Jacob 
loved Rachael, and what would not he do, 
though it were serving a two seven-years 
apprenticeship for obtaining her 1 Love car- 
ries a man out violently to the object loved. 
Love is like wings to the bird, like sails to 
the ship ; it carries a Christian full sail to 
heaven ; heaven is a place of rest and joy, it 
is paradise, and will you not love it ! Love 
heaven, and you cannot miss it ; love breaks 
through all opposition, it takes heaven by 
storm; love, though it labour, is never weary ; 
it is like the rod of myrtle in the traveller's 
hand, which makes him fresh and lively in his 
travel, and keeps him from being weary. 

5. If you would obtain the kingdom of 



heaven, make religion your business. What 
a man looks upon as a parergon, — a thing by 
the by, — he doth not much mind. If ever 
we would have heaven, we must look upon 
it as our main concern ; other things do but 
concern our livelihood, this concerns our 
salvation ; then we make religion our busi- 
ness, when we wholly devote ourselves to 
God's service, Ps. cxxxix. 18. We count 1 
those the best hours which are spent with 
God ; we give God the cream of our affec- 
tions, the flower of our time and strength ; 
we traffic in heaven every day, we are mer- 
chants for the " pearl of price." He will 
not get an estate who doth not mind his 
trade ; he will never get heaven who doth not 
make religion his main business. 

6. If you would obtain the kingdom of hea- 
ven, bind your hearts to God by sacred vows. 
Vow to the Lord, (that by his grace) you 
will be more intent upon heaven than ever, 
Ps. lvi. 12, " Thy vows are upon me, O 
God !" A vow binds the votary to duty ; he 
looks upon himself as obliged by his vow to 
cleave to God. Bees, when they fly in a 
great wind, ballast themselves with little 
stones, that they may not be carried away 
with the wind ; so we must fortify ourselves 
with strong vows that we may not be carried 
away from God with the violent wind of 
temptation. No question, a Christian may 
make such a vow, because the ground of it 
is morally good ; he vows nothing but what 
he is bound to do by virtue of his baptismal 
vow, namely to walk with God more closely, 
and to pursue heaven more vigorously. 

7. If you would obtain the kingdom, 
embrace all seasons and opportunities for 
your souls, Eph. v. 16, " Redeeming the 
time." Opportunity is the cream of time ; 
the improving seasons of grace is as much 
as our salvation is worth. The mariner, 
by taking the present season, while the 
wind blows, gets to the haven; by taking 
the season, while we have the means of 
grace, and the wind of the Spirit blows, 
we may arrive at the kingdom of heaven. 
We know not how long we shall enjoy the 
gospel ; the seasons of grace, like Noah's 
dove, come with an olive-branch in their 
mouth, but they soon take wings and fly. 



OF THE SECOND PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



4G5 



Though they are sweet, yet swift. God may 
remove the golden candlestick from us as he 
did from the churches of Asia. We have 
many sad symptoms, " Grey hairs are here 
and there" upon us, Hos. vii. 9. Therefore 
let us lay hold upon the present seasons ; they 
that sleep in seed-time, will beg in harvest. 

8. If you would go to the kingdom of 
heaven, you must, excubias agere, keep a 
daily watch, Mark xiii. 37, " I say unto all, 
watch." Many have lost heaven for want of 
watchfulness. Our hearts are ready to decoy 
us into sin, and the devil lies in ambush by 
his temptations; we must every day set a 
spy, and keep sentinel in our souls, Hab. ii. 
1, " I will stand upon my watch." 

(1) . We must watch our eyes, Job xxxi. 
1, "I made a covenant with my eyes." 
Much sin comes in by the eye. When Eve 
saw the tree was good for food, and plea-- 
sant to the eyes, then she took, Gen. iii. 6. 
First she looked, and then she lusted ; the 
eye by beholding an impure object, sets the 
heart on fire ; the devil oft creeps in at the 
window of the eye. Watch your eyes. 

(2) . Watch your ear. Much poison is 
conveyed through the ear. Let your ear be 
open to God, and shut to sin. 

(3) . Watch your hearts : we watch sus- 
picious persons, " The heart is deceitful," 
Jer. xvii. 9. Watch your heart, 1. When 
you are about holy things, it will be steal- 
ing out to vanity. When I am at prayer 
saith St Hierom, aut per porticum deam- 
bulo, aut de fanore computo ; either I am 
walking through galleries, or casting up ac- 
counts. — 2. Watch your hearts when you are 
in company. The basilisk poisons the herbs 
he breathes on : the breath of the wicked is 
infectious. Nay, watch your hearts when 
you are in good company ; such as have some 
good in them, yet may be some grains too 
light ; they may have much levity of dis- 
course, and if no scum boils up, yet too much 
froth. The devil is subtle, and he can as well 
creep into the dove as he did once into the 
serpent. Satan tempted Christ by an apos- 
tle. — 3. Watch your hearts in prosperity: 
now you are in danger of pride. The higher 
the water of the Thames riseth, the higher 
the boat is lifted up ; the higher that men's 

3 N 



estates rise, the higher their hearts are lifted 
up in pride. In prosperity, you are danger 
not only to forget God, but to lift up the heel 
against him, Deut. xxxii. 15, " Jeshurun 
waxed fat, and kicked." It is hard to carry 
a full cup without spilling, and to carry a full 
prosperous estate without sinning. Turpi 
fregerunt ? secula luxu divitice molles, Sen. 
Samson fell asleep in Delilah's lap : many 
have fallen so fast asleep in the lap of pros- 
perity, that they have never awaked till they 
have been in hell. — 4. Watch your hearts 
after holy duties. When Christ had been 
praying and fasting, then the devil tempted 
him, Matt. iv. 3. After our combating with 
Satan in prayer, we are apt to grow secure, 
and put our spiritnal armour off, and then the 
devil falls on and wounds us. O if you would 
get to heaven, be always upon your watch- 
tower, set a spy, keep close sentinel in your 
souls ! Who would not watch when it is for 
a kingdom 1 

9. If you would arrive at the heavenly 
kingdom get these three graces, which will 
undoubtedly bring you thither : 

(1). Divine knowledge. There is no going 
to heaven blindfold. In the creation, light 
was the first thing that was made ; so it is in 
the new creation : knowledge is the pillar of 
fire that goes hefore us, and lights us into the 
heavenly kingdom. It is light that must bring 
us to the " inheritance of the saints in light," 
Col. i. 12. 

(2.) Faith. Faith ends in salvation, 1 Pet. 
i. 9, " Receiving the end of your faith, sal- 
vation." He who believes, is as sure to go 
to heaven, as if he were in heaven already, 
Acts xvi. 31. Faith toucheth Christ ; and 
can he miss of heaven, who toucheth 
Christ 1 Faith unites to Christ ; and, shall 
not the members be where the head is 1 All 
have not the same degree of faith ; we must 
distinguish between the direct act of faith, 
and the reflex act, affiance and assurance ; 
yet the least seed and spark of faith gives 
an undoubted title to the heavenly kingdom. 
I am justified because I believe, not because 
I know I believe. 

(3). Love to God. Heaven is prepared 
for those that love God, 1 Cor. ii. 9. Love 
is the soul of obedience, the touchstone of 



466 



OF THE SECOND PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



sincerity ; by our loving God, we may know 
he loves us, 1 John iv. 19. And those whom 
God loves, he will lay in his bosom. Ambrose, 
in his funeral oration for Theodosius, brings 
in the angels hovering about his departing 
soul, and being ready to carry it to heaven, 
asked him, " what that grace was he had 
practised most upon earth]" Theodosius 
replied, " Dilexi ! Dilexil" "I have loved! 
I have loved !" and straightway he was, by 
a convoy of angels, translated to glory. Love 
is a sacred fire kindled in the breast ; in the 
flames of this fire, the devout soul ascends 
to heaven. 

10. If we would obtain this heavenly king- 
dom, let us labour for sincerity, Prov. xxviii. 
IS, " Whosoever walketh uprightly, shall be 
saved." The sincere Christian may fall short 
of some degrees of grace, but he never falls 
short of the kingdom. God will pass by 
many failings where the heart is right, Numb, 
xxiii. 21. True gold, though it be light, hath 
grains of allowance, Ps. li. 6, " Thou de- 
sirest truth in the inward parts." Sincer- 
ity is the sauce which seasons all our actions, 
and makes them savoury ; it is the ingredient 
into every grace ; it is called " faith unfeign- 
ed," 2 Tim. i. 5, and "love in sincerity," 
Eph. vi. 24. Coin will not go current that 
wants the king's stamp ; grace is not current 
if it be not stamped with sincerity. Glorious 
duties soured with hypocrisy are rejected, 
when great infirmities sweetened with sin- 
cerity are accepted. If any thing in the 
world bring us to heaven, it is sincerity. 
Sincerity signifies plainness of heart, Ps. 
xxxii. 2, " In whose spirit there is no guile." 
The plainer the diamond is, the richer. 

(1) . Sincerity is when we serve God with 
our heart ; we do not only worship him, but 
love him. Cain brought his sacrifice, but 
not his heart ; this is God's delight, a sacra- 
fice flaming upon the altar of the heart. A 
sincere Christian, though he hath a double 
principle in him, flesh and spirit, yet he hath 
not a double heart, his heart is for God. 

(2) . Sincerity is when we aim purely at 
God in all we do. The glory of God is 
more worth than the salvation of all men's 
souls. A sincere Christian, though he 
comes short in duty, yet he takes a right 



aim. As the herb heliotropium turns about 
according to the motion of the sun, so a 
godly man's actions do all move towards the 
glory of God. 

11. If we would obtain the heavenly king- 
dom, let us keep up fervency in duty. What 
is a dead form without the power 1 Rev. iii. 
16, " Because thou art luke-warm, neither 
hot nor cold. I will spue thee out of my 
mouth." Fervency puts life into duty, Rom. 
xii. 11, " Fervent in spirit serving the Lord," 
(Gr.) Zeontes, * boiling over.' Christ prayed 
" yet more earnestly," Luke xxii. 44. When 
the fire on the golden censer was ready to 
go out, Aaron was to put more coals to the 
incense ; praying with devotion, is putting 
more coals to the incense. It is not formality, 
but fervency, will bring us to heaven ; the 
formalist is like Ephraim, a cake not turned, 
hot on one side, and dough on the other. In 
the external part of God's worship, he seems 
to be hot; but as for the spiritual part of 
God's worship, he is cold. Oh, if you would 
have the kingdom of heaven, keep up heat 
and fervour in duty ! Elijah was carried up to 
heaven in a fiery chariot ; if you would go to 
heaven, you must be carried thither in the 
fiery chariot of zeal; it is violence that takes 
the kingdom of heaven. 

12. If we would arrive at the heavenly 
kingdom, let us cherish the motions of God's 
Spirit in our hearts. The mariner may 
spread his sails, but the ship cannot get to 
the haven without a gale of wind ; so we 
may spread the sails of our endeavour, but 
we cannot get to the haven of glory, with- 
out the north and south wind of God's Spi- 
rit blow ; how nearly therefore doth it con- 
cern us to make much of the motions of 
God's Spirit, motions to prayer, motions to 
repentance ? 2 Sam. v. 24, " When thou 
hearest the sound of a going in the tops of 
the mulberry trees, that then thou shalt be- 
stir thyself, for then shall the Lord go out 
before thee :" so, when we hear, as it were 
a voice within us, a secret inspiration stir- 
ring us up to good duties, we should then 
bestir ourselves : while the Spirit works in 
us, we should work with the Spirit. Many 
men have God's Spirit striving with them, 
he puts good motions in their hearts and 



OF THE SECOND PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



467 



holy purposes ; but they, neglecting- to pro- 
secute these good motions, the Spirit is 
thereby grieved ; and, being grieved, with- 
draws his assistance ; and, that assistance 
being gone, there is no getting to heaven. 
Oh make much of the motion of the Spirit, 
it is as much as your salvation is worth ! 
The Spirit of God is compared to fire, Acts 
ii. 3 : if we are careful to blow this spark, we 
may have fire to inflame our affections, and 
to light our feet into the way of peace. If 
we quench the Spirit by our neglecting and 
resisting its motions, we cut ourselves off 
from salvation. The Spirit of God hath a 
drawing power, Cant. i. 4. The blessed 
Spirit draws by attraction, as the loadstone 
the iron. In the preaching of the word, the 
Spirit draws the heart up to heaven in holy 
longings and ejaculations. Now when the 
Spirit is about thus to draw us, let us take 
heed of drawing back, lest it be to perdition, 
Heb. x. We should do as Noah, when the 
dove came flying to the ark, he put forth his 
hand, and took it into the ark ; so when this 
sweet dove of God's Spirit comes flying to our 
hearts, and brings a gracious impulse as an 
olive-branch of peace in its mouth, O take 
this dove into the ark ; entertain the Spirit in 
your hearts, and it will bring you to heaven ! 

Quest. But how shall we know the mo- 
tions of the Spirit from a delusion 1 

Ans. The motions of the Spirit are always 
agreeable to the word. If the word be for 
holiness, so is the Spirit ; the Spirit persuades 
to nothing but what the word directs ; which 
way the tide of the word runs, that way the 
wind of the Spirit blows. 

13. We obtain the kingdom of heaven by 
uniform and cheerful obedience. Obedience 
is the road through which we travel to hea- 
ven. Many say they love God, but refuse to 
obey him ; doth he love the prince's person 
who slights his commands ! 

(1). Obedience must be uniform, Ps. cxix. 
6, " Then shall I not be ashamed," [Heb.] 
" I shall not blush, when I have respect to 
all thy commandments." As the sun goes 
through all the signs of the zodiac, so we 
must go through all the duties of religion. 
If a man be to go a hundred miles, and he 
goes ninety-nine miles, and there stops, he 



comes short of the place he is to travel to ; 
if, with Herod, we do many things that God 
commands, yet, if we die in the total neglect 
of any duty, we come short of the kingdom 
of heaven ; for instance, if a man seem to 
make conscience of duties of the first table, 
and not the duties of the second, — if he seem 
to be relgious, but is not just, — he is a trans- 
gressor, and is in danger to lose heaven. A 
good heart is like the needle which points 
that way which the loadstone draws, so he 
moves that way which the word draws. 

(2). Obedience must be cheerful ; "I de- 
light to do thy will, O my God, yea, thy law 
is within my heart !" Ps. xl. 8. That is the 
sweetest obedience which is cheerful, as that 
is the sweetest honey which drops from the 
comb freely. God doth sometimes accept of 
willingness without the work, but never of 
the work without willingness, Zech. v. 9, 
" There came out two women, and the wind 
was in their wings." Wings are swift, but 
wind in the wings denotes great swiftness : 
an emblem of the swiftness and cheerfulness 
which should be in obedience. We go to 
heaven in the way of obedience. 

14. If we would obtain this kingdom, be 
much in the communion of saints ; one coal 
of juniper will warm and inflame another ; 
when the heart is dead and frozen, the com- 
munion of saints will help to warm it, Mai. 
iii. 16, " They that feared the Lord, spake 
often one to another." Christians should never 
meet (saith Mr Bolton) but speak of their 
meeting together in heaven. One Christian 
may be very helpful by prayer and conference 
to another, and give him a lift toward heaven. 
Old Latimer was much strengthened and 
comforted by hearing Mr Bilny's confession 
of faith. We read that when " Moses his 
hands were heavy, and he was ready to let 
them fall, Aaron and Hur stayed up his 
hands," Exod. xvii. 12. A Christian who is 
ready to faint under tentation, and lets down 
the hands of his faith, by conversing with 
other Christians, he is strengthened, and his 
hands are held up. A great benefit of holy 
conference is counsel and advice. If a man 
(saith Chrysostom) who hath but one head 
to advise him, could make that head a hun- 
dred heads to advise him, he would be very 



488 



OP THE SECOND PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



wise : a single Christian hath this benefit by 
the communion of saints, they are as so many 
heads to advise him what to do in such a case 
or exigency. By Christian conference the 
saints can say, "Did not our hearts burn 
within us ]" Communion of saints we have 
in our creed, but it is too little in our practice: 
men usually travel fastest in company : we 
travel fastest to heaven in the communion of 
saints. 

15. If we would attain to this kingdom of 
heaven , let us be willing to come up to Christ's 
terms. Many will be cheapening, and bid 
something for the kingdom of heaven ; they 
will avoid gross sin, and will come to church, 
and say their prayers ; and yet all this while 
they are not willing to come up to God's 
price, that is, they will not resist the idol of 
self-righteousness, flying only to Christ as 
the horns of the altar, — they will not sacrifice 
their bosom-sin, — they will not give God 
spirit-worship, serving him with zeal and in- 
tenseness of soul, John iv. 24, — they will not 
forgive their enemies, — they will not part 
with their carnal profits for Christ, — they 
would have the kingdom of heaven, but they 
will not come up to the price : if you would 
have this kingdom, do not article and indent 
with Christ, but accept of his terms ; say, 
" Lord, I am willing to have the kingdom of 
heaven, whatever it cost me ; I am willing to 
pluck out my right eye, to part with all for 
the kingdom ; here is a blank paper I put into 
thy hand, Lord, write thy own articles, I will 
subscribe to them." 

16. If we would obtain the heavenly 
kingdom, let us attend to the holy ordi- 
nances ; thus God brings souls to heaven, 
Acts xxvii. 31, " Except these abide in the 
ship ye cannot be saved." Some people 
would leap out of the ship of ordinances, and 
then God knows whither they leap ; but ex- 
cept ye abide in the ship of ordinances, ye 
cannot be saved. Especially, if you would 
get to heaven, attend to the word preached ; 
it was by the ear, by our first parents listen- 
ing to the serpent, that we lost paradise; and 
it is by the ear, by the hearing of the word, 
that we get to heaven, Isa. lv. 3, " Hear, and 
your soul shall live." God, sometimes in the 
preaching of the word, drops in that holy oil 
into the ear which softens and sanctifies the 



heart ; the word preached is called the « mi- 
nistry of the Spirit,' 2 Cor. iii. 8, because the 
Spirit of God makes use of this engine to 
convert souls. If the word preached doth 
not work upon men, nothing will ; not judg- 
ments, nor miracles ; no, nor though one 
should arise from the dead, Luke xvi. 31. If 
a glorified saint should come out of heaven, 
and assume a body, and tell you of all the 
glory of heaven, and the joys of the blessed, 
and persuade you to believe; if the preaching 
of the word will not bring you to heaven, 
neither would his rhetoric do it who rose 
from the dead. In heaven there will be no 
need of ordinances, but there is while we 
live here ; the lamp needs oil, but the star 
needs none. While the saints have their lamp 
of grace burning here, they need the oil of 
ordinances to be continually dropping upon 
them ; but there will be no need of this oil 
when they are stars in heaven. If you intend 
to get to heaven, be swift to hear ; for faith 
comes by hearing, Rom.x. 14, 17. Peter let 
down the net of his ministry, and at one 
draught catched three thousand souls. If 
you would have heaven's door opened to you, 
wait at the posts of wisdom's door. 

17. If you would arrive at heaven, have 
this kingdom ever in your eye. Our blessed 
Lord looked at the joy that was set before 
him ; and Moses " had respect to the recom- 
pense of reward," Heb. xi. 26. Let the 
kingdom be much in our thoughts ; medita- 
tion is the means to help us to heaven. 

Quest. How doth it help ? 

Ans. 1. As it is a means to prevent sin. 
No sword like this to cut asunder the sinews 
of temptation ; it is almost impossible to sin 
presumptuously with the lively thoughts 
and hopes of heaven ; it was when Moses 
was out of sight that Israel set up a calf, 
and worshipped it : so it is when the king- 
dom of heaven is out of sight, I mean, out 
of men's thoughts, that they set up their 
lusts and idolize them. The meditation of 
heaven banisheth sin ; he who thinks of the 
weight of glory, throws away the weight of 
sin. 

A. 2. To meditate on the kingdom of hea- 
ven, would excite and quicken obedience. We 
should think we could never pray enough, 
never love God enough, who hath prepared 



OF THE SECOND PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



469 



such a kingdom for us. Immensa gloria 
calcar habet. St Paul had heaven in his 
eye, he was once caught up thither ; and how 
active was he for God ! 1 Cor. xvi. 10. This 
would oil the wheels of obedience. 

A. 3. It would make us strive after holi- 
ness, because none but such are admitted 
into this kingdom, only the pure in heart 
shall see God, Matt. v. 8. Holiness is the 
language of heaven ; it is the only coin will 
pass current in heaven ; this considered, 
would make us " cleanse ourselves from all 
filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting 
holiness in the fear of God," 2 Cor. vii. 1. — 
Thus you see how the meditation of heaven 
would be a means to bring us thither. 

18. The last means for obtaining the hea- 
venly kingdom is perseverance in holiness, 
Rev. ii. 10, " Be thou faithful unto death," 
and thou shalt receive the crown of life. In 
Christians, non initio, sed fines laudantur. 

HlEROM. 

1st. Is there such a thing as persevering'? 
2d. How doth a Christian come to perse- 
vere? 

3d. What are the encouragements 1 

Ath. What the helps 1 

1st. Is there such a thing as persevering 
till we come to heaven? The Arminians 
deny it ; and truly that any one holds out to 
the kingdom, is a wonder, if you consider, 

1. What a world of corruption is mingled 
with grace ; grace is apt to be stifled, as the 
coal to be choked with its own ashes ; grace 
is oft like a spark in the sea, it is a wonder 
it is not quenched ; it is a wonder sin doth 
not do to grace, as sometimes the nurse to 
the child, overlay it that it die, so that this 
infant of grace is smothered. 

2. The implacable malice of Satan ; he 
envies that we should have a kingdom, when 
he himself is cast out ; it cuts him to the 
heart to see a piece of dust and clay be made 
a bright star in glory, and he himself an angel 
of darkness ; he will Acheronta movere, — 
move all the powers of hell,— to hinder us 
from the kingdom ; he spits his venom, shoots 
his fiery darts, raiseth a storm of persecution, 
yea, and prevails against some, Rev. xii. 3, 
4, " There appeared a great red dragon, and 
his tail drew the third part of the stars of 
heaven, and did cast them to the earth." By 



the red dragon is meant the heathenish em- 
pire; now when his tail cast so many to the 
earth, it is a wonder that any of the stars 
keep fixed in their orb. 

3. The blandishments of riches. The 
young man in the gospel went very far, " thou 
art not far from the kingdom of God ;" but 
he had rich possessions, and these golden 
weights hindered him from the kingdom, 
Luke xviii. 23. Jonathan pursued the battle 
till he came at the honeycomb, and then he 
stood still, 1 Sam. xiv. 27. Many are forward 
for heaven, till they taste the sweetness of the 
world ; but when they come at the honey- 
comb, then they stand still, and go no further. 
Fenus pecunice, funus animce. Those who 
have escaped the rocks of gross sins, yet 
have been cast away upon the golden sands : 
what a wonder therefore that any doth hold 
on till he come to the kingdom ! 

4. A wonder any holds out in grace, and 
doth not tire in his march to heaven, if you 
consider the difficulty of a Christian's work ; 
he hath no time to lie fallow, he is either 
watching or fighting ; nay, a Christian is to 
do those duties which to the eye of sense 
and reason seem inconsistent: while a Chris- 
tian doth one duty, he seems to cross ano- 
ther, e. g. He must come with holy bold- 
ness to God in prayer, yet must serve him 
with fear; he must mourn for sin, yet rejoice ; 
he must be contented, yet " covet :" 1 Cor. 
xii. 31. Contemn men's impieties, yet rever- 
ence their authority : what difficult work is 
this ! A wonder any saint arrives at the 
heavenly kingdom. To this I might add, the 
evil examples abroad which are so attractive ; 
we may say, the devils are come among us 
in the likeness of men. What a wonder is 
it that any soul perseveres till he come to the 
kingdom of heaven ! But as great a wonder 
as it is, there is such a thing as perseverance. 
A saint's perseverance is built upon two im- 
mutable pillars. 

(1). God's eternal love. We are incon- 
stant in our love to God ; but he is not so in 
his love to us, Jer. xxxi. 3, " I have loved 
them with an everlasting love ;" with a love 
of eternity. God's love to the elect is not 
like a king's love to his favourite, when it is 
at the highest spring-tide, it soonest ebbs ; 
but God's love is eternized ; God may desert, 



470 



OF THE SECOND PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



not disinherit ; he may change his love into 
a frown, not into hatred ; he may alter his 
providence, not his decree ; when once the 
sunshine of God's electing love is risen upon 
the soul, it never sets finally. 

(2) . A saint's perseverance is built upon 
the covenant of grace ; it is a firm, impreg- 
nable covenant. This you have in the words 
of the sweet singer of Israel, 2 Sam. xxiii. 5, 
" God hath made with me an everlasting co- 
venant, ordered in all things and sure." It is 
a sweet covenant, that God will be our God, — 
the marrow and quintessence of all blessing; 
and it is a sure covenant, that he will put his 
fear in our heart, and we shall never depart 
from him, Jer. xxxii. 40. This covenant is 
inviolable, it cannot be broken ; indeed sin 
may break the peace of the covenant, but it 
cannot break the bond of the covenant. 

(3) . The third pillar perseverance is built 
upon, is the mystical union. Believers are 
incorporated into Christ, they are knit to him 
as members to the head, by the nerve and 
ligament of faith, that they cannot be broken 
off, Eph. v. 23. What was once said of 
Christ's natural body, is as true of his mysti- 
cal body, John xix. 36, " A bone of it shall 
not be broken." As it is impossible to sever 
the leaven and the dough when they are once 
mingled, so it is impossible when Christ and 
believers are once united, ever by the power 
of death or hell to be separated. How can 
Christ lose any member of his body and be 
perfect 1 You see upon what strong pillars 
the saints' perseverance is built. 

Quest. How doth a Christian hold on 
till he comes to the kingdom? How doth 
he persevere ? 

Ans. 1. Auxilio spiritus. God carries on 
a Christian to perseverance by the energy 
and vigorous working of his Spirit. The 
Spirit maintains the essence and seed of 
grace ; it doth blow up the sparks of grace 
into a holy flame. Spiritus est vicarius 
Christi, Tertul. It is Christ's deputy and 
proxy ; it is every day at work in a believer's 
heart, exerting grace into exercise, and ripen- 
ing it into perseverance; the Spirit doth 
carve and polish the vessels of mercy, and 
make them fit for glory. 

A. 2. Christ causeth perseverance, and 



carries on a saint till he come to the heavenly 
kingdom, vi orationis, by his intercession. 
Christ is an advocate as well as a surety ; he 
prays that the saints may arrive safe at the 
kingdom, Heb. vii. 25, " Wherefore he is 
able also to save them to the uttermost, (i. e. 
perfectly), seeing he ever liveth to make in- 
tercession for them." That prayer he made 
for Peter on earth, he prays now in heaven 
for the saints, " that thy faith fail not," Luke 
xxii. 32, that they may be with him where he 
is, John xvii. 24. And sure, if he pray that 
they may be with him in his kingdom, they 
cannot perish by the way. Christ's prayer 
is efficacious, if the saints' prayers have Iso 
much force and prevalency in them. Jacob 
had power with God, and as a prince pre- 
vailed, Hos. xii. 4 ; by prayer Elijah unlocked 
heaven; if the prayers of the saints have 
so much power with God, then, what hath 
Christ's prayer] How can the children of 
such prayers miscarry? How can they fall 
short of the kingdom, who have him praying 
for them, who is not only a Priest, but a Son? 
And besides, what he prays for as he is man, 
that he hath power to give as he is God. 
Thus you see how a Christian comes to per- 
severe till he comes to the kingdom. 

Ob j. But methinks I hear some Christian 
say, if only perseverance obtains the king- 
dom, they fear they shall not come thither ; 
they fear they shall faint by the way, and 
the weak legs of their grace will never carry 
them to the kingdom of heaven. 

Ans. Wert thou indeed to stand in thy 
own strength, thou mightest fall away ; that 
branch withers and dies that hath no root to 
grow upon. Thou growest upon the root 
Christ, who will be daily sending forth vital 
influence to strengthen thee ; thou art imbe- 
cile and weak in grace, yet fear not falling 
short of heaven : For, 

1. God hath made a promise to weak be- 
lievers. What is a bruised reed, but an 
emblem of a weak faith 1 yet it hath a pro- 
mise made to it, Matt. xii. 20, " A bruised 
reed shall he not break." God hath pro- 
mised to supply the weak Christian with so 
much grace as he shall need, till he comes 
to heaven. Besides the two pence which the 
good Samaritan left to pay for the cure of 



OF THE SECOND PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



471 



the poor wounded man, he passed his word for 
all that he should need beside, Luke x. 35 : 
so, Christ doth not only give a little grace in 
hand, but his bond for more, that he will give 
as much grace as a saint should need till he 
comes to heaven, Ps. lxxxiv. 11, " The Lord 
will give grace and glory ;" that is, a fresh 
supply of grace, till he be perfected in glory. 

2. God hath most care of his weak saints, 
who fear they shall never hold out till they 
come to the kingdom. Doth not the mother 
tend the weak child most 1 Isa. xl. 11, " He 
will gather the lambs in his arms, and carry 
them in his bosom." If thou thinkest that thou 
art so weak that thou shalt never hold out till 
thou comest to heaven, thou shalt be carried 
in the arms of the Almighty ; he gathers the 
lambs in his arms ; Christ, the Lion of the 
tribe of Judah, marcheth before his people, 
and his power is their rereward, so that none 
of them faint or die in their march to heaven. 

Quest. What are the encouragements to 
make Christians hold on till they come to the 
kingdom of heaven? 

Ans. 1. It is a great credit to a Christian, 
not only to hold forth the truth, but to hold 
fast the truth till he comes to heaven ; when 
grace doth flourish into perseverance, and 
with the church of Thyatira, our last works 
are more than our first, Rev. ii. 19, this is 
insigni honoris, — a star of honour. It is 
matter of renown to see grey hairs shine 
with golden virtues : the excellency of a thing 
lies in the finishing of it. What is the ex- 
cellency of a building? not when the first 
stone is laid, but when it is finished : so the 
: beauty and excellency of a Christian is, when 
he hath finished his faith, having done his 
work, is landed safe in heaven. 

A. 2. You that have made a progress in 
religion, have not many miles to go before 
you come at the kingdom of heaven, Rom. 
xiii. 11, " Now is our salvation nearer than 
i when we believed." You who have hoary 
hairs, your green tree is turned into an al- 
mond-tree ; you are near to heaven, it is but 
going a little further and you will set your 
feet within heaven's gates ; O therefore now 
be encouraged to hold out, your salvation is 
nearer than when you first began to believe ! 
Our diligence should be greater when our 



salvation is nearer. When a man is almost 
at the end of the race, will he now tire and 
faint ? Will he not put forth all his strength, 
and strain every limb, that he may lay hold 
upon the prize 1 Our salvation is now nearer ; 
the kingdom is as it were within sight ; how 
should we now put forth all our strength, that 
we may lay hold upon the garland of glory 1 
Doctor Taylor, when he was going to his 
martyrdom said, " I have but two stiles to go 
over, and I shall be at my Father's house." 
Though the way to heaven be up-hill, you 
must climb the steep rock of mortification ; 
and though there be thorns in the way, viz. 
sufferings, yet you have gone the greatest 
part of your way, you are within a few days' 
march of the kingdom ; and will not you per- 
severe 1 Christian, pluck up thy courage, fight 
the good fight of faith, pursue holiness ; it is 
but a while and you shall put off your armour, 
and end all your weary marches, and receive 
a victorious crown ; your salvation is nearer, 
you are within a little of the kingdom, there- 
fore now persevere, you are ready to com- 
mence and take your degree of glory ! 

A. 3. The blessed promise annexed to per- 
severance ; the promise is " a crown of life," 
Rev. ii. 10. Death is a worm that feeds in 
the crowns of princes, but behold here a living 
crown, and a never-fading crown, 1 Pet. v. 
4, and Rev. ii. 28. He that overcometh, and 
keepeth my words to the end, " I will give 
him stellam matutinam, — the morning-star :" 
the morning-star is brighter than the rest. 
This morning-star is meant of Christ ; as if 
Christ had said, I will give to him that perse- 
veres some of my beauty ; I will put some of 
my illustrious rays upon him ; he shall have 
the next degree of glory to me, as the morn- 
ing-star is next the sun ; will not this ani- 
mate and make us hold out 1 We shall have 
a kingdom, and that which is better than the 
kingdom, a bright morning-star. 

Quest. What are the means conducing 
to perseverance, or, what shall we do that we 
may hold out to the kingdom ? 

Ans. 1. Take up religion upon good 
grounds, not in a fit or humour, or out of 
worldly design; but be deliberate, weigh 
things well in the balance, Luke xiv. 28, 
" Which of you intending to build a tower, 



472 



OF THE SECOND PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



sitteth not down first and counteth the cost ?" 
Think with yourselves what religion must 
cost you, it must cost you the parting with 
your sins ; and what it may cost you, it may 
cost you the parting with your lives ; con- 
sider if a kingdom will not countervail your 
sufferings ; weigh things well, and then make 
your choice, Ps. cxix. 30, " I have chosen 
the way of truth." Why do many apostatize 
and fall away, but because they did never sit 
down and count the cost. 

A. 2. If we would hold out to the king- 
dom, let us cherish the grace of faith, 2 Cor. 
i. 24, " By faith ye stand." Faith, like Her- 
culus's club, beats down all opposition before 
it ; it is a conquering grace. 

Quest. How comes faith to be so strong? 

Ans. Faith fetcheth Christ's strength into 
the soul, Phil. iv. 13. A captain may give 
his soldier armour, but not strength : faith 
partakes of Christ's strength, and faith gets 
strength from the promise ; as the child by 
sucking the breast gets strength, so doth 
faith by sucking the breast of the promise ; 
hence faith is such a wonder-working grace, 
and enables a Christian to persevere. 

A. 3. If you would hold out to the king- 
dom, set before your eyes the examples of 
those noble heroic saints, who have perse- 
vered to the kingdom. Vivitur exemplis, 
examples have more influence upon us than 
precepts, Job xxiii. 11, 12, " My foot hath 
held his steps." Though the way of reli- 
gion hath flints and thorns in it, yet my 
foot hath held his steps ; I have not fainted 
in the way, nor turned out of the way. 
Daniel held on his religion, and would not 
intermit prayer, though he knew the writ- 
ing was signed against him, and a prayer 
might cost him his life, Dan. vi. 10. The 
blessed martyrs persevered to the kingdom 
through sufferings. Saunders, that holy 
man, said, " Welcome the cross of Christ ; 
my Saviour began to me in a bitter cup, and 
shall I not pledge him'?" Another martyr 
kissing the stake, said, " I shall not lose my 
life but change it for a better; instead of 
coals I shall have pearls." What a spirit of 
gallantry was in these saints ! Let us learn 
constancy from their courage. A soldier, 
seeing his general fight valiantly, is animated 



by his example, and hath new spirits put into 
him. 

4. Let us add fervent prayer to God, that he 
would enable us to hold out to the heavenly 
kingdom, Ps. cxix. 117, " Hold thou me up, 
and I shall be safe." Let us not presume on 
our own strength. When Peter cried to 
Christ on the water, * Lord save me !' then 
Christ took him by the hand, Matt. xiv. 30; but 
when he grew confident of his own strength, 
then Christ let him fall. O pray to God for 
auxiliary grace ! The child is safe when held 
in the nurse's arms : so are we in Christ's 
arms. Let us pray that God will put his fear 
in our hearts, that we do not depart from him ; 
and that prayer of Cyprian, Domine, quod 
ccepisti perfice, ne in portu naufragiam 
accidat, — « Lord perfect that which thou hast 
begun in me, that I may not suffer shipwreck 
when I am almost at the haven 

3d, Branch. Let us press forward with 
the greatest diligence to this kingdom. And 
here let me lay down some powerful per- 
suasives, or divine arguments, to make you 
put to all your strength for the obtaining this 
blessed kingdom. 

1. This is the great errand for which God 
hath sent us into the world, to prepare for 
this heavenly kingdom, Matt. vi. 33, " Seek 
ye first the kingdom of God." First in time, 
before all things ; and first in affection, 
above all things. Great care is taken for 
the achieving worldly things, Matt. vi. 25. 
To see people labouring for the earth, as 
ants about a molehill, would make one think 
this were the only errand they came about : 
but alas ! What is all this to the kingdom 
of heaven ] I have read of a devout pilgrim 
travelling to Jerusalem, who passing through 
several cities, where he saw many stately 
edifices, wares and monuments, he would 
say, " I must not stay here, this is not Je- 
rusalem :" so when we enjoy worldly things, 
peace and plenty, and have our presses 
burst out with new wine, we should say to 
ourselves, this is not the kingdom we are 
to look after, this is not heaven. It is wis- 
dom to remember our errand. It will be 
but sad upon a death-bed for a man to 
think he was busying himself only about 
trifles, playing with a feather, and neglect- 



OF THE SECOND PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



473 



ing the main thing he came into the world 
about. 

2. The seeking after the heavenly kingdom 
will be judged most prudent by all men at 
last. Those who are most regardless of their 
souls now, will, before they die, wish they 
had minded eternity more. When conscience 
is awakened, and men begin to come to them- 
selves, now, what would they give for the 
kingdom of heaven ? How happy were it, 
if men were of the same mind now, as they 
will be at death! Death will alter men's 
opinions ; then those who did most slight and 
disparage the ways of religion, will wish their 
time and thoughts had been taken up about 
the excellent glory. At death men's eyes 
will be opened, and they will see their folly 
when it is too late. If all men, even the 
worst, will wish at last that they had minded 
the kingdom of heaven, why should not we 
do that now, which all will wish they had 
done when they come to die 1 

3. This kingdom of heaven deserves our 
utmost pains and diligence ; it is glorious, 
beyond hyperbole. Suppose earthly king- 
doms more magnificent than they are, — their 
foundations of gold,— their walls of pearl, — 
their windows of sapphire, — yet they are not 
comparable to the heavenly kingdom. If the 
pavement of it be bespangled with so many 
bright shining lights, glorious stars, what is 
the kingdom itself] 1 John iii. 2, " It doth 
not yet appear what we shall be. This king- 
dom exceeds our faith. How sublime and 
wonderful is that place where the blessed 
Deity shines forth in his immense glory, infi- 
nitely beyond the comprehension of angels ! 

(1) . The kingdom of heaven is a place of 
honour ; there are the glorious triumphs and 
sparkling crowns. In other kingdoms, there 
is but one king, but in heaven all are kings, 
Rev. i. 6. Every saint glorified partakes of 
the same glory as Christ doth, John xvii. 22, 
" The glory thou gavest me, I have given 
them." 

(2) . This kingdom is a place of joy, Matt, 
xxv. 21, "Enter thou into the joy of thy 
Lord." To have a continual aspect of love 
from God's face, — to be crowned with im- 
mortality, — to be as the angels of God, — to 
drink of the rivers of pleasure for ever, — this 

3 O 



will cause raptures of joy. Sure it deserves 
our utmost pains in pursuing and securing 
this kingdom ! Julius Ceesar coming towards 
Rome with his army, and hearing the senate 
and people had fled from it, said, " they that 
will not fight for this city, what city will they 
fight for ? w If we will not take pains for the 
kingdom of heaven, what kingdom will we 
take pains for? It was the speech of the 
spies to their brethren, Judg. xviii. 9, "We 
have seen the land, and behold it is very 
good; and are ye still] Be not slothful to 
go, and to enter to possess the land." We 
have had a lively description of the glory of 
heaven ; we find the kingdom is very good ; 
why then do we sit still 1 Why do we not 
operum navare, — put forth our utmost zeal 
and industry for this kingdom 1 The diligence 
of others in seeking after earthly kingdoms, 
shames our coldness and indifferency in pur- 
suing after the kingdom of heaven. 

4. The time we have to make sure of the 
heavenly kingdom is very short and uncer- 
tain ; take heed it doth not slip away before 
you have prepared for the kingdom. Time 
passeth on apace, — citopede preterita vita : 
it will not be long before " the silver cord be 
loosed, and the golden bowl broken," Eccl. 
xii. The skull wherein the brains are en- 
closed as in a bowl, this golden bowl will 
soon be broken. Our soul is in our body, as 
the bird is in the shell, which soon breaks, 
and the bird flies out ; the shell of the body 
broken, the soul flies into eternity. We 
know not whether we shall live to another 
sabbath ; before we hear another sermon-bell 
go, our passing-bell may go. Our life runs 
as a swift stream into the ocean of eternity. 
Brethren, if our time be so minute and tran- 
sient—if the taper of life be so soon wasted, 
or perhaps blown out by violent death, — how 
should we put to all our strength, and call in 
help from heaven that we may obtain the 
kingdom of glory ] If time be so short, why 
do we waste it about things of less moment, 
and neglect 'the one thing needful,' which is 
the kingdom of heaven f A man that hath a 
great work to be done, and but one day for 
the doing of it, hath need to work hard : we 
have a great work to do, we are striving for 
a kingdom, and alas ! we are not certain of 



474 



OF THE SECOND PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



one day to work in ; therefore what need 
have we to bestir ourselves, and what we do 
for heaven, to do it with all our might ! 

5. To excite our diligence, let us consider 
how inexcusable we shall be, if we miss of 
the kingdom of heaven. Who have had such 
helps for heaven as we have had 1 Indians 
who have mines of gold, have not such ad- 
vantages for glory as we ; they have the light 
of the sun, moon and stars, and the light 
of reason, but this is not enough to light them 
to heaven : but We have had the light of the 
gospel shining in our horizon ; we have been 
lifted up to heaven with ordinances ; we have 
had the word in season and out of season. The 
ordinances are the pipes of the sanctuary, 
which empty the golden oil of grace into the 
soul ; they are scala paradisi, — the ladder by 
which we ascend to the kingdom of heaven, 
Deut. iv. 7, " What nation is there so great 
who hath God so nigh unto them, as the 
Lord our God is in all things that we call 
upon him for]" We have had heaven and 
hell set before us, — -we have had counsels of 
friends, warnings, examples, the motions and 
inspirations of the Holy Ghost, — how should 
all these spurs quicken us in our pace to hea- 
ven 1 Should not that ship sail apace to the 
haven, which had wind and tide to carry it ] 
The tide of ordinances, and the wind of the 
Spirit. Surely, if we, through negligence, 
miss of the kingdom of heaven, we shall have 
nothing to say for ourselves ; we shall be as 
far from excuse as from happiness. 

2. You cannot do too much for the king- 
dom of heaven : you cannot pray too much, 
sanctify the sabbath too much, love God too 
much ; you cannot overdo. In secular things 
a man may labour too hard, he may kill him- 
self with working ; but there is no fear of 
working too hard for heaven. In virtute non 
est verendum ne quid nimium sit, Seneca. 
The world is apt to censure the godly, as if 
they were too zealous, and did overstrain 
themselves in religion. Indeed a man may 
follow the world too much, he may make too 
much haste to be rich ; the ferry-man may 
take in too many passengers into his boat, to 
the sinking of his boat : so a man may heap 
up so much gold and silver, as to sink himself 
in perdition, 1 Tim. vi. 9. But one cannot 



be too earnest and zealous for the kingdom 
of heaven ; there is no fear of excess here, 
when we do all we can for heaven, we come 
short of the golden rule set us, and of Christ's 
golden pattern ; when our faith is highest, 
like the sun in the meridian, yet still there is 
something lacking in our faith, 1 Thess. iii. 1, 
so that all our labour for the kingdom is lit- 
tle enough. When a christian hath done 
his best, yet still he hath sins, and wants to 
bewail. 

7. By this you may judge of the state of yoiyr 
souls, whether you have grace or not, by your 
earnest pursuit after the heavenly kingdom. 
Grace infuseth a spirit of activity into a per- 
son ; grace doth not lie dormant in the soul ; 
it is not a sleepy habit, but it makes a Christ- 
ian like a seraphim, swift and winged in his 
heavenly motion ; grace is like a fire, it makes 
one burn in love to God; and, the more he 
loves him, the more he presseth forward to 
heaven, where he may fully enjoy him. Hope 
is an active grace, it is called a "lively hope," 
1 Pet. i. 3. Hope is like the spring in the 
watch, it sets all the wheels of the soul a run- 
ning ; hope of a crop makes the husbandman 
sow his seed; hope of victory makes the sol- 
dier fight ; and a true hope of glory makes 
a Christian vigorously pursue glory. Here 
is a spiritual touchstone to try our grace by : 
if we have the anointing of the Spirit, it will 
oil the wheels of our endeavour, and make us 
lively in our pursuit after the heavenly king- 
dom. No sooner had Paul grace infused, but 
presently, " Behold, he prays," Acts ix. 11. 
The affections are by divines called " the feet 
of the soul:" if these feet move not towards 
heaven, it is because there is no life." ' 

8. Your labour for heaven is not lost; 
perhaps you may think it is in vain that you 
have served God ; but know that your pains 
are not lost. The seed is cast into the earth, 
and it dies, yet at last it brings forth a plen- 
tiful crop : so your labours seem to be fruit- 
less, but at last they bring you to a king- 
dom. Who would not work hard for one 
hour, when, for that hour's work, he should 
be a king as long as he lived ] And let me 
tell you, the more labour you have put forth 
for the kingdom of heaven, the more degrees 
of glory you shall have. As there are de- 



OF THE SECOND PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



475 



grees of torment in hell, Matt, xxiii. 14, so 
of glory in heaven. "As one star differs 
from another in glory," so shall one saint, 
1 Cor. xv. 41. Though every vessel of mercy 
shall be full, yet one vessel may hold more 
than another. Such as have done more work 
for God, shall have more glory in the hea- 
venly kingdom. Could we hear the saints 
departed speaking to us from heaven, sure 
they would speak after this manner ; were 
we to leave heaven a while and live on the 
earth again, we would do God a thousand 
times more service than ever we did; we 
would pray with more life, act with more 
zeal ; for now we see, the more hath been 
our labour, the greater is our reward in hea- 
ven. 

9. While we are labouring for the king- 
dom, God will help us, Ezek. xxxvi. 27, " I 
will put « my Spirit within you, and cause 
you to walk in my statutes.' " The promise 
encourageth us, and God's Spirit enablethus. 
A master gives his servant work to do, but 
he cannot give him strength to work ; but 
God, as he cuts us out work, so he gives us 
strength, Ps. lxxxvi. 16, " Give thy strength 
unto thy servant." God not only gives us a 
crown when we have done running, but gives 
us legs to run ; he gives exciting, assisting 
grace, — lex jubet, gratia javat, — the Spirit 
helping us in our work for heaven, makes it 
easy. If the loadstone draw the iron, it is 
not hard for the iron to move : if God's Spi- 
rit draw the heart, now it moves towards 
heaven with facility and alacrity. 

10. The more pains we have taken for 
heaven, the sweeter heaven will be when we 
come there. As when a husbandman hath 
been grafting trees, or setting flowers in his 
garden, it is pleasant to review and look over 
his labours, so, when in heaven we shall re- 
member our former zeal and earnestness for 
the kingdom, it will sweeten heaven, and add 
to the joy of it. For a Christian to think, 
such a day I spent in examining my heart, — 
such a day I was weeping for sin, — when 
others were at their sport, I was at prayer, 
and now, have I lost any thing by my devo- 
tion'? My tears are wiped away, and the 
wine of paradise cheers my heart ; I now 
enjoy him whom my soul loves ; I am pos- 



sessed of a kingdom ; my labour is over, but 
my joy remains. 

11. If you do not take pains for the king- 
dom of heaven now, there will be nothing 
to be done for your souls after death ; this is 
the only fit season for working, and if this 
season be lost, the kingdom is forfeited, 
Eccles. ix. 10, " Whatsoever thy hand find- 
eth to do, do it with thy might, for there is 
no work, nor device, nor wisdom in the grave 
whither thou goest." It was a saying of 
Charles V., "I have spent my treasure, but 
that I may recover again ; I have lost my 
health, but that I may have again ; but I have 
lost a great many brave soldiers, but them I 
can never have again." So other temporal 
blessings may be lost and recovered again ; 
but if the term of life, wherein you should 
work for heaven, be once lost, it is past all 
recovery, you can never have another season 
again for your souls. 

12. There is nothing else but this king- 
dom of heaven we can make sure of ; we can- 
not make sure of life. Quis scit an adjiciant 
hodiem<E crastina vita tempora dii superi ? 
Hon. When our breath goes out, we know 
not whether we shall draw it in again ! How 
many are taken away suddenly ! We cannot 
make riches sure, it is uncertain whether we 
shall get them ; the world is like a lottery, 
every one is not sure to draw a prize ; or, if 
we get riches, we are not sure to keep them, 
Prov. xxiii. 5, " Riches certainly make them- 
selves wings and fly away." ' Experience 
seals to the truth of this. Many who have 
had plentiful estates, yet, by fire, or losses at 
sea, they have been squeezed as spunges, 
and all their estates exhausted : but if men 
should keep their estates a while, yet death 
strips them of all. When death's gun goes 
off, away flies the estate, 1 Tim. vi. 7, " It is 
certain we can carry nothing" out of the 
world : so that there is no making sure of any 
thing here below, but we may make sure of 
the kingdom of heaven, Prov. xi. 18, " To 
him that soweth righteousness shall be a sure 
reward." He who hath grace is sure of hea- 
ven, for he hath heaven begun in him. A be- 
liever hath an evidence of heaven, Heb. xi. 1, 
"Faith is, the evidence of things not seen." 
He hath an earnest of glory, 2 Cor. i: 22, 



OF THE SECOND PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



476 

" Who hath also given the earnest of the 
Spirit." An earnest is part of the whole sum. 
He hath a sure hope, Heb. vi. 19, " Which 
hope we have as an anchor." This anchor 
is cast upon God's promise, Tit. i. 2, " In 
hope of eternal life, which God that cannot 
lie promised." So that here is great encou- 
ragement to take pains for heaven, we may 
make sure of this kingdom. 

13. The kingdom of heaven cannot be ob- 
tained without labour. Non est ad astra 
molis, e terris via. A boat may as well get 
to land without oars, as we to heaven with- 
out labour. We cannot have the world with- 
out labour, and do we think to have heaven ] 
If a man digs for gravel, much more for gold, 
Phil. iii. 14, " I press toward the mark." 
Heaven's gate is not like that iron gate which 
opened to Peter of its own accord, Acts xii. 
10. Heaven is not like those ripe figs which 
" fall into the mouth of the eater," Nah. iii. 
12. No, there must be taking pains. Two 
things are requisite for a Christian, — a watch- 
ful eye, and a working hand. We must, as 
Hannibal, force a way to the heavenly king- 
dom through difficulties. We must win the 
garland of glory by labour, before we wear it 
with triumph. God hath enacted this law, that 
no man shall eat of the tree of paradise, but 
in the sweat of his brow : how then dare any 
censure Christian diligence'? how dare they 
say you take more pains for heaven than needs'? 
God saith, ' Strive as in an agony, — fight the 
good ' fight of faith ;' and they say, " you are 
too strict :" but who shall we believe 1 A 
holy God that bids us strive, or a profane 
atheist that saith we strive too much 1 

14. Much of our time being already mis- 
pent, we had need work the harder for the 
kingdom of heaven ; he who hath lost his 
time at school, and often played truant, had 
need ply it the harder, that he may gain a 
stock of learning; he who hath slept and loi- 
tered in the beginning of his journey, had need 
ride the faster in the evening, lest he fall short 
of the place he is travelling to. Some here 
present are in their youth, others in the flower 
of their age, others have grey hairs, the al- 
mond-tree blossoms, and perhaps they have 
been very regardless of their souls and hea- 
ven. Time spent unprofitably is not time 
lived, but time lost ; if there be any such here, 



who have mispent their golden hours, they 
have not only been slothful, but wasteful ser- 
vants; how had you need now to redeem the 
time, and press forward with might and main 
to the heavenly kingdom ? 1 Pet. iv. 3, " The 
time past of our life may suffice us to have 
wrought the will of the Gentiles." It may 
suffice us that we have lost so much time 
already, let us now work the harder ; such as 
have crept as snails, had need now fly as 
eagles to the paradise of God ; if, in the for- 
mer part of your life, you have been as wiU 
lows, barren in goodness, in the latter part 
be as "an orchard of pomegranates, with 
pleasant fruits," Cant. iv. 13. Recompense 
former remissness with future diligence. 

15. How uncomely and sordid a slothful 
temper of soul is, Zeph. i. 12, " I will pun- 
ish the men that are settled on their lees :" 
(Heb.) " Crudled on their lees." Settling on 
the lees, is an emblem of a dull inactive soul. 
The snail, by reason of its slow motion, was 
reckoned among the unclean, Lev. xi. 30, 
" A slothful man hideth his hand in his bo- 
som," Prov. xix. 24, he is loath to pull it out, 
though it be to lay hold on a crown, Non 
capit porta ilia ccelestis torpore languidos, 
Brugens. The devil himself cannot be 
"charged with idleness, 1 Pet. v. 8, He 
" walketh about." An idle soul stands in the 
world for a cypher, and God writes down no 
cyphers in the book of life ; heaven is no hive 
for drones ; an idle person is fit for a tempt- 
ation. When the bird sits still upon the 
bough, then it is in danger of the gun ; when 
one sits still in sloth, then the devil shoots 
him with a temptation ; standing water putri- 
fies. Heathens will rise up in judgment 
against supine Christians ; what pains did 
they take in the Olympic games 1 they ran 
but for a garland of flowers, or olive ; and do 
we sit still who run for a kingdom 1 How 
can he expect a reward that never works, or 
a crown that never fights ) Inertia anirnm 
somnus. Sloth is the soul's sleep. Adam 
when he was asleep lost his rib ; and when a 
person is in the deep sleep of sloth, he loseth 
salvation. 

16. Holy activity and industry doth en- 
noble a Christian. Labor splendor e decor a- 
tur, Cicero. The more excellent any thing 
is, the more active. The sun is a glorious 



OF THE SECOND PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



477 



creature, it is ever in motion, going its circuit ; 
fire is the purest element, and the most active, 
it is ever sparkling and flaming; the angels 
are the most noble creatures, they are repre- 
sented by the cherubims, with wings display- 
ed; the more active for heaven, the more 
illustrious, and the more do we resemble the 
angels. The phcenix flies with a coronet on 
its head ; the industrious soul hath his coro- 
net, his labour is his ensign of honour. 

17. It is a mercy that there is a possibility 
of happiness, and that upon our pains taking 
we may have a kingdom ; by our fall in Adam 
we forfeited heaven: why might not God 
have dealt with us as with the lapsed angels? 
They had no sooner sinned, but they were 
expelled heaven, never to come thither more ; 
we may say, as the apostle, Rom. xi. 22, 
" Behold therefore the goodness and severity 
of God." To the apostate angels, behold the 
severity of God, that he should throw them 
down to hell for ever ; to us, behold the good- 
ness of God, that he hath put us into a pos- 
sibility of mercy ; and, if we do but take pains, 
there is a kingdom stands ready for us ; how 
may this whet and sharpen our industry, that 
we are in a capacity of salvation ? and, if we 
do but what we are able, we shall receive an 
eternal weight of glory. 

18. Our labour for the kingdom of heaven 
is minute and transient, it is not to endure 
long, our labour expires with our life ; 'tis 
but a while and we shall leave off working ; 
for a little labour an eternal rest. Who 
would think much to wade through a little 
water, that were sure to be crowned as soon 
as he came on shore I Christians, let this 
encourage you, you have but a little more 
pains to take, a few tears more to shed, a 
few more sabbaths to keep, and, behold, an 
eternal recompense of reward ; what are a 
few tears to a crown ? a few minutes of time 
to an eternity of glory 1 

19. What striving is there for earthly 
kingdoms, which are corruptible, and subject 
to change ? With what vigour and alacrity 
did Hannibal's soldiers continue their march 
over the Alps, and craggy rocks, and Csesar's 
soldiers fight with hunger and cold ? Men 
will break through laws and oaths, they will 
swim to the crown in blood ; will they ven- 



ture thus for earthly promotions, and shall 
not we strive more for a heavenly kingdom 1 
This is " a kingdom which cannot be moved," 
Heb. xii. 28, a kingdom where there is un- 
paralleled beauty, unstained honour, unmixed 
joy ; a kingdom where there shall be nothing 
present which we could wish were removed, 
nor nothing absent which we could wish were 
enjoyed. Sure if there be any spark of grace, 
or true generosity in our breasts, we will not 
suffer ourselves to be out-striven by others ; 
we will not let them take more pains for 
earthly honours, than we do for that excellent 
glory which will crown all our desires ! 

20. How much pains do some men take to 
go to hell, and shall not we take more pains 
to go to heaven? Jer. ix. 5, "They weary 
themselves to commit iniquity." Sinners 
hackney themselves out in the devil's service : 
what pains do some men take to satisfy their 
unclean lusts ! They waste their estates, — 
wear the shameful marks of their sin about 
them, — they will visit the harlot's house, 
though it stands the next door to hell, Prov. 
vii. 27, " Her house is the way to hell." 
What pains do others take in persecuting ! 
Holiness is the white they shoot at. It is 
said of Antiochus Epiphanes, he undertook 
more tedious journeys, and went upon greater 
hazards, to vex and oppose the Jews, than 
any of his predecessors had done in getting 
of victories. The devil blows the horn, and 
men ride post to hell, as if they feared hell 
would be full ere they would get thither. 
When Satan had entered into Judas, how 
active was Judas ! He goes to the high 
priests, from them to the band of soldiers, 
and with them back again to the garden, and 
never left till he had betrayed Christ. How 
industrious were the idolatrous Jews ! So 
fiercely were they bent upon their sin, that 
they would sacrifice their sons and daughters 
to their idol-gods, Jer. xxxii. 85. Do men 
take all this pains for hell, and shall not we 
take pains for the kingdom of heaven } The 
wicked have nothing to encourage them in 
their sins, they have all the threatenings of 
God as a flaming sword against them. O let 
it never be said, that the devil's servants are 
more active than Christ's ; that they serve 
him better who rewards them only with fire 



478 



OF THE SECOND PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



and brimstone, than we do God, who rewards 
us with a kingdom ! 

21. The labour we take for heaven, is a 
labour full of pleasure, Prov. iii. 17. A man 
sweats at his recreation, tires himself with 
hunting, but there is a delight he takes in it, 
which sweetens it, Rom. vii. 22, " I delight 
in the law of God after the inward man," 
(Gr.) I take pleasure. Not only is the king- 
dom of heaven delightful, but the way thither; 
what a delight hath a gracious soul in prayer ! 
Isa. lvi. 7, " I will make them joyful in my 
house of prayer." While a Christian weeps, 
there is joy drops with tears ; while he is 
musing on God, he hath such illapses of the 
Spirit, and, as it were, such transfigurations 
of soul, that he thinks himself half in heaven, 
Ps. lxiii. 5, 6, " My soul shall be satisfied as 
with marrow and fatness, and my mouth shall 
praise thee with joyful lips, when I remember 
thee upon my bed," &c. A Christian's work 
for heaven is like a bridegroom's work on the 
morning of the marriage-day, he puts on his 
vesture and wedding-robes, in which he shall 
be married to his bride ; so, in all the duties 
of religion, we are putting on those wedding 
robes, in which we shall be married to Christ 
in glory. O what solace and inward peace 
is there in close walking with God ! Isa. 
xxxii. 17, " The work of righteousness shall 
be peace." Serving of God is like gather- 
ing of spices or flowers, wherein there is 
some labour, but the labour is recompensed 
with delight. Working for heaven is like 
digging in a gold mine ; the digging is labour, 
but getting the gold is pleasure. O then let 
us bestir ourselves for the kingdom of hea- 
ven ; it is a labour full of pleasure ! A 
Christian would not part with his joy for 
the most delicious music ; he would not ex- 
change his anchor of hope for a crown of 
gold. Well might David say, In keeping 
thy precepts " there is great reward," Ps. 
xix. 11, not only after keeping thy precepts, 
but in keeping them ,• a Christian hath both 
the spring-flowers and the crop ; inward 
delight in serving God, there is the spring- 
flowers ; in the kingdom of glory at last, 
there is the full crop. 

22. How industrious have the saints in 
former ages been ! They thought they could 



never do enough for heaven ; they could never 
serve God enough, love him enough. Minus 
te amavi Domine, Aug. Lord, I have loved 
thee too little. What pains did St Paul take 
for the heavenly kingdom] Phil. iii. 13, 
" Reaching forth unto those things which are 
before." The Greek word to reach forth, 
signifies to stretch out the neck, — a meta- 
phor from racers, who strain every limb, and 
reach forward to lay hold on the prize. Anna 
the prophetess, Luke ii. 37, " departed not 
from the temple, but served God with fastings 
and prayers night and day." Basil the great, 
by much labour and watching, exhausted his 
bodily strength. " Let racks, pullies, and all 
torments come upon me (said Ignatius) so I 
may win Christ !" The industry and courage 
of former saints, who are now crowned with 
glory, should provoke our diligence, that so 
at last we may sit down with them in the 
kingdom of heaven. 

23. The more pains we take for heaven, 
the more welcome will death be to us ; what 
is it makes men so loath to die 1 They are 
like a tenant that will not go out of the house 
till the sergeant pull him out ; they love not 
to hear of death ; why so 1 Because their con- 
science accuseth them that they have taken 
little or no pains for heaven ; they have been 
sleeping when they should have been work- 
ing, and now they are afraid lest death should 
carry them prisoners to hell ; whereas he who 
hath spent his time in serving of God, he can 
look death in the face with comfort ; he was 
wholly taken up about heaven, and now he 
shall be taken up to heaven ; he traded before 
in heaven, and now he shall go to live there, 
Phil. i. 23, Cupio dissolvi, — " I desire to 
depart, and to be with Christ." Paul had 
wholly laid out himself for God, 1 Cor. xv. 
10, and now he knew, there was a crown laid 
up for him, and he longed to take possess- 
ion. Thus I have given you twenty-three 
persuasives or arguments to exert and put 
forth your utmost diligence to the obtaining 
the kingdom of heaven. O that these argu- 
ments were written in all your hearts, as 
with the point of a diamond ! And, because 
delays in these cases are dangerous, let me 
desire you to set upon this work for heaven 
presently, Ps. cxix. 60, " I made haste, and 



OF THE SECOND PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



479 



delayed not to keep thy commandments." 
Many people are convinced of the necessity 
of looking after the kingdom of glory, but 
they say as those, Hag. i. 2, " The time is 
not yet come." They adjourn and put off 
till their time is slipped away, and so they 
lose the kingdom of heaven. Beware of this 
fallacy ; delay strengthens sin, hardens the 
heart, and gives the devil fuller possession of 
a man ; 1 Sam. xxi. 8, " The king's business 
requires haste : so the business of salvation 
requires haste ; do not put off an hour longer ; 
volat umbiguis mobilis alis liora. What 
assurance have you that you shall live an- 
other day] Have you any lease of life grant- 
ed ? Why then do you not presently arise out 
of the bed of sloth, and put forth all your 
strength and spirits, that you may be pos- 
sessed of the kingdom of glory 1 Should not 
things of the highest importance be done 
first ? Settling a man's estate, and clearing 
the title to his land, is not delayed, but done 
in the first place : what is there of such grand 
importance as this, the saving of your souls, 
and the gaining of a kingdom ] Therefore 
to-day hear God's voice, — now mind eternity, 
— now get your title to heaven cleared before 
the decree of death bring forth. What im- 
prudence is it to lay the heaviest load upon 
the weakest horse 1 So to lay the heavy load 
of repentance on thyself, when thou art en- 
feebled by sickness, the hands shake, the lips 
quiver, the heart faints. O be wise in time ; 
now prepare for the kingdom ! He who never 
begins his voyage to heaven but in the storm 
of death, it is a thousand to one if he doth 
not suffer an eternal shipwreck. 

Use 6th. Of Exhortation. 

If there be such a glorious kingdom a-com- 
ing, then you who have any good hope through 
grace, you that are the heirs of this kingdom, 
let me exhort you to six things : 

1. Often take a prospect of this heavenly 
kingdom ; climb up the celestial mount ; take 
a turn, as it were, in heaven every day, by 
holy meditation, Ps. xlviii. 12, 13, " Walk 
about Zion, tell the towers thereof, mark ye 
well her bulwarks." See what a glorious 
kingdom heaven is ; go tell the towers, view 
the palaces of the heavenly Jerusalem ; Chris- 
tian, show thy heart the gates of pearl, the 



beds of spices, the clusters of grapes which 
grow in the paradise of God. Say, « O my 
soul, all this glory is thine, it is thy Father's 
good pleasure to give thee this kingdom !' 
The thoughts of heaven are very delightful 
and ravishing ; can men of the world so de- 
light in viewing their bags of gold, and fields 
of corn, and shall not the heirs of promise 
take more delight in contemplating the celes- 
tial kingdom ] The serious meditation of the 
kingdom of glory would work these three 
effects. 

(1) . It would put a damp and slur upon all 
worldly glory. To those who stand upon the 
top of the Alps, the great cities of Campania 
seem but small in their eye : could we look 
through the perspective glass of faith, and 
take a view of heaven's glory, how small and 
minute would all other things appear 3 Moses 
slighted the honours of Pharaoh's court, hav- 
ing an eye to the recompense of reward, 
Heb. xi. 26. St Paul, who had a vision of 
glory, and St John, who was carried away in 
the Spirit, and saw the holy Jerusalem de- 
scending out of heaven, having the glory of 
God in it, Rev. xxi. 11, how did the world 
after appear in an eclipse to them 1 

(2) . The meditation of the heavenly king- 
dom would much promote holiness in us. 
Heaven is a holy place, 1 Pet. i. 4, " an in- 
heritance undefiled;" it is described by trans- 
parent glass, to denote its purity, Rev. xxi. 
21. The contemplating heaven would put us 
upon the study of holiness, because none but 
such are admitted into that kingdom ; heaven 
is not like Noah's ark, into which came clean 
beasts and unclean : only " the pure in heart 
shall see God," Matt. v. 8. 

(3) . The meditation of the heavenly king- 
dom would be a spur to diligence, Immensum 
glaria calcar habet, 1 Cor. xv. 53, " Always 
abounding in the work of the Lord, for as 
much as ye know that your labour shall not 
be in vain in the Lord." When the mariner 
sees the haven, he plies it harder with his 
oars ; when we have a sight and prospect of 
glory, it should make us be much in prayer, 
alms, watching, — it should add wings to duty, 
and make the lamp of our devotion burn 
brighter. 

2. If you have hopes of this kingdom, be 



480 



OF THE SECOND PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



content though you have but a little of the 
world ; contentment is a rare thing, it is a 
jewel that but few Christians wear ; but if you 
have a grounded hope of heaven, it may work 
your heart to contentation. What though you 
have but little in possession'? You have a 
kingdom in reversion. Were you to take an 
estimate of a man's estate, how would you 
value if? by what he hath in his house, or by 
his land ] Perhaps, he hath little money or 
jewels in his house, but he is a landed man, 
there lies his estate. A believer hath but little 
oil in the cruse, and meal in the barrel, but he 
is a landed man, he hath a title to a kingdom, 
and may not this satisfy him 1 If a man who 
lived here in England, had a great estate be- 
fallen him beyond the seas, and perhaps had 
no more money at present but just to pay for 
his voyage, he is content ; he knows when 
he comes to his estate, he shall have money 
enough ; thou who art a believer, hast a king- 
dom befallen thee ; though thou hast but little 
in thy purse, yet, if thou hast enough to pay 
for thy voyage, enough to bear thy charges 
to heaven, it is sufficient. God hath given 
thee grace, which is the fore-crop, and will 
give thee glory, which is the after- crop ; and 
may not this make thee content 1 

3. If you have hope of this blessed king- 
dom, pray often for the coming of this glori- 
ous kingdom. " Thy kingdom come :" only 
believers can pray heartily for the hastening 
of the kingdom of glory. 

(1) . They cannot pray that Christ's king- 
dom of glory may come who never had the 
kingdom of grace set up in their hearts. Can 
the guilty prisoners pray that the assizes 
may come 1 

(2) . They cannot pray heartily that Christ's 
kingdom of glory may come, who are lovers 
of the world ; they have found paradise, they 
are in their kingdom already, this is their 
heaven, and they desire to hear of no other ; 
they are of his mind, who said, if he might 
keep his cardinalship in Paris, he would lose 
his part in paradise. 

(3) . They cannot pray heartily that Christ's 
kingdom of glory may come, who oppose 
Christ's kingdom of grace, — who break his 
laws, which are the sceptre of his kingdom, 
— who shoot at those who bear Christ's name, 



and carry his colours : sure these cannot pray 
that Christ's kingdom of glory may come, for 
then Christ will judge them, and, if they say 
this prayer, they are hypocrites, they mean 
not as they speak. But you who have the 
kingdom of grace set up in your hearts, pray 
much that the kingdom of glory may hasten : 
" Thy kingdom come." When this kingdom 
comes, then you shall behold Christ in all 
his embroidered robes of glory, shining ten 
thousand times brighter than the sun in all 
its meridian splendour. When Christ's king 7 
dom comes, the bodies of the saints that 
sleep in the dust shall be raised to honour, 
and made like Christ's glorious body ; then 
shall your souls, like diamonds, sparkle with 
holiness ; you shall never have a sinful thought 
more, you shall be as holy as the angels, you 
shall be as holy as you would be, and as holy 
as God would have you to be ; then you shall 
be in a better state than in innocency. Adam 
was created a glorious creature, but mutable, 
— a bright star, but a falling star : but in the 
kingdom of heaven is a fixation of happi- 
ness ; when Christ's kingdom of glory comes, 
you shall be rid of all your enemies ; as 
Moses said, Exod. xiv. 13, " The Egyptians, 
whom you have seen to-day, you shall see 
them again no more for ever." So those 
enemies who have ploughed on the backs of 
God's people, and made deep their furrows, 
when Christ shall come in his glory, you shall 
see these enemies no more. All Christ's 
enemies shall be " put under his feet," 1 Cor. 
xv. 27, and before the wicked be destroyed, 
the saints shall judge them, 1 Cor. vi. 2, 
" Do ye not know that the saints shall judge 
the world % n This will cut the wicked to the 
heart, that those whom they have formerly 
scorned and scourged, shall sit as judges 
upon them, and vote with Christ in his judi- 
cial proceedings. O then well may you pray 
for the hastening of the kingdom of glory, 
" Thy kingdom come !" 

4. If you have any good hope of this 
blessed kingdom, let this make the colour 
come in your faces, be of a sanguine cheer- 
ful temper. Have you a title to a kingdom, 
and sad? Rom. v. 2, "We rejoice in the 
hope of the glory of God." Christians, the 
trumpet is ready to sound, — an eternal ju- 



OF THE SECOND PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



481 



bilee is at hand, when a freedom from sin 
shall be proclaimed, — your coronation-day is 
a coming-, — it is but putting off your clothes, 
and laying your head upon a pillow of dust, 
and you shall be enthroned in a kingdom, and 
invested with the embroidered robes of glo- 
ry, — doth not all this call for a cheerful spirit] 
Cheerfulness adorns religion ; it is a temper 
of soul Christ loves, John xiv. 28, " If ye 
loved me, ye would rejoice." It makes many 
suspect heaven is not so pleasant, when they 
see those that walk thither so sad. How doth 
the heir rejoice in hope of the inheritance 3 
Who should rejoice if not a believer, who is 
heir of the kingdom, and such a kingdom as 
eye hath not seen ! When the flesh begins to 
droop, let faith lift up its head, and cause 
a holy jubilation and rejoicing in the soul. 

5. Let the saints long to be in this bless- 
ed kingdom. A prince that travels in fo- 
reign parts doth he not long to be in his 
own nation, that he may be crowned 1 The 
bride desires the marriage-day, Rev. xxii. 
17, 20, " The Spirit and the bride say come : 
even so, come, Lord Jesus." Sure our un- 
willingness to go hence, shows either the 
weakness of our faith in the belief of the 
heavenly kingdom, or the strength of our 
doubtings, whether we have an interest in 
it. Were our title to heaven more cleared, 
we should need patience to be content to 
stay here any longer. Again, our unwil- 
lingness to go hence declares, we love the 
world too much, and Christ too little. Love 
(as Aristotle saith) desires union; did we 
love Christ as we should, we would desire 
to be united to him in glory, when we 
might take our fill of love. Be humbled 
that ye are so unwilling to go hence ; let 
us labour to arrive at that divine temper of 
soul as Paul had, cupio dissolvi,—" I desire 
to depart and be with Christ," Phil. i. 23. 
We are compassed with a body of sin ; 
should not we long to shake off this viper] 
We are in Mesech, and the tents of Kedar, 
in a place where we see God dishonoured ; 
should not we desire to have our pass to be 
gone 1 We are in a valley of tears ; is it not 
better being in a kingdom ] Here we are 
combating with Satan ; should not we desire 
to be called out of the bloody field, where 
3 P 



the bullets of temptation fly so fast, that we 
may receive a victorious crown] O ye 
saints, breathe after the heavenly kingdom ! 
Though we should be willing to stay to do 
service, yet we should ambitiously desire to 
be always sunning ourselves in the light of 
God's countenance. Think what it will be 
to be ever with the Lord. Are there any 
sweeter smiles or embraces than his] Is 
there any bed so soft as Christ's bosom] Is 
there any such joy as to have the golden ban- 
ner of Christ's love displayed over us ] Is 
there any such honour as to sit upon the 
throne with Christ] Rev. iii. 21. O then 
long for the celestial kingdom ! 

6. Wait for this kingdom of glory. It is not 
incongruous or improper to long for heaven, 
yet wait for it ; long for it, because it is a king- 
dom, yet wait your Father's good pleasure. 
God could presently bestow this kingdom, but 
he sees it good that we should wait a while. 

(1) . Had we the kingdom of heaven pre- 
sently as soon as ever grace is infused, then 
God would lose much of his glory. — 1. 
Where would be our living by faith, which 
is the grace that brings in the chief revenues 
of glory to God] Rom. v. 20.— 2. Where 
would be our suffering for God, which is a 
way of honouring him, which the angels ;in 
heaven are not capable of.— 3. Where 
would be the active service we are to do 
for God] Would we have God give us a 
kingdom, and we do nothing for him before 
we come there ] Would we have rest before 
labour, a crown before victory ] This were 
disingenuous. Paul was content to stay out 
of heaven a while, that he might be a means 
to bring others thither, Phil. i. 23. 

(2) . While we wait for the kingdom, our 
grace is increasing. Every duty religiously 
performed adds a jewel to our crown. Do 
we desire to have our robes of glory shine 
brighter] Let us wait and work ; the longer 
we stay for the principal, the greater will 
the interest be. The husbandman waits till 
the seed spring up : wait for the harvest of 
glory. Some have their waiting weeks at 
court,— this is your waiting time. Christ 
saith, "pray and faint not," Luke xviii. 1, 
—so, wait, and faint not. Be not weary, 
the kingdom of heaven will make amends 



482 



OF THE THIRD PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



for your waiting: "I have waited for thy 
salvation, O Lord," said that dying patri- 
arch, Gen. xlix. 18. 

Use bth. Comfort to the people of God. 

1. In all their sufferings. The true saint 
is, as Luther saith, hceres crucis, — heir to 
the cross. Affliction is his diet-drink, but 
here is that may be as bezar stone to keep 
him from fainting, these sufferings bring a 
kingdom. The hope of the kingdom of 
heaven, saith Basil, should ind ulcerate and 
sweeten all our troubles, 2 Tim. ii. 12, " If 
we suffer, we shall reign with him :" 'tis but 
a short fight, but an eternal triumph: this 
light suffering produceth " an eternal weight 
of glory," 2 Cor. iv. 17, "A weight of 
glory." Things which are precious, the 
more weighty the more they are worth ; the 
more weight is in a crown of gold, the more 
it is worth. 'Tis a weight of glory. — 2. "An 
eternal weight of glory." Did this glory 
last for a while, it would much abate and 
embitter the joys of heaven ; but the glory 
of that kingdom runs parallel with eternity ; 
God will be as a deep sea of blessedness, 
and the glorified saints shall for ever bathe 
themselves in that ocean. One day's wear- 
ing the crown, will abundantly pay for all 
the saints' sufferings ; how much more then, 
when "they shall reign for ever and ever]" 
Rev. xxii. 5. O let this support under all 
the calamities and sufferings in this life ; 
what a vast difference is there between a 
believer's sufferings and his reward, Rom. 
viii. 18, " The sufferings of this present 
time are not worthy to he compared with the 
glory which shall be revealed in us." For a 
few tears, rivers of pleasure ; for mourning, 
white robes. This made the primitive Christ- 
ians laugh at imprisonments, and snatch up 
torments as so many crowns. Though now 



we drink in a wormwood-cup, here is sugar 
in the bottom to sweeten it, " It is your Fa- 
ther's good pleasure to give you a kingdom." 

2. Comfort in death. Here is that which 
may take away from God's children the ter- 
ror of death, they are now entering into the 
kingdom. Indeed no wonder, if wicked men 
be appalled and terrified at the approach of 
death, they die unpardoned. Death carries 
them to the gaol, where they must lie for 
ever without bail or mainprize ; but why 
should any of God's children be so scared 
and half-dead with the thoughts of death) 
What hurt doth death do to them, but lead 
them to a glorious kingdom 1 Faith gives a 
title to heaven, death a possession ; let this 
be a gospel antidote to expel the fear of 
death. — Hilarian, that blessed man, cried out, 
Egredere, animal egredere! quid times? 
4 Go forth, my soul ! go forth ! what fearest 
thou V Let them fear death who do not fear 
sin ; but let not God's children be over much 
troubled at the grim face of that messenger, 
which brings them to the end of their sorrow, 
and the beginning of their joy. Death is 
yours, 1 Cor. iii. 22, it is a part of the believ- 
er's inventory. Is a prince afraid to cross 
a narrow sea, who shall be crowned when 
he comes to shore 1 Death to the saints shall 
be an usher to bring them into the presence 
of the King of glory. This puts lilies and 
roses into the ghastly face of death, and 
makes it look amiable. Death brings us to 
a crown of glory which fades not away ; the 
day of death is better to a believer than the 
day of his birth ; death is additus ad glo- 
riam, — an entrance into a blessed eternity. 
Fear not death, but rather let your hearts 
revive when you think these rattling wheels 
of death's chariot are but to carry you home 
to an everlasting kingdom. 



OF THE THIRD PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 
Matt. vi. 10. Thy will be done on Earth, as it is in Heaven. 

We come next to the third petition, " Thy II. The manner, " As it is in heaven." 

will be done on earth, as it is in heaven." I. The matter of this petition is, " The 

This petition consists of two parts. doing of God's will." " Thy will be done." 

I. The matter, "Doing of God's will." Quest. What is meant by the will oj 'God? 



OF THE THIRD PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



483 



Ans. There is a twofold will. 1. Voluntas 
decreti, God's secret will, or the will of his 
; decree ; we pray not that God's secret will 
may be done by us. This secret will cannot 
be known, it is locked up in God's own breast, 
and neither man nor angel hath key to open 
it. 2. Voluntas revelata, God's revealed will. 
This revealed will is written in the book of 
scripture; the scripture is a declaration of 
God's will, it discovers what he would have 
us do in order to our salvation. 

Quest. What do we pray for in these 
words, « Thy will be done V 

Ans. We pray for two things : 1st. For 
active obedience ; that we may do God's will 
actively in what he commands. 2d. For pass- 
ive ; that we may submit to God's will patient- 
ly in what he inflicts. We pray, that we 
may do God's will actively, subscribe to all 
his commands, believe in Jesus, the cardinal 
grace, lead holy lives. So Austin upon the 
petition, Nobis a Deoprecamur obedientiam, 
we pray that we may actively obey God's 
will. This is the sum of all religion, the two 
tables epitomized, the doing of God's will : 
" Thy will be done." We must know God's 
will before we can do it ; knowledge is the 
eye which must direct the foot of obedience. 
At Athens there was an altar set up, " To the 
unknown God," Acts xvii. 23. It is as bad 
to offer the blind to God as the dead. Know- 
ledge is the pillar of fire to give light to prac- 
tice ; but though knowledge is requisite, yet 
the knowledge of God's will is not enough 
without doing his will : " Thy will be done." 
If one had a system of divinity in his head ; 
if he had ' all knowledge,' 1 Cor. xiii. 2, yet 
if obedience were wanting, his knowledge 
were lame, and would not carry him to hea- 
ven. Knowing God's will may make a man 
admired, but it is doing God's will makes him 
blessed ; knowing God's will without doing 
it, will not crown us with happiness/ 

1. The bare knowledge of God's will is 
inefficacious, it doth not better the heart. 
Knowledge alone is like a winter-sun, which 
hath no heat or influence ; it doth not warm 
the affections, or purify the conscience. Ju- 
das was a great luminary, he knew God's 
will, but he was a traitor. 

2. Knowing without doing God's will, 



will make one's case worse ; 'twill heat hell 
the hotter, Luke xii. 47, The servant which 
knew his Lord's will, and did not according to 
his will, shall be beaten with many stripes." 
Many a man's knowledge is a torch to light 
him to hell. Thou who hast knowledge of 
God's will but does not do it, wherein dost 
thou excel an hypocrite ? nay, wherein dost 
thou excel the devil, < who transforms him- 
eclf into an angel of light?' 'Tis improper 
to call such Christians, who are knowers of 
God's will but not doers of it. 'Tis improper 
to call him a tradesman who never wrought 
in his trade ; so to call him a Christian, who 
never wrought in the trade of religion. Let 
us not rest in the knowing of God's will. 
Let it not be said of us, as Plutarch speaks 
of the Grecians, " They knew what was just, 
but did it not." Let us set upon this, the 
doing of God's will, " Thy will be done." 

Quest. 3. Why is the doing of God's will 
so requisite ? 

Ans. 1. Out of equity. God may justly 
claim a right to our obedience ; he is our foun- 
der, and we have our being from him ; and 
'tis but equal that we should do his will, at 
whose word we were created. God is our 
benefactor, 'tis but just that, if God give us 
our allowance, we should give him our alle- 
giance. 

2. The great design of God in the word 
is, to make us doers of his will. 1. All God's 
royal edicts and precepts are to bring us to 
this, to be doers of his will ; what needed 
God been at the pains to give us the copy of 
his law, and write it out with his own finger 
else 7 The word of God is not only a rule 
of knowledge, but of duty, Deut. xiii. 4, and 
xxvi. 16, « This day the Lord thy God hath 
commanded thee to do these statutes ; thou 
shalt therefore keep and do them." If you 
tell your children what is your mind, it is not 
only that they may know your will, but do it. 
God gives us his word, as a master gives his 
scholar a copy, to write after it ; he gives it 
as his will and testament, that we should be 
the executors to see it performed. — 2. This 
is the end of all God's promises, to draw us 
to God's will ; the promises are loadstones to 
obedience, Deut. xi. 27, " A blessing if ye 
obey ;" as a father gives his son money to 



484 OF THE THIRD PETITION 



IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



bribe him to obedience, Deut. xxviii. 1, 3. 
" If thou shalt hearken to the voice of the 
Lord thy God and do all his commandments, 
the Lord thy God will set thee on high above 
all the nations of the earth ; blessed shalt 
thou be in the city and in the field." The pro- 
mises are a royal charter settled upon obedi- 
ence. — 3. The minatory part of the word, the 
threatenings of God, stand as the angel with 
a flaming sword to deter us from sin, and 
make us doers of God's will, Deut. xi. 28, 
" A curse if ye will not obey." Ps. lxviii. 21, 
" God shall wound the hairy scalp of such 
a one as goeth on still in his trespasses." 
These threatenings do often take hold of men 
in this life : they are made examples, and 
hung up in chains to scare others from diso- 
bedience. — 4. All God's providences are to 
make us doers of his will. As God makes 
use of all the seasons of the year for harvest, 
so all his various providences are to bring on 
the harvest of obedience. 

(1) . Afflictions are to make us do God's 
will, 2 Chron. xxxiii. 12, When Manasseh 
was in affliction, he besought the Lord, and 
humbled himself greatly. The rod hath this 
voice, 1 be doers of God's will.' Affliction is 
called a furnace, Isa. xxxvii. 19. The fur- 
nace melts the metal, and then it is cast into 
a new mould. God's furnace is to melt us and 
mould us into obedience. 

(2) . God's mercies are to make us do his 
will, Rom. xii. 1, "I beseech you by the 
mercies of God, that ye present your bodies 
a living sacrifice." Body is, by synecdoche, 
put for the whole man ; if the soul should not 
be presented to God as well as the body, it 
could not be reasonable service ; now, saith 
the apostle, " I beseech you by the mercies 
of God, present yourselves a living sacrifice." 
Mercies are the strongest obligations to duty, 
Hos. xi. 4, " I drew them with the cords of 
a man ;" that is, with golden cords of my 
mercy. In a word, all that is written in the 
law or gospel tends to this, that we shall be 
doers of God's will, " Thy will be done." 

3. By doing the will of God, we evidence 
sincerity. As Christ said in another sense, 
John x. 25, " The works which I do in my 
father's name, they bear witness of me :" so, 
it is not all our golden words, if we could 



speak like angels, but our works, our doing 
of God's will which bears witness of our sin- 
cerity. We judge not of the health of a man's 
body by his high colour, but by the pulse of 
the arm, where the blood chiefly stirs ; so a 
Christian's soundness is not to be judged by 
his profession ; what is this high colour, but 
the estimate of a Christian is to be taken by 
his obediential acting, his doing the will of 
God ; this is the best certificate, and letters 
testimonial to show for heaven. 

4. Doing God's will much propagates the 
gospel ; this is the dia'mond that sparkles in 
religion. Others cannot see what faith is in 
the heart ; but when they see we do God's 
will on earth, this makes them have a ven- 
erable opinion of religion, and become pro- 
selytes to it. Julian, in one of his epistles, 
writing to Arsatius, saith, " that the Chris- 
tian religion did much flourish, by the sanc- 
tity and obedience of them that professed 
it." 

5. By doing God's will, we show our love 
to Christ, John xiv. 21, " He that hath my 
commandments, and keepeth them, he it is 
that loveth me." What greater love to 
Christ, than to do his will, though it cross 
our own 7 Every one would be thought to 
love Christ ; but, how shall that be known 
but by this ? Do you do his will on earth ? 
Neque principem veneramur, si odio ejus 
leges habemus, Isid. It is a vain thing for 
a man to say he loves Christ's person, when 
he slights his commands. Not to do God's 
will on earth, is a great evil. It is (1). 
Sinful. (2). Foolish. (3). Dangerous. 

(1) . It is sinful. 1. We go against our 
prayers ; we pray, fiat voluntas tua, * thy 
will be done,' and yet we do not obey his will ; 
we confute our own prayer. 2. We go 
against our vow in baptism ; we have vowed 
to fight under the Lord's banner, to obey his 
sceptre, and this vow we have often renewed 
in the Lord's supper : if we do not God's will 
on earth, we are forsworn, and God whT 
indict us of perjury. 

(2) . Not to do God's will on earth, is 
foolish : 1. Because there is no standing it 
out against God. If we do not obey him, 
we cannot resist him, 1 Cor. x. 22, " Are 
we stronger than he V Job xl. 9, " Hast 



OF THE THIRD PETITION 



IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



485 



thou an arm like God ?" Canst thou measure 
arms with him 1 To oppose God, is, as if a 
child should fight with an archangel ; as if a 
heap of briars should put themselves into a 
battalia against the flame. 2. Not to do 
God's will is foolish ; because, if we do not 
God's will, we do the devil's will. Is it not 
folly to gratify an enemy ? To do his will 
that seeks our ruin ? 

Quest. But are any so wicked as to do 
the devil's will ? 

Ans. Yes : John viii. 44, " Ye are of your 
father the devil, and the lusts of your father 
ye will do." When a man tells a lie, doth 
he not do the devil's will 7 Acts v. 3, " Ana- 
nias, why hath Satan filled thy heart to lie to 
the Holy Ghost V* 

(3). Not to do God's will is dangerous ; it 
brings a spiritual premunire. If God's will 
be not done by us ; he will have his will upon 
us ; if we obey not God's will in command- 
ing, we shall obey his will in punishing, 2 
Thess. i. 7, 8, " The Lord Jesus shall be re- 
vealed with his mighty angels in flames of fire, 
taking vengeance on them that obey not his 
gospel." Either we must do God's will or 
suffer it. 

6. Whatever God wills us to do is for our 
benefit ; behold here self-interest. As if a 
king commands his subject to dig in a mine 
of gold, and then gives him all the gold he 
had digged : God bids us do his will, and this 
is for our good, Deut. x. 12, 13, " And now, 

Israel, what doth the Lord thy God require 
of thee, but to fear the Lord thy God, and 
keep the commandments of the Lord, which 

1 command thee this day for thy good 7" It 
is God's will that we should repent, and this 
is for our good, repentance ushers in remiss- 
ion, Acts iii. 19, " Repent, and be converted 
that your sins may be blotted out." It is 
God's will that we should believe ; and why 
is it, but that we should be crowned with sal- 
vation? Markxvi. 16, " He that believes and 
is baptized shall be saved." What God wills 
is not so much our duty, as our privilege ; he 
bids us obey his voice, and it is greatly for 
our good, Jer. vii. 23, " Obey my voice, and I 
will be your God." I will not only give you 
my angels to be your guard, but myself to be 
your portion ; my Spirit shall be yours to 
sanctify you, my love shall be yours to com- 



fort you, my mercy shall be yours to save 
you, " I will be your God." 

7. To do God's will, is our honour. A per- 
son thinks it an honour to have a king speak 
to him to do such a thing : the angels count 
it their highest honour in heaven to do God's 
will. Servire Deo regnare est, to serve God, 
is to reign. Non onerant nos, sed ornant, 
Salvian. How cheerfully did the rowers 
row the barge that carried Caesar. To be 
employed in this barge was an honour : to be 
employed in doing God's will is insigna ho- 
noris, the highest ensign of honour that a 
mortal creature is capable of. Christ's pre- 
cepts do not burden us, but adorn us. 

8. To do God's will on earth, makes us 
like Christ, and akin to Christ. It makes us 
like Christ : is it not our prayer that we may 
be like Christ 1 Jesus Christ did his Father's 
will, John vi. 38, " I came down from heaven, 
not to do my own will, but the will of him 
that sent me." God the Father and Christ, 
as they have but one essence, so but one 
will ; Christ's will was melted into his Fa- 
ther's, John iv. 34, " My meat is to do the 
will of him that sent me." By our doing 
God's will on earth, we resemble Christ, nay, 
we are akin to Christ, and are of the blood- 
royal of heaven. Alexander called himself 
cousin to the gods ; what honour is it to be 
akin to Christ ! Matt. xii. 50, " Whosoever 
shall do the will of my Father which is in 
heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, 
and mother." Did king Solomon arise off" 
his throne to meet his mother and set her on a 
throne by him 1 1 Kings ii. 19, such honour 
will Christ bestow on such as are doers of 
God's will, he will salute them as his kindred, 
and set them on a glorious throne in the 
amphitheatre of heaven. 

9. Doing God's will on earth brings peace 
in life and death. 1. In life, Ps. xix. 11, 
In keeping thy precepts " there is great 
reward," not only after keeping them, but 
in keeping them ; when we walk closely 
with God in obedience, there is a secret joy 
let into the soul, and how swiftly and cheer- 
fully do the wheels of the soul move when 
they are oiled with the oil of gladness 1 2. 
Peace in death. When Hezekiah thought 
he was about to die, what gave him comfort 1 
This, that he had done the will of God, Isa. 



488 OF THE THIRD PETITION 

xxxviii. 3, " Remember, O Lord, I beseech 
thee, how I have walked before thee in truth, 
and have done that which was good in thy 
sight." It was Augustus's wish that he 
might have an easy death, without much 
pain : if any thing make our pillow easy at 
death, it will be this, ' we have endeavoured 
to do God's will on earth.' Did you ever hear 
any cry out on their death-bed, that they 
have done God's will too much? No; hath 
it not been, that they have done his will no 
more, that they come so short in their obe- 
dience 1 Doing God's will, will be both your 
comfort and your crown. 

10. If we are not doers of God's will, we 
shall be looked upon as contemners of God's 
will ; let God say what he will, yet men will 
go on in sin ; this is to contemn God, Ps. x. 13, 
" Wherefore do the wicked contemn God 1 ?" 
To contemn God is worse than to rebel. The 
tribes of Israel rebelled against Rehoboam, 
because he made their yoke heavier, 1 Kings 
xii. 16 ; but to contemn God is worse, it is 
to slight him ; to contemn God is to put a 
scorn upon him and affront him to his face, 
and an affront will make God draw his sword. 
Thus I have answered that question, why 
doing God's will on earth is so requisite 1 It 
is as necessary as salvation. 

Quest. In what manner are we to do 
God's will, that we may find acceptance ? 

Ans. 1. The manner of doing God's will is 
the chief thing. The schoolmen say well. 
Modus rei cadit sub precepto, — ' the man- 
ner of a thing is as well required as the thing 
itself.' If a man build a house, if he doth 
it not according to the mind of the owner, 
he likes it not, but thinks all his charges lost ; 
so if we do not God's will in the right man- 
ner, it is not accepted ; we must not only do 
what God appoints, but as God appoints ; 
here lies the very life-blood of religion. So 
I come to answer this great question, " In 
what manne rare we to do God's will, that 
we may find acceptance ] 

Ans. We do God's will acceptably, when 
we do duties spiritually, Philippians iii. 3, 
" Which worship God in the spirit." To 
serve God spiritually, is to do duties ab in- 
terno principio, — from an inward principle ; 
the Pharisees were very exact about the ex- 



IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 

ternal part of God's worship ; how zealous 
were they in the outward observations of the 
sabbath, charging Christ with the breach of 
it ] But all this was but outward obedience, 
there was nothing of spirituality in it ; then 
we do God's will acceptably, when we serve 
him from a renewed principle of grace. A 
crab-tree may bear as well as a pearmain, 
but it is not so good fruit as the other, be- 
cause it doth not come from so sweet a root : 
an unregenerate person may do as much 
external obedience as a child of God, he„ 
may pray as much, hear as much, but his 
obedience is harsh and sour, because it doth 
not come from the sweet and pleasant root 
of grace ; the inward principle of obedience 
is faith, therefore it is called " the obedience 
of faith," Rom. x-vi. 26. But why must this 
silver thread of faith run through the whole 
work of obedience 1 

Ans. Because faith looks at Christ in every 
duty, it toucheth the hem of his garment ; 
and through Christ, both the person and the 
offering are accepted, Eph. i. 6. 

A. 2. We do God's will acceptably, when 
we prefer his will before all other ; if God 
wills one thing, and man wills the contrary, 
we do not obey man's will, but rather God's 
Acts iv. 19, " Whether it be right to heark- 
en unto you more than unto God, judge ye." 
God saith, " Thou shalt not make a graven 
image ;" king Nebuchadnezzar setup agolden 
image to be worshipped ; but the three chil- 
dren, or rather champions, resolve God's will 
shall take place, and they would obey him, 
though with the loss of their lives, Dan. iii. 
18, " Be it known unto thee, O king, that 
we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the 
golden image which thou hast set up." 

A. 3. We do God's will acceptably, when 
we do God's will as it is done in heaven, 
that is, as the angels do it ; to do God's will 
as the angels similitudinem notat,non cequa- 
litatem, Burgensis, — denotes this much, that 
we are to resemble them, and make them our 
pattern. Though we cannot equal the angels 
in doing God's will, yet we must imitate 
them ; a child cannot write so well as the scri- 
vener, yet he imitates the copy. In particular, 

1. We do God's will as the angels do it 
in heaven, when we do God's will regular- 



OF THE THIRD PETITION 



IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



487 



jly, — sine defleocu, — we go according to the 
divine institutions, not decrees of councils, 
or traditions, — this is to do God's will as the 
angels ; they do it regularly, they do nothing 
but what is commanded; angels are not for 
ceremonies ; as there are statute laws in the 
land which bind, so the scripture is God's 
statute law which we must exactly observe. 
The watch is set by the dial : then our obe- 
jdienee is right, when it goes by the sun-dial 
of the word. If obedience hath not the word 
j for its rule, it is not doing God's will, but our 
own ; it is will-worship. The Lord would 
I have Moses make the tabernacle according 
j to the pattern, Exod. xxv. 40. If Moses had 
(left out any thing in the pattern, or added 
any thing to it, it would have been very pro- 
voking ; to mix any thing of our own devising 
in God's worship, is to go beside, yea, con- 
trary to the pattern ; God's worship is the 
apple of his eye, that which he is most tender 
of ; and there is nothing he hath more showed 
; his displeasure against, than the corrupting 
his worship. How severely did God punish 
Nadab and Abihu for offering up 'strange 
I fire V Lev. x. 2, that is, such fire as God hath 
;not sanctified on the altar; whatever is not 
> divinely appointed, is offering up strange fire. 
i There is in many a strange itch after super- 
stition; they love a gaudy religion, and are 
i more for the pomp of worship than the puri- 
] ty ; this cannot be pleasing to God, for, as if 
God were not wise enough to appoint the 
! manner how he will be served, man will be 
]so bold as to prescribe for him. To thrust 
human inventions into sacred things is a 
I doing our will, not God's ; and he will say, 
\quis qucesivit hoc? "Who hath required 
this at your hand?" Isa. i. 12. Then we do 
God's will as it is done in heaven, when we 
do it regularly, we reverence God's institu- 
I tions, and the mode of worship, which hath 
the stamp of divine authority upon it. 

2. We do God's will as it is done by the 
angels in heaven, when we do it entirely, — 
| sine mutilatione, — we do all God's will. The 
; angels in heaven do all that God commands, 
they leave nothing of his will undone : Ps. 
ciii. 20, " Ye his angels that do his com- 
mandments." If God sent an angel to the 
Virgin Mary, he goes on God's errand ; if he 
gives his angels a charge to minister for the 



saints, they obey, Heb. i. 14. It cannot 
stand with angelical obedience to leave the 
least iota of God's will unfulfilled ; this is to 
do God's will as the angels, when we do all 
his will, — quicquid propter Deumfit cequali- 
ter Jit. This was God's charge to Israel, 
Numb. xv. 40, " Remember and do all my 
commandments." And it was spoken of Da- 
vid, Acts xiii. 22, " I have found David, the 
son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, 
who shall perform all my will," (Gr.) " all 
my wills." Every command hath the same 
authority ; and if we do God's will uprightly, 
we do it uniformly, — we obey every part and 
branch of his will, we join first and second 
table. Surely we owe that to God our Father 
which the papists say, we owe to our mother 
the church, unlimited obedience ; we must 
incline to every command, as the needle 
moves that way which the loadstone draws. 
This discovers the unsoundness of many 
who do God's will by halves, — they pick and 
choose in religion, — they in some things com- 
ply with God's will, but not in others, — like 
a foundered horse, who sets but some of his 
feet on the ground, he favours one foot. He 
who is to play upon a lute, must strike upon 
every string, or he spoils all the music. 
God's commandments may be compared to 
a ten-stringed lute, we must obey God's will 
in every command, strike upon every string, 
or we can make no good melody in religion. 
The badger hath one foot shorter than the 
other : hypocrites are shorter in some duties 
than others ; some will pray, not give alms, 
— hear the word, not forgive their enemies, 
— receive the sacrament, not make restitu- 
tion,- — how can they be holy who are not 
just 1 Hypocrites profess fair, but when it 
comes to sacrificing the Isaac, crucifying 
the beloved sin, or parting with some of their 
estate for Christ, here they stick, and say as 
Naaman, 2 Kings v. 18, " In this thing, the 
Lord pardon thy servant." This is far from 
doing God's will as the angels do ; God likes 
not such as do his will by halves ; if your 
servant should do some of your work, which 
you set him about, but not at all, how would 
you like that 1 

Obj. But who is able to do all God's will ? 

Ans. Though we cannot do all God's will 
legally, yet we may evangelically ; which is, 



488 



OF THE THIRD PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



1st. When we mourn that we can do 
God's will no better ; when we fail, we weep, 
Rom. vii. 24. 

2d. When it is the desire of our soul to 
do God's whole will, Ps. cxix. 5, " O that 
my ways were directed to keep thy statutes." 
What a child of God wants in strength, he 
makes up in desire. In magnis voluisse 
sat est. 

3d. When we endeavour, quoad conatum, 
to do the whole will of God. A father bids 
his child lift such a burden, the child is not 
able to lift it, but he tries, and does his en- 
deavour to lift it ; the father accepts of it, 
as if he had done it ; this is to do God's will 
evangelically, and God is pleased to take it 
in good part ; though it be not to satisfac- 
tion, yet it is to acceptation. 

3. We do God's will as it is done in hea- 
ven by the angels, when we do it sincerely, 
sine fuco. To do God's will sincerely, lies 
in two things : 

1st. To do it out of a pure respect to God's 
command. 
2d. With a pure eye to God's glory. 
1st. To do God's will out of a pure respect 
to God's command. Abraham's sacrificing 
Isaac was contrary to flesh and blood; to 
sacrifice the son of his love, the son of the 
promise, and that no other hand but the fa- 
ther's own should do this, here was hard 
service ; but, because God commanded it, out 
of pure respect to the command, Abraham 
obeyed. This is to do God's will aright, when 
though we feel no present joy or comfort in 
duty, yet, because God commands, we obey ; 
not comfort, but the command is the ground 
of duty. Thus the angels do God's will in 
heaven ; God's command is the weight sets 
the wheels of their obedience a-going. 

2d. To do God's will sincerely, is to do it 
with a pure eye to God's glory. The Pha- 
risees did the will of God in giving alms ; but 
that which was a dead fly in the ointment, 
was, that they did not aim at God's glory, 
but vain glory, — they blew a trumpet. Jehu 
did the will of God in destroying the Baal- 
worshippers, and God commended him for 
doing it ; but because he aimed more at set- 
tling himself in the kingdom, than at the 
glory of God, therefore God looked upon it 
no better than murder, and said, " he would 



avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house 
of Jehu," Hos. i. 4. Let us look to our ends 
in obedience ; though we shoot short, let us 
take a right aim ; one may do God's will, 
yet not with a perfect heart, 2 Chron. xxv. 
2, Amaziah " did that which was right in 
the sight of the Lord, but not with a per- 
fect heart." The action was right for the 
matter, but his aim was not right ; that action 
which wants a good aim, wants a good issue ; 
he doth God's will rightly, that doth it up- 
rightly, his end is to honour God, and lift up 
his name in the world. A gracious soul 
makes God his centre. As Joab, when he had 
taken Rabbah, sent for king David, that he 
might carry away the glory of the victory, 
2 Sam. xii. 27, so when a gracious soul 
hath done any duty, he desires that the glory 
of all may be given to God, 1 Pet. iv. 11, 
"That in all things God may be glorified." 
This is to do God's will as the angels, when 
we not only advance God's glory, but design 
his glory ; the angels are said to cast their 
crowns before the throne, Rev. iv. 10, crowns 
are signs of the greatest honour, but these 
crowns the angels lay at the Lord's feet, to 
show they ascribe the glory of all they do 
to him. 

4. We do God's will as it is done in hea- 
ven by the angels, when we do it willingly, 
— sine murmur atione. The angels love to be 
employed in God's service ; 'tis the angels' 
heaven to serve God ; they willingly descend 
from heaven to earth, when they bring mes- 
sages from God, and glad tidings to the 
church ; now heaven being a place of such 
joy, the angels would not leave it a minute 
of an hour, only that they take such infinite 
delight in doing God's will. We do resem- j 
ble the angels, when we do God's will will- 
ingly, 1 Chron. xxviii. 9, " And thou Solo- 
mon, my son, serve the Lord with a willing 
mind." God's people are called ' a willing 
people,' Ps. ex. 3. (Heb.) " a people of 
willingnesses ;" they give God a free-will 
offering; though they cannot serve him 
perfectly, they serve him willingly. A hy- 
pocrite, though he doth facere bonum, yet 
not velle, — he hath no delight in duty, — 
he doth it rather out of fear of hell, than 
love to God, — when he doth God's will, yet 
it is against his will. Virtus nolentium nulla 



OF THE THIRD PETITION 



IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



489 



est. Cain brought his sacrifice, but grudg- 
ingly ; his worship was rather a task than an 
offering, rather penance than a sacrifice ; he 
did God's will, but against his will ; we must 
be carried upon the wings of delight in every 
duty. Israel were to blow the trumpets when 
they offered burnt-offerings, Numb. x. 10 : 
blowing the trumpets was to show their joy 
and cheerfulness in serving God ; we must 
read and hear the word with delight, Jer. xv. 
15, " Thy words were found, and I did eat 
them, and thy words were unto me the joy 
and rejoicing of my heart." A pious soul 
goes to the word as to a feast, or as one 
would go with delight to hear music. Slei- 
dan reports, that the Protestants of France 
had a church they called Paradise, because, 
when they were in the house of God, they 
thought themselves in paradise ; the saints 
flock as doves to the windows of God's house, 
Isa. Ix. 8, " Who are these that fly as doves 
to their windows 1" Not that a truly regene- 
rate person is always in the same cheerful 
temper of obedience ; he may sometimes find 
an indisposition and weariness of soul ; but 
his weariness is his burthen,— he is weary of 
his weariness, — he prays, weeps, useth all 
means to regain that alacrity and freedom in 
God's service that he was wont to have, — 
this is to do God's will acceptably, when we 
do it willingly, — it is this crowns all our ser- 
vices,— delight in duty is better than duty. 
The musician is not commended for playing 
long, but well ; it is not how much we do, 
but how much we love, Ps. cxix. 97, " O how 
love I thy law !" Love is as musk among 
linen, that perfumes it ; love perfumes obe- 
dience, and makes it go up to heaven as in- 
cense. This is doing God's will as the angels 
in: heaven do it ; they are ravished with de- 
light while they are praising God, therefore 
the angels are said to have harps in their 
hands, Rev. xv. 2, as a sign of their cheer- 
fulness in God's service. 

5. We do God's will as the angels in hea- 
ven, when we do God's will fervently, — sine 
remissione. Rom. xii. 11, " Fervent in spirit, 
serving the Lord :" a metaphor from water 
when it seethes and boils over ; so our affec- 
tions should boil over in zeal and fervency. 
The angels serve God with fervour and in- 
i3Q 



tenseness. The angels are called seraphims, 
from a Hebrew word which signifies to burn, 
to show how the angels are all on fire, Ps. 
civ. 4, they burn in love and zeal in doing 
God's will ; grace turns a saint into a sera- 
phim ; Aaron must put burning coals to the 
incense, Exod. xvi. 12 : incense was a type 
of prayer, burning coals of zeal, to show that 
the fire of zeal must be put to the incense of 
prayer. Formality starves duty ; when we 
serve God dully and coldly, is this like the 
angels 1 Duty without fervency is as a sacri- 
fice without fire ; we should ascend to heaven 
in a fiery chariot of devotion. 

6. We do God's will as the angels in hea- 
ven, when we give God the best in every ser- 
vice, Num. xviii. 29, " Out of all your gifts, 
ye shall offer all the best thereof." Num. 
xxviii. 7, " In the holy place shaltthou cause 
the strong wine to be poured unto the Lord 
for a drink-offering." The Jews might not 
offer to the Lord wine that was small or mix- 
ed, but the strong wine, to imply, that we 
must offer to God the best, the strongest of 
our affections ; if the spouse had a cup more 
juicy and spiced, Christ should drink of that, 
Cant. viii. 2, " 1 would cause thee to drink of 
spiced wine, of the juice of my pomegranate." 
Thus the angels in heaven do God's will, 
they serve him in the best manner, they give 
him their seraphic high-stringed praises ; he 
who loves God, gives him the cream of his 
obedience. God challenged the fat of all the 
sacrifices as his due, Lev. iii. 16. Hypo- 
crites care not what services they bring to 
God ; they think to put him off with any 
thing ; they put no cost in their duties, Gen. 
iv. 3, " Cain brought of the fruit of the 
ground." The Holy Ghost took notice of 
Abel's offering, that it was costly, " He 
brought of the firstlings of his flock, and of 
the fat thereof," Gen. iv. 4 ; but when he 
speaks of Cain's offering, he only saith, " He 
brought of the fruit of the ground." Then 
we do God's will aright, when we do offer 
pinguid, we dedicate to him the best. Do- 
mitian would not have his image carved in 
wood or iron, but in gold : God will have the 
best we have,— golden services. 

7. We do God's will as the angels in hea- 
ven, when we do it readily, and swiftly. The 



490 OF THE THIRD PETITION 



IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



angels do not dispute or reason the case, but 
as soon as they have their charge and com- 
mission from God, they immediately obey ; 
and, to show how ready they are to execute 
God's will, the cherubims, representing the 
angels, are described with wings, to show how 
swift and forward they are in their obedience, 
— it is as if they had wings, Dan. ix. 21, 
" The man Gabriel (that was an angel) being 
caused to fly swiftly." Thus should we do 
God's will as the angels ; as soon as ever God 
speaks the word, we should be ambitious to 
obey. Alas ! how long is it sometimes ere 
we can get leave of our hearts to go to a 
duty ! Christ went more readily ad crucem, 
than we to the throne of grace. How many 
disputes and excuses have we 1 Is this to 
do God's will as the angels in heaven do it] 
O let us shake off this backwardness to duty, 
as Paul shook off the viper 1 Nescit tarda 
molimina Spiritus Sancti gratia ; Zech. v. 
9, " I saw two women, and the wind was in 
their wings." Wings are swift, but wind in 
the wings is great swiftness ; such readiness 
should be in our obedience. So Peter, as 
soon as ever Christ commanded him to let 
down his net, at Christ's word he presently 
let down the net, and you know what suc- 
cess he had, Luke v. 4. It was prophesied 
of such as were brought home to Christ, Ps. 
xviii. 44, " As soon as they hear of me, they 
shall obey me." 

8. We do God's will as the angels in hea- 
ven, when we do it constantly ; the angels are 
never weary of doing God's will, they serve 
God day and night, Rev. vii. 15, thus must 
we imitate the angels, Ps. cvi. 3, " Blessed 
is he that doth righteousness at all times." 
Constancy crowns obedience. Non cepisse, 
sed perfecisse, virtutis est, Cypr. Our 
obedience must be like the fire of the altar 
which was continually kept burning, Lev. vi. 
13. Hypocrites soon give over doing God's 
will ; like the chrysolite which is of a golden 
colour, in the morning it is very bright to look 
on, but towards evening it grows dull, and 
hath lost its splendour. We should continue 
in doing God's will, because of that great loss 
that will befall us if we give over doing God's 
will. 

(1). A loss of honour : Rev. iii. 11, " That 
no man take thy crown j > " implying, if the 



church of Philadelphia left off her obedience, 
she would lose her crown, viz. her honour 
and reputation. Apostacy creates infamy ; 
Judas came from an apostle to be a traitor, 
that was a dishonour. 

(2) , If we give over our obedience it is a 
loss of all that hath been already done ; as if 
one should work in silver, and then pick out 
all the stitches. All a man's prayers are lost, 
all the sabbaths he hath kept are lost, he doth 
unravel all his good works, Ezek. xviii. 24,* 
"All his righteousness that he hath done 
shall not be mentioned." He undoes all he 
hath done ; as if one draw a curious picture 
with the pencil, and then come with his 
sponge and wipe out all again. 

(3) . A loss of the soul and happiness. We 
were in a fair way for heaven, but, by leaving 
off doing God's will, we miss the excellent 
glory, and are plunged deeper in damnation, 
2 Pet. ii. 21, " It had been better for them 
not to have known the way of righteousness, 
than, after they have known it, to turn from 
the holy commandment." Therefore let us 
continue in doing God's will ; constancy sets 
the crown upon the head of obedience. Thus 
you see how we are to do God's will acceptably. 

Use 1st. Branch 1. See hence our impo- 
tency ; we have no innate power to do God's 
will ; what need we pray " thy will be 
done," if we have power of ourselves to do 
it ? I wonder free willers pray this petition. 

2. Branch. If we are to do God's will on 
earth, as it is done by the angels in heaven, 
see then the folly of those who go by a wrong 
pattern ; they do as the most of their neigh- 
bours do ; if they talk vain on the sabbath, 
they do but as their neighbours do ; if now 
and then they swear an oath, it is the cus- 
tom of their neighbours to do so ; but we are 
to do God's will, as the angels in heaven, — 
do the angels do such things 1 We must 
make the angels our patterns, and not our 
neighbours ; if our neighbours do the devil's 
will, shall we do so too ? if our neighbours 
go to hell, shall we go thither too for company. 

3. Branch. See here that which may 
make us long to be in heaven, then we shall 
do God's will perfectly as the angels do. 
Alas> how defective are we in our obedience 
here ! How far do we fall short ? We can- 
not write a copy of holiness without blot- 



OFTHE THIRD PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



491 



ting ; our holy things are blemished, like the 
moon, which when it shines brightest, hath a 
dark spot in it ; but in heaven we shall do 
God's will perfectly, as the angels in glory. 
Use 2d. Of Reproof. 

1. Branch. It reproves such as do not 
God's will ; they have the knowledge of God's 
will (knowledge they count an ornament), 
but though they know God's will, yet they do 
it not. 

(1) . They know what God would have 
them avoid : they know they should not swear, 
Matt. v. 34, " Swear not at all." Jer. xxiii. 10. 
For this sin the land mourns. Yet though 
they pray " hallowed be thy name," they pro- 
fane it by shooting oaths like chain-bullets 
against heaven ; they know they should ab- 
stain from fornication and uncleanness, yet 
they cannot but bite at the devil's hook, if he 
bait it with flesh, Jude 7. 

(2) . They know what God would have 
them practise, but they " leave undone those 
things which they ought to have done." 
They know it is the will of God they should 
be true in their promises, — just in their deal- 
ings, — good in their relations, — but they do 
not the will of God ; they know they should 
read the scriptures, — consult with God's 
oracles, — but the Bible, like rusty armour, is 
hung up, and seldom used ; they look oftener 
upon a pack of cards than a Bible ; they know 
their houses should be palestra pietatis, nur- 
series of piety, yet have no face of religion 
in them, — they do not perfume their houses 
with prayer. What hypocrites are these to 
kneel down in the church, and lift up their 
eyes to heaven and say, " Thy will be done," 
yet have no care at all to do God's will ! 
What is this but to hang out a flag of defiance 
against heaven ? And rebellion is as the sin 
of witchcraft. 

2. Branch. It reproves those who do not 
God's will in a right acceptable manner. 

(1). They do not God's will entirely, all 
God's will : they will obey God in some things, 
but not in others ; as if a servant should 
do some of your work you set him about but 
not the rest. Jehu destroyed the idolatry of 
Baal, but let the golden calves of Jeroboam 
stand, 2 Kings x. 30. Some will observe 
the duties of the second table, but not the 



first. Others make a high profession, as if 
their tongues have been touched with a coal 
from God's altar, but live idly, and out of a 
calling; these the apostle complains of, 2 
Thess. iii. 11, " We hear there are some 
which walk among you disorderly, working 
not at all." Living by faith, and living in a 
calling, must go together. This is an evil 
thing, not to do all God's will. 

(2). They do not God's will ardently, nor 
cheerfully, — they do not put coals to the in- 
cense, — they bring their sacrifice, but not 
their heart, — this is far from doing God's will 
as the angels ; this loseth the reward ; how 
can God like this, to serve him as if we 
served him not? How can God mind our 
duties when we ourselves scarce mind them ? 
. Use 3d. Of Examination. 

Let us examine all our actions whether 
they are according to God's will. The will of 
God is the rule and standard, — it is the sun- 
dial by which we must set all our actions ; he 
is no good workman, that doth not work by 
rule ; he can be no good Christian who goes 
not according to the rule of God's will. Let 
us examine our actions whether they do 
quadrare, agree to the will of God. Are 
your speeches according to God's will ] Are 
our words savoury, being seasoned with 
grace 1 Is our apparel according to God's 
will 1 1 Tim. ii. 9, " In like manner, also 
that women adorn themselves with modest 
apparel ;" not wanton and garish to invite 
comers. Our diet, is it according to God's 
will 1 Do we hold the golden bridal of tem- 
perance, and only take so much as may ra- 
ther satisfy nature than surfeit it 1 Too much 
oil chokes the lamp : is our whole carriage and 
behaviour according to God's will ! Are we 
patterns of prudence and piety ? Do we keep 
up the credit of religion, and shine as lights in 
the world? We pray " Thy will be done as 
it is in heaven ;" are we like our pattern ; 
would the angels do this if they were on 
earth ? would Jesus Christ do this ? This is 
to christianize, this is to be saints of degrees, 
when we live our prayer and our actions are 
the counter-part of God's will. 

Use 4i/i. Of Exhortation. 

Let us be doers of the will of God, " Thy 
will be done." 



492 OF THE THIRD PETITION 



IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



1. It is our wisdom to do God's will, 
Deut. iv. 6, Keep and do these statutes, 
"for this is your wisdom." 

2. It is our safety. Hath not misery al- 
ways attended the doing of our own will, and 
happiness the doing of God's will ? 

(1) . Misery hath always attended the do- 
ing of our own will. Our first parents left 
God's will to fulfil their own, " in eating the 
forbidden fruit." And what came of if? 
The apple had a bitter core in it ; they pur- 
chased a curse for themselves and all their 
posterity. King Saul left God's will to do 
his own ; he spares Agag, and the best of 
the sheep, and what was the issue, but the 
loss of his kingdom 1 

(2) . Happiness hath always attended the 
doing of God's will. Joseph obeyed God's 
will, in refusing the embrace of his mistress ; 
and was not this his preferment 1 God raised 
him to be the second man in the kingdom. 
Daniel did God's will contary to the king's 
decree ; he bowed his knee in prayer to God, 
and did not God make all Persia bow their 
knees to Daniel 1 

(3) . The way to have our will is to do 
God's will. Would we have a blessing in 
our estate? Then let us do God's will, Deut. 
xxviii. 1, 3, " If thou shalt hearken diligently 
to the voice of the Lord thy God, to do all his 
commandments, the Lord thy God will set 
thee on high above all nations of the earth : 
blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed 
shalt thou be in the field." This is the way 
to have a good harvest. Would we have a 
blessing in our souls 1 Then let us do God's 
will, Jer. vii. 23. " Obey my voice, and I 
will be your God ;" I will entail myself upon 
you, as an everlasting portion ; my grace shall 
be yours to sanctify you, my mercy shall be 
yours to save you. You see you lose no- 
thing by doing God's will ; this is the way to 
have your will ; let God have his will in being 
obeyed, and you shall have your will in being 
saved. 

Quest. How shall we come to do God's 
will aright ? 

Ans. 1. Get sound knowledge ; we must 
know God's will before we can do it ; know- 
ledge is the eye to direct the foot of obedi- 
ence, The papists make ignorance the mo- 



ther of devotion, but Christ makes ignorance 
the mother of error, Matt. xxii. 29, " Ye do 
err, not knowing the scripture." We must 
know God's will before we can do it aright. 
Affection without knowledge, is like a horse 
full of metal, but his eyes are out. 

A. 2. If we would do God's will aright, 
let us labour for self-denial ; unless we deny 
our own will, we shall never do God's will ; 
God wills one thing, we will another, — God 
calls us to be crucified to the world, by nature, 
we love the world, — God calls us to forgive 
our enemies, by nature we bear malice in 
our hearts, — God's will and ours are contrary, 
like the wind and tide, and till we can cross 
our own will, we shall never fulfil God's. 

A. 3. Let us get humble hearts. Pride is 
the spring of disobedience, Exodus v. 2. 
" Who is the Lord, that I should obey his 
voice V 1 A proud man thinks it below him to 
stoop to God's will. Be humble ; the humble 
soul saith, " Lord, what wilt thou have me to 
do V 1 He puts, as it were, a blank paper into 
God's hand, and bids him write what he will, 
he will subscribe to it. 

A. 4. Beg grace and strength of God to 
do his will, Ps. cxliii. 10, " Teach me to do 
thy will :" as if David had said, " Lord I 
need not be taught to do my own will, I can 
do it fast enough, but teach me to do thy 
will." And that which may add wings to 
prayer, is God's gracious promise, "I will 
put my Spirit within you, and cause you to 
walk in my statutes," Ezek. xxxvi. 27. If 
the loadstone draw the iron, it is not hard 
for the iron to move : if God's Spirit enable, 
it will not be hard, but rather delightful to do 
God's will. 

II. In this petition, " Thy will be done 
on earth, as it is in heaven," we pray that 
we may have grace to submit to God's will 
patiently in what he inflicts. The text is to 
be understood as well of suffering God's will 1 
as of doing it ; so Maldonet, and the most 
judicious interpreters. I shall speak now of 
patient submission to God's will, in what- 
ever he inflicts, " Thy will be done." This 
should be the temper of a good Christian, 
when he is under any disastrous providence, 
to lie quietly at God's feet, and say, " Thy 
will be done." 



OF THE THIRD PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



493 



Quest. 1. What this patient submission 
to God's will is not ? 

Ans. There is something looks like pa- 
tience which is not, namely, when a man 
bears a thing because he cannot help it; he 
takes affliction as his fate and destiny, there- 
fore he endures that quietly which he cannot 
avoid ; this is rather necessity than patience. 

Quest. 2. What is it may stand with 
patient submission to God's will ? 

Ans. 1. A Christian may be sensible of 
affliction, yet patiently submit to God's will ; 
we ought not to be Stoics, insensible and 
unconcerned with God's dealings ; like the 
sons of Deucalion, who (as the poets say) 
were begotten of a stone. Christ was sen- 
sible when he swate great drops of blood, 
but there was submission to God's will, Matt, 
xxvi. 39, " Nevertheless, not as I will, but 
as thou wilt." We are bid to humble our- 
selves under God's hand, 1 Pet. v. 6, which 
we cannot do unless we are sensible of it. 

A. 2. A Christian may weep under an 
affliction, yet patiently submit to God's will. 
God allows tears ; it is a sin to be " without 
natural affection," Rom. i. 31. Grace makes 
the heart tender ; strangulet inclusus dolor, 
— weeping gives vent to sorrow, — expletur 
lachrymis dolor. Joseph wept over his dead 
father ; Job, when he had so much ill news 
brought him at once, rent his mantle, an ex- 
pression of grief, but did not tear his hair in 
anger ; only worldly grief must not be immo- 
derate; a vein may bleed to much; the water 
riseth too high when it overflows the banks. 

A. 3. A Christian may complain in his 
affliction, yet be submissive to God's will, Ps. 
cxlii. 1, 2, " I cried to the Lord with my voice, 
I poured out my complaint before him." We 
may (being under oppression) tell God how 
it is with us, and desire him to write down 
our injuries. Shall not the child complain to 
his father when he is wronged 3 And holy 
complaint may stand with patient submis- 
sion to God's will ; but though we may com- 
plain to God, we must not complain of God. 

Quest. 3. What is it cannot stand with 
patient submission to God's will? 

Ans. 1. Discontentedness with provi- 
dence. Discontent hath a mixture of grief 
and anger in it, and, both these must needs 



raise a storm of passion in the soul. God 
having touched the apple of our eye, and 
smitten us in that we loved, we are touchy 
and sullen, and God shall not have a good 
look from us, Gen. iv. 6, " Why art thou 
wroth ;" like a sullen bird that is angry, and 
beats herself against the cage. 

A. 2. Murmuring cannot stand with sub- 
mission to God's will ; murmuring is the 
height of impatience, it is a kind of mutiny 
in the soul against God, Numb. xxi. 5, 
" The people spake against God." When 
a cloud of sorrow is gathered in the soul, 
and this cloud doth not only drop into tears, 
but out of this cloud comes hailstones, mur- 
muring words against God, this is far from 
patient submission to God's will. When 
water is hot the scum boils up ; when the 
heart is heated with anger against God, 
then this scum boils up. Murmuring is very 
evil ; it springs, 1st, From pride : men think 
they have deserved better at God's hand : 
and, when they begin to swell they spit 
poison. 2d. Distrust; men believe not that 
God can make a treacle of poison, bring 
good out of all their troubles, therefore they 
murmur, Ps. cvi. 24, 25, " They believed not 
his word, but murmured." Men murmur at 
God's providences, because they distrust 
his promises ; God hath much ado to bear 
this sin, Numb. xiv. 27. This is far from 
submission to God's will. 

A. 3. Discomposedness of spirit cannot 
stand with quiet submission to God's will. 
When a man saith, I am so encompassed 
with trouble, that I know not how to get 
out ; head and heart are so taken up, that a 
person is not fit to pray. When the strings 
of a lute are snarled, the lute can make no 
good music : so, when a Christian's spirits 
are perplexed and disturbed, he cannot make 
melody in his heart to the Lord. To be un- 
der a discomposure of mind, is as when an 
army is routed, one runs this way, and 
another that, the army is put into disorder : 
so when a Christian is in a hurry of mind, 
his thoughts run up and down distracted, as 
if he were undone, — this cannot stand with 
patient submission to God's will. 

A. 4. Self apology cannot stand with 
submission to God's will ; instead of being 



494 OF THE THIRD PETITION 



IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



humbled under God's hand, a person justifies 
himself. A proud sinner stands upon his 
own defence, and is ready to accuse God of 
unrighteousness, which is, as if we should 
tax the sun with darkness ; this is far from 
submission to God's will. God smote Jonah's 
gourd, and he stands upon his own vindica- 
tion, Jonah iv. 9, " I do well to be angry- 
even unto death." What, to be angry with 
God, and to justify this ! " I do well to be 
angry !" This was strange to come from a 
prophet, and was far from this prayer Christ 
hath taught us, " Thy will be done." 

Quest. 4. What this patient submission 
to God's will is ? 

Ans. It is a gracious frame of soul, where- 
by a Christian is content to be at God's dis- 
posal, and doth acquiesce in his wisdom, 
1 Sam. iii. 18, " It is the Lord, let him do 
what seemeth him good;" Acts xxi. 14, 
" The will of the Lord be done." That I 
may further illustrate this, I shall show you 
wherein this submission to the will of God 
lies. It lies chiefly in three things. 

(1) . In acknowledging God's hand; see- 
ing God in the affliction, Job v. 6, " Afflic- 
tion cometh not forth of the dust ;" it comes 
not by chance. Job did eye God in all that 
befel him, Job i. 21, " The Lord hath taken 
away." He complains not of the Chaldeans, 
or the influence of the planets ; he looks 
beyond second causes, he sees God in the 
affliction, " The Lord hath taken away." 
There can be no submission to God's will, 
till there be an acknowledging of God's hand. 

(2) . Patient submission to God's will lies 
in our justifying of God, Ps. xxii. 2, O my 
God, I cry unto thee, yet thou hearest not, 
thou turnest a deaf ear to me in my afflic- 
tion ; v. 3, " But thou art holy." God is 
holy and just, not only when he punisheth 
the wicked, but when he afflicts the right- 
eous. Though God put wormwood in our 
cup, yet we vindicate God, and proclaim his 
righteousness. As Mauritius the emperor, 
when he saw his son slain before his eyes — 
justus es, Domine, — righteous art thou, O 
Lord, in all thy ways. We justify God, and 
confess he punisheth us less than we deserve, 
Ezra ix. 13. 

(3) . Patient submission to God's will lies 



in the accepting of the punishment, Lev. 
xxvi. 41, " And they then accept of the 
punishment of their iniquity." Accepting 
the punishment : that is, taking all that God 
doth in good part. He who accepts of the 
punishment, saith, "good is the rod of the 
Lord ;" he kisseth the rod, yea, blesseth God 
that he would use such a merciful severity, 
rather to afflict him than to lose him. This 
is patient submission to God's will. This 
patient submission to God's will in affliction^ 
shows a great deal of wisdom and piety. 
The skill of a pilot is most discerned in a 
storm, and a Christian's grace in the storm 
of affliction ; and indeed this submission to 
God's will is most requisite for us while we 
live here in this lower region. In heaven 
there will be no need of patience more than 
there is need of the star-light when the sun 
shines. In heaven there will be all joy, and 
what need of patience then ? It requires no 
patience to wear a crown of gold ; but while 
we live here in a valley of tears, there needs 
patient submission to God's will, Heb. x. 36, 
" Ye have need of patience." 

1. The Lord sometimes lays heavy afflic- \ 
tion upon us, Ps. xxxviii. 2, " Thy hand 
presseth me sore." The word in the origin- 
al for afflicted signifies to be melted. God 
sometimes melts his people in a furnace. 

2. God sometimes lays divers afflictions 
upon us : Job ix. 17, " He multiplies my 
wound." God shoots divers sorts of arrows. 

(1). Sometimes God afflicts with pover- 
ty. The widow had nothing left her save 
a pot of oil, 1 Kings xvii. 12. Poverty is a 
great temptation. To have an estate re- 
duced almost to nothing, is hard to flesh 
and blood, Ruth i. 20, 21, "Call me not 
Naomi, but Mara ; I went out full, and the 
Lord hath brought me home again empty." 
This exposeth to contempt. When the 
prodigal was poor, his brother was asham- 
ed to own him, Luke xv. 30, " This thy 
son;" he said not, this my brother, but, 
this thy son ; he scorned to call him bro- 
ther. When the deer is shot and bleeds, 
the rest of the herd push it away; when 
God shoots the arrow of poverty at one, 
others are ready to push him away ; when 
Terence was grown poor, his friend Scipio 



OF THE THIRD PETITION 



IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



495 



cast him off. The muses ("Jupiter's daugh- 
ters) the poets feign, had no suitors, because 
they wanted a dowry. 

(2) . God sometimes afflicts with reproach. 
Such as have the light of grace shining in 
them yet may be eclipsed in their name. The 
primitive Christians were reproached as if 
they were guilty of incest, saith Tertullian. 
Luther was called a trumpeter of rebellion. 
David calls reproach a heart-breaking, Ps. 
lxix. 20 ; this God lets his dear saints oft be 
exercised with. Dirt may be cast upon a 
pearl ; those names may be blotted, which are 
written in the book of life; sincerity, though 
it shields from hell, yet not from slander. 

(3) . God sometimes afflicts with the loss 
of dear relationey^izek. xxiv. 16, " Son of 
man, behold I take away from thee the de- 
sire of thine eyes with a stroke." This is 
like pulling away a limb from the body. He 
takes away a holy child. Jacob's life was 
bound up in Benjamin, Gen. xliv. 30 ; and 
that which puts teeth into the cross, and is 
worse than the loss of children, is, when they 
are continued as living crosses, — where the 
parents expected honey, there to have worm- 
wood. What greater cut to a godly parent, 
than a child who disclaims his father's God ? 
•A corrosive applied to the body may do 
well, but a bad child is a corrosive to the 
heart. Such an undutiful son had David, 
who conspired treason, and would not only 
have taken away his father's crown, but his 
life. 

(4) . God sometimes afflicts with infirmness 
of body ; scarce a well day. Sickness takes 
away the comfort of life, and makes one in 
deaths oft. Thus God tries his people with 
various afflictions, so that there is need of 
patience to submit to God's will. He who 
hath divers bullets shot at him needs armour ; 
when divers afflictions assault, we need 
patience as armour of proof. 

3. God sometimes lets the affliction con- 
tinue long, Ps. lxxiv. 9. As it is with dis- 
eases, there are some chronical that linger 
f and hang about the body -several years to- 
\ gether : so it is with affliction, the Lord is 
| pleased to exercise many of his precious ones 
I with chronical affliction, such as lie upon 
! them a long time : so that in all these cases 



we need patience and submissiveness of spirit 
to God's will. 

Use 1st. It reproves such as have not yet 
learned this part of the Lord's prayer, " Thy 
will be done ;" they have only said it, but not 
learned it. If things be not according to their 
mind, — if the wind of providence crosseth the 
tide of their will, — they are discontented and 
querulous. Where is now submission of will 
to God f To be displeased with God, if things 
do not please us, is this to lie at God's feet, 
and acquiesce in his will ? This is a very bad 
temper of spirit, and God may justly punish 
us by letting us have our will. Rachel cried, 
" Give me children or I die," Gen. xxx. 1 ; 
God let her have a child, but it cost her her 
life, Gen. xxxv. 18. Israel is not content 
with manna (angels' food) they must have 
quails to their manna ; God punished them by 
letting them have their will, Numb. xi. 31, 
" There went forth a wind from the Lord and 
brought quails ;" v. 33, " and while the flesh 
was yet between their teeth, the wrath of the 
Lord was kindled against the people, and the 
Lord smote the people with a great plague." 
They had better been without their quails, 
than had such sour sauce to them. Many 
have importunately desired the life of a child., 
and could not bring their will to God's to be 
content to part with it ; and the Lord hath 
punished them by letting them have their 
will ; the child hath lived and been a burthen 
to them. Seeing their wills crossed God, 
their child shall cross them. 

Use 2d. Of exhortation. Let us be ex- 
horted, whatever troubles God doth exercise 
us with, cequo animo ferre, to resign up 
our wills to God, and say, "Thy will be 
done." Which is fittest, that God should 
bring his will to ours, or we bring our will 
to his? Say as Eli, 1 Sam. iii. 18, "It is 
the Lord, let him do what seemeth him 
good ;" and as David, 2 Sam. xv. 26, " Be- 
hold, here am I, let him do to me as seem- 
eth good unto him !" It was the saying of 
Harpulas, placit mihi quod regiplacit, ' that 
pleaseth me which pleaseth the king,' — so 
should we say, that which pleaseth God 
pleaseth us, "Thy will be done." Some 
have not yet learned this art of submission 
to God; and truly he who wants patience 



496 



OF THE THIRD PETITION 



IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



in affliction, is like a soldier in battle who 
wants armour. 

Quest. When do we not, as we ought, 
submit to God's will in affliction ? 

Ans. 1. When we have hard thoughts of 
God, and our hearts begin to swell against him. 

A. 2. When we are so troubled at our pre- 
sent affliction, that we are unfit for duty. We 
can mourn as doves, but not pray or praise 
God. We are so discomposed, that we are 
not fit to hearken to any good counsel, Exod. 
vi. 9, "They hearkened not to Moses for 
anguish of spirit." Israel were so full of grief 
under their present burthens, that they minded 
not what Moses said, though he came with a 
message from God to them : " They hearken- 
ed not to Moses for anguish of spirit." 

A. 3. We do not submit as we ought to 
God's will, when we labour to break loose 
from affliction by indirect means. Many, to 
rid themselves out of trouble, run themselves 
into sin ; when God hath bound them with 
the cords of affliction, they go to the devil to 
loosen their bands. Better it is to stay in 
affliction, than to sin ourselves out of afflic- 
tion. O let us learn to stoop to God's will 
in all afflictive providences. 

Quest. But how shall we bring ourselves 
to this Christian temper, in all occurrences 
of providence, patiently to acquiesce in God's 
will, and say, " thy will be done I" We know 
not what trials, personal or relational, we 
may be exercised with. We seem now to be 
under the planet Saturn, which hath a ma- 
lignant aspect. Our ship is steered so 
strangely, that we are in danger, on one 
hand, of the sands, on the other hand, of the 
rocks. If affliction comes, how shall we 
keep a Christian decorum ? How shall we 
bear things with equanimity of mind, and 
say, " thy will be done I" 

Ans. The means for a quiet resignation to 
God's will in affliction are : 

1. Judicious consideration, Eccl. vii. 14, 
" In the day of adversity consider." When 
any thing burthens us, or runs cross to our 
desires, did we but sit down and consider, 
and weigh things in the balance of judgment, 
it would much quiet our minds, and subject 
our wills to God ; " in the day of adversity 
consider." Consideration would be as Da- 



vid's harp, to charm down the evil spirit of 

frowardness and discontent. 

Quest. But what should we consider 1 
Ans. That which may make us submit to 

God in affliction, and say, "thy will be 

done," is, 

1st. To consider, that the present state of 
life is subject to afflictions, as a seaman's 
life is subject to storms. Ferre quam sortem 
omnes patiuntur nemo recusat. Job v. 7, 
" Man is born to trouble ;" he is heir apparent/ 
to it ; he comes into the world with a cry, and 
goes out with a groan. Ea lege nati sumus. 
The world is a place where much wormwood 
grows, Lam. iii. 15, " He hath filled me with 
bitterness," (Heb.) with bitternesses; he hath 
made me drunk with wormwood. Troubles 
arise like sparks out of a furnace. Afflictions 
are some of the thorns which the earth after 
the curse brings forth. We may as well 
think to stop the chariot of the sun when it 
is in its swift motion, as put a stop to trou- 
ble. The consideration of this, our life is 
exposed to eclipses and sufferings, should 
make us say with patience, "thy will be 
done." Shall a mariner be angry that he 
meets with a storm at sea"? 

2d. Consideration. God hath a special hand 
in the disposal of all occurrences that fall out. 
Job eyed God in his affliction, chap. i. 21, 
" The Lord hath taken away." He doth not 
complain of the Sabeans, or the influences 
of the planets ; he looked beyond all second 
causes, he saw God in the affliction, and that 
made him cheerfully submit, "blessed be the 
name of the Lord." And Christ looked beyond 
Judas and Pilate, he looked to God's deter- 
minate counsel in delivering him up to be 
crucified, Acts iv. 27 ; this made him say, 
Matt. xxvi. 39, Father, " not as I will, but as 
thou wilt." It is vain to quarrel with instru- 
ments : wicked men are but a rod in God's 
hand, Isa. x. 5. " O Assyrian, the rod of mine 
anger." Whoever brings an affliction, God 
sends it : the consideration of this would make 
us say, " thy will be done ;" what God doeth, 
he sees a reason for. We read of a wheel 
within a wheel, Ezek. i. 15. The outward 
wheel, which turns all, is providence; the 
wheel within this wheel, is God's decree ; this 
believed, would rock the heart quiet. Shall 



OF THE THIRD PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



497 



we mutiny at that which God doth? We 
may as well quarrel with the works of crea- 
tion, as the works of providence. 

3d. Consideration, which may make us 
humbly submit to God's will, is, that there is 
a necessity of affliction, 1 Pet. i. 6, " (if need 
be) ye are in heaviness." It is needful some 
things be kept in brine : afflictions are need- 
ful upon several accounts. 

1. To keep us humble. Oft-times there 
is no other way to have the heart low, but 
by being brought low ; 2 Chron. xxxiii. 12, 
when Manasseh " was in affliction he hum- 
bled himself greatly." Corrections are cor- 
rosives to eat out the proud flesh, Lam. iii. 
19, if Remembering mine affliction and my 
misery, the wormwood and the gall, my soul 
is humbled in me." 

2. It is necessary that there should be 
affliction, for if God did not sometimes bring 
us into affliction, how could his power be 
seen in bringing us out? Had not Israel 
been in the Egyptian furnace, God had lost 
his glory in their deliverance. 

3. If there were no affliction, then many 
parts of scripture could not be fulfilled. God 
hath promised to help us to bear affliction, 
Ps. xxxvii. 24, 39 ; how could we experience 
God's supporting us in trouble, if we did not 
sometimes meet with it I God hath pro- 
mised to give us joy in affliction, John xvi. 
20 ; how could we taste this honey of joy, if 
we were not sometimes in affliction ? Again, 
God hath promised to wipe away tears from 
our eyes, Isa. xxv. 8 ; how could God wipe 
away our tears in heaven, if we never shed 
any 1 So that, in several respects, there is 
an absolute necessity that we should meet 
with affliction. And shall not we quietly 
submit? and say, " Lord, I see there is a ne- 
cessity of it ; ' thy will be done.' " 

4:th. Consideration, to make us submit to 
God's will in affliction, is, that whatever we 
feel, it is nothing but what we have brought 
upon ourselves ; we put a rod into God's hand 
to chastise us. Christian, God lays thy cross 
on thee, but it is of thy own making. Tf a 
man's field be full of tares, it is nothing but 
what he hath sown in it ; if thou reapest a 
bitter crop of affliction, it is nothing but what 
thou thyself hast sown. The cords that pinch 
3 R 



thee are of thy own twisting ; me me adsum 
qui feci ! If children will eat green fruit, 
they may thank themselves if they are sick ; 
if we eat the forbidden fruit, no wonder we 
feel it gripe. Sin is the Trojan horse that 
lands an army of afflictions upon us ; Jer. iv. 
15, "A voice publisheth affliction;" v. 18, 
"Thy way and thy doings have procured 
these things unto thee ; this is thy wicked- 
ness." If we by sin run ourselves into arrears 
with God, no wonder if he set affliction as a 
sergeant on our back to arrest us. This may 
make us patiently submit to God in affliction, 
and say, f* Thy will be done." We have no 
cause to complain of God, it is nothing but 
what our sins have merited; Jer. ii. 17, 
" Hast not thou procured this unto thyself!" 
The cross, though it be of God's laying, it is 
of our own making; say then, as Micah vii. 
9, " I will bear the indignation of the Lord, 
because I have sinned against him." 

5th. Consideration, to cause submission to 
God in affliction, God is now about to make 
an experiment, he doth it to prove and try us, 
Ps. lxvi. 10, 11. "Thou, O God, hast tried 
us as silver is tried, thou laidst affliction upon 
our loins." If there were no affliction, how 
should God have an opportunity to try men } 
Hypocrites can sail in a pleasure-boat, serve 
God in prosperity ; but when we can keep 
close to God in times of danger, — when we 
can trust God when we have no pawn, and 
love God when we have no smile, — here is 
the trial of sincerity ! This may make us 
say, " thy will be done 7" God is only trying 
us ; what hurt is in that 1 What is the gold 
the worse of being tried 1 

6th. Consideration, to make us submit to 
God in affliction, and say, " thy will be done," 
is, that in all our crosses God hath a kind- 
ness for us. As there was no night so dark 
but Israel had a pillar of fire to give light, so 
there is no condition so cloudy, but we may 
see that which gives light of comfort. David 
would " sing of mercy and judgment," Ps. 
ci. 1. This may make our wills cheerfully 
submit to God's, to consider in every path 
of providence we may see a footstep of kind- 
ness. 

Quest. What kindness is there in afflic- 
tion, when God seems most unkind 1 



498 



OF THE THIRD PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



Ans. 1. There is kindness in affliction, in 
that there is love in it. God's rod, and God's 
love may stand together, Heb. xii. 6, " Whom 
the Lord loveth he chasteneth," — whom he 
cockereth above the rest, so Mercer. As 
Abraham, when he lift up his hand to sacri- 
fice Isaac, loved him ; so when God afflicts his 
people, and seems to sacrifice their outward 
comforts, yet he loves them ; the husbandman 
loves his vine, when he cuts it and makes it 
bleed ; and shall not we submit to God 1 shall 
we quarrel with that which hath kindness in 
it, which comes in love? The chirurgeon 
binds the patient, and lanceth him, but no 
wise man will quarrel with the chirurgeon, 
it is in love, and in order to a cure. 

A. 2. There is kindness in affliction, in 
that God deals with us now as children, Heb. 
xii. 7, " If ye endure chastening, God deals 
with you as sons." God hath one Son with- 
out sin, but no son without stripes. Afflic- 
tion is a badge of adoption ; it is Dei sigil- 
lum, saith Tertullian ; it is God's seal by 
which he marks us for his own. When 
Munster, that holy man, lay sick, his friends 
asked him how he did 1 He pointed to his 
sores, saying, Hcb sunt gemmce Dei, — these 
are the jewels with which God decks his 
children. Shall not we then say, " thy will 
be done]" Lord, there's kindness in the 
cross, thou usest us as children ? The rod 
of discipline is to fit us for the inheritance. 

A. 3. There is kindness, that God hath, in 
all our afflictions, left us a promise ; in the 
most cloudy providences, the promise appears 
as a rainbow in the cloud. 

(1) . Then we shall have God's promise 
with us, Ps. xci. 15, "I will be with him in 
trouble." It cannot be ill with that man with 
whom God is. I will he with him, i. e. to 
support, sanctify, sweeten ; God's presence is 
a sweetening ingredient into every affliction. 
I had rather be in prison, and have God's 
presence, than be in a palace, and want it. 

(2) . Promise, that he will lay no more 
upon us than he will enable us to bear, 1 Cor. 
x. 13. God will not try us beyond our 
strength; either God will make the yoke 
lighter, or our faith stronger ; may not this 
make us. submit our wills to God, when afflic- 
tions have so much kindness in them 1 In 



all our trials, God hath left us promises which 
are like manna in the wilderness. 

A. 4. This is great kindness, that all the 
troubles that befall us shall be for our profit, 
Heb. xii. 10, " He for our profit." 

Quest. But what profit is in affliction ? 

Ans. 1. Afflictions are disciplinary, they 
teach us, — Schola crucis, schola lucis. 
Many psalms have this inscription, — Mas- 
chil, — ' a psalm giving instruction :' affliction 
may have this inscription upon it, — Maschil, 
— an affliction giving instruction ; Micah vi. 
9, " Hear ye the rod." Luther saith, he 
could never rightly understand some of the 
psalms, till he was in affliction ; Judges viii. 
16, " Gideon took thorns of the wilderness, 
and briars, and with them he taught the men 
of Succoth :" God by the thorns and briars of 
affliction teacheth us. 

(1) . Affliction shows us more of our own 
hearts than ever. Water in a glass vial looks 
clear, but set it on the fire, and the scum boils 
up ; when God sets us upon the fire, then we 
see that corruption boils up which we did not 
discern before. Sharp afflictions are to the 
soul as a soaking rain to the houses, we know 
not that there are such holes in the house 
till the shower comes, and then we see it 
drop down here and there ; so, we before did 
not know that there were such unmortified 
lusts in the soul, till the storm of affliction 
comes, then we spy unbelief, impatience, car- 
nal fear, we see it drop down in many places. 
Thus affliction is a sacred collyrium, it clears 
our eye-sight; the rod gives wisdom. 

(2) . Affliction brings those sins to re- 
membrance which before we buried in the 
grave of forge tfulness. Joseph's brethren, 
for twenty years together, were not at all 
troubled for their sin in selling their bro- 
ther ; but when they came into Egypt, and 
began to be in straits, then their sin in sell- 
ing their brother came into their remem- 
brance, and their hearts did smite them, 
Gen. xlii. 21, " They said one to another, 
we are verily guilty concerning our bro- 
ther." When a man is in distress, now his 
sin comes fresh into his mind ; conscience 
makes a rehearsal-sermon of all the evils 
which have passed in his life ; now his ex- 
pense of precious time, his sabbath-break- 



OF THE THIRD PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



499 



ing, his slighting of the word, come into his 
remembrance, and he goes out with Peter 
and weeps bitterly. Thus the rod gives wis- 
dom, it shows the hidden evil of the heart, 
and brings former sins to remembrance. 

A. 2. There is profit in affliction as it 
quickens a spirit of prayer,— premuntur jus- 
ti ut pressi clament. Jonah was asleep in 
j the ship, but at prayer in the whale's belly. 
Perhaps, in a time of health and prosperity, 
we prayed in a cold and formal manner, — we 
put no coals to the incense, — we did scarce 
mind our own prayers, — and how should God 
mind them I Now, God sends some cross 
or other to make us stir up ourselves to take 
hold of God. When Jacob was in fear of 
his life by his brother, then he wrestles with 
God, and weeps in prayer, and would not 
leave God till he blessed him, Hos. xii. 4. 
It is with many of God's children, as with 
those who formerly had the sweating sick- 
ness in this land, it was a sleepy disease, if 
they slept they died ; therefore to keep them 
waking, they were smitten with rosemary 
branches ; so, the Lord, nseth affliction as a 
rosemary branch to keep us from sleeping, 
and to awaken a spirit of prayer, Isa. xxvi. 
16, " They poured out a prayer, when thy 
chastening hand was upon them ;" now their 
prayer pierced the heavens. In times of 
trouble we pray feelingly ; and we never pray 
so fervently as when we pray feelingly ; and, 
is not this for our profit 1 

A. 3. Affliction is for our profit, as it is a 
means to expectorate and purge out our sins, 
Isa. xxvii. 9, " By this therefore shall the 
iniquity of Jacob be purged." Affliction is 
God's physic to expel the noxious humour ; 
it cures the imposthume of pride, the fever of 
lust ; and, is not this for our profit ? Afflic- 
tion is God's file to fetch off our rust, his flail 
to thrash off our husks ; the water of affliction 
is not to drown us, but to wash off our spots. 

A. 4. To be under the black rod is pro- 
fitable, in that hereby we grow more seri- 
ous, and are more careful to clear our evi- 
dences for heaven. In times of prosperity, 
— " when the rock poured me out rivers of 
oil," Job xxix. 6, — we were careless in get- 
ting, at least clearing our title to glory. Had 
many no better evidences for their land, than 



they have for their salvation, they were but 
in an ill case ; but when an hour of trouble 
comes, we begin to look after our spiritual 
evidences, and see how things stand between 
God and our souls ; and, is it not for our 
profit to see our interest in Christ more 
cleared than ever ? 

A. 5. Affliction is for our profit, as it is 
a means to take us more off from the world; 
the world oft proves not only a spider's 
web, but a cockatrice egg ; pernicious 
worldly things are great enchantments, they 
are retinacula spei, Tertul. They hinder 
us in our passage to heaven. If a clock be 
overwound, it stands still ; so, when the 
heart is wound up too much to the world, it 
stands still to heavenly things. Affliction 
sounds a retreat to call us off the immode- 
rate pursuit of earthly things ; when things 
are frozen, and congealed together, the only 
way to separate them, is, by fire : so, when 
the heart and the world are congealed to- 
gether, God hath no better way to separate 
them than by the fire of affliction. 

A. 6. Affliction is for our profit, as it is a 
refiner; it works us to further degrees of 
sanctity, Heb. xii. 10, " He for our profit, 
that we might be partakers of his holiness." 
The vessels of mercy are the brighter for 
scouring ; you pour water on your linen when 
you would whiten it : God pours the waters 
of affliction upon us, to lay our souls a-whi- 
tening. The leaves of the fig-tree, and root 
are bitter, but the fruit is sweet ; afflictions 
are in themselves bitter, but they bring forth 
the sweet fruits of righteousness, Heb. xii. 
11 : this may make us submit to God, and 
say, " Thy will be done ;" there's kindness 
in affliction, it is for our spiritual profit. 

A. 7. There's kindness in affliction, in 
that there is no condition so bad, but it 
might be worse : when it is duskish it might 
be darker. God doth not make our cross 
so heavy as he might ; he doth not stir up 
all his anger, Ps. Ixxviii. 38. He doth not 
put so many nails in our yoke, so much 
wormwood in our cup, as he might. Doth 
God chastise thy body 3 He might torture 
thy conscience. Doth he cut thee short g 
He might cut thee off. The Lord might 
make our chains heavier. Is it a burning 



500 OF THE THIRD PETITION 



IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



fever 1 It might have been the burning lake. 
Doth God use the pruning knife to lop thee 1 
He might bring his axe to hew thee down. 
Ezek. xlvii. 3, " The waters were up to the 
ankles." Do the waters of affliction come 
up to the ankles ; God might make them 
rise higher ; nay, he might drown thee in 
the waters. This may make us submit quiet- 
ly, and say, " Thy will be done," because 
there is so much kindness in it ; whereas 
God useth the rod, he might use the scorpion. 

A. 8. There is kindness in affliction, in 
that your case is not so bad as others ; they 
are always upon the rack, they spend their 
" years with sighing," Ps. xxxi. 10. Have 
you a gentle fit of the ague $ Others cry out 
of the stone and strangulation. Do you bear 
the wrath of men ? Others bear the wrath 
of God. You have but a single trial : others 
have them twisted together. God shoots 
but one arrow at you, he shoots a shower of 
arrows at others. Is there not kindness in 
all this 1 We are apt to say, never any suf- 
fered as we ! Was it not worse with Laza- 
rus, who was so full of sores, that the dogs 
took pity on him, and licked his sores ? Nay, 
was it not worse with Christ, who lived poor 
and died cursed 1 May not this cause us to 
say, " Thy will be done'?" There is kind- 
ness in it, that God deals not so severely 
with us as with others. 

A. 9. There is kindness in affliction, in 
that (if we belong to God) it is all the hell 
we shall have. Some have two hells, — they 
suffer in their body and conscience, — here 
is one hell ; and another hell is to come, 
unquenchable fire. Judas had two hells, 
but a child of God hath but one hell. La- 
zarus had all his hell here ; he was full of 
sores, but had a convoy of angels to carry 
him to heaven when he died. Say then, 
" Lo, if this be the worst I shall have, if this 
be all my hell, I will patiently acquiesce, 
" Thy will be done !" 

A. 10. There is kindness, in that God 
gives gracious supports in affliction. If he 
strikes with one hand he will support with 
the other ; Deut. xxxiii. 27, " Underneath 
are the everlasting arms." There is not 
the least trial, but if God would desert us, 
and not assist us with his grace, we should 



sink under it, — the frown of a great man, — 
the fear of reproach : Peter was frighted at 
the voice of a maid, Matt. xxvi. 69. O 
therefore, what mercy is it to have Christ 
strengthen us, and as it were bear the hea- 
viest part of the cross with us ! One said, 
I have no ravishing joys in my sickness, but 

1 bless God, I have sweet supports: and 
should not this cause submission to God's 
will, and make us say, Lo, if thou art so. 
kind as to bear us up in affliction, that we* 
do not faint, put us into what winepress thou 
pleasest, " Thy will be done !" 

11. There is kindness in affliction, in that 
it is preventive. 

(1) . God by this stroke of his would pre- 
vent some sin. Paul's " thorn in the flesh" 
was to prevent his being lifted up in pride, 

2 Cor. xii. 7. As affliction is sometimes sent 
for the punishing of sin, so sometimes for 
the preventing of sin. Prosperity exposes 
to much evil ; it is hard to carry a full cup 
without spilling, and a full estate without 
sinning. God's people know not how much 
they are beholden to their affliction ; they 
might have fallen into some scandal, had not 
God set a hedge of thorns in their way to , 
stop them. What kindness is this] God 
lets us fall into sufferings, to prevent falling 
into snares ; say then, Lord, do as it seems 
good in thy sight, " Thy will be done." 

(2) . God by affliction would prevent dam- 
nation, 1 Cor. xi. 32, " We are chastened of 
the Lord, that we should not be condemned 
with the world." A man, by falling into the 
briars, is saved from falling into the river : 
God lets us fall into the briars of affliction, 
that we may not drown in perdition. It is a 
great favour when a lesser punishment is in- 
flicted, to prevent a greater. Is it not cle- 
mency in the judge, when he lays some light 
penalty on the prisoner, and saves his life 1 
so, when God lays upon us light affliction, 
and saves us from wrath to come. As Pilate 
said, Luke xxiii. 16, " I will therefore chas- 
tise him, and release him :" so God chas- 
tiseth his children, and lets them go, frees 
them from eternal torment. What is the drop 
of sorrow, the godly taste, to that sea of 
wrath the wicked shall be drinking of to all 
eternity 1 O what kindness is here ! May 



OF THE THIRD PETITION 



IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



501 



not this make us say, " Thy will be done ?" 
It is preventing physic. 

A. 12. There is kindness, in that God doth 
mix his providences ; Hab. iii. 2, In anger he 
remembers mercy. Not all pure gall, but 
some honey mixed with it. Asher's shoes 
were iron and brass, but his foot was dipped 
in oil, Deut. xxxiii. 24. Affliction is the 
shoe of brass, but God causeth the foot to be 
dipped in oil. As the limner mixeth with 
his dark shadows bright colours, so the wise 
God mingles the dark and bright colours, 
crosses and blessings. The body is afflicted, 
but within is peace of conscience ; there is a 
blessing. Joseph was sold into Egypt, and 
put in prison ; there was the dark side of the 
cloud. Job lost all that ever he had, his 
skin was clothed with boils and ulcers ; here 
was a sad providence. But God gave a testi- 
mony from heaven of Job's integrity, and 
did afterwards double his estate, Job xlii. 10, 
"The Lord gave Job twice as much;" here 
was the goodness of God seen towards Job. 
God doth chequer his works of providence, 
and shall not we submit and say, Lord, if 
thou art so kind, mixing so many bright 
colours with my dark condition, 44 thy will 
be done." 

A. 13. There is kindness in affliction, in 
that God doth moderate his stroke, Jer. xxx. 
11, 44 1 will correct thee in measure." God 
will in the day of his east-wind stay his 
rough wind, Isa. xxvii. 8. The physician that 
understands the crisis and temper of the 
patient will not give too strong physic for the 
body, nor will he give one drachm or scruple 
too much : God knows our frame, he will not 
over-afflict, he will not stretch the strings of 
his viol too hard, lest they break. And is 
there no kindness in all this 1 May not this 
work our hearts to submission ] Lord, if thou 
usest so much gentleness, and correctest in 
measure, "thy will be done !" 

A. 14. There is kindness in affliction, in 
that God often sweetens it with divine con- 
solation : 2 Cor. i. 4, 44 Who comforteth us 
in all our tribulation." After a bitter po- 
tion, a lump of sugar. God comforts in af- 
fliction. 

(1). Partly by his word, Ps. cxix. 50, 
44 This is my comfort in my affliction, for 



thy word hath quickened me." The pro- 
mises of the word are a shop of cordials. 

(2). God comforts by his Spirit. Philip, 
langrave of Hesse, said, that in his troubles, 
Se divinas martyrum consolationes sensisse, 
— he felt the divine consolations of the mar- 
tyrs. David had his pilgrimage-songs, Ps. 
cxix. 54, and St Paul his prison-songs, Acts 
iv. 25. Thus God candies our wormwood 
with sugar, and makes us gather grapes off 
thorns. Some of the saints have such ravish- 
ing joys in affliction, that they had rather en- 
dure their sufferings than want their comforts. 
O how much kindness is in the cross ] In 
the belly of this lion is a honeycomb. May 
not this make us cheerfully submit to God's 
will, when God lines the yoke with comfort, 
and gives us honey at the end of the rod ? 

A. 15. There is kindness in affliction, in 
that God doth curtail and shorten it. He 
will not let it lie on too long, Isa. lvii. 16, 
44 1 will not contend for ever, for the spirit 
should fail before me." God will give his 
people a writ of ease, and proclaim a year of 
jubilee ; the wicked may plough upon the 
backs of the saints, but God will cut their 
traces, Ps. cxxix. 4. The goldsmith will not 
let his gold lie any longer in the furnace than 
till it be purified. The wicked must drink a 
sea of wrath, but the godly have only a cup 
of affliction, Isa. li. 17, and God will say, 
44 Let this cup pass away." Affliction may 
be compared to frost, it will break, and 
spring-flowers will come on, Isa. xxxv. 10, 
44 Sorrow and sighing shall flee away." Af- 
fliction hath a sting, but withal a wing, — 
sorrow shall fly away, — this land-flood shall 
be dried up. If then there be so much kind- 
ness in the cross, God will cause a cessation 
of trouble: say then fiat voluntas tua, 44 thy 
will be done." 

A. 16. There is kindness in affliction, in 
that it is a means to make us happy, Job v. 
17, " Behold, happy is the man whom God 
correcteth." This seems strange to flesh 
and blood, that affliction should make one 
happy. When Moses saw the bush burning 
and not consumed, 44 1 will (saith he) turn 
aside and see this great sight," Exod. iii. 3 : 
so here a strange sight, a man afflicted, yet 
happy. The world counts them happy who 



502 



OF THE THIRD PETITION 



IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



can escape affliction, but happy is the man 
whom God correcteth. 

Quest. But how do afflictions contribute 
to our happiness ? 

Ans. 1. As they are a means to bring us 
nearer to God 1 The loadstone of prosperity 
doth not draw us so near to God, as the cords 
of affliction ; when the prodigal was pinched 
with want, then saith he, " I will arise and go 
to my father," Luke xv. 18. The deluge 
brought the dove to the ark : the floods of 
sorrow make us hasten to Christ. 

A. 2. Afflictions make us happy, as they 
are manuductions to glory. The storm drives 
the ship into the harbour : happy is that storm 
which drives the soul into the heavenly har- 
bour. Is it not better to go through affliction 
to glory, than through pleasure to misery 1 ? 
Not that afflictions merit glory, — no cross 
ever merited, but that which Christ endured, 
— but they do disponere, and prepare us for 
glory. Think, O Christian, what affliction 
leads to, it leads to paradise, where are rivers 
of pleasure always running; may not this 
make us cheerfully submit to God's will, and 
say, Lord, if there be so much kindness in 
affliction, if all thou doest is to make us 
happy, "thy will be done !" 

7th. Consideration, it is God's ordinary 
course, to keep his people to a bitter diet- 
drink, and exercise them with great trials. 
Affliction is the beaten road all the saints have 
gone in ; the lively stones in the spiritual 
building have been all hewn and polished; 
Christ's lily hath grown among the thorns, 
2 Tim. iii. 12, " All that will live godly in 
Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution." 'Tis 
too much for a Christian to have two heavens, 
that is more than Christ had. It hath been 
ever the lot of the saints to encounter with 
sore trials : both of the prophets, James v. 10, 
" Take my brethren the prophets for an ex- 
ample of suffering affliction :" and of the 
apostles, — Peter was crucified with his head 
downward, James beheaded by Herod, John 
banished into the isle of Patmos, the apostle 
Thomas thrust through with a spear, Matthias 
(who was chosen apostle in Judas's room) was 
stoned to death, Luke, the evangelist, hanged 
on an olive-tree. Those saints, of whom the 
world was not worthy, did pass under the rod, 



Heb. xi. 36. Christ's kingdom is regnum 
crucis, this is the way God hath always gone 
in : such as God intends to save from hell, yet 
he doth not save from the cross. The con- 
sideration of this should quiet our minds in 
affliction, and make us say, "thy will be 
done." Do we think God will alter his course 
of providence for us ? Why should we look for 
exemption from trouble, more than others'? 
Why should we think to tread only upon roses 
and violets, when prophets and apostles have/ 
marched through the briars to heaven 1 

Sth. Consideration, God hath done that for 
thee, Christian, which may make thee con- 
tent to suffer any thing at his hand, and say, 
" thy will be done." 

(1) . He hath adopted thee for his child. 
David thought it no small honour to be the 
king's son-in-law, 1 Sam. xviii. 18. What 
an honour is it to derive thy pedigree from 
heaven, to be born of God ? Why then art 
thou troubled, and murmurest at every slight 
cross? As Jonadab said to Amnon, 2 Sam. 
xiii. 4, " Why art thou, being the king's son, 
lean V So, why art thou, who art son or daugh- 
ter to the king of heaven, troubled at these 
petty things 1 What ! the king's son, and look 
lean ! This may quiet thy spirit, and bring 
thy will to God's ; he hath dignified thee with 
honour, he hath made thee his son and heir, 
and will entail a kingdom on thee. 

(2) . God hath given thee Christ. Christ is 
communis thesaurus, — a magazine or store- 
house of all heavenly treasure, — a pearl of 
price to enrich, a tree of life to quicken, — 
he is the quintessence of all blessings : why 
then art thou discontented at thy worldly 
crosses 1 They cannot be so bitter as Christ 
is sweet. As Seneca said once to Polybius, 
" Why dost thou complain of hard fortune, 
salvo Casare! Is not Caesar thy friend V 
So, is not Christ thy friend? He can never 
be poor who hath a mine of gold in his field ; 
nor he who hath the unsearchable riches of 
Christ. Say then, Lord, " thy will be done ;" 
though I have my cross, yet I have Christ 
with it. The cross may make me weep, but 
Christ wipes off all tears, Rev. vii. 17. 

(3) . God hath given thee grace. Grace 
is the rich embroidery and workmanship of 
the Holy Ghost; it is the sacred unction, 



OF THE THIRD PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



503 



1 John ii. 27. The graces are a chain of 
pearl to adorn, and beds of spices which 
make us a sweet odour to God ; grace is a 
distinguishing blessing, Christ gave Judas his 
purse but not his Spirit. May not this quiet 
the heart in affliction, and make it say, " thy 
will be done ?" Lord, thou hast given me 
that jewel which thou bestow T est only on the 
elect ; grace is a seal of thy love, it is both 
food and cordial, it is an earnest of glory. 

9th. Consideration, when God intends the 
greatest mercy to any of his people he brings 
them low in affliction. God seems to go 
quite cross to sense and reason ; when he in- 
tends to raise us highest, he brings us lowest. 
As Moses's hand, before it wrought miracles, 
was leprous ; and Sarah's womb, before it 
brought forth the son of the promise, was 
barren ; God brings us low before he raiseth 
us, as water is at the lowest ebb before there 
is a spring-tide. 

(1) . It is true in a temporal sense. When 
God would bring Israel to Canaan, a land 
flowing with milk and honey, he first leads 
them through a sea and wilderness. When 
God intended to advance Joseph to be the 
second man in the kingdom, he cast him first 
into prison, and the iron entered into his soul, 
Ps. cv. 18. God usually lets it be darkest be- 
fore the morning-star of deliverance appears. 

(2) . It is true in a spiritual sense. When 
God intends to raise a soul to spiritual com- 
fort, he first lays it low in desertion, Isa. xii. 
1. As the limner lays his dark colour first, 
and then lays his gold colour on it, so God 
first lays the soul in the dark of desertion, 
and then he lays his golden colour of joy and 
consolation. May not this make us cheer- 
fully submit, and say, " Thy will be done V*. 
Perhaps now God afflicts me, he is about to 
raise me, he intends me a greater mercy than 
I am aware of. 

10*A. Consideration, the excellency of this 
frame of soul, to lie at God's feet and say, 
" Thy will be done." 

(1). A soul that is melted into God's will 
shows variety of grace. As the holy oint- 
ment was made up of several aromatic spices, 
myrrh, cinnamon, cassia, Exod. xxv. 23, so 
this sweet temper of soul, submission to God's 
will in affliction, hath in it a mixture of seve- 



ral graces ; in particular, it is compounded of 
three graces, faith, love, humility. 1. Faith : 
faith believes God doth all in mercy,— that 
affliction is to mortify some sin, or exercise 
some grace, — that God corrects in love and 
faithfulness, Ps. cxix. 75; the belief of this, 
causeth submission of will to God. 2. Love : 
love " thinks no evil," 1 Cor. xiii. 5. Love 
takes all God doth in the best sense ; it hath 
good thoughts of God ; this causeth submis- 
sion, " Thy will be done." Let the right- 
eous God smite me (saith love) it shall be a 
kindness, yea, it shall be an excellent oil 
which shall not break my head. 3. Humili- 
ty : the humble soul looks on its sins, and 
how it hath provoked God ; he saith not his 
afflictions are great, but his sins are great ; 
this makes him lie at God's feet, and say, 
" I will bear the indignation of the Lord, be- 
cause I have sinned against him," Micah vii. 
9. Thus a submissive frame of heart is full 
of grace, it is compounded of several graces ; 
it pleaseth God to see so many graces at once 
sweetly exercised ; he saith of such a Chris- 
tian, as David of Goliah's sword, 1 Sain. xxi. 
9, " None like that, give it me." 

(2). He who puts his fiat et placet to God's 
will, and saith, " Thy will be done," shows 
not only variety of grace, but strength of 
grace. It argues much strength in the body, 
to be able to endure hard weather, yet not to 
be altered by it : so to endure hard trials, yet 
not faint or fret, shows more than ordinary 
strength of grace. You that can say, you 
have brought your wills to God's ; God's will 
and yours agree, as the copy and the origi- 
nal ; let me assure you, you have outstript 
many Christians, who perhaps shine in a 
higher orb of knowledge than you. To be 
content to be at God's disposal, to be any 
thing that God will have us, shows a noble 
heroic soul. It is reported of the eagle, it is 
not like other fowls ; they, when they are 
hungry, make a noise, the ravens cry for 
food, but the eagle is never heard to make a 
noise, though it wants meat ; and it is from 
the nobleness and greatness of its spirit ; the 
eagle is above other fowls, and hath a spirit 
suitable to its nature ; so it is an argument 
of a holy gallantry and magnitude of spirit, 
that whatsoever cross providences befall a 



504 



OF THE THIRD PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



Christian, he doth not cry and whine as 
others, but is silent, and lies quietly at God's 
feet : here is much strength of grace in such 
a soul, nay, the height of grace. When 
grace is crowning, it is not so much to say, 
" Lord, thy will be done ;" but when grace is 
conflicting, and meets with crosses and trials, 
now to say, " Thy will be done," is a glorious 
thing indeed, and prepares for the garland of 
honour. 

11th. Consideration, persons are usually 
better in adversity than in prosperity, there- 
fore stoop to God's will. A prosperous con- 
dition is not always so safe ; 'tis true it is 
more pleasing to the palate, and every one 
desires to get on the warm side of the hedge, 
where the sun of prosperity shines, but it is 
not always best ; in a prosperous estate, there 
is more burthen : many look at the shining 
and glittering of prosperity, but not at the 
burthen, plus oneris. 

(1) . The burthen of care, therefore Christ 
calls riches, " cares," Luke viii. 14. A rose 
hath its prickles, so have riches ; we think 
them happy that flourish in their silks and 
cloth of gold, but we see not the troubles 
and cares that attend them. A shoe may have 
silver lace on it, yet pinch the foot. Many 
a man that goes to his day-labour, lives a 
more contented life than he that hath his 
thousands per annum. Disquieting care is 
the malus genius, the evil spirit, that haunts 
the rich man ; when his chests are full of 
gold, his heart is full of care how to increase, 
or how to secure what he hath gotten ; he is 
sometimes full of care whom he shall leave it 
to. A large estate, like a long trailing gar- 
ment, is oft more troublesome than useful. 

(2) . In a prosperous estate there is the 
burthen of account. Such as are in high 
places have a far greater account to give to 
God than others, Luke xii. 48, Unto whom- 
soever much is given, of him much shall be 
required. The more golden talents any are 
entrusted with, the more they have to an- 
swer for ; the more their revenues, the more 
their reckonings. God will say, " I gave you 
a great estate, what have you done with it 1 
how have you employed it for my glory V I 
have read of Philip king of Spain, when he 
was to die, he said, " O that I had never 



been a king ! O that I had lived a private 
solitary life ! Here is all the fruit of my 
kingdom, it hath made my accounts heavier." 
So then, may not this quiet our hearts in a 
low adverse condition, and make us say, 
" Lord, thy will be done V 9 as thou hast given 
me a less portion of worldly things, so I have 
a less burthen of care, and a less burthen of 
account. 

(3). A prosperous condition hath plus pe- 
riculi, more danger in it. Such as are on the 
top of the pinnacle of honour, are in more 
danger of falling, they are subject to many 
temptations ; their table is oft a snare. He- 
liogabalus made ponds of sweet water to 
bathe in ; millions are drowned in the sweet 
waters of pleasure. A great sail overturns 
the vessel ; how many, by having too great 
sails of prosperity, have had their souls over- 
turned 1 It must be a strong head that bears 
heady wine ; he had need have much wisdom 
and grace that knows how to bear a high 
condition. It is hard to carry a full cup with- 
out spilling, and a full estate without sinning. 
Agur feared, if he were full, he should deny 
God and say, " Who is the Lord ?" Prov. xxx. 
9, Prosperity breeds, 1. Pride : the children 
of Korah were in a higher estate than the rest 
of the Levites, they were employed in the 
Tabernacle about the most holy things of all, 
Numb. iv. 4. They had the first lot, Josh, 
xxi. 10. But as they were lifted up above 
others of the Levites in honour, so in pride, 
Numb. xvi. 3. In the Thames, when the tide 
riseth higher, the boat riseth higher : so, when 
the tide of an estate riseth higher, many 
men's hearts rise higher in pride. 2. Pros- 
perity breeds security. Samson fell asleep in 
Delilah's lap, so do men in the lap of ease 
and plenty : the world's golden sands are 
quicksands. How hard is it for a rich man 
to enter into the kingdom of heaven ! Luke 
xviii. 24. The consideration of this should 
make us submit to God in adversity, and say, 
" thy will be done." God sees what is best 
for us ; if we have less estate, we are in less 
danger ; if we want the honours of others, so 
we want their temptations. 

12th. Consideration, the having of our 
wills melted into God's, is a good sign that 
the present affliction is sanctified : then an 



OF THE THIRD PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



affliction is sanctified, when it attains the end 
for which it was sent. The end why God sends 
affliction, is to calm the spirit, to subdue the 
j will, and bring it to God's will ; when this is 
done, affliction hath attained the end for 
[which it came,— it is sanctified, and it will 
inot be long- ere it be removed. When the sore 
is healed, the smarting plaster is taken off. 

13th. Consideration, how unworthy it is 
of a Christian to be fro ward and unsubmis- 
sive, and not bring his will to God's. 

(1) . It is below the spirit of a Christian. 
The spirit of a Christian is dove-like, 'tis 
meek and sedate, willing to be at God's dis- 
posal ; " Not my will, but thy will be done," 
Luke xxii. 42. A Christian spirit is not fret- 
|ful, but humble ; not craving but contented. 
See the picture of a Christian spirit in St 
Paul, Phil. iv. 12, " I know how to be abased, 
and I know how to abound." Paul could be 
either higher or lower, as God saw good ; he 
could sail with any wind of providence, either 
a prosperous or boisterous gale, his will was 
melted into God's will ; now to be of a cross 
[•spirit that cannot submit to God, is unworthy 
|of the spirit of a Christian, — it is like the 
[bird, that, because he is pent up in the cage, 
and cannot fly in the open air, beats himself 
against the cage. 

(2) . A fro ward unsubmissive frame, that 
cannot submit to God's will, is unworthy of 
a Christian's profession ; he professeth to 
live by faith, yet repines at his condition ; 
" Faith lives not by bread alone," it feeds on 
promises, it makes future glory present ; faith 
! sees all in God : when the fig-tree doth not 
blossom, faith can joy in the God of its sal- 
vation, Hab. iii. 17, 18. Now, to be troubled 
at our present estate, because low and mean, 
shows weak faith. Sure that is a weak 
faith, or no faith, which must have crutches 

I to support it. O be ashamed to call thyself 
[believer, if thou canst not trust God, and 
(acquiesce in his will, in the deficiency of 
I outward comforts ! 

(3) . To be of a froward unsubmissive spi- 
rit, that cannot surrender its will unto God, 
is unworthy of the high dignities God hath 

'put upon a Christian. 1. He is a rich heir ; 
he is exalted above all creatures that ever 

' God made, except the angels ; yea, in some 

3 S 



sense, as his nature is joined in an hyposta- 
tical union to the divine nature, so he is 
above the angels. O then, how is it below 
his dignity, for want of a few earthly com- 
forts, to be froward, and ready to quarrel with 
the Deity ! Is it not unworthy of a king's 
son, because he may not pluck such a flower, 
to be discontented and rebel against his royal 
father] 2. A Christian is espoused to Jesus 
Christ. What ! to be married to Christ, yet 
froward and unsubmissive 1 Hast not thou 
enough in him? As Elkanah said to Han- 
nah, 1 Sam. i. 8, " Am not I better to thee 
than ten sons ?" Is not Christ better than a 
thousand worldly comforts ; Omnia bona in 
summo bono. It is a disparagement to Christ 
that his spouse should be froward when she 
is matched into the crown of heaven. 

(4). To be of a froward unsubmissive spi- 
rit, is unsuitable to the prayers of a Chris- 
tian; he prays, " thy will be done;" it is the 
will of God he should meet with such trou- 
bles, whether sickness, loss of estate, crosses 
in children, God hath decreed, and ordered 
it ; why then is there not submission ? Why 
are we discontented at that which we pray 
for] It is a saying of Latimer, speaking of 
Peter, who denied his master, Peter, saith he, 
forgot his prayer, for that was, " hallowed be 
thy name :" so, oft we forget our prayers, 
nay, contradict them ; for we pray " thy will 
be done." Now, if unsubmissiveness to God 
be so unworthy of a Christian, should not we 
labour to bring our wills to God's, and say, 
Lord, let me not disparage religion, let me 
do nothing unworthy of a Christian. 

Mth. Consideration, frowardness and un- 
submissiveness of will to God, is very sinful. 

(1). It is sinful in its nature ; to murmur 
when God crosseth us in our will, shows 
much ungodliness. The apostle Jude speaks 
of ungodly ones, v. 15 ; and that we may bet- 
ter know who these are, he sets a mark upon 
them, v. 16, " These are murmurers." Some 
think they are not so ungodly as others, be- 
cause they do not swear, nor get drunk, but 
you may be ungodly in murmuring; there 
are not only ungodly drunkards, but ungodly 
murmurers ; nay, this is the height of ungod- 
liness, namely, rebellion. Korah and his 
company murmured against God, and see 



506 OF THE THIRD PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



how the Lord interprets this, Num. xvii. 10, 
" Bring Aaron's rod to be kept for a token 
against the rebels ;" to be a murmurer, and a 
rebel, is, in God's account, all one ; Num. xx. 
13, " This is the water of Meribah, because 
the children of Israel strove with the Lord." 
How did they strive with God? because they 
murmured at his providence, v. 3. What ! wilt 
thou be a rebel against God] It is a shame for 
a servant to strive with his master, but what 
is it for a creature to strive with its maker. 

(2) . To quarrel with God's providence, 
and be unsubmissive to his will, is sinful in 
the spring and cause; it ariseth from pride. 
It was Satan's temptation, " ye shall be as 
gods," Gen. iii. 5. A proud person makes a 
god of himself : he disdains to have his will 
crossed; he thinks himself better than others, 
therefore he finds fault with God's wisdom, 
that he is not above others. 

(3) . Quarrelsomeness and unsubmissive- 
ness to God's will is sinful in the concomi- 
tants of it. 1st. It is joined with sinful ris- 
ings of the heart. (1). Evil thoughts arise ; 
we think hardly of God, as if he had done us 
wrong, or, as if we had deserved better at his 
hands. (2). Passions begin to arise ; the 
heart secretly frets against God. Jonah was 
crossed in his will, and passion began to boil 
in him, Jonah iv. 1, " He was very angry." 
Jonah's spirit, as well as the sea, wrought, 
and was tempestuous. 2d. Unsubmissive- 
ness of will is joined with unthankfulness, 
because in some one thing we are afflicted, 
we forget all the mercies we have ; we deal 
with God, just as the widow of Sarepta did 
with the prophet. The prophet Elijah had 
been a means to keep her alive in the famine, 
but as soon as her child dies, she quarrels with 
the prophet, 1 Kings xvii. 18, " O thou man 
of God, art thou come to slay my son V So 
do we deal with God ; we can be content to 
receive blessings at his hand, but as soon as 
he doth, in the least thing, cross us in our 
will, we grow touchy, and are ready in a pas- 
sion to fly out against him : thus God loseth all 
his mercies, and is not this high ingratitude ] 

(4) . Frowardness and unsubmissiveness 
to God's will, is evil in the effects. 1st. It 
unfits for duty : it is bad sailing in a storm, 
and it is ill praying when the heart is stormy 



and unquiet ; it is well if such prayers do not 
suffer shipwreck. 2d. Unsubmissiveness of 
spirit, sometimes unfits for the use of reason. 
Jonah was discontented, because he had not 
his will ; God withered the gourd, and his 
heart fretted against God ; and in the midst 
of his passion, he spake no better than non- 
sense and blasphemy, Jonah iv. 9, " I do well 
to be angry, even unto death." Sure he did 
not know well what he said. What ! to be 
angry with God, and die for anger] He 
speaks as if he had lost the use of his reason. ' 
Thus unsubmissiveness of will is sinful in its 
nature, causes, concomitants, effects ; may 
not this martyr our wills, and bring our wills 
to God in every thing, making us say, *« thy 
will be done." 

15th. Consideration, unsubmissiveness to 
God's will is very imprudent, we get nothing 
by it, it doth not ease us of our burthen, but 
rather makes it heavier. The more the child 
struggles with the parent, the more it is 
beaten ; when we struggle with God, and will 
not submit to his will, we get nothing but 
more blows. Instead of having the cords of 
affliction loosened, we make God tie them 
the straiter. Let us then submit, and say, 
" Lord, thy will be done." Why should I 
spin out my own trouble by impatience and 
make my cross heavier] What got Israel 
by their frowardness, — they were within 
eleven days' journey of Canaan, they fell a 
murmuring, and God leads them a march of 
forty years longer in the wilderness. 

16th. Consideration, the mischief of being 
unsubmissive to God's will in affliction, it lays 
a man open to many temptations. When the 
heart frets against God by discontent, here's 
good fishing for Satan in these troubled waters. 
He usually puts discontented persons upon 
indirect means. Job's wife fretted — so far 
was she from holy submission— and she pre- 
sently puts her husband upon cursing of God, 
Job. ii. 9, " Curse God and die." What is 
the reason why some have turned witches, 
and given themselves to the devil, but out of 
envy and discontent, because they have not 
had their will. Others being under a temp- 
tation of poverty, and not having their wills 
in living at such a high rate as others, 
have laid violent hands upon themselves. 



OF THE THIRD PETITION 



IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



507 



O the temptations that men of discontented 
spirits are exposed to ! Here (saith Satan) 
is good fishing for me. 

17th. Consideration, howfar unsubmissive- 
ness of spirit is from that temper of soul 
which God requires in affliction. God would 
have us in patience possess our souls, Luke 
xxi. 19. The Greek word for patience signi- 
fies to bear up under a burthen without fainting 
or fretting ; but to be froward in affliction, 
and quarrel with God's will, where is this 
Christian patience ? God would have us re- 
joice in affliction, James i. 2, " Count it all joy 
when ye fall into divers temptations," that 
is, afflictions ; count it joy, be as birds that 
sing in winter, 1 Thess. i. 6, " Ye received 
the word in much affliction with joy." Paul 
could leap in his fetters, and sing in the stocks, 
Acts xvi. 25. How far is a discontented soul 
from this frame 1 He is far from rejoicing in 
affliction that hath not learned to submit. 

18th. Consideration, what is it makes the 
difference between a godly man, and an un- 
godly man in affliction, but only this, the god- 
ly man submits to God's will, the ungodly 
man will not submit : a wicked man frets 
and fumes, and is like a wild bull in a net. 
He in affliction blasphemes God, Rev. xvi. 9, 
" Men were scorched with great heat, and 
blasphemed the name of God." Put a stone 
in the fire, and it flies in your face ; stony 
hearts fly in God's face. A stuff that is rot- 
ten, the more it is rubbed, the more it frets 
and tears. When God afflicts the sinner he 
tears himself in anger, but a godly man is 
sweetly submissive to God's will ; this is his 
speech, " shall not I drink the cup which my 
Father hath given me ?" Spices, when they 
are bruised, send out a sweet fragrant smell : 
when God bruiseth his saints, they send out 
the sweet perfume of patience. Servulus, 
a holy man, was long afflicted with the pal- 
sy, yet this was his ordinary speech, laude- 
tur Deus, let God be praised : O let us say, 
f Thy will be done." Let us bear that pa- 
tiently which God inflicts justly, else how do 
we show our grace 1 What difference is there 
between us and the wicked in affliction } 

19th. Consideration, not to submit to 
God's providential will, is highly provoking 
to God. Can we anger God more than by 



quarrelling with him, and not let him have 
his will 1 Kings do not love to have their 
wills opposed, though they may be unjust : 
how ill doth God take it, when we will be 
disputing against his righteous will ? It is a 
sin God cannot bear, Numb. xiv. 27, " How 
long shall I bear with this evil congregation 
which murmur against me ?" May not God 
justly say thus, how long shall I bear with 
this wicked person, who, when any thing 
falls out cross, murmurs against me ? v. 28, 
" Say unto them, as truly as I live, saith the 
Lord, as ye have spoken in my ears, so will 
I do unto you." God swears against a mur- 
murer, " As I live ;" and what will God do 
as he lives 1 v. 29, " Your carcasses shall 
fall in the wilderness." You see how pro- 
voking a discontented quarrelsome spirit is 
to God, it may cost men their lives, nay 
their souls. God sent fiery serpents among 
the people for their murmuring, 1 Cor. x. 10. 
He may send worse than fiery serpents, he 
may send hell fire. 

20th. Consideration, how much doth God 
bear at our hand, and shall not we be con- 
tent to bear something at his hand 1 It 
would tire the patience of angels to bear 
with us one day, 2 Pet. iii. 9, " The Lord is 
long suffering towards us." How oft do we 
offend in our eye by envious impure glances'? 
in our tongues by rash censuring? but God 
passeth by many injuries, he bears with us. 
Should the Lord punish us every time we 
offend, he might draw his sword every day. 
Shall God bear so much at our hands, and 
can we bear with nothing at his hand 1 Shall 
God be patient with us, and we impatient 
with him 1 Shall he be meek, and we mur- 
mur ? Shall he endure our sins, and shall 
not we endure his strokes 1 Oh let us say, 
" Thy will be done." Lord, thou hast been 
the greatest sufferer, thou hast borne more 
from me, than I can from thee. 

21st. Consideration, submitting our wills 
to God in affliction disappoints Satan of his 
hope, and quite spoils his design. The devil's 
end is in all our afflictions to make us sin. 
The reason why Satan did smite Job in his 
body and estate, was to perplex his mind, 
and put him into a passion ; he hoped that 
Job would have been discontented, and in a 



508 OF THE THIRD PETITION 



IN THE LORD'S PRAYER 



fit of anger, not only have cursed his birth- 
day, but curse his God. But Job lying at 
God's feet, and blessing him in affliction, dis- 
appointed Satan of his hope, and quite spoiled 
his plot. Had Job murmured he had pleased 
Satan ; had he fallen into a heat, and sparks 
of his anger had flown about, the devil had 
warmed himself at this fire of Job's passion ; 
but Job quietly submitted and blessed God ; 
here Satan's design was frustrated, and he 
missed of his intent. The devil hath oft de- 
ceived us ; the best way to deceive him, is 
by quiet submission to God in all things, 
saying, " Thy will be done." 

22cL Consideration, it may rock our hearts 
quiet in affliction, to consider, that to the 
godly the nature of affliction is quite changed; 
to a wicked man, it is a curse, the rod is 
turned into a serpent ; affliction to him is 
but an effect of God's displeasure, the begin- 
ning of sorrow ; but the nature of affliction 
is quite changed to a believer, it is by divine 
chemistry turned into a blessing ; it is like 
poison corrected, which becomes a medicine; 
it is a love token, a badge of adoption, a pre- 
paratory to glory ; should not this make us 
say, "Thy will be done]" The poison of 
the affliction is gone ; it is not hurtful, but 
healing. This hath made the saints not only 
patient in affliction, but to sound forth thank- 
fulness. As bells, when they have been 
cast in the fire, do afterwards make a sweeter 
sound, so the godly, after they have been 
cast into the fire of affliction, have sounded 
forth God's praise, Ps. cxix. 71, " It is good 
for me that I have been afflicted." Job i. 
21, «' Blessed be the name of the Lord." 

23d. Consideration, to make us submit 
our will to God's in affliction, is, to think 
how many good things we receive from ' 
God, and shall not we be content to receive 
some evil 1 Job ii. 10, » Shall we receive 
good at the hand of God, and shall we not 
receive evil 1" In the Hebrew, shall we re- 
ceive good from God and not evil? This 
may make us say, "Thy will be done." 
How many blessings have we received at 
the hand of God's bounty ? We have been 
bemiracled with mercy. What sparing, 
preventing, delivering mercy have we had 1 
The honeycomb of mercy hath continually 



dropped upon us, Lam. iii. 23, His mercies 
" are new every morning." Mercy comes in 
as constantly as the tide ; nay, how many 
tides of mercies do we see in one day. We 
never feed, but mercy carves every bit to us ; 
we never drink, but in the golden cup of 
mercy ; we never go abroad, but mercy sets a 
guard of angels about us ; we never lie down 
in bed, but mercy draws the curtains of pro- 
tection close about us ; now, shall we receive 
so many good things at the hand of God, and 
shall we not receive evil 1 Our mercies far 
outweigh our afflictions ; for one affliction we 
have a thousand mercies, O then let us sub- 
mit to God, and say, " Thy will be done." 
The sea of God's mercy should swallow up a 
few drops of affliction. 

2ith. Consideration, to bring our wills to 
God in affliction doth much honour the gos- 
pel ; an unsubmissive Christian reproacheth 
religion, as if it were not able to subdue an 
unruly spirit. It is weak physic, which can- 
not purge out ill humours : and sure it is a 
weak gospel, if it cannot master our discon- 
tent, and martyr our wills. Unsubmissive- 
ness is a reproach, but a cheerful resignation 
of our will to God sets a crown of honour 
upon the head of religion, it shows the power 
of the gospel, which can charm down the 
passions, and melt the will into God's will ; 
therefore in scripture submissive patience is 
brought in as an adorning grace, Rev. xiv. 
12, " Here is the patience of the saints." 

25th. Consideration, the example of our 
Lord Jesus, how flexible and submissive 
was he to his Father ! He who taught us 
this prayer, " thy will be done," had learn- 
ed it himself ; Christ's will was perfectly 
turned to his Father's will ; it was the will 
of his Father that he should die for our sins, 
and he "endured the cross," Heb. xii. 2. 
It was a painful, shameful, cursed death ; 
he suffered the very pains of hell equiva- 
lently, yet he willingly submitted, Isa. liii. 
7, " He opened not his mouth." He open- 
ed his side when the blood ran out, but he 
opened not his mouth in repining, his will 
was resolved into the will of his Father, 
John xviii. 11, "The cup which my Fa- 
ther hath given me shall I not drink it IV 
Now the more our wills are subject to God's 



OF THE THIRD PETITION 



IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 509 



will in affliction, the nearer we come to 
Christ our pattern ; is it not our prayer we 
may be like Christ 1 By holy submission we 
imitate him; his will was melted into his 
Father's will. 

26th. Consideration, to submit our wills to 
God is the way to have our will ; every one 
would be glad to have his will, — the way to 
have our will is to resign it, — God deals with 
us as we do with froward children, — while 
we fret and quarrel, God will give us nothing, 
but when we are submissive, and say, " Thy 
will be done," now God carves out mercy to 
us. The way to have our will is to submit 
it. David brought his will to God's, 2 Sam. 
xv. 20, " Here am I, Jet him do to me as 
seems good to him." And after he resigned 
his will he had his will ; God brought him 
back to the ark and settled him again in his 
throne, 2 Sam. xix. Many a parent that hath 
had a dear child sick, when he could bring 
his will to God to part with it, God hath 
given him the life of his child : there's no- 
thing lost by referring our will to God, the 
Lord takes it kindly from us, and it is the 
only way to have our will. 

27th. and ult. Consideration, we may the 
more cheerfully surrender our souls to God 
when we die, when we have surrendered our 
will to God while we live. Our blessed Sa- 
viour had all along submitted his wilJ to God ; 
there was but one will between God the Fa- 
ther, and Christ. Now Christ in his life-time 
having given up his will to his Father, at 
death he cheerfully gives up his soul to him, 
Luke xxiii. 46, " Father, into thy hands I 
commend my spirit." You that resign up 
your wills to God, may at the hour of death 
comfortably bequeath your souls to him. 

The second means to bring our will to 
God in affliction is, study the will of God. 

1. It is a sovereign will ; he hath a supreme 
right and dominion over his creatures, to dis- 
pose of them as he pleaseth ; a man may do 
with his own as he lists, Matt. xx. 15, " Is it 
not lawful for me to do what I will with my 
own 1 ?" A man may cut his own timber as he 
will. God's sovereignty may cause submis- 
sion, he may do with us as he sees good. 
God is not accountable to any creature for 
what he doth, Job xxxiii. 13, " He giveth not 



account of any of his matters." Who shall 
call God to account 1 Who is higher than 
the highest 1 Eccl. v. 8. What man or angel 
dare summon God to his bar? "He giveth 
not account of any of his matters." God 
will take an account of our carriage towards 
him, but he will give no account of his car- 
riage towards us. God hath an absolute 
jurisdiction over us ; the remembrance of 
this, God's will is a sovereign will, to do 
with us what he pleases, may silence all dis- 
contents, and charm down all unruly pas- 
sions ; we are not to dispute but to submit. 

2. God's will is a wise will, he knows 
what is conducing to the good of his people, 
therefore submit, Isa. xxx. 18, " The Lord 
is a God of judgment," that is, he is able to 
judge what is best for us, therefore rest in 
his wisdom, and acquiesce in his will. We 
rest in the wisdom of a physician, we are 
content he should scarify and let us blood, 
because he is judicious, and knows what is 
most conducible to our health ; if the pilot be 
skilful, the passenger saith, "let him alone, 
he knows best how to steer the ship ;" and 
shall we not rest in God's wisdom 1 Did we 
but study how wisely God steers all occur- 
rences, and how he often brings us to heaven 
by a cross wind, it would much quiet our 
spirits, and make us say, " Thy will be done." 
God's will is guided by wisdom ; should God 
sometimes let us have our will, we would 
undo ourselves ; did he let us carve for our- 
selves, we would choose the worst piece ; 
Lot chose Sodom because it was well-water- 
ed, and was as the garden of the Lord, Gen. 
xiii. 10, but God rained fire upon it out of 
heaven, Gen. xix. 24. 

3. God's will is a just will, Gen. xviii. 25, 
"Shall not the judge of all the earth do 
right ?" God's will is regula et mensura, — 
it is the rule of justice ; the wills of men are 
corrupt, therefore unfit to give law ; but God's 
will is a holy and unerring will, which may 
cause submission, Ps. xcvii. God may cross, 
but he cannot wrong us ; severe he may be, 
not unjust ; therefore we must strike sail, and 
say, " Thy will be done." 

4. God's will is a good and gracious will, 
it promotes our interest ; if it be God's will 
to afflict us, he shall make us say at last, it 



510 OF THE THIRD PETITION 



IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



was good for us that we were afflicted. God's 
flail shall only thrash off our husks. That 
which is against our will shall not be against 
our profit ; study what a good will God's is, 
and we will say, fiat voluntas, — " Thy will 
be done." 

5. God's will is an irresistible will; we 
may oppose it, but we cannot hinder it ; the 
rising of the wave cannot stop the ship when 
it is in full sail, so the rising up of our will 
against God cannot stop the execution of his 
will, Rom. ix. 19, "Who hath resisted his 
will V Who can stay the chari ot of the sun 
in its full career] Who can hinder the pro- 
gress of God's will 1 Therefore it is in vain 
to contest with God, his will shall take place ; 
there is no way to overcome God, but by 
lying at his feet. 

3d Means to submission to God in afflic- 
tion is, get a gracious heart ; all the rules 
and helps in the world will do but little 
good, till grace be infused ; the bowl must 
have a good bias, or it will not run according 
to our desire, so till God put a new bias of 
grace into the soul, which inclines the will, 
it never submits to God ; grace renews the 
will, and it must be renewed before it be 
subdued ; grace teacheth self-denial, and we 
can never submit our will till we deny it. 

4th Means, let us labour to have our cove- 
nant-interest cleared, to know that God is 
our God, Ps. xlviii. 14, "This God is our 
God." He whose faith does flourish in as- 
surance, that can say, God is his, will say, 
" Thy will be done." A wicked man may 
say, God hath laid this affliction upon me, 
and I cannot help it ; but a believer saith, my 
God hath done it, and I will submit to it. He 
who can call God his, knows God loves him 
as he loves Christ, and designs his salvation; 
therefore he will, with St Paul, take pleasure 
in reproaches, 2 Cor. xii. 10. And in every 
adverse providence yield to God, as the wax 
to the impression of the seal. 

5th Means to submission to God in afflic- 
tion, get an humble spirit ; a proud man will 
never stoop to God, he will rather break than 
bend ; but when the heart is humble, the will 
is pliable. What a vast difference was there 
between Pharaoh and Eli 1 Pharaoh cries out, 
" Who is the Lord, that I should obey his 



voice V Exod. v. 2. But Eli saith, " It is 
the Lord, let him do what seems good in his 
sight," 1 Sam. iii. 18. See the difference 
between a heart that is swelled with pride, 
and that which is ballasted with humility ; 
Pharaoh saith, " Who is the Lord Eli, 
" It is the Lord." An humble soul hath a 
deep sense of sin, — he sees how he hath pro- 
voked God, — he wonders he is not in hell ; 
therefore, whatever God inflicts, he knows 
it is less than his iniquities deserve; this- 
makes him say, " Lord, thy will be done." 

get into an humble posture, the will is 
never flexible till the heart be humble ! 

6th Means, get your hearts loosened from 
things below ; be crucified to the world. 
Whence is children's frowardness, but when 
you take away their playthings 1 When we 
love the world, and God takes away these 
things from us, then we grow froward and 
unsubmissive to God's will. Jonah was ex- 
ceeding glad of the gourd ; and when God 
smote it, he grew froward, and because God 
had killed his gourd, kill me too, saith he, 
Jonah iv. 8. He who is a lover of the world, 
can never pray this prayer heartily, "thy 
will be done ;" his heart boils with anger 
against God ; and when the world is gone, 
his patience is gone too. Get mortified 
affections to these sublunary things. 

7th Means for submission to God's will, 
get some good persuasion your sin is pardon- 
ed. Feri, Domine, feri, quia peccata mea 
condonata sunt, — ' smite, Lord, smite where 
thou wilt,' said Luther, ' because my sins are 
pardoned.' Pardon of sin is a crowning 
blessing ; hath God forgiven my sin, I will 
bear any thing, I will not murmur but admire ; 

1 will not complain of the burthen of afflic- 
tion, but bless God for removing the burthen 
of sin ; the pardoned soul saith this prayer 
heartily, " Thy will be done." Lord, use 
thy pruning-knife, so long as thou wilt not 
come with thy bloody axe to hew me down. 

8th Means, if we would have our wills 
submit to God, let us not look so much on 
the dark side of the cloud as the light side ; 
that is, let us not look so much on the smart 
of affliction, as the good of affliction. 'Tis 
bad to pore all on the smart, as 'tis bad for 
sore eyes to look too much on the fire ; but 



OF THE FOURTH PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



511 



we should look on the good of affliction ; 
Samson did not only look on the lion's car- 
cass, but on the honeycomb within it, Judges 
xiv. 8, "He turned to see the carcass of the 
lion, and behold, there was honey in the car- 
cass." Affliction is the frightful lion, but see 
what honey there is in it ; affliction humbles, 
purines, fills us with the consolations of God ; 
here is honey in the belly of the lion ; could 
we but look upon the benefit of affliction, stub- 
bornness would be turned into submissive- 
ness, and we should say, " thy will be done." 

9th Means, pray to God that he would 
calm our spirits, and conquer our will. It is 
no easy thing to submit to God in affliction, 
there will be risings of the heart ; therefore 
let us pray that what God inflicts righteously, 
we may bear patiently. Prayer is the best 
spell or charm against impatience ; prayer 
doth to the heart as Christ did to the sea, 
when it was tempestuous, he rebuked the 
wind, and there was a great calm ; so, when 
the passions are up, and the will is apt to muti- 
ny against God, prayer makes a gracious calm 
in the soul ; prayer doth to the heart as the 
epunge doth to the cannon, when hot, cools it. 

10th Means, if we would submit to God's 
will in affliction, let us make a good interpre- 
tation of God's dealings, take all God doth 
in the best sense. We are apt to misconstrue 
God's dealings, and put a bad interpretation 
upon them, as Israel, Numb. xx. 4, " Ye have 



brought the congregation of the Lord into 
this wilderness, that we should die there." 
So God hath brought this affliction upon us, 
because he hates us, and intends to destroy 
us ; and such hard thoughts of God cause 
sullenness and stubbornness. O let us make 
a fair and candid interpretation of provi- 
dence. Doth God afflict us 1 Say thus, per- 
haps he intends us mercy in this ; he will try 
us whether we will love him in afflictions ; 
he is about to mortify some sin, or exercise 
some grace ; he smites the body that he may 
save the soul. Could we put such a good 
meaning upon God's dealings, we should 
say, " thy will be done." " Let the righteous 
God smite me, and it shall be a kindness, it 
shall be an excellent oil, which shall not 
break my head," Ps. cxli. 5. 

11th and ult. Means, if you would submit 
to God in affliction, believe that the present 
condition is best for you. We are not com- 
petent judges ; we fancy it is best to have 
ease and plenty, and have the rock pour out 
rivers of oil, but God sees affliction best ; he 
sees our souls thrive best upon the bare 
common; the fall of the leaf is the spring of 
our grace. Could we believe the present 
condition is best which God carves out to us, 
the quarrel would soon be at an end, and we 
should sit down satisfied with what God 
doth, and say, " thy will be done." So much 
for this third petition. 



OF THE FOURTH PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



Matt. vi. 11. Give us 

In this petition there are two things ob- 
servable : 1st, The order. 2d, The matter. 

I. The order. First we pray " hallowed 
be thy name," before, " Give us this day 
our daily bread." Hence we learn, that the 
glory of God ought to be preferred before 
our own personal concerns. 

First we pray, " Hallowed be thy name, 
thy kingdom come, thy will be done," before 
we pray "give us this day our daily bread." 
God's glory ought to weigh down all before 
it; it must be preferred before our dearest 



this day our daily bread. 

concerns. Christ preferred his Father's glory 
before his own glory as he was man, John 
viii. 49, 50, " I honour my Father, I seek 
not my own glory." God's glory is that 
which is most dear to him, — it is the apple 
of his eye, — all his riches lie here. As Mi- 
cah said, Judges xviii. 24, " What have I 
more % n so I may say of God's glory, what 
hath he more? God's glory is the most 
orient pearl of his crown, which he will not 
part with, Isa. xlii. 8, " My glory will I not 
give to another." God's glory is more worth 



OF THE FOURTH PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



than heaven, more worth than the salvation 
of all men's souls ; better kingdoms be de- 
molished, better men and angels be annihi- 
lated, than God loose any part of his glory. 
First we pray that God's name may be 
hallowed and glorified before we pray, " give 
us our daily bread." We are to prefer God's 
glory before our nearest concerns ; before 
there can be a preferring God's glory before 
our private concerns, there must be a new 
birth wrought ; the natural man seeks his 
own secular interest before God's glory, John 
iii. 31, "He is of the earth, earthly." Let 
him have peace and trading, let the rock pour 
out rivers of oil, Job xxix. 6, and let God's 
glory go which way it will, he minds it not. 
A worm cannot fly and sing as a lark : a 
natural man, whose heart creeps upon the 
earth, cannot admire God, or advance his 
glory, as a man elevated by grace doth. 

Use. Of trial. Do we prefer God's glory 
before our private concerns ? Doth God's 
glory take place 1 Minus te amat qui aliquid 
tecum amat, quod non propter te amat, Aug. 
1st, Do we prefer God's glory before our 
own credit 1 Fama parri passu ambulat 
cum vita. Credit is a jewel highly valued ; 
like precious ointment, it casts a fragrant 
smell ; but God's glory must be dearer than 
credit or applause; we must be willing to 
have our credit trampled upon, if God's glory 
may be raised higher. Acts v. 41, The 
apostles rejoiced " that they were counted 
worthy to suffer shame for his name ;" that 
they were graced so far as to be disgraced for 
Christ. 2d, Do we prefer God's glory before 
our relations 1 Relations are dear, they are 
of our own flesh and bones ; but God's glory 
must be dearer, Luke xiv. 26, " If any man 
come after me, and hate not father and mo- 
ther, he cannot be my disciple." Here odium 
in suos, is pietas in Deum. " If my friends 
(saith Jerom) should persuade me to deny 
Christ, — if my wife should hang about my 
neck, — if my mother should show me her 
breasts that gave me suck,— I would trample 
upon all, and flee to Christ." 3d, We must 
prefer God's glory before estate ; gold is but 
shining dust, God's glory must weigh heavier. 
If it come to this, I cannot keep my place 
of profit, but God's glory will be eclipsed,-— 



here I must rather suffer in my estate, than 
God's glory should suffer, Heb. x. 34. Ath, 
We must prefer God's glory before our life, 
Rev. xii. 11, "They loved not their own 
lives to the death." Ignatius called his fet- 
ters his spiritual jewels, he wore them as a 
chain of pearl. Gordius the martyr said, "It 
is to my loss, if you bate me any thing of 
my sufferings." This argues grace crescent, 
and elevated in a high degree. Who but a 
soul inflamed in love to God, can set God- 
highest on the throne, and prefer him above 
all private concerns ? 

II. The second thing in the petition, is 
the matter of it. " Give us this day our 
daily bread." The sum of this petition is, 
that God would give us such a competency 
in these outward things, as he sees most 
excellent for us. It is much like that prayer 
of Agur, Prov. xxx. 8, " Feed me with food 
convenient for me;" give me a viaticum, a 
bait by the way, enough to bear my charges 
till I come to heaven, and it sufRceth. Let 
me explain the words, "Give us this day our 
daily bread." [Give] Hence note, that the 
good things of this life are the gifts of God : 
he is the donor of all our blessings. " Give 
us:" not only faith, but food is the gift of 
God ; not only daily grace is from God, but 
" daily bread ;•' every good thing comes from 
God, James i. 17, " every good gift is from 
above, and cometh down from the Father 
of lights." Wisdom is the gift of God, Isa. 
xxviii. 26, " His God doth instruct him to 
discretion." Riches are the gift of God, 2 
Chron. i. 12, " I will give thee riches." Peace 
is the gift of God, Ps. cxlvii. 14, " He mak- 
eth peace in thy borders." Health, which 
is the cream of life, is the gift of God, Jer. 
xxx. 17, " I will restore health to thee." 
Rain is the gift of God, Job v. 10, " Who 
giveth rain on the earth." All comes from 
God ; he makes the corn to grow, and the 
herbs to flourish. 

Use 1st. See our own poverty and indi- 
gence : we live all upon alms, and upon 
free-gifts, " give us this day." All we have 
is from the hand of God's royal bounty ; 
we have nothing but what God gives us out 
of his store-house ; we cannot have one bit 
of bread but from God. The devil per- 



OF THE FOURTH PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



513 



suaded our first parents, that by disobeying 
God, they should " be as gods," Gen. iii. 5, 
but we may now see what goodly gods we are, 
that we have not a bit of bread to put in our 
mouths, unless God give it us : here is a 
humbling consideration. 

2d. Is all a gift 1 Then we are to seek 
every mercy from God by prayer, " Give us 
this day." The tree of mercy will not drop 
its fruit, unless shaken by the hand of prayer. 
Whatever we have, if it do not come in the 
way of prayer, it doth not come in the way 
of love ; it is given, as Israel's quails, in anger. 
If every thing be a gift, we do not deserve it, 
we are not fit for it, unless we ask for this 
alms. And must we go to God for every 
mercy 1 How wicked are they, who instead 
of going to God for food when they want, 
they go to the devil ; they make a compact 
with him ; and if he will help them to a live- 
lihood, they will give him their souls. Bet- 
ter starve, than go to the devil for provender. 
I wish there be none in our age guilty of 
this, who, when they are in want, use indi- 
rect means for a livelihood ; they consult with 
witches, who are the devil's oracles ; the end 
of these will be fearful, as that of Saul was, 
whom the Lord is said to have killed, because 
he asked counsel at a familiar spirit. 

3d. If all be a gift, then it is not a debt ; 
we cannot say to God, as that creditor said, 
Matt, xviii. 28, " Pay me that thou owest." 
Who can make God a debtor, or do any act 
that is obliging and meritorious ] Whatever 
we receive from God is a gift ; we can give 
nothing to God but what he hath given to us, 
1 Chron. xxix. 14, " All things come of thee, 
and of thine own have we given thee." Da- 
vid and his people offered to the building of 
God's house gold and silver, but they offered 
nothing but what God had given them, " of 
thine own have we given thee." If we love 
God, God it is that hath given us a heart to 
love him ; if we praise him, he both gives us 
the organ of the tongue, and puts it in tune ; 
if we give alms to others, God hath given 
alms to us first, so that we may say, " we 
offer, O Lord, of thine own to thee." Is all 
of gift, how absurd then is the doctrine of 
merit 1 That was a proud speech of the friar, 
that said, Redde mihi vitam eternam quam 
3T 



debes, — ' give me, Lord, eternal life, which 
thou owest me.' We cannot deserve a bit 
of bread, much less a crown of glory. If all 
be a gift, then merit is exploded, and shut 
out of doors. 

Ath. If all be a gift, " give us this day," 
then take notice of God's goodness ; there is 
nothing in us can deserve or requite God's 
kindness ; yet such is the sweetness of his 
nature, he gives us rich provision, and feeds 
us with the finest of the wheat. Pindar saith, 
it was an opinion of the people of Rhodes, 
that Jupiter rained down gold upon the city : 
God hath rained down golden mercies upon 
us ; he is upon the giving hand. Observe 
three things in God's giving: 

(1) . He is not weary of giving ; the springs 
of mercy are ever running. God did not only 
dispense blessings in former ages, but he still 
gives gifts to us ; as the sun not only en- 
riches the world with its morning light, but 
keeps light for the meridian. The honey- 
comb of God's bounty is still dropping. 

(2) . God delights in giving, Micah vii. 18, 
" He delighteth in mercy." As the mother 
delights to give the child the breast, God 
loves we should have the breast of mercy in 
our mouth. 

(3) . God gives to his very enemies. Wno 
will send in provisions to his enemy 1 Men 
use to spread nets for their enemies, God 
spreads a table. The dew drops on the this- 
tle as well as the rose ; the dew of God's 
bounty drops upon the worst. Those who 
have their mouths opened against God, yet 
God puts bread in those mouths. O the 
royal bounty of God ! Ps. Iii. 1, " The good- 
ness ofGodendureth continually." Swinish 
sinners God puts jewels upon, and feeds them 
every day. 

5th. If all be a gift, see then the odious 
ingratitude of men, who sin against their 
giver. God feeds them, and they fight against 
him ; he gives them their bread, and they 
give him affronts. How unworthy is this 1 
Would we not cry shame of him, who had a 
friend always feeding him with money, and 
he should betray and injure that friend. Thus 
ungratefully do sinners deal with God, they 
do not only forget his mercies, but abuse 
them, Jer. v. 7, " When I had fed them to 



514 



OF THE FOURTH PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



the full, they then committed adultery." O 
how horrid is this, to sin against a bountiful 

God ! to strike (as it were) those hands 

that relieve us ! This gives a dye and tinc- 
ture to men's sins, and makes them crimson. 
How many make a dart of God's mercies, 
and shoot at him 1 He gives them wit, and 
they serve the devil with it ; he gives them 
strength, and they waste it among harlots ; 
he gives them bread to eat, and they lift up 
the heel against him, Deut. xxxii. 15, " Je- 
shurun waxed fat and kicked." These are 
like Absalom, who as soon as David his fa- 
ther kissed him, plotted treason against him, 
2 Sam. xv. 10. Like the mule, who kicks 
the dam after she hath given it milk. Those 
who sin against their giver, and abuse God's 
royal favours, the mercies of God will come 
in as witnesses against them. What smoother 
than oil] Bat if it be heated, what more 
scalding 1 What sweeter than mercy ? But 
if it be abused, what more dreadful ] It turns 
to fury. 

6th. If God gives us all, let God's giving 
excite us to thanksgiving ; he is the founder 
and donor of all our blessings, let him have 
all our acknowledgements. " All the rivers 
come from the sea. And thither they return 
again," Eccl. i. 7. All our gifts come from 
God, and to him must all our praises return. 
We are apt to burn incense to our own drag, 
Hab. i. 16 ; to attribute all we have to our 
own second causes. 

(1). Our own skill and industry. God is 
the giver ; he gives daily bread, Ps. cxxxvi. 
25. He gives riches, Deut. viii. 18, " He it 
is that giveth thee power to get wealth." 

Or, (2). We oft ascribe the praise to second 
causes, and forget God. If friends have be- 
stowed an estate, we look at them and ad- 
mire them, but not God who is the great 
giver; as if one should be thankful to the 
steward, and never take notice of the master 
of the family that provides all. O if God 
gives all, our eye-sight, our food, our cloth- 
ing, let us sacrifice the chief praise to him ; 
let not God be a loser by his mercies ! 
Praise is a more illustrious part of God's wor- 
ship. Our wants may send us to prayer, 
nature may make us beg daily bread ; but it 
shows a heart full of ingenui* • and grace, to 



be rendering praises to God. In petition we 
act like men, in praise we act like angels. 
Doth God sow seeds of mercy | Let thank- 
fulness be the crop we bring forth. We are 
called the temples of God, 1 Cor. iii. 16, and 
where should God's praises be sounded forth, 
but in his temples ] Ps. cxlvi. 2, " While I 
live will I praise the Lord, I will sing praises 
to my God while I have any being." God 
gives us daily bread, let us give him daily 
praise. Thankfulness to our donor is the best 
policy; there is nothing lost by it; to be- 
thankful for one mercy, is the way to have 
more. Musicians love to sound their trum- 
pets where there is the best echo, and God 
loves to bestow his mercies where there is the 
best echo of praise ; and it is not only offer- 
ing the calves of our lips is enough, but we 
must show our thankfulness by improving the 
gifts which God gives us, and as it were put- 
ting them out to use. God gives us an estate, 
and we honour the Lord with our substance, 
Prov. iii. 9 ; he gives us the staff of bread, 
and we lay out the strength we receive by it 
in his service ; this is to be thankful : and 
that we may be thankful, be humble. Pride 
stops the current of gratitude ; a proud man 
will never be thankful ; he looks upon all he 
hath, either to be of his own procuring or 
deserving. Let us see all we have is God's 
gift, and how unworthy we are to receive the 
least favour ; and this will make us much in 
doxology and gratitude, we will be silver 
trumpets sounding forth God's praise. 

First, give. Hence I note, 1. That the 
good things of this life are the gifts of God ; 
he is the founder and donor. 

2. From this word give, I note, that it is not 
unlawful to pray for temporal things ; we may 
pray for daily bread, Prov. xxx. 8, " Feed me 
with food convenient for me ;" we may pray 
for health, Ps. vi. 2, ' O Lord, heal me ; for my 
bones are vexed.' As these are in themselves 
good things, so they are useful for us ; they are 
as needful for preserving the comfort of life, as 
the oil is needful for preserving the lamp from 
going out. Only let me insert two things. 

(1). There is a great difference between 
our praying for temporal things and spirit- 
ual. In praying for spiritual things, we 
must be absolute. When we pray for pardon 



OF THE FOURTH PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



515 



of sin, and the favour of God, and the sanc- 
tifying graces of the Spirit, these are indis- 
i pensably necessary to salvation, and here we 
i| must take no denial : but when we pray for 
J temporal things, here our prayers must be 
limited, we must pray conditionally so far as 
I God sees them good for us. God sometimes 
] sees cause to withhold temporal things from 
us : they may be snares, and draw our hearts 
I from God, therefore we must pray for these 
! things with submission to God's will. This 
| was Israel's sin ; they would be peremptory 
! and absolute in their desire of temporal 
things. God's bill of fare did not please 
them, they must have dainties, Numb. xi. 18, 
" Who shall give us flesh to eat V God hath 
given them manna, he fed them with a miracle 
from heaven, but their wanton palates craved 
more, they must have quails : God let them 
have their desire, but they had sour sauce to 
their quails, Ps. lxxviii. 30, 31, " While the 
meat was yet in their mouths, the wrath of 
God came upon them and slew them." 
Rachel was importunate in her desires for a 
child, Gen. xxx. 1, " Give me children, or I 
die :" God let her have a child, but it was a 
Benoni, a son of sorrow, it cost her her life 
in bringing forth, Gen. xxxv. 18. We must 
pray for outward things with submission to 
God's will, else they come in anger. 

(2). When we pray for things pertaining 
to this life, we must desire temporal things 
for spiritual ends ; we must desire these 
things to be as helps in our journey to hea- 
ven. If we pray for health, it must be that 
we may improve this talent of health for 
God's glory, and may be fitter for his ser- 
vice ; if we pray for a competency of estate, 
it must be for an holy end, that we may be 
kept from the temptations which poverty 
usually exposeth to, and that we may be in 
a better capacity to sow the golden seeds of 
charity, and relieve such as are in want. 
Temporal things must be prayed for, for 
spiritual ends. Hannah prayed for a child, 
but it was for this end, that her child might 
be devoted to God, 1 Sam. i. 11, " O Lord, 
if thou wilt remember me, and wilt give unto 
thine hand-maid a man child, then I will give 
him unto the Lord all the days of his life." 
Many pray for outward things only to gratify 



their sensual appetite ; " the ravens cry for 
food," Ps. cxlvii. 9. To pray for outward 
things only to satisfy nature, is to cry rather 
like ravens than Christians. We must have 
a higher end in our prayers, we must aim 
at heaven, while we are praying for earth. 
And must we pray for temporal things for 
spiritual ends, that we may be fitter to serve 
God ] Then, how wicked are they, who beg 
temporal mercies that they may be more 
enabled to sin against God 1 James iv. 3, 
" Ye ask that ye may consume it upon your 
lusts." One man is sick, and he prays for 
health that he may be among his cups and 
harlots ; another prays for an estate, — he 
would not only have his belly filled, but his 
barns. And why would he be rich 1 that he 
may raise his name, or that, having more 
power in his hand, he may now take a fuller 
revenge on his enemies. This is impiety 
joined with impudence ; to pray to God to 
give us temporal things, that we may be the 
better enabled to serve the devil. 

Use. If we are to pray for temporal good 
things, then how much more for spiritual] 
if we are to pray for bread, then, how much 
more for the bread of life] if for oil, then, 
how much more for the oil of gladness ] If 
we pray to have our hunger satisfied, much 
more should we pray to have our souls saved. 
Alas ! what if God should hear our prayers, 
and grant us these temporal things, and no 
more, what were we the better? What is it 
to have food, and want grace 1 What is it to 
have the back clothed and the soul naked ? to 
have a south land, and want the living springs 
in Christ's blood 1 What comfort could that 
be T O therefore let us be earnest for spiritual 
mercies ! Lord do not only feed me, but sanc- 
tify me ; rather a heart full of grace, than a 
house full of gold ; if we are to pray for daily 
bread, the things of this life, much more for 
the things of the life that is to come. 

From this word give, I note, that they 
whom God hath given a large measure of 
outward things to, yet must pray, " Give us 
daily bread." And this may answer a ques- 
tion. 

Quest. Some may say, we have an estate 
already, and what need we pray, ' Give us 

daily bread V 



516 



OF THE FOURTH PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



Ans. Supposing we have a plentiful estate, 
yet we need make this petition, "Give us 
daily bread," and that upon a double account. 

(1) . That we may have a blessing upon 
our food, and all that we enjoy, Ps. cxxxii. 
15, "I will abundantly bless her provision. 
Man shall not live by bread alone, but by 
every word which proceedeth out of God's 
mouth," Matt. iv. 4. What is that but a 
word of blessing 1 Though the bread is in 
our hand, yet the blessing is in God's hand, 
and it must be fetched out of his hand by 
prayer. Well therefore may rich men pray, 
« Give us our bread," let it be seasoned with 
a blessing. If God should withhold a bless- 
ing, nothing we have would do us good ; our 
clothes would not warm us, our food would 
not nourish us : Ps. cvi. 15, " He gave them 
their request, but sent leanness into their 
soul," — that is, they pined away, and their 
meat did not nourish them. If God should 
withhold a blessing, what we eat would turn 
to bad humours, and hasten death. If God 
do not bless our riches, they will do us more 
hurt than good, Eccl. v. 13, " Riches kept 
for the owners thereof to their hurt." So 
that, granting we have plentiful estates, yet 
we had need pray, " Give us our bread ;" let 
us have a blessing with what we have. 

(2) . Though we have estates, yet we had 
need pray, give, that we may hereby engage 
God to continue these comforts to us. How 
many casualties may fall out] How many 
have had corn in their barn, and a fire hath 
come on a sudden and consumed all 1 How 
many have had losses at sea, and great es- 
tates boiled away to nothing] Ruth i. 21, 
" I went out fall, and the Lord hath brought 
me home again empty." Therefore, though 
we have estates, yet we had need pray, 
" give us," Lord, give a continuance of 
these comforts, that they may not, before 
we are aware, take wings and fly from us. 
So much for this first word in the petition, 

. " Give." 

Secondly, us. " Give us." 

Quest. Why do we pray here in the 
plural? Why 'give usV Why is it not 
said, 1 give meV 

Ans. To show that we are to have public 
spirits in prayer ; we must not only pray for 



ourselves, but others ; both the law of God, 
and the law of love bind us to this, " we must 
love our neighbour as ourselves ;" therefore 
we must pray for them as well as ourselves. 
Every good Christian hath a fellow-feeling 
of the wants and miseries of others, and he 
prays God would extend his bounty to them, 
especially, he prays for the saints, Eph. vi. 
18, " Praying always for all saints." These 
are children of the family. 

Use 1st. Should we have public spirits in 
prayer, ' give us V It reproves such narrow- 
spirited men as move only within their own 
sphere ; they look only at themselves, but 
mind not the case of others; they leave 
others out of their prayers ; if they have 
daily bread, they care not though others 
starve ; if they are clothed, they care not 
though others go naked. Christ hath taught 
us to pray for others, " give us ;" but selfish 
persons are shut up within themselves, as 
the snail in the shell, and never speak a 
word in prayer for others ; these have no 
commiseration or pity ; they are like Judas, 
whose bowels fell out. 

Use 2d. Let us pray for others, as well as 
for ourselves, 'give us :' vir bonus aliis pro- 
dest <equce ac sibi. Spiders work only for 
themselves, but bees work for the good of 
others ; the more excellent any thing is, the 
more it operates for the good of others. The 
springs refresh others with their chrystal 
streams, — the sun enlightens others with its 
golden beams, — the more a Christian is en- 
nobled with grace, the more he besiegeth 
heaven with his prayers for others ; if we are 
members of the body mystical, we cannot 
but have a sympathy with others in their 
wants, and this sympathy sets us a praying 
for them. David had a public spirit in prayer, 
Ps. cxxv. 4, " Do good, O Lord, unto those 
that be sood." Though he begins the psalm 
with prayer for himself, Ps. li. 1, "Have 
mercy upon me, O God ;" yet he ends the 
psalm with prayer for ethers, v. 18, "Do 
good in thy good pleasure unto Zion." 

Use 3d. It is matter of comfort to the 
godly, who are but low in the world, yet 
they have the prayers of God's people for 
them ; they pray not only for the increase 
of their faith, but their food, that God will 



OF THE FOURTH PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



517 



give them " daily bread." He is like to be 
rich, who hath several stocks going ; so they 
are in a likely way to thrive, who have the 
prayers of the saints going for them in seve- 
ral parts of the world. So much for this 
second word in the petition, 44 Give us." 

Thirdly. The third word in the petition is, 
" This day." We pray not, give us bread 
for a month, or a year, but a day ; ' Give us 
this day.' 

Quest. Is it not lawful to lay up for 
afterwards ? Doth not the apostle say, He 
who provides not for his family, is worse 
than an infidel, 1 Tim. v. 8. 

Ans. It is true, it is lawful to lay up for pos- 
terity, but our Saviour hath taught us to pray, 
" Give us this day our bread," for two reasons ; 

1st. That we should not have carking care 
for the future. We should not set our wits 
upon the tenter, or torment ourselves how to 
lay up great estates ; if we do vivere in diem, 
— if we have but enough to supply for the 
present, it may suffice, 4 Give us this day :' 
" take therefore no thought for to-morrow," 
Matt. vi. 34. God fed Israel with manna in 
the wilderness, and he fed them from hand to 
mouth ; sometimes all their manna was spent ; 
and if any one had asked them where they 
would have their breakfast next morning, 
they would have said, our care is only for this 
day, God will rain down what manna we 
need ; if we have bread this day, do not dis- 
trust God's providence for the future. 

2d. Our Saviour will have us pray, " Give 
us bread this day," to teach us to live every 
day as if it were our last. We are not to 
pray, give us bread to-morrow, because we 
do not know whether we shall live till to- 
morrow ; but, Lord, 44 give us this day ;" it 
may be our last day we shall live, and then 
we shall need no more. 

Use. If we pray for bread only for a day, 
" Give us this day," then you who have great 
estates have cause to be thankful ; you have 
more than you pray for; you pray but for 
bread for one day, and God hath given you 
enough to suffice you all your life. What a 
bountiful God do you serve ! Two things 
may make rich men thankful: 1. God gives 
them more than they deserve. 2. God gives 
them more than they pray for. 



Fourthly. The fourth thing in the petition 
is, 44 Our bread." 

Quest. Why is it called 44 Our bread" 
when it is not ours, but God's ? 

Ans. 1. We must understand it in a quali- 
fied sense ; it is our bread, being gotten by 
honest industry. There are two sorts of 
bread that cannot properly be called our 
bread : 1st, The bread of idleness. 2d, The 
bread of violence. 

(1) . The bread of idleness, Prov. xxxi. 27, 
44 She eateth not the bread of idleness." An 
idle person doth vivere aliena quadra, he 
lives at another body's cost, and is at their 
finding : Prov. xxi. 25, 44 His hands refuse to 
labour." We must not be as the drones which 
eat the honey that other bees have brought 
into the hive ; if we eat the bread of idleness, 
this is not our own bread, 2 Thess. iii. 11, 
12, 44 There are some which walk among you 
disorderly, working not at all ; such we com- 
mand and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ 
that they work, and eat their own bread." 
The apostle gives this hint, that such as live 
idly do not eat their own bread. 

(2) . The bread of violence. We cannot 
call this 44 our bread," for it is taken away 
from others ; that which is gotten by stealth 
or fraud, or any manner of extortion, is not 
our bread, it belongs to another. He who 
is a bird of prey, who takes away the bread 
of the widow and fatherless, he eats that 
bread which is none of his, nor can he pray 
for a blessing upon it : can he pray God to 
bless that which he hath gotten unjustly 1 

A. 2. It is called 44 our bread" by virtue of 
our title to it. There is a twofold title to bread. 
1st, A spiritual title ; in and by Christ we have 
a right to the creature, and may call it 44 our 
bread." As we are believers, we have the best 
title to earthly things, we hold all in capite, 
1 Cor. iii. 22, 44 All things are yours ;" by what 
title? " ye are Christ's." 2d, A civil title, which 
the law confers on us ; to deny men a civil 
right to their possessions, and make all com- 
mon, opens the door to anarchy and confusion. 

Use. See the privilege of believers, — they 
have both a spiritual and a civil right to what 
ihey possess, — they who can say, 44 Our Fa- 
ther," can say, 44 our bread." Wicked men r 
though they have a legal right to what they 



OF THE FOURTH PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



possess, yet not a covenant right ; they have 
it by providence, not by promise ; with God's 
leave, not with his love. Wicked men are 
in God's eye no better than usurpers ; all 
they have, their money and land, is like cloth 
taken up at the drapers, which is not paid 
for; but this is the sweet privilege of be- 
lievers, they can say, " our bread ;" Christ 
being theirs, all is theirs. O how sweet is 
every bit of bread dipped in Christ's blood ! 
How well doth that meat relish which is a 
pledge and earnest of more ! The meal in 
the barrel is an earnest of our angels' food in 
paradise. Here is the privilege of saints, 
they have a right to the earth and heaven. 

Fifthly. The fifth and last thing in this peti- 
tion is, the thing we pray for, 44 daily bread." 

Quest. What is meant by bread ? 

Ans. Bread here, by a synechdoche, is 
put for all the temporal blessings of this life, 
food, fuel, clothing. Quicquid nobis conducit 
ad bene esse, Austin. Whatever may serve 
for necessity or sober delight. 

Use. Learn to be contented with that al- 
lowance God gives us. If we have bread, — 
a competency of these outward things, — let 
us rest satisfied. We pray but for bread, 
" Give us our daily bread ;" we do not pray 
for superfluities, nor for quails or venison, 
but for bread, that which may support life. 
Though we have not so much as others, so 
full a crop, so rich an estate, yet if we have 
the staff of bread to shore us from falling, let 
us be content. Most people are herein faulty : 
though they pray that God would give them 
bread (so much as he sees expedient for 
them) yet they are not content with God's 
allowance, but overgreedily covet more, and 
with the daughters of the horse-leech, cry, 
44 Give ! give !" Prov. xxx. 15. This is a vice 
naturally ingrafted in us. Many pray Agur's 
first prayer, " give me not poverty," but few 
prays his last prayer, " give me not riches," 
Prov. xxx. 8. They are not content with 
daily bread, but have the dry dropsy of covet- 
ousness ; they are still craving for more, Hab. 
ii. 5, " Who enlargeth his desire as hell, and 
is as death, and cannot be satisfied." " There 
are (saith Solomon) four things say not it is 
enough, Prov. xxx. 15, the grave, the barren 
womb, the earth, the fire ;" and I may add a 



fifth thing, the heart of a covetous man. 
Such as are not content with daily bread, 
but thirst insatiably after more, will break 
over the hedge of God's command, and to 
get riches will stick at no sin. Cui nihil 
satis est, eidem nihil turpe, Tacitus. 
Therefore covetousness is called a radical 
vice, 1 Tim. vi. 10, " The root of all evil." 
Quid non mortalia pectora cogit, auri sacra 
fames ? The Greek word for covetousness 
(pleonexia) signifies an inordinate desire of 
getting. Covetousness is not only in getting 
riches unjustly, but in loving them inordi- 
nately : this is a key opens the door to all 
sin. It causeth, 1st, Theft ; Achan's covet- 
ous humour made him steal that wedge of 
gold which cleft asunder his soul from God, 
Josh. vii. 21. 2d, It causeth treason. What 
made Judas betray Christ] It was the thirty 
pieces of silver, Matt. xxvi. 5. 3d, It pro- 
duceth murder. It was the inordinate love 
of the vineyard made Ahab conspire Naboth's 
death, 1 Kings xxi. 13. 4th, It is the root of 
perjury, 2 Tim. iii. 3. Men shall be covet- 
ous ; and it follows, truce-breakers. Love of 
silver will make men take a false oath, and 
break a just oath. 5th, It is the spring of 
apostacy, 2 Tim. iv. 10, " Demas hath for- 
saken me, having loved this present world." 
He did not only forsake Paul's company, but 
his doctrine. Demas afterwards became a 
priest in an idol-temple, saith Dorotheus. 
6th, Covetousness will make men idolaters. 
Col. iii. 5, " Covetousness which is idolatry." 
Though the covetous man will not worship 
graven images in the church, yet he will 
worship the graven image in his coin. 7th, 
Covetousness makes men give themselves 
to the devil. Pope Sylvester II. did sell his 
soul to the devil for a popedom. Covetous 
persons forget this prayer, 44 Give us daily 
bread," that which may satisfy nature, but 
they are insatiable in their desire. O let us 
take heed of this dry-dropsy : Heb. xiii. 5, 
44 Be content with such things as ye have." 
Natura parva dimittitur, Seneca. That 
we may be content with daily bread, — that 
which God in his providence carves out to 
us, — and not covet or murmur, let me pro- 
pose these things. 

1. God can bless a little, Exod. xxiii. 25, 



OF THE FOURTH PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



519 



"He will bless thy bread and thy water." 
A blessing puts sweetness into the least 
morsel of bread, it is like sugar in wine, Ps. 
cxxxii. 15, " I will bless her provision." Dan- 
iel, and the three children, ate pulse, (which 
was a coarse fare,) yet they looked fairer 
than those who did eat of the king's meat, 
Dan. i. 12. Whence was this 7 God did 
infuse a more than ordinary blessing into 
the pulse : God's blessing was better than 
the king's venison : a piece of bread with 
God's love is angels' food. 

2. God, who gives us our allowance, — 
knows what quantity of these outward things 
is fittest for us ; a smaller provision may be 
fitter for some ; bread may be better than 
dainties ; every one cannot bear a high con- 
dition, no more than a weak brain can bear 
heavy wine. Hath one a larger proportion 
of worldly things ? God sees he can better 
manage such a condition ; he can order his 
affairs with discretion, which perhaps an- 
other cannot; as he hath a large estate, so 
he hath a large heart to do good, which per- 
haps another hath not ; this should make us 
content with a shorter bill of fare ; God's 
wisdom is what we must acquiesce in, he 
sees what is best for every one ; that which 
is good for one, may be bad for another. 

3. In being content with daily bread, — that 
which God carves for us, though it be a lesser 
piece, — much grace is seen in this ; all the 
graces act their part in a contented soul. As 
the holy ointment was made up of several 
spices, myrrh, cinnamon, cassia, Exod. xxx. 
23, so, contentment hath in it a mixture of 
several graces ; there is faith, a Christian be- 
lieves God doth all for the best, — and love, 
which thinks no evil, but takes all God doth in 
good part, — and patience, submitting cheer- 
fully to what God orders wisely. God is 
much pleased to see so many graces at once 
sweetly exercised, like so many bright stars 
shining in a constellation. 

4. To be content with daily bread, — the 
allowance God gives, though but sparingly, 
— doth keep us from many temptations, 
which discontented persons fall into. When 
the devil sees a person just of Israel's hu- 
mour, not content with manna, but must 
have quails, saith Satan, here is good fishing 



for me. Satan oft tempts discontented ones 
to murmuring, and to unlawful means, cozen- 
ing and defrauding ; and he who increaseth 
an estate by indirect means, stuffs his pillow 
with thorns, and his head will lie very uneasy 
when he comes to die. If you would be freed 
from the temptations which discontent ex- 
poseth to, be content with such things as ye 
have, bless God for " daily bread." 

5. What a rare and admirable thing is it 
to be content with daily bread, though it be 
coarse, and though there be but little of it ! 
A Christian, though he hath but a viaticum, — 
a little meal in the barrel, — yet he hath that 
which gives him content. What he hath not 
in the cupboard, he hath in the promise ; that 
bit of bread he hath, is with the love of God, 
and that sauce makes it relish sweet, — that 
little oil in the cruse is a pledge and earnest 
of those dainties he shall taste of in the 
kingdom of God, — this makes him content. 
What a rare and wonderful thing is this ! It 
is no wonder to be content in heaven, when 
we are at the fountain-head, and have all 
things we can desire ; but to be content 
when God keeps us to shortc ommons, and 
we have scarce daily bread, this is a wonder. 
When grace is crowning, it is no wonder to 
be content ; but when grace is conflicting with 
straits, now to be content is a glorious thing 
indeed, and deserves the garland of praise. 

6. To make us content with daily bread, 
though God straitens us in our allowance, 
think seriously of the danger that is in a 
high prosperous condition. Some are not 
content with daily bread, but desire to have 
their barns filled, and heap up silver as dust ; 
this proves a snare to them, 1 Tim. vi. 9, 
"They that will be rich fall into temptation 
and a snare." Pride, idleness, wantonness, 
are three worms, that usually breed of plenty. 
Prosperity oft deafens the ear against God, 
Jer. xxii. 21, " I spake to thee in thy pros- 
perity, but thou saidst, I will not hear." Soft 
pleasures harden the heart. In the body, 
the more fat, the less blood in the veins, and 
the less spirits ; the more outward plenty, 
often the less piety. Prosperity hath its 
honey, and also its sting ; prosperity, like 
the full of the moon, makes many lunatic. 
The pastures of prosperity are rank and 



520 



OF THE FOURTH PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



surfeiting". Anxious care is the mains ge- 
nius, — the evil spirit that haunts the rich 
man, and will not let him be quiet ; when his 
chests are full of money, his heart is full of 
care, either how to manage or how to in- 
crease, or how to secure what he hath got- 
ten. Sunshine is pleasant, but sometimes it 
scorcheth. Should not this make us content 
with what allowance God gives, if we have 
daily bread, though not dainties? Think of 
the danger of prosperity ; the spreading of a 
full table may be the spreading of a snare ; 
many have been sunk to hell with golden 
weights. The ferryman takes in all pas- 
sengers, that he may increase his fare, and 
sometimes to the sinking of his boat. 1 Tim. 
vi. 9, "They that will be rich fall into many 
hurtful lusts, which drown men in perdition." 
The world's golden sands are quicksands ; 
this may make us take our daily bread, 
though it be but coarse, contentedly. What 
if we have less food, we have less snare ; if 
less dignity, less danger ; as we want the 
rich provisions of the world, so we want the 
temptations. 

7. If God keeps us to a spare diet, if he 
gives us less temporals, he hath made it up in 
spirituals ; he hath given us the pearl of price, 
and the holy anointing. — 1st, The pearl of 
price, the Lord Jesus, he is the quintessence 
of all good things. To give us Christ, is more 
than if God had given us all the world. God 
can make more worlds, but he hath no more 
Christs to bestow ; he is such a golden mine, 
that the angels cannot dig to the bottom, 
Eph. iii. 8. From Christ we may have jus- 
tification, adoption, coronation. The sea of 
God's mercy in giving us Christ (saith Lu- 
ther) should swallow up all our wants. — 2d, 
The holy unction ; God hath anointed us 
with the graces of his Spirit. Grace is a seed 
of God, a blossom of eternity; the graces 
are the impressions of the divine nature, 
stars to enlighten us, spices to perfume us, 
diamonds to enrich us ; and if God hath 
adorned the hidden man of the heart with 
these sacred jewels, it may well make us 
content, though we have but short commons, 
and that coarse too. God hath given his 
people better things than corn and wine ; he 
hath given them that which he cannot give 



in anger, and which cannot stand with repro- 
bation, and they may say as David, Ps. xvi. 
6, The lines are fallen to them in pleasant 
places, and they have a goodly heritage. I 
have read of Didimus and Anthony: Didimus 
was a blind man, but very holy, — Anthony 
asked him, if he was not troubled for the 
want of his eyes, he told him he was, — Why 
(saith Anthony) are you troubled 1 you want 
that which flies and birds have, but you have 
that which angels have. So I say to Christ-; 
ians, if God hath not given you the purse, ; 
he hath given you his Spirit ; if you want 
that which rich men have, God hath given 
you that which angels have, and are you not 
content] 

8. If you have but daily bread enough to 
suffice nature, be content. Consider it is 
not having abundance makes the life always 
comfortable ; it is not a great cage will make 
the bird sing: a competency may breed con- 
tentment, when having more may make one 
less content ; a staff may help the traveller, 
but a bundle of staves will be a burthen to 
him. A great estate may be like a long 
trailing garment, more burthensome than use- 
ful. Many that have great incomes and re- 
venues have not so much comfort in their 
lives, as some that go to their hard labour. 

9. If you have less daily bread, you will 
have less account to give. The riches and 
honours of this world, like alchymy, make 
a great show, and, with their glistering, 
dazzle men's eyes ; but they do not consi- 
der the great account they must give to 
God, Luke xvi. 2, " Give an account of thy 
stewardship." What good hast thou done 
with thy estate 1 Hast thou, as a good 
steward, traded thy golden talents for God's 
glory 1 Hast thou honoured the Lord with 
thy substance 1 The greater revenues the 
greater reckonings ; this may quiet and con- 
tent us, if we have but little daily bread, our 
account will be less. 

10. You that have but a small compe- 
tency in these outward things, your provi- 
sions are short, yet you may be content to 
consider how much you look for hereafter : 
God keeps the best wine till last. What 
though now you have a small pittance, and 
are fed from hand to mouth ] you look for 



OF THE FIFTH PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



521 



an eternal reward, white robes, sparkling 
crowns, rivers of pleasure. A son is content 
though his father give him but now and then 
a little money, as long as he expects his fa- 
ther should settle all his land upon him at 
last ; if God give you but a little at present, 
yet you look for that glory which eye hath 
not seen: may not you be content? The 
world is but a diversorium, — a great inn : if 
God give you sufficient to pay for your 
charges in your inn, you may be content, 
you shall have enough when you come to 
your own country. 

Quest. How may we be content, though 
God cut us short in these externals ; though 
we have but little daily bread and coarse 1 

Ans. 1. Think with yourselves, some have 
been much lower than you, who have been 
better than you. Jacob, a holy patriarch, 
goes over Jordan with his staff, and lived in 
a mean condition a long time ; he had the 
clouds for his canopy, and a stone for his 
pillow. Moses, that might have been rich, 
(some historians say, Pharaoh's daughter 



adopted him for her son, because king Pha- 
raoh had no heir, and so Moses was like to 
have come to the crown,) yet leaving the 
honours of the court, in what a low mean 
condition did he live in, when he went to Je- 
thro his father-in-law] Musculus, famous 
for learning and piety, was put to great 
straits, he was put to dig in a town-ditch, 
and had scarce daily bread, yet content. Nay, 
Christ, who was heir of all, yet for our sakes 
" became poor," 2 Cor. viii. 9. Let all these 
examples make us content. 

A. 2. Let us labour to have the interest 
cleared between God and our souls. He 
who can say, " My God," hath enough to 
rock his heart quiet in the lowest condition. 
What can he want who hath El-Shaddai, 
the all-sufficient God, for his portion 1 
Though the nether-springs fail, yet he hath 
the upper-springs ; though the bill of fare 
grow short, yet an interest in God is a pil- 
lar of support to us, and we may, with Da- 
vid, encourage ourselves in the Lord our 
God. 



OF THE FIFTH PETITION 
Matt. vi. 12. And forgive us our 

Before I speak strictly to the words, I 
shall take notice, 1st, That in this prayer 
there is but one petition for the body, " Give 
us our daily bread," but two petitions for the 
soul, " Forgive us our trespasses," " lead us 
not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." 
Hence observe, that we are to be more care- 
ful for our souls, than for our bodies, — more 
careful for grace than for daily bread, — more 
desirous to have our souls saved, than our 
bodies fed. In the law, the weight of the 
sanctuary was twice as big as the common 
weight, to typify that spiritual things must 
be of far greater weight with us than earthly. 
The excellency of the soul may challenge 
our chief care about it. 

1. The soul is an immaterial substance ; it 
is an heavenly spark, lighted by the breath of 
God ; it is the more refined spiritual part of 
man, it is of an angelical nature ; it hath some 
3U 



IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 

debts, as we forgive our debtors. 

faint resemblance of God. The body is the 
more dreggish part, it is but the cabinet, 
which though curiously wrought, the soul is 
the jewel ; the soul is near akin to angels, it 
is capax beatitudinis, capable of communion 
with God in glory. 

2. It is immortal ; it doth never expire. 
It can act without the body ; though the body 
dissolve into dust, the soul lives, Luke xii. 4. 
The essence of the soul is eternal, it hath a 
beginning, but no end ; it is a blossom of 
eternity. Sure, then, if the soul be so en- 
nobled and dignified, more care should be 
taken about the soul than the body. We 
make but one petition for the body, but two 
petitions for the soul. 

Use 1. It reproves them that take more 
care for their bodies, than their souls. The 
body is but the brutish part, yet they take 
more care, 1st, About dressing their bodies, 



522 



OF THE FIFTH PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



than their souls. They put on the best 
clothes, are dressed in the richest garb, but 
care not how naked or undrest their souls 
are ; they do not get the jewels of grace, to 
adorn their inner-man. 2d, About feeding 
their bodies, than their souls ; they are cater- 
ers for the flesh, they do make provision for 
the flesh, Rom. xiii. 14, they have the best 
diet, but let their souls starve ; as if one 
should feed his hawk, but let his child starve. 
The body must sit in the chair of state, but 
the soul — that princely thing, — is made a 
lackey to run on the devil's errand. 

Use 2. Let us be more careful for our souls. 
— Omnia si perdas animam servare memen- 
to. If it be well with the soul, it shall be 
well with the body ; if the soul be gracious, 
the body shall be glorious, for it shall shine 
like Christ's body. Therefore it is wisdom 
to look chiefly to the soul, because in saving 
the soul, we secure the happiness of the body. 
And we cannot show our care for the soul 
more than in taking all seasons for our souls ; 
reading, praying, hearing, meditating. O 
look to the main chance, — let the soul be 
chiefly tended ! The loss of the soul would 
be fatal ; other losses may be made up again. 
If one loseth his health, he may recover it 
again ; if he lose his estate, he may make it 
up again ; but if he lose his soul, this loss 
can never be made up again. The merchant 
that ventures all he hath in one ship, if that 
ship be lost, he is quite broken. 

2d. From the connexion in the text, as 
soon as Christ had said, give us "daily 
bread," he adds, " and forgive us." Christ 
joins this petition of forgiveness of sin, im- 
mediately to the other of daily bread, to 
show us, that though we have daily bread, 
yet all is nothing without forgiveness. If 
our sins be not pardoned, we can take but 
little comfort in our food. As it is with a 
man that is condemned, though you bring 
him meat in prison, yet he takes little com- 
fort in it without a pardon : so, though we 
have daily bread, yet it will do us no good 
unless sin be forgiven. What though we 
should have manna which was called angels' 
food, — though the rock should pour out rivers 
of oil, Job xxix. 6, — all is nothing unless sin 
be done away. When Christ had said, 



"Give us our daily bread," he presently 
adds, and " forgive us our trespasses." Daily 
bread may satisfy the appetite, but forgive- 
ness of sin satisfies the conscience. 

Use 1. It condemns the folly of most peo- 
ple : if they have daily bread, the delicious 
things of this life, they look no further, they 
are not solicitous for the pardon of sin ; if 
they have that which feeds them, they look 
not after that which should crown them. 
Alas ! you may have daily bread, and yet 
perish. The rich man in the gospel had daily- 
bread, nay, he had dainties, he fared " sump- 
tuously every day," but in " hell he lift up 
his eyes," Luke xvi. 19, 23. 

Use 2. Let us pray, that God would not 
give us our portion in this life, that he 
would not put us off with daily bread, but 
that he would give forgiveness. This is the 
sauce that would make our bread relish the 
sweeter. A speech of Luther, valde protes- 
tatus sum me nolle sic satiari ab Mo, — ' I 
did solemnly protest, that God should not put 
me off with outward things.' Be not con- 
tent with that which is common to the brute 
creatures, the dog or elephant, to have your 
hunger satisfied ; but, besides daily bread, 
get pardon of sin. A drop of Christ's 
blood, or a dram of forgiving mercy, is in- 
finitely more valuable than all the delights 
under the sun. Daily bread may make us 
live comfortably, but forgiveness of sin will 
make us die comfortably. So I come to 
the words of the petition, " forgive us our 
debts," &c. 

1st. Here is a term given to sin, it is a 
debt. 2d. The confessing the debt, " our 
debts." 3d. A prayer, " forgive us." 4:th. 
A condition on which we desire forgiveness, 
" as we forgive our debtors." 

First, I shall speak of the term given to 
sin, it is a debt. That which is here called 
a debt, is called sin, Luke xi. 4, " Forgive 
us our sins." So then sin is a debt, and 
every sinner is a debtor. Sin is compared to a 
debt of "ten thousand talents," Matt.xviii. 24. 

1. Why is sin called a debt I 2. Where- 
in is sin worse than other debts we contract 1 
3. Wherein have sinners the property of bad 
debtors % 

Quest. Why is sin called a debt ? 



OF THE FIFTH PETITION 



IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



523 



Ans. Because it so fitly resembles it. 

1. A debt ariseth upon non-payment of 
money, or the not paying that which is one's 
due. So we owe to God exact obedience, and 
not paying what is due, thus we come to be in 
debt. 2. As in case of non-payment, the 
debtor goes to prison ; so, by our sin, we be- 
come guilty, and stand obliged to God's curse 
of damnation. Though God doth a while 
grant a sinner a reprieve, yet he stands bound 
to eternal death, if the debt be not forgiven. 

Quest. 2. In what sense is sin the worse 
debt ? 

Ans. 1. Because we have nothing to pay ; 
if we could pay the debt, what need we pray, 
"forgive us 1 ?" We can't say, as he in the 
gospel, " have patience with me, and I will 
pay thee all ;" we can pay neither principal 
nor interest. Adam made us all bankrupts ; 
in innocency Adam had a stock of original 
righteousness to begin the world with, he 
could give God personal and perfect obe- 
dience ; but, by his sin, he is quite broken, and 
hath beggared all his posterity. We have no- 
thing to pay, all our duties are mixed with sin, 
and so we cannot pay God in current coin. 

A. 2. Sin is the worst debt, because it 
is against an infinite majesty. An offence 
against the person of a king, is crimen Icesa 
majestitatis, it doth enhance and aggravate 
the crime. Sin wrongs God, and so it is an 
infinite offence. The schoolmen say omne 
peccatum contra conscientiam est quasi dici- 
dium, i. e. Every known sin strikes at the 
Godhead. The sinner would not only un- 
throne God, but ungod him, this makes the 
debt infinite. 

A. 3. Sin is the worst debt, because it is 
not a single, but a multiplied debt : forgive 
us " our debts ;" we have debt upon debt, 
Ps. xl. 12., "Innumerable evils have com- 
passed me about." We may as well reckon 
all the drops in the sea, as reckon all our 
spiritual debts ; we cannot tell how much 
we owe. A man may know his other debts, 
but we cannot number our spiritual debts. 
Every vain thought is a sin, Prov. xxiv. 9, 
" The thought of foolishness is sin." And 
what swarms of vain thoughts have we? 
The first rising of corruption, though it never 
blossom into outward act, is a sin; then, 



" who can understand his errors V We do 
not know how much we owe to God. 

A. 4. Sin is the worst debt ; because it is 
an inexcusable debt in two respects ; 1. There 
is no denying the debt. 2. There is no shift- 
ing it off. 

(1) . There is no denying the debt; other 
debts men may deny. If money be not paid 
before witnesses, or if the creditor lose the 
bond, the debtor may say he owes him no- 
thing; but there's no denying this debt of sin. 
If we say we have no sin, God can prove the 
debt, Ps. 1. 21, I will set thy sins in order 
before thee. God writes down our debts in 
his book of remembrance, and God's book, 
and the book of conscience do exactly agree, 
so that this debt cannot be denied. 

(2) . There is no shifting of the debt ; other 
debts may be shifted off. 

1. We may get friends to pay them, but 
neither man nor angel can pay this debt for 
us : if all the angels in heaven should go to 
make a purse, they cannot pay one of our debts. 

2. In other debts men may get a protec- 
tion, 60 that none can touch their persons, or 
sue them for the debt : but who shall give us 
a protection from God's justice ? Job x. 7, 
M There is none that can deliver out of thine 
hand." Indeed the pope pretends that his 
pardon shall be men's protection, and now 
God's justice shall not sue them ; but that is 
only a forgery, and cannot be pleaded at 
God's tribunal. 

3. Other debts, if the debtor dies in pri- 
son, cannot be recovered, death frees them 
from debt ; but if we die in debt to God, he 
knows how to recover it ; as long as we have 
souls to strain on, God will not lose his debt. 
Not the death of the debtor, but the death of 
the surety, pays a sinner's debt. 

4. In other debts men may flee from their 
creditor, leave their country, and go into 
foreign parts, and the creditor cannot find 
them ; but we cannot flee from God. God 
knows where to find all his debtors, Ps. 
cxxxix. 7, 8, " Whither shall I flee from thy 
presence 1 If I take the wings of the morn- 
ing, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the 
sea, there shall thy right hand hold me." 

5. Sin is the worst debt, because it carries 
men, in case of non-payment, to a worse 



524 



OP THE FIFTH PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



prison than any upon earth, to a fiery prison ; 
and the sinner is laid in worse chains, chains 
of darkness, where the sinner is bound under 
wrath for ever. 

Quest. 3. Wherein have we the 'proper- 
ties of bad debtors ? 

Ans. 1. A bad debtor doth not love to be 
called to an account. There's a day coming 
when God will call his debtors to account, 
Rom. xiv. 12, " So then, every one shall give 
an account of himself to God." But we play 
away the time, and do not love to hear of the 
day of judgment ; we love not that ministers 
should put us in mind of our debts, or speak of 
the day of reckoning. What a confounding 
word will that be to a secure sinner, redde ra- 
tionem, — give an account of your stewardship. 

A. 2. A bad debtor is unwilling to confess 
his debt, he will put it off, or make less of it ; 
so we are more willing to excuse sin, than 
confess it. How hardly was Saul brought to 
confession? 1 Sam. xv. 20, 21, "I have 
obeyed the voice of the Lord, but the people 
took of the spoil." He rather excuseth his 
sin than confesseth it. 

A. 3. A bad debtor ia apt to hate his credi- 
tor ; debtors wish their creditors dead ; so 
wicked men naturally hate God, because they 
think he is a just judge, and will call them to 
account ; (Gr.) God-haters. The debtor doth 
not love to see his creditor. 

Use 1st. It reproves them who are loath 
to be in debt, but make no reckoning of 
sin, which is the greatest debt ; they use no 
means to get cut of it, but run still further 
in debt to God. We would think it strange, 
if writs or warrants were out against a man, 
or a judgment granted to seize his body and 
estate, yet he is secure and regardless, as if 
he were unconcerned. God hath a writ out 
against a sinner, nay, many writs, for swear- 
ing, drunkenness, sabbath-breaking, yet the 
sinner eats and drinks, and is quiet, as if he 



were not in debt; what opium hath Satan 
given men ] 

Use 2d. Exhortation. If sin be a debt. 
1. Let us be humbled. The name of debt 
(saith St Ambrose) is grave vocabulum, 
grievous. Men in debt are full of shame, 
they lie hid, and do not care to be seen. A 
debtor is ever in fear of arrest. Canis latrat 
et cor palpitat. O let us blush and tremble, 
who are so deeply indebted to God ! A Ro- 
man dying in debt, Augustus the emperor sent 
to buy his pillow, because (saith he) I hope 
it has some virtue in it to make me sleep, on 
which a man so much in debt could take his 
ease. We that have so many spiritual debts 
lying upon us, how can we be at rest till we 
have some hope that they are discharged. 

2. Let us confess our debt. Let us ac- 
knowledge that we are run in arrears with 
God, and deserve that he should follow the 
law upon us, and throw us into hell-prison. 
By confession we give glory to God, Josh, 
vii. 19, " My son, I pray thee give glory to 
the Lord God of Israel, and make confession 
to him." Say that God were righteous if he 
should strain upon all we have ; if we confess 
the debt, God will forgive it, 1 John i. 9, " If 
we confess our sins, he is just to forgive." 
Do but confess the debt, and God will cross 
the book, Ps. xxxii. 5, " I said, I will con- j 
fess my transgression to the Lord, and thou 
forgavest the iniquity of my sin." 

3. Labour to get your spiritual debts paid, 
that is, by our surety Christ. Say, " Lord, 
have patience with me, and Christ shall pay 
thee all. He hath laid down an infinite 
price." The covenant of works would not 
admit of a surety, it demanded personal obe- 
dience : but this privilege we have by the [ 
gospel, which is a court of chancery to re- 
lieve us, that if we have nothing to pay, God !' : 
will accept of surety. Believe in Christ's \ 
blood, and the debt is paid. 



Luke xi. 4. And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. 

In the words are two parts : lsf, A peti- not a cause of God's forgiving us, but it is 

tion, " Forgive us our sins." 2d, A condi- a condition without which God will not for- 

tion, " For we also forgive every one that give us. 

is indebted to us." Our forgiving others is First, I begin with the first, the peti- 



OF THE FIFTH PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



525 



tion, " Forgive us our sins ;" a blessed pe- 
tition ! the ignorant world say, " Who will 
show us any good 1" Ps. iv. 6, meaning a 
good lease, a good purchase ; but our Saviour 
teacheth us to pray for that which is more 
noble, and will stand us in more stead, the 
pardon of sin, " Forgive us our sins." For- 
giveness of sins is a primary blessing, — it is 
one of the first mercies God bestows, Ezek. 
xxxvi. 25, "I will sprinkle clean water upon 
you ;" that is, forgiveness. When God par- 
dons, there is nothing he will stick at to do 
for the soul ; he will adopt, sanctify, crown. 

Quest. 1. What forgiveness of sin is ? 

Ans. It is God's passing by sin, Mic. vii. 
18, his wiping off the score, and giving us a 
discharge. The nature of forgiveness will 
more clearly appear : 1st, By opening some 
scripture-phrases. 2d, By laying down some 
divine aphorisms and positions. 

1st. By opening some scripture phrases, 
1. To forgive sin, is to take away iniquity, 
Job vii. 21, " Why dost thou not take away 
my iniquity ?" (Heb.) lift off. It is a meta- 
phor taken from a man that carries a heavy 
burthen ready to sink him, and another 
comes, and lifts off this burthen ; so when 
the heavy burthen of sin is on us, God in 
pardoning, lifts off this burthen from the con- 
science, and lays it upon Christ, Isa. liii. G, 
" The Lord hath laid on him the iniquities of 
us all." 

2. To forgive sin, is to cover sin, Ps. xxxii. 
1, Thou hast covered all their sin. This was 
typified by the mercy-seat covering the ark, 
to show God's covering of sin through Christ. 
God doth not cover sin in the Antinomian 
sense, so as he sees it not, but he doth so 
cover it, as he will not impute it. 

3. To forgive sin, is to blot it out, Isa. xliii. 
25, "I am he that blotteth out thy trans- 
gressions." The Hebrew word, to blot out, 
alludes to a creditor, who, when his debtor 
hath paid him, blots out the debt, and gives 
him an acquittance ; so God, when he for- 
gives sin, blots out the debt, he draws the 
red lines of Christ's blood over our sins, and 
so crosseth the debt-book. 

4. To forgive sin, is for God to scatter our 
sins as a cloud, Isa. xliv. 22, "I have blotted 
out as a thick cloud thy transgressions." 
Sin is the cloud interposed, God dispels the 



cloud, and breaks forth with the light of his 
countenance. 

5. To forgive sin, is for God to cast our 
sins into the depths of the sea, Micah vii. 19, 
which implies God's burying them out of 
sight, that they shall not rise up in judgment 
against us. " Thou wilt cast all their sins 
into the depths of the sea." God will throw 
them in, not as cork that riseth again, but as 
lead that sinks to the bottom. 

2d. The nature of forgiveness will appear, 
by; laying down some divine aphorisms or 
positions. 

Aphorism 1. Every sin is mortal, and needs 
forgiveness : I say, mortal, that is, deserves 
death. God may relax the rigour of the law, 
but every sin merits damnation. The papists 
distinguish of mortal sins, and venial : some 
sins are ex surreptione, they creep unawares 
into the mind, (as vain thoughts, sudden mo- 
tions of anger and revenge) these, saith Bel- 
larmine, are in their own nature venial. It 
is true, the greatest sins are in one sense 
venial, that is, God is able to forgive them : 
but the least sin is not in its own nature ve- 
nial, but deserves damnation. We read of 
" the lusts of the flesh," Rom. iii. 14, and 
« the works of the flesh," Gal. v. 19. The 
lusts of the flesh are sinful, as well as the 
works of the flesh. That which is a trans- 
gression of the law merits damnation ; but 
the first stirrings of corruption are a breach 
of the royal law, Rom. vii. 7, Prov. xxiv. 9, 
therefore they merit damnation. So that the 
least sin is mortal, and needs forgiveness. 

Aphorism 2. It is God only that forgives 
sin. To pardon sin is one of the jura rega- 
lia, the flowers of God's crown, Mark ii. 7, 
" Who can forgive sins but God only V It 
is most proper for God to pardon sin ; only 
the creditor can remit the debt. Sin is an 
infinite offence, and no finite power can dis- 
charge an infinite offence. 

That God only can forgive sin, I prove 
thus : — no man can take away sin, unless he 
is able to infuse grace ; for (as Aquinas 
saith) with forgiveness is always infusion 
of grace ; but no man can infuse grace, 
therefore no man can forgive sin. He only 
can forgive sin, who can remit the penalty, 
but it is only God's prerogative royal to for- 
give sin. 



526 



OF THE FIFTH PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



Obj. 1. But a Christian is charged to 
forgive his brother : Col. iii. 13, " Forgiving 
one another. 

Ans. In all second-table sins, there are 
two distinct things : 1. Disobedience against 
God. 2. Injury to man. That which man 
is required to forgive, is the wrong done to 
himself; but the wrong done to God, he 
cannot forgive. Man may remit a trespass 
against himself, but not a transgression 
against God. 

Obj. 2. But the scripture speaks of the 
power committed to ministers to forgive 
sin : John xx. 23, " Whosoever sins ye re- 
mit, they are remitted unto them." 

Ans. Ministers cannot remit sin authori- 
tatively and effectually, but only declaratively. 
They have a special office and authority to 
apply the promises of pardon to broken 
hearts. When a minister sees one humbled 
for sin, yet is afraid God hath not pardoned 
him, and is ready to be swallowed up of sor- 
row, — in this case, a minister, for the easing 
of this man's conscience, may, in the name 
of Christ, declare to him, that he is pardon- 
ed ; the minister doth not forgive sin by his 
own authority, but as a herald, in Christ's 
name, pronounceth a man's pardon. As it 
was with the priest in the law, God did 
cleanse the leper, the priest only did pro- 
nounce him clean, so it is God, who, by his 
prerogative, doth forgive sin, the minister 
only pronounceth forgiveness to the sinner, 
being penitent. Power to forgive sin authori- 
tatively in one's own name, was never grant- 
ed to any mortal man. A king may spare a 
man's life, but not pardon his sin ; popes' 
pardons are insignificant, like blanks in a 
lottery, good for nothing but to be torn. 

Aphorism 3. Forgiveness of sin is purely 
an act of God's free grace. There are some 
acts of God which declare his power, as 
making and governing the world, — other acts 
that declare his justice, as punishing the 
guilty,— other acts that declare his free grace, 
as pardoning of sinners, Isa. xliii. 25, " I, 
even I am he that blotteth out thy trans- 
gressions for my own name's sake." As when 
a creditor freely forgives a debtor, 1 Tim. i. 
15, " I obtained mercy." I was all over be- 
sprinkled with mercy. When God pardons 
a sin, he doth not pay a debt, but give a le- 



gacy. Forgiveness is spun out of the bowels 
of God's mercy ; there is nothing we can do 
can deserve it ; it is not our prayers, or tears, 
or good deeds can purchase pardon. When 
Simon Magus would have bought the gift of 
the Holy Ghost with money, " thy money 
(saith Peter) perish with thee," Acts viii. 20 : 
so they who think they can buy pardon of 
sin with their duties and alms, their money 
perish with them ; forgiveness is an act of 
God's free grace, here he displays the banner, 
of love. This is that will raise the trophies 
of God's glory, and will cause the saints' 
triumph in heaven, that when there was no 
worthiness in them, when they lay in their 
blood, God took pity on them, and held forth 
the golden sceptre of love in forgiving 1 For- 
giveness is a golden thread spun out of the 
bowels of free grace. 

Aphorism 4. Forgiveness is through the 
blood of Christ. Free grace is the inward 
cause moving. Christ's blood is the outward 
cause meriting pardon, Eph. i. 7, " In whom 
we have redemption through his blood." 
All pardons are sealed in Christ's blood ; the 
guilt of sin was infinite, and nothing but that 
blood which was of infinite value could pro- 
cure forgiveness. 

Obj. But if Christ laid down his blood 
as the price of our pardon, then how can we 
say, God freely forgives sin? If it be by 
purchase, how is it by grace ? 

Ans. 1. It was God's free grace that found 
out a way of redemption through a Media- 
tor. Nay, God's love appeared more in let- 
ting Christ die for us, than if he had forgiven 
us without exacting any satisfaction. 

A. 2. It was free grace moved God to ac- 
cept of the price paid for our sins : that God 
should accept a surety, — that one should sin, 
and another suffer, — this was free grace. So 
that forgiveness of sin, though it be pur- 
chased by Christ's blood, yet it is by free 
grace. 

Aphorism 5. In forgiveness of sin, God 
remits the guilt and penalty. Remissa cul- 
pa, remittitur poena. Guilt is an obligation 
to punishment, guilt cries for justice : now 
God in forgiving doth indulge the sinner as 
to the penalty : God seems to say to the 
sinner thus, " though thou art fallen into 
the hands of my justice, and deservest to 



OF THE FIFTH PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



527 



die, yet I will take off the penalty ; whatever 
is charged upon thee shall be discharged ;" 
when God pardons a soul, he will not reckon 
with him in a purely vindictive way, he stops 
the execution of justice. 

Aphorism 6. By virtue of this pardon God 
will no more call sin into remembrance, 
Heb. viii. 12, " Their sins and their iniqui- 
ties will I remember no more." God will 
pass an act of oblivion, he will not upbraid 
us with former unkindnesses ; when we fear 
God will call over our sins again after par- 
don, look into this act of indemnity, " their 
iniquities will I remember no more." God 
is said therefore to 'blot out our sin.' A man 
doth not call for a debt, when he hath cross- 
ed the book ; when God pardons a man, 
his former displeasure ceaseth, Hos. xiv. 4, 
" Mine anger is turned away." 

Quest. But is God angry with his par- 
doned ones ? 

Ans. Though a child of God, after pardon, 
may incur God's fatherly displeasure, yet 
God's judicial wrath is removed ; though God 
may lay on the rod, yet he hath taken away 
the curse ; correction may befall the saints, 
but not destruction, Ps. Ixxxix. 33, " My lov- 
ing kindness will I not utterly take away." 

Aphorism 7. That sin is not forgiven till 
it be repented of ; therefore they are put 
together, Luke xxiv. 47, "Repentance and 
remission." Domine, da pczjiitentiam, et 
postea indulgentiam, Fulgentius. 

Now in repentance there are three main 
ingredients, and all these must be before for- 
giveness. 1. Contrition, 2. Confession, 3. 
Conversion. (1). Contrition or brokenness 
of heart, Ezek. vii. 16, " They shall be like 
doves of the valleys, all of them mourning 
every one for his iniquity." This contrition 
or rending of the heart, is expressed some- 
times by smiting on the breast, Luke xviii. 13 ; 
sometimes by plucking off the hair, Ezra ix. 
3 ; sometimes by watering the couch, Ps. vi. 6. 
But all humiliation is not contrition ; some 
have only pretended sorrow for sin, and so 
have missed of forgiveness ; Ahab humbled 
himself, his garments were rent, not his heart. 

Quest. What is that remorse and sorrow 
which goes before forgiveness of sin 1 
Ans. It is a holy sorrow, — it is a grieving 



for sin, quatenus sin, as it is sin, and as it is 
a dishonouring of God, and a defiling of the 
soul. Though there were no sufferings to 
follow, yet the true penitent would grieve 
for sin, Ps. li. 3, " My sin is ever before me." 
This contrition goes before remission, Jer. 
xxxi. 19, 20, " I repented, I smote upon my 
thigh ; is Ephraim my dear son ] my bowels 
are troubled for him, I will surely have mercy 
upon him." Ephraim was troubled for sin- 
ning, and God's bowels were troubled for 
Ephraim ; the woman in the gospel stood at 
Jesus's feet weeping, and a pardon followed, 
Luke vii. 47, Wherefore I say, " her sins 
which are many, are forgiven her." The 
seal is set upon the wax when it melts ; God 
seals his pardon upon melting hearts. 

(2). The second ingredient in repentance 
is confession, Ps. li. 4, " Against thee, thee 
only have I sinned." This is not auricular 
confession ; this the papists make a sacra- 
ment, and affirm, that without confession of 
all one's sins in the ears of the priest, no man 
can receive forgiveness of sin ; the scripture 
is ignorant of it, nor do we read that any 
general council, till the Lateran council, 
which was about twelve hundred years after 
Christ, did ever decree auricular confession. 

Obj. But doth not the scripture say, James 
v. 15, " Confess your sins one to another?" 

Ans. This is absurdly brought for auricu- 
lar confession ; for, by this, the priest must 
as well confess to the people, as the people 
to the priest. The sense of that place is, 
in case of public scandals, or private wrongs, 
— here confession is to be made to others ; 
but chiefly, confession is to be made to God, 
who is the party offended ; " against thee, 
thee only have I sinned." Confession gives 
vent to sorrow ; confession must be free 
without compulsion, ingenuous without re- 
serve, cordial without hypocrisy ; the heart 
must go along with the confession. This 
confession makes way for forgiveness, Ps. 
xxxii. 5, " I said I will confess my transgress- 
ions unto the Lord, and thou forgavest me." 
When the publican and thief on the cross 
confessed, they had that pardon ; the publi- 
can smote upon his breast, there was contri- 
tion ; and said, " God be merciful to me a 
sinner," there was confession ; he went away 



528 



OF THE FIFTH PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



justified} there was forgiveness ; and the thief 
on the cross, "We indeed suffer justly," 
there was confession ; and Christ absolved 
him before he died, Luke xxiii. 43, " To-day 
shalt thou be with me in paradise." Which 
words of Christ might occasion that saying 
of St Austin, confession shuts the mouth of 
hell, and opens the gate of paradise. 

(3). The thhd ingredient in repentance is, 
conversion, or turning from sin, Judges x. 
15, " We have sinned," there was confess- 
ion; v. 16, "They put away the strange 
gods," there was conversion. And it must be 
an universal turning from sin, Ezek. xviii. 
31, " Cast away from you all your transgress- 
ions." You would be loath God should 
forgive only some of your sins ; would you 
have God forgive all, and will not you for- 
sake all? He that hides one rebel, is a 
traitor to the crown; he that lives in one 
known sin, is a traitorous hypocrite. And it 
must not only be a turning from sin, but a 
turning unto God: therefore it is called 
"repentance towards God," Acts xx. 21. 
The heart points towards God, as the needle 
to the north pole. The prodigal did not only 
leave his harlots, but did arise and go to his 
father, Luke xv. 20. This repentance is 
the ready way to pardon, Isa. lv. 7, " Let 
the wicked forsake his way, and turn to the 
Lord, and he will abundantly pardon." A 
king will not pardon a rebel whilst he con- 
tinues in open hostility. Thus you see 
repentance goes before remission ; they who 
never repented, can have no ground to hope 
that their sins are pardoned. 

Aphorism 8. That sin is not forgiven till 
it be repented of. 

Caution. Not that repentance doth merit 
the forgiveness of sin J to make repentance 
satisfactory is popish; by repentance we 
please God, but we do not satisfy him. Alas ! 
" Christ's blood must wash our tears." Re- 
pentance is a condition, not a cause ; God 
will not pardon for repentance, nor yet with- 
out it; God seals his pardons on melting 
hearts; repentance makes us prize pardon 
the more. He who cries out of his broken 
bones, will the more prize the mercy of 
having them set again ; when there is nothing 
in the soul but clouds of sorrow, and now 



God brings a pardon (which is a setting up 
of a rainbow in the cloud, to tell the soul 
the flood of God's wrath shall not overflow,) 
O what joy at the sight of this rainbow ! 
The soul now burns in love to God. 

Aphorism 9. The greatest sins come with- 
in the compass of forgiveness. Incest, sodo- 
my, adultery, theft, murder, which are sins of 
the first magnitude, yet these are pardonable. 
Paul was a blasphemer, and so sinned against 
the first table ; a persecutor, and so he sinned 
against the second table ; yet he obtained ' 
mercy, 1 Tim. i. 13, I was all besprinkled 
with mercy. Zaccheus, an extortioner, — 
Mary Magdalene, an unchaste woman, out 
of whom seven devils were cast, — Manasseh, 
who made the streets run with blood, — yet 
these had pardon. Some of the Jews, who 
had a hand in crucifying Christ, were forgiv- 
en. God blots out not only the cloud, but 
"the thick cloud," Isa. xliv. 22; enormities 
as well as infirmities. The king in the para- 
ble, forgave his debtor that owed him 10,000 
talents, Matt, xviii. 27, a talent weighed 
3000 shekels, 10,000 talents contained al- 
most 12 tons of gold. This was an em- 
blem of . God's forgiving great sins, Isa. i. 18, 
" Though your sins be as scarlet, yet they 
shall be as white as snow." Scarlet, in the 
Greek, is called twice dipped, and the art of 
man cannot wash out the dye again. But 
though our sins are of a scarlet dye, God's 
mercy can wash them away : the sea can as 
well cover great rocks as little sands. This I 
mention that sinners may not despair. God 
counts it a glory to him to forgive great 
sins ; now mercy and Jove ride in triumph, 
1 Tim. i. 14, " The grace of our Lord was 
exceeding abundant," it was exuberant, it 
did overflow as Nilus. We must not mea- 
sure God by ourselves : God's mercy excels 
our sins, as much as heaven doth earth, 
Ps. cxix. 11. If great sins could not be J 
forgiven, then great sinners should not be 
preached to ; but the gospel is to be preach- 
ed to all. If they could not be forgiven, it 
were a dishonour to Christ's blood ; as if 
the wound were broader than the plaster. 
God hath first made great sinners " broken 
vessels," — he hath broken their hearts for 
sin; and then he hath made them "golden 



OF THE FIFTH PETITION 



IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 529 



vessels," — he hath filled them with the golden 
oil of pardoning- mercy ; this may encourage 
great sinners to come in and repent. Indeed 
the sin against the Holy Ghost is unpardon- 
able, not but that there is mercy enough in 
God to forgive it, but because he who hath 
committed this sin will have no pardon ; he 
despites God, scorns his mercy, spills the 
cordial of Christ's blood, and tramples it 
under foot ; he puts away salvation from him ; 
but else the greatest sins are pardonable. 
When a poor sinner looks upon himself, and 
sees his guilt, and when he looks on God's 
justice and holiness, he falls down confound- 
ed : but here is what may be as a cork to the 
net, to keep him from despair, if thou wilt 
leave thy sins and come to Christ, mercy can 
seal thy pardon. 

Aphorism 10. When God pardons a sinner, 
he forgives all sins, Jer. xxxiii. 8, " I will 
pardon all their iniquities." Col. ii. 13, 
Jf Having forgiven you all trespasses." The 
mercy-seat covered the whole ark ; the mer- 
cy-seat was a type of forgiveness, to show 
that God covers all our transgressions. He 
doth not leave one sin upon the score ; he 
doth not take his pen, and for fourscore sins 
write down fifty, but blots out all sin, Ps. ciii. 
3, " Who forgives all thine iniquities." 
When I say, God forgiveth all sins, I under- 
stand it of sins past, but sins to come are not 
forgiven till they are repented of. Indeed 
God hath decreed to pardon them ; and when 
God forgives one sin, he will in time forgive 
all ; but sins future are not actually pardoned, 
till they are repented of ; it is absurd to 
think sin should be forgiven, before it is com- 
mitted. 

1. If all sins past and to come are at once 
forgiven, then, what need a man pray for the 
pardon of sin ] It is a vain thing to pray for 
the pardon of that which is already forgiven. 

2. This opinion, that sins to come (as well 
as past) are forgiven, doth take away and 
make void Christ's intercession. Christ is 
an^advocate to intercede for daily sins, 1 John 
ii. 1 ; but if sin be forgiven before it be com- 
mitted, what need is there of Christ's daily 
intercession ? What need have I of an ad- 
vocate if sin be pardoned before it be com- 
mitted ? So that God, though he forgives 

3X 



all sins past to a believer, yet sins to come 
are not forgiven, till repentance be re- 
newed. 

Aphorism 11. Faith doth necessarily ante- 
cede forgiveness, there must be believing on 
our part, before there is forgiving on God's 
part, Acts x. 43, " To him gave all the pro- 
phets witness, that through his name whoso- 
ever believeth in him shall receive remission 
of sins." So that faith is a necessary ante- 
cedent to forgiveness. There are two acts 
of faith, — to accept Christ, and to trust in 
Christ, — to accept of his terms, to trust in 
his merits ; and he who doth neither of these, 
can have no forgiveness ; he who doth not 
accept Christ, cannot have his person ; he 
that doth not trust in him, cannot have bene- 
fit by his blood. So that, without faith no 
remission. 

Aphorism 12. Though justification and 
sanctification are not the same, yet God never 
pardons a sinner, but he doth sanctify him. 
Justification and sanctification are not the 
same. 

1. Justification is without us, sanctification 
is within us. The one is by righteousness im- 
puted, the other is by righteousness imparted. 

2. Justification is equal, sanctification is 
gradual. Sanctification doth recipere majus 
et minus; one is sanctified more than an- 
other, but one is not justified more than an- 
other ; one hath more grace than another, 
but he is not more a believer than another. 

3. The matter of our justification is perfect, 
viz. Christ's righteousness ; but our sancti- 
fication is imperfect, there are the spots of 
God's children, Deut. xxxii. 5. Our graces 
are mixed, our duties are defiled. Thus jus- 
tification and sanctification are not the same ; 
yet, for all that, they are not separated. God 
never pardons and justifies a sinner, but he 
doth sanctify him, 1 Cor. vi. 11, " But ye are 
justified, but ye are sanctified." 1 John v. 6, 
" This is he that came by water and blood, 
even Jesus Christ." Christ comes to the 
soul by blood, that denotes remission ; and by 
water, that denotes sanctification. Let no 
man say he is pardoned, that is not made 
holy. And this, I the rather urge against the 
Antinomians, who talk of being forgiven their 
sin, and having a part in Christ, and yet 



530 OF THE FIFTH PETITION 



IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



remain unconverted, and live in the grossest 
sins. Pardon and healing go together : Isa. 
lvii. 19, " I create the fruit of the lips, peace. 
And I will heal him." Peace is the fruit of 
pardon ; and then it follows, " T will heal 
him." Where God pardons he purifies. As 
in the inauguration of kings, with the crown 
there is the oil to anoint: so when God 
crowns a man with forgiveness, there he gives 
the anointing oil of grace to sanctify, Rev. 
ii. 17, " I will give him a white stone, and in 
the stone a new name." A " white stone," 
that is absolution ; and a " new name" in the 
stone, that is sanctincation. 

1. If God should pardon a man, and not 
sanctify him, this would be a reproach to 
him ; then he should love and be well-pleased 
with men in their sins, which is diametrically 
contrary to his holy nature. 

2. If God should pardon and not sanctify, 
then he could have no glory from us. God's 
people are formed to show forth his praise, 
Isa. xliii. 21, but if he should pardon and not 
sanctify us, how could we show forth his 
praise 1 How could we glorify him ? What 
glory can God have by a proud, ignorant, pro- 
fane heart? 

3. If God should pardon and not sanctify, 
then that should enter into heaven which de- 
fileth; but, Rev. xxi. 27, "Nothing shall 
enter that defileth." Then God should settle 
the inheritance upon men before they are fit 
for it, contrary to that, Col. i. 12, "he hath 
made us meet to be partakers of the inherit- 
ance ;" how is that but by the divine unction 1 
So that, whoever God forgives, he transforms. 
Let no man say his sins are forgiven, who 
doth not find an inherent work of holiness in 
his heart. 

Aphorism 13. Where God remits sin, he 
imputes righteousness. This righteousness 
of Christ imputed is a salvo to God's law, 
and makes full satisfaction for the breaches 
of it. This righteousness procures God's 
favour. God cannot but love us, when he sees 
us in his Son's robe, which both covers and 
adorns us. In this spotless robe of Christ 
we outshine the angels: theirs is but the 
righteousness of creatures, this is the right- 
eousness of God himself, 2 Cor. v. 21, " That 
we might be made the righteousness of God 
in him." How great a blessing then is for- 



giveness 1 With remission of sin is joined 
imputation of righteousness. 

Aphorism 14. They whose sins are for- 
given, must not omit praying for forgive- 
ness, " Forgive us our trespasses." Be- 
lievers who are pardoned, must be continual 
suitors for pardon. When Nathan told 
David, " The Lord also hath put away thy 
sin," 2 Sam. xii. 13, yet David, after that, 
composed a penitential psalm for the par- 
don of his sin. Sin, after pardon, rebels. 
Sin, like Samson's hair, though it be cut,- 
will grow again. We sin daily, and must as 
well ask for daily pardon, as for daily bread. 
Besides, a Christian's pardon is not so sure, 
but he may desire to have a clearer evidence 
of it. 

Aphorism 15. A full absolution from all 
sin is not pronounced till the day of judg- 
ment. The day of judgment is called "a 
time of refreshing," when sin shall be com- 
pletely blotted out, Acts iii. 19. Now God 
blots out sin truly, but then it shall be done 
in a more public way ; God will openly pro- 
nounce the saints' absolution before men and 
angels ; their happiness is not completed till 
the day of judgment, because then their par- 
don shall be solemnly pronounced, and there 
shall be the triumphs of the heavenly host. 
At that day it will be true indeed that God 
sees no sin in his children ; they shall be as 
pure as the angels ; then the church shall be 
presented without wrinkle, Eph. v. 27. She 
shall be as free from stain as guilt ; then Sa- 
tan shall no more accuse, Christ will show 
the debt-book crossed in his blood. There- 
fore the church doth so pray for Christ's 
coming to judgment, Rev. xxii. 17, The bride 
saith, " Come, Lord Jesus :" light the lamps, 
then burn the incense. 

Use 1st. Of information. From this word, 
' Forgive,' we learn that if the debt of sin 
be no other way discharged but by being 
forgiven, then we cannot satisfy for it. 
Among other damnable opinions of the church 
of Rome, this is one, man's power to satisfy 
for sin. The council of Trent holds that 
God is satisfied by our undergoing the pe- 
nalty imposed by the censure of priests ; 
and again, we have works of our own, by 
which we may satisfy for our wrongs done 
to God ; by these opinions, let any judge 



OF THE FIFTH PETITION 



IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 531 



what the popish religion is. They intend to 
pay the debt they owe God themselves, to 
pay it in part, and do not look to have it all 
forgiven ; but why did Christ teach us to 
pray, " Forgive us our sins," if we can of our- 
selves satisfy God for the wrong we have 
done him ) This doctrine robs God of his 
glory, Christ of his merit, and the soul of 
salvation. Alas ! Is not the lock cut where 
the strength lay 1 Are not all our works fly- 
blown with sin, and can sin satisfy for sin? 
This doctrine makes men their own saviours : 
it is most absurd to hold ; for, can the obedi- 
ence of a finite creature satisfy for an infi- 
nite offence 1 Sin being forgiven, clearly 
implies we cannot satisfy for it. 

2. From this word us, " forgive us," we 
learn that pardon is chiefly to be sought for 
ourselves : for though we are to pray for the 
pardon of others, James v. 10, " pray one 
for another," yet in the first place, we are to 
beg pardon for ourselves. What! will ano- 
ther's pardon do us good 1 Every one is to 
endeavour to have his own name in the par- 
don. A son may be made free by his father's 
copy, but he cannot be pardoned by his fa- 
ther's pardon, he must have a pardon for 
himself. In this sense, selfishness is lawful, 
every one must be for himself, and get a 
pardon for his own sins. " Forgive us." 

3. From this word our, 'our sins', we 
learn how just God is in punishing us. The 
text says, ' our sins we are not punished 
for other men's sins, but our own. Nemo 
habet de proprio, nisi peccatum, Augus- 
tine. There's nothing we can call so pro- 
perly ours, as sin. Our daily bread we have 
from God, our daily sins we have from our- 
selves. Sin is our own act, a web of our 
own spinning; how righteous therefore is 
God in punishing of us ] We sow the seed, 
and God only makes us reap what we sow, 
Jer. xvii. 10, "I give every man the fruit of 
his doings." When we are'punished, we but 
taste the fruit of our own grafting. 

4. From this word sins, see from hence 
the multitude of sins we stand guilty of. 
We pray not forgive us our sin, (as if it 
were only a single debt) but sins, in the 
plural : so vast is the catalogue of our sins, 
that David cries out, " Who can understand 



his errors'?" Ps. xix. 12. Our sins are like 
the drops of the sea, like the atoms in the sun, 
they exceed all arithmetic. Our debts we owe 
to God, we can no more number, than we can 
satisfy ; which, as it should humble us, to con- 
sider how full of black spots our souls are, so 
it should put us upon seeking after the pardon 
of our sins. And this brings to the second 
use. 

Exhortation. To labour to have the forgive- 
ness of sin sealed up to us. How can we eat, 
or drink, or sleep without it 1 'Tis sad dying 
without a pardon ; this is to fall into the la- 
byrinth of despair ; of this the next time. 

Use 2d. Let us labour for the forgive- 
ness of sin. If ever this was needful, then 
now, when the times ring changes, and 
danger seems to be marching towards us. 
Labour, I say, for the forgiveness of sin ; 
this is a main branch of the charter or co- 
venant of grace, Heb. vii. 12, " I will be 
merciful to your unrighteousness, and your 
sins and iniquities I will remember no more." 
It is mercy to feed us, but it is rich mercy to 
pardon us ; this is spun and woven out of 
the bowels of free grace. Earthly things 
are no signs of God's love ; he may give the 
venison, but not the blessing ; but when God 
seals up forgiveness, he gives his love and 
heaven with it, Ps. xxi. 3, " Thou settest a 
crown of pure gold on his head." A crown 
of gold was a mercy, but if you look into 
Ps. ciii. you shall find a greater mercy, v. 
3, 4, " Who forgiveth all thine iniquities, 
who crovvneth thee with loving kindness." 
To be crowned with forgiveness and loving 
kindness, is a far greater mercy than to have 
a crown of pure gold set upon the head. It 
was a mercy when Christ cured the palsy 
man ; but when Christ said to him, " thy 
sins be forgiven," Mark ii. 5, this was more 
than to have his palsy healed ; forgiveness 
of sin is the chief thing to be sought after ; 
and sure, if conscience be once touched 
with a sense of sin, there is nothing a man 
will thirst after more than forgiveness, Ps. 
li. 3, " My sin is ever before me." This 
made David so earnest for pardon, Ps. li. 1, 
" Have mercy upon me, O God ; blot out 
my transgressions." If one should have 
come to David, and asked him, " David 



532 



OF THE FIFTH PETITION 



IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



where is thy pain ? what is it troubles thee ? 
is it the fear of shame which shall come upon 
thee and thy wives? is it the fear of the sword 
which God hath threatened shall not depart 
from thy house?" He would have said, "No, 
it is only my sin pains me, — 4 my sin is ever 
before me/ Were but this removed by for- 
giveness, though the sword did ride in cir- 
cuit in my family, I would be well enough 
content. When the arrow of guilt sticks in 
the conscience, nothing is so desirable as to 
have this arrow plucked out by forgiveness. 

therefore seek after " forgiveness of sin!" 
Can you make a shift to live without it ; but 
how will you do to die without it ? Will 
not death have a sting to an unpardoned sin- 
ner 1 How do you think to get to heaven 
without forgiveness? As at some solemn 
festivals, there is no being admitted unless 
you bring a ticket: so, unless you have this 
ticket to show, " forgiveness of sin," there is 
no being admitted into the holy place of hea- 
ven. Will God ever crown those that he will 
not forgive ? O be ambitious of pardoning 
grace ? When God had made Abraham great 
and large promises, Abraham replies, " Lord, 
what wilt thou give me, seeing I go child- 
less?" Gen. xv. 2. So, when God hath given 
thee riches, and all thy heart can wish, say 
to him, " Lord, what is all this, seeing I want 
forgiveness? Let my pardon be sealed in 
Christ's blood." A prisoner in the Tower is 
in an ill case, notwithstanding his brave diet, 
great attendance, soft bed to lie on, because, 
being impeached, he looks every day for his 
arraignment, and is afraid of the sentence of 
death : in such a case, and worse, is he, that 
swims in the pleasures of the world, but his 
sins are not forgiven, — a guilty conscience 
doth impeach him, and he is in fear of being 
arraigned and condemned at God's judgment- 
seat. Give not then sleep to your eyes, or 
slumber to your eyelids, till you have got- 
ten some well-grounded hope that your sins 
are blotted out. Before I come to press the 
exhortation to seek after forgiveness of sin, 

1 shall propound one question. 

Quest. If pardon of sin be so absolutely 
necessary, without it no salvation, what is 
the reason that so few in the world seek after 
it? If they want health, they repair to the 



physician ; if they want riches, they take a 
voyage to the Indies ; but if they want for- 
giveness of sin, they seem to be unconcern- 
ed, and do not seek after it : whence is this? 

Ans. 1. Inadvertency, or want of consi- 
deration ; they do not look into their spiri- 
tual estate, or cast up their accounts to see 
how matters stand between God and their 
souls, Isa.i. 3, " My people do not consider." 
They do not consider they are indebted to 
God in a debt of ten thousand talents, and 
that God will, ere long, call them to account, 
Rom. xiv. 12, " So then every one of us 
shall give an account of himself to God." 
But people shun serious thoughts ; " my 
people do not consider." Hence it is they 
do not look after pardon. 

A. 2. Men do not seek after forgiveness of 
sin, for want of conviction. Few are convinc- 
ed what a deadly evil sin is, — it is the spirits 
of mischief distilled, — it turns a man's glory 
into shame, — it brings all plagues on the body, 
and curses on the soul. Unless a man's sins 
be forgiven, there is not the vilest creature 
alive, — the dog, serpent, toad, — but is in a 
better condition than the sinner ; for when 
they die, they go but to the earth ; but he 
dying without pardon, goes into hell-tor- 
ments for ever. Men are not convinced of 
this, but play with the viper of sin. 

A. 3. Men do not seek earnestly after 
forgiveness, because they are seeking other 
things : they seek the world immoderately. 
When Saul was seeking after the asses, he 
did not think of a kingdom. The world is a 
golden snare. Divitice scbcuU sunt laquei 
diaboli, Bern. The wedge of gold hinders 
many from seeking after a pardon. Ministers 
cry to the people, " Get your pardon sealed!" 
But if you call to a man that is in a mill, the 
noise of the mill drowns the voice, that he can- 
not hear : so when the mill of a trade is going, 
it makes such a noise, that the people cannot 
hear the minister when he lifts up his voice 
like a trumpet, and cries to them to look after 
the sealing of their pardon. He who spends 
all his time about the world, and doth not 
mind forgiveness, will accuse himself of 
folly at last. You would judge that prison- 
er very unwise, that should spend all his 
time with the cook to get his dinner rea- 



OF THE FIFTH PETITION 

dy, and should never mind getting a par- 
don. 

A. 4. Men seek not after the forgiveness 
of sin, through a bold presumption of mercy; 
they conceit God to be made up all of mercy, 
and that he will indulge them, though they 
take little or no pains to sue out their par- 
don. 'Tis true, God is merciful, but withal 
he is just, he will not wrong his justice by 
showing mercy. Read the proclamation, 
Exod. xxxiv. 6, " The Lord, the Lord God, 
merciful and gracious ; v. 7, " and that will 
by no means clear the guilty." Such as go 
on in sin, and are so slothful or wilful, that 
they will not seek after forgiveness, though 
there be a whole ocean of mercy in the Lord, 
not one drop shall fall to their share, " he 
will by no means clear the guilty." 

A. 5. Men seek not earnestly after for- 
giveness, out of hope of impunity. They 
flatter themselves in sin, and because they 
have been spared so long, therefore think, 
God never intends to reckon with them, 
Ps. x. 11, "He hath said in his heart, God 
hath forgotten : he hideth his face ; he will 
never see it." Atheists think, either the 
judge is blind, or forgetful ; but let sinners 
know, that long forbearance is no forgive- 
ness. God did bear with Sodom a long time, 
but at last rained down fire and brimstone 
upon them : the adjourning of the assizes 
doth not acquit the prisoner : the longer God 
is taking the blow, the heavier it will be at 
last, if sinners repent not. 

A. 6. Men do not seek earnestly after 
forgiveness through mistake ; they think get- 
ting a pardon is easy, it is but repeating at 
the last hour, a sigh, or a Lord have mercy, 
and a pardon will drop into their mouths. 
But, is it so easy to repent, and have a par- 
don ? Tell me, O sinner, is regeneration 
easy 1 Are there no pangs in the new birth ] 
Is mortification easy ] Is it nothing to pluck 
out the right eye } Is it easy to leap out of 
Delilah's lap into Abraham's bosom 1 This 
is the draw-net, by which the devil drags 
millions to hell, — the facility of repenting 
and getting a pardon ! 

A. 7. Men do not look after forgiveness 
through despair. " Oh," saith the despond- 
ing soul, " it is a vain thing for me to expect 



IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 533 

pardon ; my sins are so many and heinous, 
that sure God will not forgive me : Jer. xviii. 
12, 4 And they said, There is no hope.' My 
sins are huge mountains, and, can they ever 
be cast into the sea?" Despair cuts the 
sinews of endeavour ; who will use means 
that despairs of success 1 The devil shows 
some men their sins at the little end of the 
perspective-glass, and they seem little, or 
none at all ; but he shows others their sins at 
the great end of the perspective, and they 
fright them into despair. This is a soul- 
damning sin ; Judas's despair was worse than 
his treason. Despair spills the cordial of 
Christ's blood ; this is the voice of despair, 
" Christ's blood cannot pardon me." Thus 
you see whence it is that men seek no more 
earnestly after the forgiveness of sin. Hav- 
ing answered this question, I shall now 
come to press the exhortation upon every 
one of us, to seek earnestly after the for- 
giveness of our sins. 

1. Our very life lies upon the getting of a 
pardon : it is called " the justification of life," 
Rom. v. 18. Now, if our life lies upon our 
pardon, and we are dead and damned without 
it, doth it not concern us above all things 
to labour after forgiveness of sin? Deut. 
xxxii. 47, " For it is not a vain thing for you, 
because it is your life." If a man be under 
a sentence of death, he will set his wits 
a-work, and make use of all his friends to 
get the king to grant his pardon, because his 
life lies upon it : so we are, by reason of sin, 
under a sentence of damnation ; now, there 
is one friend at court we may make use of to 
procure our pardon, namely, the Lord Jesus ; 
how earnest then should we be with him to 
be our Advocate to the Father for us, and 
that he would present the merit of his blood 
to the Father, as the price of our pardon 1 

2. There is that in sin may make us desire 
forgiveness. Sin is the only thing that dis- 
quiets the soul. — 1. Sin is a burthen, it bur- 
thens the creation, Rom. viii. 22, it burthens 
the conscience, Ps. xxxviii. 4. A wicked 
man is not sensible of sin, he is dead in sin ; 
and if you lay a thousand weight upon a 
dead man, he feels it not. But to an awak- 
ened conscience there is no such burthen as 
sin ; when a man seriously weighs with 



534 



OF THE FIFTH PETITION 



IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



himself the glory and purity of that Majesty 
which sin hath offended,— the preciousness 
of that soul which sin hath polluted,— the loss 
of that happiness which sin hath endangered, 
— the greatness of that torment which sin 
hath deserved, — to lay all this together, sure 
must make sin burthensome. And should not 
we labour to have this burthen removed by 
pardoning mercy 1 — 2. Sin is a debt, Matt, 
vi. 12, " Forgive us our debts ;" and every 
debt we owe, God hath written down in his 
book, Isa. Ixv. 0, " Behold it is written be- 
fore me," and one day God's debt-book will 
be opened, Rev. xx. 32, " The books were 
opened." And is not this that which may 
make us look after forgiveness 1 Sin being 
such a debt as we must eternally lie in the 
prison of hell for, if it be not discharged 
shall not we be earnest with God to cross 
the debt-book with the blood of his Son 1 
There is no way to look God in the face with 
comfort, but by having our debts either paid 
or pardoned. 

3. There is nothing but forgiveness can 
give ease to a troubled conscience. There is 
a great difference between the having the 
fancy pleased, and having the conscience 
eased. Worldly things may please the fancy, 
but not ease the conscience ; nothing but 
pardon can relieve a troubled soul. It is 
strange what shifts men will make for ease 
when conscience is pained, and how many 
false medicines they will use, before they will 
take the right way for a cure. When con- 
science is troubled, they will try, what merry 
company can do ; .they may perhaps drink 
away trouble of conscience ; perhaps they 
may play it away at cards ; perhaps a Lent- 
whipping will do the deed; perhaps multitude 
of business will so take up their time, that 
they shall have no leisure to hear the clamours 
and accusations of conscience ; but how vain 
are all these attempts! still their wound 
bleeds inwardly, their heart trembles, their 
conscience roars, and they can have no peace. 
Whence is it] Here is the reason, they go 
not to the mercy of God, and the blood of 
Christ, for the pardon of their sins : and 
hence it is they can have no ease. Suppose a 
man hath a thorn in his foot which puts him 
to pain ; let him anoint it, or wrap it up, and 



keep it warm ; yet, till the thorn be plucked 
out, it aches and swells, and he hath no ease : 
so when the thorn of sin is gotten into a man's 
conscience, there's no ease till the thorn be 
pulled out ; when God removes iniquity, now 
the thorn is plucked out. How was David's 
heart finely quieted, when Nathan the pro- 
phet told him, " the Lord also hath put away 
thy sin," 2 Sam. xii. 13. How should we 
therefore labour for forgiveness ! Till then 
we can have no ease in our mind; nothing, 
but a pardon, sealed with the blood of the 
Redeemer, can ease a wounded spirit. 

4. Forgiveness of sin is feasible ; it may be 
obtained. Impossibility destroys endeavour ; 
but, as Ezra x. 2, " There is hope in Israel 
concerning this." The devils are past hope ; 
a sentence of death is past upon them, which 
is irrevocable ; but there is hope for us of 
obtaining a pardon, Ps. cxxx. 4, " There is 
forgiveness with thee." If pardon of sin were 
not possible, then it were not to be prayed for ; 
but it hath been prayed for, 2 Sam. xxiv. 10, 
" I beseech thee, O Lord, take away mine in- 
iquity ;" and Christ bids us pray for it, " For- 
give us our trespasses." That is possible 
which God hath promised, but God hath 
promised pardon upon repentance, Isa. lv. 
7, " Let the wicked forsake his way and re- 
turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy upon 
him ; and to our God, for he will abundantly 
pardon." (Heb.) He will multiply to pardon. 
That is possible which others have obtained : 
but others have arrived at forgiveness, there- 
fore it is haveable, Ps. xxxii. 5, Isaiah xxxviii. 
17, "Thou hast cast all my sins behind thy 
back." This may make us endeavour after 
pardon, because it is feasible it maybe had. 

5. Consideration, to persuade to it is, for- 
giveness of sin is a choice eminent bless- 
ing; to have the book cancelled, and God 
appeased, is worth obtaining; which may 
whet our endeavour after it. That it is a 
rare transcendent blessing, appears by three 
demonstrations, 

1st, If we consider how this blessing is 
purchased, namely, by the Lord Jesus. There 
are three things in reference to Christ, which 
set forth the choiceness and preciousness of 
forgiveness. 

1. No mere created power in heaven or 



OF THE FIFTH PETITION 



IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



535 



earth could expiate one sin, or procure a par- 
don ; only Jesus Christ, 1 John ii. 2, " He is 
the propitiation for our sins," Nq merit can 
buy out a pardon. Paul had as much to 
boast of as any man, — his high birth, his 
learning, his legal righteousness ; but he dis- 
claims all in point of justification, and lays 
them under Christ's feet to tread upon. No 
angel could, with all his holiness, lay down a 
price for the pardon of one sin, 1 Sam. ii, 25, 
" If a man sin against the Lord, who shall 
entreat for him V What angel durst be so 
bold, as to open his mouth to God for a de- 
linquent sinner 1 Only Jesus Christ, who is 
God-man, could deal with God's justice, and 
purchase forgiveness. 

2. Christ himself could not procure a par- 
don, but by dying ; every pardon is the price 
of blood. Christ's life is a rule of holiness, 
and a pattern of obedience, Matt. iii. 15, He 
fulfilled all righteousness. And certainly, 
Christ's active obedience was of great value 
and merit ; but here is that which raiseth the 
worth of forgiveness, Christ's active obedi- 
ence had not fully procured a pardon for us, 
without the shedding of his blood : therefore 
our justification is ascribed to his blood, Rom. 
v. 9, " Being now justified by his blood." 
Christ did bleed out our pardon. There's 
much ascribed to Christ's intercession, but, 
his intercession had not prevailed with God 
for the forgiveness of one sin, had not he shed 
his blood. It is worth our notice, that when 
Christ is described to John as an interces- 
sor for his church, he is represented to him 
in the likeness of a Lamb slain, Rev. v. 6, 
to show that Christ must die, and be slain, 
before he can be an intercessor. 

3. Christ, by dying, had not purchased for- 
giveness for us, if he had not died an execra- 
ble death ; he endured the curse, Gal. iii. 13. 
All the agonies Christ endured in his soul, all 
the torments in his body, could not purchase 
a pardon, except he had been made a curse 
for us. Christ must be cursed, before we 
could be blessed with a pardon. 

2dly. Forgiveness of sin is a choice bless- 
ing, if we consider what glorious attributes 
God puts forth in the pardoning of sin. — 1. 
God puts forth infinite power : when Moses 
was pleading with God for the pardon of 



Israel's sin, he speaks thus, " Let the power 
of my Lord be great," Numb. xiv. 17. God's 
forgiving of sin is a work of as great power 
as to make heaven and earth, nay a greater : 
for, when God made the world, he met with 
no opposition ; but, when he comes to pardon, 
Satan opposeth, and the heart opposeth. A 
sinner is desperate, and slights, yea, defies a 
pardon, till God, by his mighty power, con- 
vinceth him of his sin and danger, and makes 
him willing to accept of a pardon. — 2. God, 
in forgiving sins, puts forth ' infinite mercy,' 
Numb. xvi. 19, "Pardon, I beseech thee, the 
iniquity of this people, according to the great- 
ness of thy mercy." It is mercy to have a re- 
prieve ; and if there be mercy in sparing a sin- 
ner, what mercy then is in pardoning him ? 
This is the flos lactis, the cream of mercy. 
For God to put up with so many injuries, — to 
wipe so many debts off* the score, — this is in- 
finite favour ; forgiveness of sin is spun out 
of the bowels of God's mercy. 

3dly, Forgiveness of sin is a choice bless- 
ing, as it lays a foundation for other mer- 
cies. It is a leading mercy. — 1. It makes 
way for temporal good things. (1). It brings 
health. When Christ said to the palsy man, 
" Thy sins are forgiven," this made way for 
a bodily cure, " Arise, take up thy bed and 
go into thine house," Matt. ix. 6. The par- 
don of his sin made way for the healing of 
his palsy. (2). It brings prosperity, Jer. 
xxxiii. 8, 9. — 2. It makes way for spiritual 
good things. Forgiveness of sin never 
comes alone, but hath other spiritual bless- 
ings attending it. Whom God pardons, he 
sanctifies, adopts, crowns. It is a volumin- 
ous mercy, — it draws the silver link of grace, 
and the golden link of glory after it. It is 
a high act of indulgence, — God seals the 
sinner's pardon with a kiss. And should not 
we above all things seek after so great a bless- 
ing as forgiveness 1 

6. Consideration, that which may make us 
seek after forgiveness of sin is, God's inclina- 
bleness to pardon, Neh. ix. 17. " Thou art a 
God ready to pardon." In the Hebrew it is, 
" A God of pardons." We are apt to en- 
tertain wrong conceits of God, that he is in- 
exorable, and will not forgive, Matt. xxv. 24, 
" I knew that thou art a hard man." But 



536 



OF THE FIFTH PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



God is a sin-pardoning God, Exod. xxxiv. 6, 
7, " The Lord merciful and gracious, for- 
giving iniquity, transgression and sin." — 
Here is my name (saith God) if you would 
know how I am called I tell you my name, 
"The Lord, the Lord God, merciful, forgiv- 
ing iniquity." A pirate or rebel, that knows 
there is a proclamation out against him, will 
never come in ; but if he hears that the 
prince is full of clemency, and there is a pro- 
clamation of pardon to him, if he submit, 
this will be a great incentive to him to lay 
down his arms, and become loyal to his prince. 
See God's proclamation to repenting sinners, 
Jer. iii. 12, " Go and proclaim these words, 
and say, ' Return thou backsliding Israel,' 
saith the Lord, 4 and I will not cause my an- 
ger to fall upon thee, for I am merciful.' " 
God's mercy is a tender mercy. The Hebrew 
word for mercy signifies bowels. God's mer- 
cy is full of sympathy ; he is of a most sweet 
indulgent nature, Ps. lxxxvi. 5, " Thou, Lord, 
art good, and ready to forgive." The bee 
doth not more naturally give honey, than 
God shows mercy. 

Obj. 1. Butdothnot God seem to delight 
in primitive acts, or acts of severity ? Prov. 
i. 26, " I will laugh at your calamity." 

Ans. Who doth God say so to 1 See verse 
25, " Ye have set at nought all my coun- 
sel, and would none of my reproof." God 
delights in their destruction who despise his 
instruction ; but a humble penitentiary break- 
ing off sin, and suing out his pardon, the Lord 
delights in showing mercy to such an one, 
Micah vii. 18, " He delighteth in mercy." 

Obj. 2. But though God be so full of mer- 
cy and ready to forgive, yet his merey reach- 
eth not to all ; he forgives only such as are 
elected, and I question my election ? 

Ans. 1. No man can say he is not elected : 
God hath not revealed this to any particular 
man, that he is a reprobate, excepting him 
only who hath sinned the sin against the 
Holy Ghost : which sin thou art far enough 
from, who mournest for sin and seekest after 
forgiveness. 

A. 2. These thoughts of non-election, — 
that we are not elected, — and that there is 
no pardon for us, — come from Satan, and are 
the poisoned arrows he shoots. He is the 



accuser ; he accuseth us to God, that we are 
great sinners ; and, he accuseth God to us, as 
if he were a tyrant. One that did watch to 
destroy his creature, these are diabolical sug- 
gestions ; say, " Get thee behind me, Satan." 

A. 3. It is sinful for any to hold that he 
is not elected ; it would take him off from 
the use of means, from praying, and repent- 
ing ; it would harden him, and make him 
desperate ; therefore pry not into the arcana 
colli, the secrets of heaven. Remember 
what befel the men of Bethshemesh, for 
looking into the ark, 1 Sam. vi. 19. Know 
that we are not to go by God's secret will, 
but by his revealed will; look into God's 
revealed will, and there we shall find enough 
to cherish hope, and encourage us to go to 
God for the pardon of our sins. God hath 
revealed in his word, that he " is rich in mer- 
cy," Eph. ii. 4 ; that he doth not delight in 
the destruction of a sinner, Ezek. xviii. 32. 
Jurat per essentiam, Musculus. He swears 
by his essence, Exek. xxxiii. 11, " As I live 
saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the 
death of the wicked." Hence it is God waits 
so long, and puts off the sessions from 
time to time, to see if sinners will repent 
and seek to him for pardon ; therefore let 
God's tender mercies and precious promises 
encourage us to seek to him for the forgive- 
ness of our sins. 

7. Consideration. Not to seek earnestly 
for pardon is the unspeakable misery of such 
as want forgiveness ; it must needs be ill with 
that malefactor that wants his pardon. 

1. The unpardoned sinner (that lives and 
dies so) is under the greatest loss and pri- 
vation. Is there any happiness like to the en- 
joying of God in glory ; this is the joy of an- 
gels, the crown of saints glorified ; but the 
unforgiven sinner shall not behold God's smil- 
ing face ; he shall see God as an enemy, not 
as a friend ; he shall have an affrighting sight 
of God, not beatifical ; he shall see the black 
rod, not the mercy-seat. Sins unpardoned 
are like the angel with a flaming sword, who 
stopped the passage to paradise : sins unpar- 
doned stop the way to the heavenly paradise : 
and how doleful is the condition of that soul 
which is banished from the place of bliss, 
where the King of glory keeps his court ? 



OF THE FIFTH PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



537 



2. The unpardoned sinner hath nothing to 
t do with any promise ; the promises are mulc- 
I tralia evangelii, the breasts that hold the sin- 

cere milk of the word, which fills the soul 

i with precious sweetness ; they are the royal 
charter ; but what hath a stranger to do to 
meddle with the charter 1 It was the dove 

: plucked the olive-branch ; it is only the be- 
liever plucks the tree of the promise. Till 
the condition of the promise be performed, 
no man can have right to the comfort of the 

I promise ; and how sad is that, not to have one 

i promise to show for heaven 1 

3. An unpardoned sinner is continually 
in danger of the outcry of an accusing con- 
science. An accusing conscience is a little 
hell. Sicula non invenere tyranni tormen- 
tum majus. We tremble to hear a lion 
roar ; how terrible are the roarings of con- 
science ! Judas hanged himself to quiet his 
conscience : a sinner's conscience at present 
is either asleep, or seared ; but when God 
shall awaken conscience, either by affliction 
or at death, how will the unpardoned sinner 
be affrighted ! When a man shall have all 
his sins set before his eyes, and drawn out 
in their bloody colours, and the worm of 
conscience begins to gnaw, — sinner, here are 
thy debts, and the book is not cancelled, 
thou must to hell, — O what a trembling at 
heart will the sinner have ! 

4. All the curses of God stand in full force 
against an unpardoned sinner. His very bless, 
ings are cursed, Mai. ii. 2, " I will curse your 
blessings." His table his a snare ; he eats and 
drinks a curse. What comfort could Diony- 
sius have at his feast, when he imagined he 
saw a naked sword hanging by a twine-thread 
over his head 1 This is enough to spoil a sin- 
ner's banquet, — a curse, like a naked sword, 
hangs over his head. Caesar wondered to see 
one of his soldiers so merry that was in 
debt. One would wonder that man would 
be merry who is heir to all God's curses ; 
he doth not see these curses, but is blinder 
than Balaam's ass, who saw the angel's 
sword drawn. 

5. The unpardoned sinner is in an ill case 
at death. Luther professed there were three 
things which he durst not think of without 
Christ : of his sins, of death, of the day of 

3 Y 



judgment. Death to a Christless soul is the 
" king of terrors." As the prophet Ahijah 
said to Jeroboam's wife, 1 Kings xiv. 6, " I 
am sent to thee with heavy tidings ; so death 
is sent to the unpardoned soul with heavy 
tidings ;" it is God's jailor to arrest him. 
Death is a prologue to damnation ; in par- 
ticular, 

(1) . Death is a voider, to take away all his 
earthly comforts, — it takes away his sugared 
morsels, — no more drinking wine in bowls, 
— no more mirth or music, Rev. xviii. 22, 
" The voice of harpers and musicians shall 
be heard no more at all in thee." The sinner 
shall never taste of luscious delights more to 
all eternity ; his honey shall be turned into 
" the gall of asps," Job xx. 14. 

(2) . At death there shall be an end put to 
all reprieves. Now God reprieves a sinner, he 
spares him such a fit of sickness ; he respites 
him many years ; the sinner should have died 
such a drinking-bout, but God granted him a 
reprieve ; he lengthened out the silver thread 
of patience to a miracle ; but the sinner dying 
without repentance, unpardoned, now the 
lease of God's patience is run out, and the 
sinner must appear in person before the 
righteous God to receive his sentence ; after 
which there shall be none to bail him, nor 
shall he hear of a reprieve any more. 

6. The unpardoned sinner, dying so, must 
go into damnation ; this is the second death, 
mors sine morte. The unpardoned soul must 
for ever bear the anger of a sin-revenging 
God ; as long as God is God, so long the vial 
of his wrath shall be dropping upon the 
damned soul ; this is a helpless condition. 
There is a time when a sinner will not be 
helped ; Christ and salvation are offered to 
him, but he slights them, he will not be helped; 
and there is a time shortly coming, when he 
cannot be helped ; he calls out for mercy, 
"Oa pardon, a pardon !" but then it is too 
late, the date of mercy is expired. O how 
sad then is it to live and die unpardoned ! 
You may lay a grave-stone upon that man, 
and write this epitaph upon it, " it had been 
good for that man that he had never been 
born." Now if the misery of an unpardoned 
state be so inexpressible, how should we la- 
bour for forgiveness, that we may not be in- 



538 



OF THE FIFTH PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



gulphed in so dreadful a labyrinth of fire and 
brimstone to all eternity ? 

7. Such as are unpardoned must needs 
lead uncomfortable lives, Deut. xxviii. 66, 
" Thy life shall hang in doubt before thee, 
and thou shalt fear day and night." Thus the 
unpardoned sinner must needs have a pal- 
pitation and trembling at the heart ; he fears 
every bush he sees, 1 John iv. 18, " Fear 
hath torment." The Greek word for torment, 
(kolasis) is used sometimes for hell : fear 
hath hell in it. A man in debt fears every 
step he goes, lest he should be arrested ; so 
the unpardoned sinner fears, what if this 
night death, which is God's sergeant, should 
arrest him 1 Job vii. 21, " Why dost not thou 
pardon my transgression 1 For now shall I 
sleep in the dust." As if Job had said, 
" Lord, I shall shortly die, I shall sleep in the 
dust ; and what shall I do if my sins be not 
pardoned V' What comfort can an unpardon- 
ed soul take in any thing ] Sure no more than 
a prisoner can take in meat or music, that 
wants his pardon ! Therefore, by all these 
powerful motives, let us labour for the for- 
giveness of sin. 

Obj. 1. But I am discouraged from going 
to God for pardon, for I am unworthy of 
forgiveness ; what am I, that God should do 
such a favour for me ? 

Ans. God forgives, not because we are 
worthy, but because he is gracious, Exod. 
xxxiv. 6, " The Lord, the Lord, merciful 
and gracious." God forgives out of his cle- 
mency; acts of pardon are acts of grace. 
What worthiness was there in Paul before 
conversion ] He was a blasphemer, and so he 
sinned against the first table ; he was a per- 
secutor, and so he sinned against the second 
table ; but free grace sealed his pardon, 1 
Tim. i. 13, " I obtained mercy ;" 1 was all 
bestrewed with mercy. What worthiness 
was in the woman of Samaria ) She was ig- 
norant, John iv. 22. She was unclean, v. 18. 
She was morose and churlish ; she would not 
give Christ so much as a cup of cold water, 
v. 9, " How is it that thou, being a Jew, ask- 
est drink of me which am a woman of Sa- 
maria ?" What worthiness was here 1 Yet 
Christ overlooked all, and pardoned her in- 
gratitude ; and though she denied him water 



out of the well, yet he gave her the water of 
life. Gratia non invenit dignos, sed facit. 
Free grace doth not find us worthy, but 
makes us worthy. Therefore, notwithstand- 
ing unworthiness, seek to God, that your sins 
may be pardoned. 

Obj. 2. But I have been a great sinner, 
and sure God will not pardon me. 

Ans. David brings it as an argument for 
pardon, Ps. xxv. 11, " Pardon mine iniquity, 
for it is great." When God forgives great 
sins, now he doth a work like himself. The 
desperateness of the wound doth the more 
set forth the virtue of Christ's blood in cur- 
ing it. Mary Magdalene, a great sinner, out 
of whom seven devils were cast, yet she had 
her pardon. Some of the Jews, who had a 
hand in crucifying of Christ, upon their re- 
pentance, the very blood they shed did seal 
their pardon. Consider sins either for their 
number as the sands of the sea ; or for their 
weight as the rocks of the sea, yet there is 
mercy enough in God to forgive them, Isa. 
i. 18, " Though your sins be as scarlet they 
shall be as white as snow." Scarlet signifies 
twice dipped, which no art of man can get 
out ; yet God can wash out this scarlet dye. 
There is no sin excepted from pardon, but 
that sin which despiseth pardon, viz. the sin 
against the Holy Ghost, Matt. xii. 31. 
Therefore, O sinner, do not cast away thy 
anchor of hope, but go to God for forgiveness. 
The vast ocean hath bounds set to it, but 
God's pardoning mercy is boundless. God 
can as well forgive great sins as less ; as the 
sea can as well cover great rocks as little 
sands. Nothing hinders pardon but the sin- 
ner's not asking it. 

That a great sinner should not despair of 
forgiveness, consult that scripture, Isa. xliii. 
25, " I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy 
transgressions." If you look on the forego- 
ing words, you would wonder how this verse 
comes in, v. 24, " Thou hast made me to serve 
with thy sins, thou hast wearied me with thy 
iniquities ;" and then it follows, "I, even I, 
am he that blotteth out thy transgressions." 
One would have thought it should have run 
thus, " Thou hast wearied me with thy ini- 
quitiesf; I, even I, am he that will punish thy 
iniquities ;" but God comes in a mild loving 



OF THE FIFTH PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



539 



strain, " Thou hast wearied me with thy ini- 
quities, I am he that blots out thy iniquities." 
So that the greatness of our sins should not 
discourage us from going to God for forgive- 
ness. Though thou hast committed acts of 
impiety, yet God can come with an act of 
indemnity, and say, " I, even I, am he that 
blotteth out thy transgressions." God counts 
it his glory to display free grace in its orient 
colours, Rom. v. 20, " Where sin aboundeth 
grace did much more abound." When sin 
becomes exceeding sinful, free grace becomes 
exceeding glorious. God's pardoning love 
can conquer the sinner, and triumph over the 
sin. Consider, thou almost despairing soul, 
there is not so much sin in man as there is 
mercy in God ; man's sin in comparison of 
God's mercy, is but as a spark to the ocean : 
and who would doubt whether a spark could 
be quenched in an ocean 1 

Obj. 3. But I have relapsed into the same 
sins, and how can I have the face to come 
to God for pardon of those sins which I 
have more than once fallen into? 

Ans. I know that the Novatians held that 
after a relapse no forgiveness by the church. 
But doubtless, that was an error ; Abraham 
did twice equivocate, — Lot committed incest 
twice, — Peter sinned thrice by carnal fear, 
— but these repenting, had their absolution. 
There is a twofold relapse, 1. A wilful re- 
lapse, when, after a man hath solemnly vow- 
ed himself to God, he falls into a league 
with sin, and returns back to it, Jer. ii. 25, 
" I have loved strangers, and after them will 
I go." 

2. There is a relapse through infirmity, 
when the bent and resolution of a man's 
heart is against sin, but, through the violence 
of temptation, and withdrawing of God's 
grace, he is carried down the stream against 
his will. Now, though wilful and continued 
relapses are desperate, and do vastare con- 
scientiam (as Tertullian), waste the con- 
science, and run men upon the precipice of 
damnation, yet if they are through infirmity, 
and we mourn for them, we may obtain for- 
giveness. A godly man doth not march 
after sin as his general, but is led captive by 
it ; and the Lord will pity a captive-prisoner. 
Christ commands us to forgive a trespassing 



brother, " seventy times seven," Matt, xviii. 
22. If he bids us do it, much more will he 
forgive a relapsing sinner in case he repent, 
Jer. iii. 22, " Return thou backsliding Israel," 
for I am merciful, saith the Lord. It is not 
falling once or twice into the mire that 
drowns, but lying there ; it is not once re- 
lapsing into sin, but lying in sin impenitently 
that damns. 

Obj. 4. Bui God requires so much sor- 
row and humiliation before remission, that 
I fear I shall never arrive at it. 

Ans. God requires no more humiliation 
than may fit a soul for mercy. Many a Chris- 
tian thinks, because he hath not filled God's 
bottle so full of tears as others, therefore he 
is not humbled enough to receive a pardon. 
But we must know God's dealings are vari- 
ous ; all have not the like pangs in the new- 
birth ; some are won with love, the sense of 
God's mercy abused, causeth ingenuous tears 
to flow ; others are more flagitious and 
hardened, and these God deals more roughly 
with. This is sure, that soul is humbled 
enough to receive a pardon who is brought 
to a thorough sense of sin, and sees the need 
of a Saviour, and loves him as the fairest of 
ten thousand ; therefore be not discouraged, 
if thy heart be bruised from sin and broken 
off from it, thy sin shall be blotted out. No 
sooner did Ephraim fall a-weeping, but God's 
bowels fell a-working, Jer. xxxi. 20, "My 
bowels are troubled for him, I will surely 
have mercy upon him." Having answered 
these objections, let me beseech you, above 
all things, labour for the forgiveness of sin ; 
think with yourselves how great a mercy it is ; 
it is one of the richest jewels in the cabinet 
of the new covenant, Ps. xxxii. 1, "Blessed 
is he whose transgression is forgiven." In 
the Hebrew it is blessedness. And think 
with yourselves, the unparalleled misery of 
such whose sins are not forgiven. Such as 
had not the blood of the paschal lamb sprin- 
kled upon their door-posts were . destroyed 
by the angel, Exod. xii. 7 : so they who have 
not Christ's blood sprinkled on them, to wash 
away the guilt of sin, will fall into the gulf 
of perdition. And if you resolve to seek 
after forgiveness, do not delay. 

Many say they will go about the getting 



540 OF THE FIFTH PETITION 



IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



their pardon, but they procrastinate and put 
it off so long, till it be too late ; when the 
shadows of the evening are stretched forth, 
and the night of death approacheth, then 
they begin to look after their pardon. This 
hath been the undoing of millions ; they pur- 
pose they will look after their souls, but they 
stay so long till the lease of mercy be run 
out. Ob, therefore hasten the getting of a 
pardon ! Think of the uncertainty of life ! 
What security have you that you shall live 
another day } Volat ambiguis mobilis alis 
hora. Our life is a taper soon blown out ; it 
is made up of a few flying minutes. O thou 
dust and ashes ! thou mayest fear every hour 
to be blown into thy grave ; and what if death 
come to arrest thee before thy pardon be 
sealed? Plutarch reports of one Archias, 
who being among his cups, one delivered to 
him a letter, and desired him to read it pre- 
sently, being about serious business ; saith 
he, seria eras, I will mind serious things to- 
morrow ; and that night he was slain. Thou 
that sayest, "to-morrow I will repent, — I 
will get my pardon," thou mayest suddenly 
be slain ; therefore to-day, while it is called 
to-day, look after the forgiveness of sin ; 
after a while, all the conduits of mercy will 
be stopped, there will not be one drop of 
Christ's blood to be had, there is no sealing 
of pardons after death. 

2d Branch of exhortation. Let us labour 
to have the evidence of pardon, to know that 
our sins are forgiven. A man may have his 
sins forgiven, and not know it ; he may have 
a pardon in the court of heaven, when he 
hath it not in the court of conscience. Da- 
vid's sin was forgiven as soon as he repented. 
And God sent Nathan the prophet to tell him 
so, 1 Sam. xii. 13. But David did not feel 
the comfort of it at present, as appears by 
the penitential psalm composed after, Ps. li. 
8, " Make me to hear joy and gladness ;" v. 
11, " Cast me not away from thy presence." 
It is one thing to be pardoned, and another 
thing to feel it. The evidence of pardon may 
not appear for a time, and this may be, 

1. From the imbecility and weakness of 
faith. Forgiveness of sin is so strange and 
infinite a blessing, that a Christian can hardly 
persuade himself that God will extend such 



a favour to him. As it is said of the apostles, 
when Christ appeared to them first, "they 
believed not for joy, and wondered," Luke 
xxiv. 41 : so the soul is so stricken with ad- 
miration, that the wonder of pardon doth 
almost stagger his faith. 

2. A man may be pardoned, and not know 
it, from the strength of temptation. Satan 
accuseth the godly of sin, and tells him that 
God doth not love them ; what, should such 
sinners think of pardon 1 Believers are com- 
pared to bruised reeds, Matt. xii. 20; and 
temptations to winds, Matt. vii. 15. Now, a 
reed is easily shaken with the wind. Tempta- 
tions shake the godly ; and though they are 
pardoned, yet they know it not. Job in a 
temptation thought God his enemy, Job xvi. 9. 
Yet then he was in a pardoned condition. 

Quest. But why doth God sometimes 
conceal the evidence of pardon ? 

Ans. Though God doth pardon, yet he 
may withhold the sense of it a while : 

1. Because hereby he would lay us lower in 
contrition. God would have us see what an 
evil and bitter thing it is to offend him ; we 
shall therefore lie the longer steeping our- 
selves in the brinish tears of repentance, be- 
fore we have the sense of pardon ; it being long 
before David's broken bones were set, and his 
pardon sealed, the more contrite his heart was, 
and this was a sacrifice God delighted in. 

2. Though God hath forgiven sin, yet he 
may deny the manifestation of it for a time, 
to make us prize pardon, and make it sweeter 
to us when it comes. The difficulty of ob- 
taining a mercy enhanceth the value. When 
we have been a long time tugging at prayer 
for a pardon of sin, and still God withholds, 
but at last, after many sighs and tears, par- 
don comes, now we esteem it the more, and 
it is sweeter. Quo longius defertur, eo 
suavius Icetatur,-— The longer mercy is in 
the birth, the more welcome will the deliver- 
ance be. 

Let me now re-assume the exhortation 
to labour for the evidence and sense of par- 
don. He who is pardoned and knows it 
not, is like one who hath an estate befallen 
him, but knows it not. Our comfort con- 
sists in the knowledge of forgiveness, Ps. 
li. 8, " Make me to hear joy and gladness." 



OF THE FIFTH PETITION 



IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



541 



This is a proclaiming a jubilee in the soul, 
| when we are able to read our pardon ; and 
E to the witness of conscience God adds the 
witness of his Spirit ; in the mouth of these 
I two witnesses our joy is confirmed. O labour 
| for this evidence of forgiveness ! 

Quest. How shall we know that our sins 
\ are forgiven ? 

Ans. We must not be our own judges in 
\ this case, Pro v. xxviii. 26, " He that trusteth 
I in his own heart is a fool." " The heart is 
deceitful," Jer. xvii. 9. And it is folly to 
trust a deceiver. The Lord only by his word 
must be judge in this case, whether we are 
pardoned, or not. As it was under the law, 
'no leper might judge himself to be clean; 
but the priest was to pronounce him clean, 
j Lev. xiii. 37 : so, we are not to judge of our- 
I selves to be clean from the guilt of sin, till 
we are such as the word of God hath pro- 
nounced to be clean. 

Quest. How then shall we know by the 
word whether our guilt is done away and 
our sins pardoned ? 

Ans, 1. The pardoned sinner is a great 
weeper. The sense of God's love melts his 
heart ; that free grace should ever look upon 
me, — that such crimson sins should be wash- 
ed away in Christ's blood, — this makes the 
heart melt, and the eyes drop with tears ; 
never did any man read his pardon with dry 
eyes, Luke vii. 38, " She stood at his feet 
weeping," — her heart was a spiritual limbec, 
out of which those tears were distilled. Ma- 
ry's tears were more precious to Christ than 
her ointment ; her eyes which before did 
sparkle with lust, whose amorous glances 
had set on fire her lovers, now she makes 
them a fountain, and washeth Christ's feet 
with her tears. She was a true penitent, and 
had her pardon ; v. 47, " Wherefore, I say, 
her sins which were many, are forgiven." 
A pardon will make the hardest heart relent, 
and cause the stony heart to bleed : and, is 
it thus with us 1 Have we been dissolved 
into tears for sin ] God seals his pardons 
upon melting hearts. 

A. 2. We may know our sins are forgiven, 
by having the grace of faith infused, Acts x. 
43, " To him give all the prophets witness, 
that whosoever believeth in him shall receive 
remission of sins." In saving faith there are 



two things, — renunciation, and recumbency. 
I. Renunciation : a man renounceth all opin- 
ion of himself ; digged out of his own bur- 
row, he is quite taken off himself, Phil. iii. 9. 
He sees all his duties are but broken reeds ; 
though he could weep a sea of tears, — though 
he had all the grace of men and angels, — it 
could not purchase his pardon. 2. Recum- 
bency. Faith is an assent with affiance ; the 
soul doth get hold of Christ, as Adonijah did 
of the horns of the altar, 1 Kings i. 51. Faith 
casts itself upon the stream of Christ's blood, 
and saith, " If I perish, I perish." If we 
have but the minimum quod sic, — the least 
drachm of this precious faith, — we have some- 
thing to show for pardon. " To him give 
all the prophets witness, that whosoever be- 
lieveth in him shall receive remission of sins." 
1st, This faith is acceptable to God, — it 
pleaseth God more than offering up ten thou- 
sand rivers of oil, — than working miracles, 
than martyrdom, or the highest acts of obe- 
dience. 2d, Faith is profitable to us ; it is 
our best certificate to show for pardon : no 
sooner doth faith reach forth its hand to re- 
ceive Christ, but Christ sets his hand to our 
pardon. 

A. 3. The pardoned soul is a God-admirer, 
Micah vii. 18, « Who is a God like thee, that 
pardoneth iniquity]" O that God should 
ever look upon me ! I was a sinner, and 
nothing but a sinner, yet I obtained mercy ! 
Who is a God like thee ! Mercy hath been 
despised, yet that mercy should save me ! 
Christ hath been crucified by me, yet his cross 
crowns me ! God hath displayed the en- 
signs of free grace, — he hath set up his mercy 
above my sin, nay, in spite of it, — this caus- 
eth admiration : " Who is a God like thee !" 
A man that goes over a narrow bridge in the 
night, and the next morning comes and sees 
the danger he was in, and how miraculously 
he escaped, he is stricken with admiration : 
so, when God shows a soul how near he was 
a-falling into hell, and how that this gulf is 
shut, all his sins are pardoned, he is amazed, 
and cries out, " Who is a God like thee, that 
pardonest iniquity !" That God should par- 
don one, and pass by another, — one taken, 
another left, — this fills the soul with wonder 
and astonishment. 

A. 4. Wherever God pardons sin, he sub- 



542 



OP THE FIFTH PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



dues it, Micah vii. 19, " He will have com- 
passion on us, he will subdue our iniquities." 
Where men's persons are justified, their lusts 
are mortified. There is in sin vis imperato- 
ria, et damnatoria, — a commanding power, 
and a condemning. Then is the condemn- 
ing power of sin taken away, when the com- 
manding power of it is taken away. When 
we know whether our sins are forgiven, are 
they subdued. If a malefactor be in prison, 
how shall he know that his prince hath par- 
doned him 1 If the jailor come and knock 
off his chains and fetters, and lets him out of 
prison, then he may know he is pardoned : 
so, how shall we know God hath pardoned us] 
If the fetters of sin be broken off, and we 
walk at liberty in the ways of God, Ps. cxix. 
45, " I will walk at liberty ;" this is a blessed 
sign we are pardoned. Such as are washed 
in Christ's blood from their guilt, are made 
kings to God, Rev. i. 6. As kings they rule 
over their sins. 

A. 5. He whose sins are forgiven is full of 
love to God. Mary Magdalene's heart was 
fired with love, Luke vii. 47, " Her sins, 
which are many, are forgiven ; for she loved 
much." Her love was not the cause of her 
remission, but a sign of it. A pardoned soul 
is a monument of mercy, and he thinks he can 
never love God enough ; he wishes he had a 
coal from God's altar, to inflame his heart in 
love ; he wisheth he could borrow the wings 
of the cherubims, that he might fly swifter in 
obedience ; a pardoned soul is sick of love. 
He whose heart is like marble, locked up in 
impenitency, that doth not melt in love, gives 
evidence his pardon is yet to seal. 

A. 6. Where the sin is pardoned, the na- 
ture is purified, Hos. xiv. 4, " I will heal their 
backslidings, I will love them." Every man, 
by nature, is both guilty and diseased ; where 
God remits the guilt, he cures the disease, 
Ps. ciii. 3, " Who forgiveth all thy iniquities, 
who healeth all thy diseases. " Herein God's 
pardon goes beyond the king's pardon ; the 
king may forgive a malefactor, but he cannot 
change his heart, he may have a thievish 
heart still ; but God, when he pardons, chang- 
eth the heart, Ezek. xxxvi. 26, " A new heart 
also will I give you." A pardoned soul is 
adorned and embellished with holiness,! John 



v. 6, " This is he that came by water and 
blood." Where Christ comes with blood to 
justify, he comes with water to cleanse, 
Zech. iii. 4, " I have caused thine iniquity 
to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with 
change of raiment." I will cause thy ini- 
quity to pass from thee, there is pardoning 
grace ; and I will clothe thee with change of 
raiment, there is sanctifying grace ; let not 
him say, he hath pardon, that wants grace. 
Many tell us, they hope they are pardoned, 
but were never sanctified ; yea, but they be- ' 
lieve in Christ, — but what faith is it] A 
swearing faith, — a whoring faith, — the faith 
of devils is as good. 

A. 7. Such as are in the number of God's 
people, forgiveness of sin belongs to them, 
Isa. xl. 1, 2, " Comfort ye my people, tell 
them their iniquity is pardoned." 

Quest. How shall we know that we are 
God's elect people ? 

Ans. By three characters. 

1st. God's people are a humble people, the 
livery which all Christ's people wear, is hu- 
mility, 1 Pet. v. 5, " Be clothed with humili- 
ty." 1. A sight of God's glory humbles. 
Elijah wrapped his face in a mantle when 
God's glory passed by, Job xlii. 5, " Now 
mine eye seeth thee, wherefore I abhor my- 
self." The stars vanish when the sun ap- 
pears. 2. A sight of sin humbles. In the 
glass of the word the godly see their spots, 
and these are humbling spots. Lo, saith the 
soul, I can call nothing my own but sins and 
wants ! this humbles. A humble sinner is in 
a better condition than a proud angel. 

2d. God's people are a willing people : Ps. 
ex. 3, " A people of willingness." Love 
constrains them ; they serve God freely, and 
out of choice. They stick at no service ; 
they will run through a sea, and a wilder- 
ness ; they will follow the Lamb whitherso- 
ever he goeth. 

Sd. They are a heavenly people, stars, 
John xvii. 16, " They are not of the world." 
As the primum mobile in the heavens hath 
a motion of its own, contrary to the other 
orbs : so God's people have a heavenly mo- 
tion of soul, contrary to the men of the 
world ; they use the world as their servant, 
but do not follow the world as their mas- 



OF THE FIFTH PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 543 



ter, Phil. iii. 20, "Our conversation is in 
heaven." Such as have these three cha- 
racters of God's people, have a good certifi- 
cate to show that they are pardoned. For- 
giveness of sin belongs to them : " Comfort, 
ye my people, tell them their iniquity is for- 
given." 

A. 8. A sign we are pardoned, if, after 
many storms, we have a sweet calm and 
peace within, Rom. v. 1, " Being justified we 
have peace." After many a bitter tear shed, 
and heart-breaking, the mind hath been more 
sedate, and a sweet serenity or still music 
hath followed ; this brings tidings, God is ap- 
peased ; whereas before conscience did ac- 
cuse, now it doth secretly whisper comfort, 
— this is a blessed evidence a man's sins are 
pardoned. If the bailiffs do not trouble and 
arrest the debtor, it is a sign his debt is com- 
pounded or forgiven : so if conscience do not 
| vex or accuse, but upon good grounds whis- 
1 per consolation, this is a sign the debt is dis- 
• charged, the sin is forgiven. 

A. 9. A sign sin is forgiven, when we have 
hearts without guile, Ps. xxxii. 1, 2, " Bless- 
ed is he whose transgression is forgiven, unto 
whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in 
whose spirit there is no guile." 

Quest. What is this to be sine fuco, with- 
out guile ? 

1st. He who is without guile, hath plain- 
ness of heart ; he is without collusion, he 
hath not cor duplex, — a double heart, — his 
heart is right with God. A man may do a 
right action, but not with a right heart : 2 
Chron. xxv. 2, Amaziah " did that which 
was right in the sight of the Lord, but not 
with a perfect heart." To have the heart 
right with God, is to serve God from a right 
principle, — love ; by a right rule, — the word ; 
to a right end, — the glory of God. 

2d. A heart without guile dares not al- 
low itself in the least sin ; he avoids secret 
sins. He dares not hide any sin, as Rachel 
did her father's images, under her, Gen. 
xxxi. 34. He knows God sees him, which 
is more than if men and angels did behold 
him. He avoids complexion-sins, Ps. xviii. 
23, "I was also upright before him, and I 
kept myself from my iniquity." As in the 
hive there is a master-bee, so in the heart 



there is a master-sin. A heart without 
guile takes the sacrificing knife of mortifica- 
tion, and runs it through his beloved sin. 

3d. A heart without guile desires to know 
the whole, mind and will of God. An unsound 
heart is afraid of the light, lucifugo, he is not 
willing to know his duty. A sincere soul saith, 
as Job xxxiv. 32, " ' What I know not, teach 
thou me :' Lord show me what is my duty, 
and wherein I offend ; let me not sin for want 
of light : what I know not, teach thou me." 

Ath. A heart without guile is uniform in 
religion : he hath an equal eye to all God's 
commands. 1. He makes conscience of pri- 
vate duties ; he worships God in his closet 
as well as in the temple. Jacob, when he was 
alone, wrestled with the angel, Gen. xxxii. 
24, 25 : so a Christian, when he is alone, 
wrestles with God in prayer, and will not let 
him go till he hath blessed him. 2. He per- 
forms difficult duties, wherein the heart and 
spirit of a religion lie, and which do cross 
flesh and blood ; he is much in self-humbling 
and self-examining. Utitur speculis magis 
quam perspicillis, Sen. He rather useth 
the looking glass of the word to look into 
his own heart, than the broad spectacles of 
censure to spy the faults of others. 

5th. A heart without guile is true to 
God's interest. 1. He grieves to see it go 
ill with the church. Nehemiah, though the 
king's cup-bearer, and wine so near, yet was 
sad when Zion's glory was eclipsed, Neh. ii. 
3. Like the tree I have read of, if any of the 
leaves are cut, the rest of the leaves begin to 
shrink up themselves, and for a time to hang 
down the head; so a sincere soul, when 
God's church suffers, feels himself as it were 
touched in his own person. 2. He rejoiceth 
to see the cause of God get ground ; to see 
truth triumph, piety lifts up her head, and the 
flowers of Christ's crown flourish. This is 
a heart without guile, it is loyal and true to 
God's interest. 

6th. A heart without guile is just in his 
dealings ; as he is upright in his words, so 
he is upright in his weights. He makes 
conscience of the second table as well as 
the first ; he is for equity as well as piety, 
1 Thess. iv. 6, " That no man go beyond 
and defraud his brother in any matter." A 



544 



OF THE FIFTH PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



sincere heart thinks he may as well rob as 
defraud : his rule is to do to others what he 
would have them do to him, Matt. vii. 12. 

7th. A heart without guile is true in his 
promises ; his word is as good as his bond. 
If he hath made a promise, though it be to his 
prejudice, and doth entrench upon his profit, 
he will not go back. The hypocrite plays fast 
and loose, flees from his word ; there is no 
more binding him with oaths and promises 
than Samson could be bound with green 
withes, Judges xvi. 7. A sincere soul saith as 
Jephtha, Judges xi. 35, " I have opened my 
mouth to the Lord, and I cannot go back." 

8th. A heart without guile is faithful in 
his friendship ; he is what he pretends ; his 
heart goes along with his tongue, as a well- 
made dial goes with the sun. He cannot flat- 
ter and hate, commend and censure. Coun- 
terfeiting of love is hypocrisy. It is too usual 
to betray with a kiss : 2 Sam. xx. 9, " Joab 
took Abner by the beard to kiss him, and 
smote him in the fifth rib that he died." 
Many deceive with sugar words. Physicians 
use to judge of the health of the body by the 
tongue; if that look well, the body is in 
health. But we cannot judge of friendship 
by the tongue ; the words may be full of 
honey, when the heart hath the gall of malice; 
sure his heart is not true to God, who is 
treacherous to his friend. Thus you see 
what a heart without guile is ; now, to have 
such a heart is a sign sin is pardoned : " God 
will not impute sin to him in whose spirit 
there is no guile." What a blessed thing is 
this, not to have sin imputed ! If our sins 
be not imputed, it is as if we had no sin ; 
sins remitted, are as if they had not been 
committed; this the blessing belongs to a 
sincere soul, God imputes not iniquity to 
him in whose spirit is no guile. 

9th. He whose sins are forgiven, is will- 
ing to forgive others who have offended 
him, Eph. iv. 32, " Forgiving one another, 
even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven 
you." A hypocrite will read, — come to 
church, — give alms, — build hospitals, — but 
cannot forgive wrongs : he will rather want 
forgiveness from God than he will forgive 
his enemies. A pardoned soul argues thus : 
" Hath God been so good to me, to forgive i 



i me my sins, and shall not I imitate him in 
this 1 Hath he forgiven me pounds, and 
shall I not forgive pence." It is noted of 
Cranmer, nihil oblivisci solet prater in- 
jurias, Cicero. He was of a forgiving spirit, 
and would do offices of love to them that had 
injured him ; like the sun, which having drawn 
up black vapours from the earth, returns them 
back in sweet showers. By this touchstone 
we may try whether our sins are pardoned ; 
we need not climb up into heaven to see 
whether our sins are forgiven, but let us look 
into our hearts ; are we of forgiving spirits 1 - 
Can we bury injuries, — requite good for evil ? 
A good sign we are forgiven of God. If we 
can find all these things wrought in our souls, 
they are happy signs that our sins are par- 
doned, and are good letters testimonial to 
show for heaven. 

Use. 3d. Consolation. I shall open a box 
of cordials, and show you some of the glori- 
ous privileges of a pardoned condition. This 
is a peculiar favour, — it is a spring shut up, 
broached for none but the elect. The wick- 
ed may have forbearing mercy, but only an 
elect person hath forgiving mercy. For- 
giveness of sin makes way for solid joy, Isa. 
xl. 1, " Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, 
saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to 
Jerusalem," — or, as in the Hebrew, " speak 
to her heart." What was this must cheer 
her heart 1 " Tell her that her iniquity is 
pardoned." If any thing would comfort her, 
the Lord knew it was this. When Christ 
would cheer the palsied man, Matt. ix. 2, he 
says, " Son, be of good cheer, thy sins be for- 
given thee." It was a greater comfort to 
have his sins forgiven, than to have his palsy 
healed. This made David put on his best 
clothes, and anoint himself, 2 Sam. xii. 20. It 
was strange, — his child was newly dead, — 
and God had told him the sword should not 
depart from his house, — yet now he spruceth 
up himself, he puts on his best clothes, and 
anoints himself : whence was this 1 David 
had heard good news ; God sent him his par- 
don by Nathan the prophet, 2 Sam. xii. 13, 
" The Lord also hath put away thy sin." 
This could not but revive his heart, and in 
token of joy, he anoints himself. Philo 
saith, it was an opinion of some of the phi- 



OF THE FIFTH PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



losophers that among the heavenly spheres 
I there was such sweet harmonious melody, 
that if the sound of it could reach our ears, it 
would affect us with wonder and delight: sure 
he who is pardoned hath such a divine melo- 
dy in his soul, as doth replenish^ him with 
infinite delight. When Christ had said to 
Mary Magdalene, "thy sins are forgiven;" 
he presently adds, " go in peace," Luke vii. 
, 50. More particularly, 

1st, Comfort. God looks upon a pardoned 
soul, as if he had never sinned. As the can- 
celling a bond nulls the bond, and makes it as 
I if the money had never been owing, forgiving 
j sin makes it not to be. Where sin is remit- 
ted, it is as if it had not been committed, Jer. 
1. 20. So that, as Rachel wept because her 
[ children were not, so a child of God may re- 
j joice because his sins are not. God looks up- 
on him as if he had never offended ; though sin 
j remain in him after pardon, yet God doth not 
look upon him as a sinner, but as a just man. 

2d, God having pardoned sin, will pass an 
act of oblivion, Jer. xxxi. 34, " I will forgive 
| their iniquity, and I will remember their sin 
no more." When a creditor hath crossed 
the book, he doth not call for the book again. 
God will not reckon with the sinner in a 
judicial way. W T hen our sins are laid upon 
the head of Christ, our scape-goat, they are 
I carried into a land of forge tfulness. 

3d, The pardoned soul is for ever secured 
from the wrath of God. How terrible is 
God's wrath! Ps. xc. 11, "Who knoweth 
\ the power of thine anger ]" If a spark of 
i God's wrath when it lights upon a man's 
j conscience, fills it with such horror, (as in 
the case of Spira) then, what is it to be al- 
ways scorching in that torrid zone, to lie 
upon beds of flames 1 Now, from this aveng- 
j ing wrath of God every pardoned soul is 
freed ; though he may taste of the bitter cup 
of affliction, yet he shall never drink of the 
sea of God's wrath, Rom. v. 9, "Being 
justified by his blood, we shall be saved from 
wrath through him." Christ's blood quench- 
eth the flames of hell. 

4th, Sin being pardoned, conscience hath 
no more authority to accuse. Conscience 
roars against the unpardoned sinner, but it 
hath nothing to do to terrify or accuse him 
3 Z 



645 

that is pardoned. God hath discharged tho 
sinner, and if the creditor discharge the 
debtor, what hath the sergeant to do to ar- 
rest him? The truth is, if God absolve, 
conscience, if rightly informed, absolves ; 
if once God saith thy sins are pardoned, 
conscience saith, " go in peace." If the sky 
be clear, and no storms blow there, then tho 
sea is calm ; if all be clear above, and God 
shine with pardoning mercy upon the soul, 
then conscience is calm and serene. 

bth, Nothing that befalls a pardoned soul 
shall hurt him ; Ps. xci. 10, " No evil befall 
thee :" that is, no destructive evil. Every 
thing to a wicked man is hurtful. Good 
things are for his hurt. His very blessings 
are turned into a curse, Mai. ii. 2, " I will 
curse your blessings." Riches and prosperity 
do him hurt. They are not munera but in- 
sidia, Seneca, 'Gold snares.' Eccl. v. 13, 
" Riches kept for the owners thereof to their 
hurt." Like Hainan's banquet, which did 
usher in his funeral. Ordinances do a sinner 
hurt; they are a 'savour of death,' 2 Cor. ii. 
16. Cordials themselves kill. The best 
things hurt the wicked, but the worst things 
which befall a pardoned soul shall do him no 
hurt ; the sting, the poison, the curse is gone ; 
his soul is no more hurt, than David hurt 
Saul, when he cut off the lap of his garment. 

6th, To a pardoned soul, every thing hath 
a commission to do him good. Afflictions 
shall do him good,— poverty, reproach, per- 
secution ; Gen. 1. 20, "Ye thought evil 
against me, but God meant it unto good." 
As the elements, though of contrary quali- 
ties, yet God hath so tempered them, that 
they work for the good of the universe, so 
the most cross providences shall work for 
good to a pardoned soul. Correction shall 
be a corrosive to eat out sin ; it shall cure 
the swelling of pride, the fever of lust, the 
dropsy of avarice. It shall be a refining fire 
to purify grace, and make it sparkle as gold. 
Every cross providence, to a pardoned soul, 
shall be like Paul's Euroclydon or cross 
wind, Acts xxvii, which though it broke the 
ship, yet Paul was brought to shore upon the 
broken pieces. 

7th, A pardoned soul is not only exempt- 
ed from wrath, but invested with dignity ; as 



546 OF THE FIFTH PETITION 



IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



Joseph was not only freed from prison, but 
advanced to be second man in the kingdom. 

8th, A pardoned soul is made a favourite 
of heaven. A king may pardon a traitor, 
but will not make him one of his privy- 
council ; but whom God pardons, he receives 
into favour. I may say to him, as the angel 
to the virgin Mary, Luke i. 30, " Thou hast 
found favour with God." Hence such as are 
forgiven, are said to be " crowned with lov- 
ing-kindness," Ps. ciii. 3, 4. Whom God 
pardons he crowns. Whom God absolves, 
he marries himself to, Jer. iii. 12, "I am 
merciful, and I will not keep anger for ever ;" 
there is forgiveness ; and in ch. v. 14, "I am 
married to you;" and he who is matched 
into the crown of heaven, is as rich as the 
angels, as rich as heaven can make him. 

9th, Sin being pardoned, we may come 
with humble boldness to God in prayer ; guilt 
makes us afraid to go to God. Adam having 
sinned, Gen. iii. 10, "was afraid," and hid 
himself. Guilt clips the wings of prayer, — 
it fills the face with blushing ; but forgive- 
ness breeds confidence ; we may look upon 
God as a Father of mercy, holding forth a 
golden sceptre ; he that hath got his pardon, 
can look upon his prince with comfort. 

10th, Forgiveness of sin makes our ser- 
vices acceptable ; God takes all we do in 
good part. A guilty person, nothing he 
doth pleaseth God. His prayer is " turned 
into sin ;" but when sin is pardoned, now 
God accepts our offering. We read of Jo- 
shua standing before the angel of the Lord. 
" Joshua was clothed with filthy garments," 
Zech. iii. 3, that is, he was guilty of divers 
sins : now, saith the Lord, v. 4, " Take away 
his filthy garments, I have caused thine ini- 
quity to pass from thee and then he stood 
and ministered before the Lord, and his 
services were accepted. 

11th, Forgiveness of sin is the sauce 
which sweetens all the comforts of this life. 
As guilt embitters our comforts, — it puts 
wormwood into our cup, so pardon of sin 
sweetens all, — it is like sugar to wine. 
Health and pardon, estate and pardon, re- 
lish well. Pardon of sin gives a sanctified 
title ! and a delicious taste to every comfort. 
As Naaman said to Gehazi, 2 Kings v. 23, 



" Take two talents," so saith God to the 
pardoned soul, "take two talents, — take the 
venison, and take a blessing with it,— take 
the oil in the cruse, and take my love with 
it, — take two talents." It is observable, 
Christ joins these two together, " Give us 
our daily bread," " forgive us our trespass- 
es :" as if Christ would teach us, there is 
little comfort in daily bread, unless sin be 
forgiven. Forgiveness doth perfume and drop 
sweetness into every earthly enjoyment. 

12th, If sin be forgiven, God will never 
upbraid us with our former sins. When thei 
prodigal came home to his father, the father 
received him into his loving embraces, and 
never mentioned his former luxury, or spend- 
ing his estate among harlots, so God will not 
upbraid us with former sins, nay, he will 
entirely love us, we shall be his jewels, and 
he will put us in his bosom. Mary Magda- 
lene, a pardoned penitent, after Christ arose, 
he appeared first to her, Mark xvi. 9 ; so far 
was Christ from upbraiding her, that he 
brings her the first news of his resurrection. 

13^, Sin being pardoned, is a pillar of 
support in the loss of dear friends. God 
hath taken away thy child, thy husband; 
but withal, he hath taken away thy sins. 
He hath given thee more than he hath taken 
away ; he hath taken away a flower, and 
given thee a jewel. He hath given thee 
Christ and the Spirit, and the earnest of 
glory. He hath given thee more than he 
hath taken away. 

l&th, Where God pardons sins, he be- 
stows righteousness. With remission of sin 
goes imputation of righteousness, Isa. lxi. 
10, " I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, he 
hath covered me with the robe of righteous- 
ness." If a Christian can take any comfort 
in his inherent righteousness, which is so 
stained and mixed with sin, O then what 
comfort may he take in Christ's righteous- 
ness, which is a better righteousness than 
that of Adam ! Adam's righteousness was 
mutable ; but suppose it had been unchange- 
able, yet it was but the righteousness of 
a man ; but that righteousness which is im- 
puted, is the righteousness of him who is 
God, 2 Cor. v. 21, "That we might be 
made the righteousness of God in him." 



OF THE FIFTH PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



64: 



O blessed privilege, to be reputed, in the 
sight of God, righteous as Christ, having his 
embroidered robe put upon the soul ! This 
is the comfort of every one that is pardoned, 
he hath a perfect righteousness ; and now 
God saith of him, " thou art all fair, my love, 
and there is no spot in thee," Cant. iv. 7. 

15th, A pardoned soul needs not fear 
death. He may look on death with joy, 
who can look on forgiveness with faith. 
To a pardoned soul death hath lost his sting. 
Death, to a pardoned sinner, is like the ar- 
resting a man after the debt is paid ; death 
may arrest, but Christ will show the debt- 
book crossed in his blood. A pardoned soul 
may triumph over death, " O death, where 
is thy sting ! O grave where is thy victory 1" 
He who is pardoned needs not fear death, 
it is not a destruction, but a deliverance ; it 
is to him a day of jubilee or release ; it re- 
leaseth him from all his sins. Death comes 
to a pardoned soul, as the angel did to Pe- 
ter ; it smote him, and beat off his chains, 
and carried him out of prison ; so doth death 
to him who is pardoned, it smites his body, 
and the chains of sin fall off. Death gives 
a pardoned soul a quietus est, it frees from 
all his labours, Rev. xiv. 13. Felix transU 
tus a labore ad requiem, Bern. Death, as 
it will wipe or? our tears, so it will wipe off 
our sweat. Death will do a pardoned Christ- 
ian the greatest good turn, therefore it is 
made a part of Iks inventory, 1 Cor. iii. 22, 
" Death is yours." Death is like the wag- 
gon which was sent for old Jacob, — it came 
rattling with EM wheels, but it was to carry 
Jacob to his son Joseph ; so the wheels of 
death's chariot may rattle, and make a noise, 
but they are to carry a believer to Christ. 
While a believer is here, he is "absent from 
the Lord," 2 Cor. v. 6. He lives far from 
court, and cannot see him whom his soul 
loves ; but death gives him a sight of the 
King of glory, " m whose presence is full- 
ness of joy. ' To a pardoned soul, death is 
transitus ad Ngmm,— it removes him to the 
place of bliss, where he shall hear the tri- 
umphs and anthems of praise sung in the 
choir of angels. No cause hath a pardoned 
soul to fear death ; what needs he fear to have 
his body buried in the earth, who hath his sins 



buried in Christ's wounds ? What hurt can 
death do to him J It is but his ferryman to 
ferry him over to the land of promise. The 
day of death to a pardone^ soul, is his ascen- 
sion-day to heaven, his coronation-day, when 
he shall be crowned with those delights of 
paradise which are unspeakable and full of 
glory. Thus you see the rich consolations 
which belong to a pardoned sinner; well 
might David proclaim him blessed, Ps. xxxii. 
1, " Blessed is he whose transgression is for- 
given ;" in the Hebrew it is in the plural, 
blessed7iesses. Here is a plurality of bias- 
ings. Forgiveness of sin is like the first 
link of a chain, which draws all the links 
after it; it draws these fifteen privileges 
after it ; it crowns with grace and glory. 
Who then would not labour to have his sins 
forgiven! "Blessed is he whose iniquity 
is forgiven, whose sin is covered." 

Now follow the duties of such as have 
their 6ins forgiven. Mercy calls for duty. 
Be much in praise and doxology. 

1. " Bless the Lord, O my soul, who 
forgiveth all thy iniquities." Hath God 
crowned you with pardoning mercy ? set the 
crown of your praise upon the head of free 
grace. Pardon of sin is a discriminating 
mercy, a jewel hung only upon the elect : 
this calls for acclamations of praise. You 
will give thanks for " daily bread," and will 
you not much more for pardon? You will 
give thanks for deliverance from sickness, 
and will you not for deliverance from hell ! 
God hath done more for you in forgiving your 
sin, than if he had given you a kingdom. 
And that you may be more thankful, do but 
set the unpardoned condition before your 
eyes : how sad is it to want a pardon ! All 
the curses of the law stand in full force 
against such an one. The unpardoned sinner 
dying, he drops into the grave and hell both 
at once ; he must quarter among the damn, d ; 
and will not this make you thankful, that tins 
is not your condition, but that you are " de- 
livered from the wrath to come !" 

2 Let God's pardoning love inflame your 
hearts with love to God. For God to par- 
don freely without any desert of yours,- 
to pardon so many orTences,-that he should 
pardon you and pass by others,-that he 



548 OF THE FIFTH PETITION 



IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



should take you out of the ruins of mankind, 
and, of a clod of dust and sin, make / you a 
jewel sparkling with heavenly glory, — will 
not this make you to love God much f Three 
prisoners that deserve to die, if the king par- 
don one of these, and leave the other two to 
the severity of the law, will not he that is 
pardoned love his prince, who hath been so 
full of clemency 1 How should your hearts 
be endeared in love to God ] The schoolmen 
distinguish of a twofold love, amor gra- 
tuitus, a love of bounty, that is, God's love 
to us in forgiving : and amor debitus, a love 
of duty ; that is, our love to God by way of 
retaliation. We should show our love by 
admiring God, by sweetly solacing ourselves 
in him, and binding ourselves to him in a 
perpetual covenant. 

3. Let the sense of God's love in forgiving, 
make you more cautious and fearful of sin 
for the future, Ps. cxxx. 4, " There is for- 
giveness with thee that thou mayest be fear- 
ed." O fear to offend this God, who hath 
been so gracious to you in forgiving. If a 
friend hath done a kindness for us, we will 
not disoblige him, or abuse his love. After 
Nathan had told David, " The Lord hath put 
away thy sin," how tender was David's con- 
science ! How fearful was he of staining his 
soul with the guilt of more blood ! Ps. li. 14, 
" Deliver me from blood-guiltiness, O God !" 
Men committing gross sins after pardon, God 
changeth his carriage towards them, he turns 
his smile into a frown ; they lie, as Jonah, in 
* the belly of hell God's wrath falls into 
their conscience, as a drop of scalding lead 
into the eye ; the promises are as a fountain 
sealed, not a drop of comfort comes from them. 
— O Christians, do not you remember what 
it cost you before to get your pardon ! How 
long it was before your ' broken bones' were 
set ; and will you again venture to sin 1 You 
may be in such a condition, that you may 
question whether you belong to God or not ; 
though God doth not damn you, he may send 
you to hell in this life. 

4. If God hath given you good hope that 
you are pardoned, walk cheerfully, Rom. v. 
11, " We joy in God, through our Lord Jesus 
Christ, by whom we have received the atone- 
ment." Who should rejoice, if not he that 



hath his pardon 1 God rejoiceth when he 
shows us mercy, and should not we rejoice 
when we receive mercy 1 In the saddest times 
a pardoned soul may rejoice. Afflictions 
have a commission to do him good, every 
cross wind of providence shall blow him near- 
er to the haven of glory. Christian, God hath 
pulled off your prison-fetters, and clothed you 
with the robe of righteousness, and crowned 
you with loving-kindness, and yet art thou 
sad 1 Rom. v. 2, " We rejoice in hope of the 
glory of God." Can the wicked rejoice who 
have only a short reprieve from hell, and 
not they who have a full pardon sealed ] 

5. Hath God pardoned you 1 Do all the 
service you can for God, 1 Cor. xv. 58, 
"Always abounding in the work of the 
Lord." Let your head study for God, — let 
your hands work for him, — let your tongue 
be the organ of his praise. Paul got his 
pardon, 1 Tim. i. 16, " I obtained mercy :" 
and this was as oil to the wheels, it made 
him move faster in obedience, 1 Cor. xv. 10, 
" I laboured more abundantly than they all." 
Paul's obedience did not move slow, as the 
sun on the dial ; but swiftly, as the sun in the 
firmament, he did spend, and was spent for 
Christ. The pardoned soul thinks he can 
never love God enough, or serve him enough. 

The last thing is to lay down some rules or 
directions, how we may obtain forgiveness 
of sin. 

First, We must take heed of mistakes 
about pardon of sin. 

1st. Mistake that our sins are pardoned, 
when they are not. 

Quest. Whence is this mistake ? 

Ans. From two grounds. 

1st Mistake, Because God is merciful. 

Ans. God's being merciful, shows, that a 
man's sins are pardonable. But there is a 
great deal of difference between sins pardon- 
able and sins pardoned ; thy sins may be par- 
donable, yet not pardoned. Though God be 
merciful, yet who is God's mercy for] Not 
for the presuming sinner, but the repenting 
sinner. Such as go on in sin, cannot lay 
claim to it. God's mercy is like the ark, none 
but the priests might touch the ark : none but 
such as are spiritual priests, sacrificing their 
sins, may touch this ark of God's mercy. 



OF THE FIFTH PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYBR. 



r>49 



2. Because Christ died for their sins, there- i 
fore they are forgiven. 

Ans. That Christ died for remission of sin 
is true ; but, that therefore all have remiss- 
ion, is false ; then Judas should be forgiven. 
Remission is limited to believers, Acts xiii. 
39, " By him all that believe are justified ;" 
but all do not believe, —some slight and tram- 
ple Christ's blood under foot, Heb. x. 29, so 
that, notwithstanding Christ's death, all are 
not pardoned. Take heed of this dangerous 
mistake. Who will seek after pardon, that 
thinks he hath it already ! 

2d Mistake. That pardon is easy to be 
had ; it is but a sigh, or, Lord have mercy. 
But, how dearly hath pardon cost them who 
have obtained it 1 How long was it ere Da- 
vid's broken bones - ere set? Happy are we, 
if we have the pardon of sin sealed, though at 
the very last hour ; but why do men think 
pardon of sin so easy to be obtained 1 Their 
sins are but small, therefore venial. The 
devil holds the small end of the perspective 
glass before their eyes. But, 1st, There is 
no sin small, being against a Deity. Why is 
he punished with death that clips the king's 
coin, or defaceth his statue, but because it is 
an abuse offered to the person of the king ? 
2dly, Little sins, when multiplied, become 
great; a little sum, when multiplied, comes 
to millions. What is less than a grain of 
sand! but, when the sand is multiplied, what 
heavier! Sdly, Thy sins cost no small price. 
View thy sins in the glass of Christ's suffer- 
ings ; Christ did vail his glory, lose his joy, 
and pour out his soul an offering for the least 
sin. 4£%, Little sins unrepented of will 
damn thee, as well as greater. Not only 
great rivers fall into the sea, but little brooks ; 
not only greater sins carry men to hell, but 
lesser ; therefore do not think pardon easy, 
because sin is small ; beware of mistakes. 

The Second means for pardon of sin, is, 
see yourselves guilty,— come to God as con- 
demned men, 1 Kings xx. 82, "They put 
ropes upon their heads, and came to the king 
of Israel." Let us come to God in profound 
humility. Say not thus, « Lord, my heart is 
good, and my life blameless;" God hates this. 
Lie in the dust, be covered with sackcloth; 
say as the centurion, Matt. viii. 8, « Lord, I 



am not worthy that thou shouldest come un- 
der my roof;" I deserve not the least smile 
from heaven. This is the way for pardon. 

The Third means for pardon is, hearty 
confession of sin, Ps. xxxn. &, " I will con- 
fess my transgressions, and thou forgavest 
me." Would we have God cover our sins, 
we must discover them, 1 John i. 9, «« If we 
confess our sins, he is faithful and just to for- 
give us our sins." One would have thought 
it should have run thus, if we confess our 
sins, he is merciful to forgive them ; nay, but 
he is just to forgive them. Why just 1 Be- 
cause he hath bound himself by a promise to 
forgive an humble confessor of sin. Cum 
accusat, excusat, Tertullian. When we 
accuse ourselves, God absolves us. We are 
apt to hide our sins, Job xxxi. 33. Which is 
as great a folly as for one to hide his disease 
from the physician ; but when we open our 
sins to God by confessing, he opens his 
mercy to us by forgiving. 

The Fourth means for pardon is sound re- 
pentance : repentance and remission are put 
together, Luke xxiv. 47. There is a promise 
of a fountain opened for the washing away 
the guilt of sin, Zech. xiii. 1. But see what 
goes before, Zech. xii. 10, " They shall look 
upon me whom they have pierced, and shall 
mourn for him," Isa. i. 16, 11 Wash you, make 
' you clean ;" that is, wash in the waters of 
repentance ; and then follows a promise of 
forgiveness, " though your sins be as scarlet, 
they shall be white as snow." It is easy to 
turn white into scarlet, but not so easy to 
turn scarlet into white: yet, upon repent- 
ance, God hath promised to make the scarlet 
sinner of a milk-like whiteness. 

Caution. Not that repentance merits par- 
don, but it prepares for it. We set our seal 
on the wax when it melts : God seals his par- 
dons on melting hearts. 

The Fifth means, faith in the blood of 
Christ. It is Christ's blood washeth away 
sin, Rev. i. 5. But this blood will not wash 
away sin, unless it be applied by faith. The 
apostle speaks of the " sprinkling of the blood 
of Christ," 1 Pet. i. 2. Many arc not par- 
doned, though Christ's blood be shed, be- 
I cause it is not sprinkled : now it is faith that 
sprinkles Christ's blood on the soul, for the 



550 



OF THE FIFTH PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



remission of sin. As Thomas put his hands 
into Christ's sides, John xx. 27. So faith 
puts its hand into Christ's wounds, and takes 
of the blood and sprinkles it upon the con- 
science for the washing away of guilt. Hence 
in scripture, we are said to obtain pardon 
through faith, Acts xiii. 39, " By him all that 
believe are justified," Luke vii. 48, "Thy 
sins are forgiven." Whence was this, v. 50, 
" Thy faith has saved thee." O let us labour 
for faith I Christ is a propitiation or atone- 
ment to take away sin ; but how] '« Through 
faith in his blood," Rom. iii. 25. 

The Sixth means, pray much for pardon, 
Hos. xiv. 2, " Take away all iniquity," Luke 
xviii. 13, " The pubiican smote upon his 
breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sin- 
ner." And the text saith, " He went away 
justified." Many pray for health, riches, chil- 
dren ; but Christ hath taught us what to pray 
for chiefly, Remitte nobis debita nostra, 
' Forgive us our sins.' And be earnest suitors 
for pardon ; consider what guilt of sin is ; it 
binds one over to the wrath of God ; better 
thy house were haunted with devils, than thy 
soul with guilt. He who is in " the bond of 
iniquity," must needs be " in the gall of bit- 
terness," Acts viii. 23. A guilty soul wears 
Cain's mark, which was a trembling at the 
heart, and a shaking in his flesh ; guiJt makes 
the sinner afraid, lest every trouble he meets 
with should arrest him, and bring him to 
judgment. If guilt be so dismal, and breed 
such convulsion-fits in the conscience, how 
earnest should we be in prayer that God 
would remove this guilt, and so earnest as to 
resolve to take no denial. Plead hard with 
God for pardon, as a man would plead with a 
judge for his life. Fall upon thy knees, say, 
" Lord, hear one word." — " Why," may God 
say, " what canst thou say for thyself, that 



Matt. iv. 12. As we forgive our Debtors : Or. 

I proceed to the second part of the peti- 
tion, "As we forgive them that trespass 
against us." 

" As we forgive." This word, As, is not 
a note of equality, but similitude ; not that 
we equal God in forgiving, but imitate him. 



thou shouldest not die f — " Lord, I can say 
but little, but I put in my surety, Christ shall 
answer for me. O look upon that blood 
which speaks better things than that of Abel ! 
Christ is my priest, his blood is my sacrifice, 
his divine nature is my altar." As Rahab 
was to show the scarlet thread in the window, 
and when Joshua saw it, he did not destroy 
her, Josh. ii. 18, 21, and vi. 22, 23, so show 
the Lord the scarlet thread of Christ's blood, 
and that is the way to have mercy. " But," 
will God say, " why should I pardon thee ? 
thou hast nowise obliged me." — " But, Lord, 
pardon me, because thou hast promised it ; I 
urge thy covenant." When a man is to die 
by the law, he calls for his book, so say, 
" Lord, let me have the benefit of my book : 
thy word saith, 4 if the sinner forsake his evil 
way thou wilt pardon abundantly,' Isa. lv. 7. 
Lord, I have forsaken my sins, let me there- 
fore have mercy : I plead the benefit of the 
book." — " But, for whose sake should I par- 
don 1 Thou canst not deserve it." — " Lord, 
for thy own name's sake; thou hast said, 
thou wilt blot out sin, for thy own name's 
sake, Isa. xliii. 25. 'Twill be no eclipsing to 
thy crown ; how will thy mercy shine forth, 
and all thy other attributes ride in triumph, 
if thou shalt pardon me !" Thus plead with 
God in prayer, and resolve not to give him 
over till thy pardon be sealed. God cannot 
deny importunity ; he delights in mercy. As 
the mother, saith Chrysostom, delights to 
have her breast milked, so God delights to 
milk out the breast of mercy to the sinner. 
These means being used will procure this 
great blessedness, — the forgiveness of sin. 
Thus I have done with the first part of this 
fifth petition, ' Forgive us our sins ;' 1 come 
to the second part of this petition, " As we 
forgive our debtors." 



As we forgive them that trespass against us. 

This great duty of forgiving others, is a 
crossing the stream ; 'tis contrary to flesh 
and blood. Men forget kindnesses, but re- 
member injuries. But it is an indispensa- 
ble duty to forgive ; we are not bound to 
trust an enemy ; but we are bound to for- 



OF THE FIFTH PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



give him. We are naturally prone to revenge. 
Revenge (saith Homer) is sweet as dropping 
honey. The heathen philosophers held re°- 
venge lawful. Ulcisci te lacessitus potes. 
Cicero. But we. learn better things out of 
the oracles of scripture, Markxi. 25, " When 
ye stand praying, forgive," Matt. v. 44, Col. 
iii. 13, " If a man hath a quarrel against any, 
even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye." 

Quest. 1. How can we forgive others, 
when it is only Go-i forgives sin 1 

Ans. In every breach of the second table, 
there are two things,— an offence against 
God, — and a trespa>s against man ; so far as 
it is an offence against God, he only can for- 
give ; but so far as it is a trespass against 
man, so we may for. 

Quest. 2. When do we forgive others ? 

Ans. When we strive against all thoughts 
of revenge, — if it be in our power to do our 
enemies mischief, we will not,— we wish 
well to them, grieve at their calamities, we 
pray for them, we seek reconciliation with 
them, we show ourselves ready on all occa- 
sions to relieve them,— this is gospel-for- 
giving. 

Obj. 1. But I have been much injured 
and abused, and to put it up will be a stain 
to my reputation. 

Ans. 1. To pass by an injury without re- 
venge, is no eclipsing one's credit ; the scrip- 
ture saith, Prov. xix. 11, " It is the glory of a 
man to pass over a transgression." 'Tis 
more honour to bun an injury, than revenge 
it ; wrathfulness denotes weakness ; a noble 
heroic spirit overlooks a petty offence. 

A. 2. Suppose a man's credit, should be 
impaired with those whose censure is not to 
be valued ; yet consider the folly of challeng- 
ing another to a duel, 'tis little wisdom 
for a man to redeem his credit by losing 
his life, and to run to hell to be counted 
valourous. 

Obj. 2. But the wrong he hath done me 
is great. 

Ans. But thy not forgiving him is a greater 
wrong ; he in injuring thee hath offended 
against a man, but thou in not forgiving him 
offendest against God. 

Obj. 3. But if I forgive one injury I shall 
occasion more. 



561 

Ans. If the more injuries thou forgivest, 
the more thou meetcst with, this will make 
thy grace shine the more. Often forgiving 
will add more to the weight of his sin, and to 
the weight of thy glory. If any say, " I 
strive to excel in other graces, but as for 
this of forgiving, I cannot do it, I desire in 
this to be excused,"— what dost thou talk of 
other graces 1 The graces are inter ,sc con- 
nexai, linked and chained together; win re 
there is one, there is all ; he that cannot for- 
give, his grace is counterfeit, his faith is 
fancy, his devotion is hypocrisy. 

Quest. 3. But suppose another hath 
wronged me in my estate, may not I go to 
law for my debt ? 

Ans. Yes, else what use were there of law- 
courts ! God hath set judges to decide cases 
in law, and to give every one his right. It 
is with going to law, as it is with going to 
war ; when the just rights of a nation are in- 
vaded, here it is lawful to goto war, so when a 
man's estate is trespassed upon by another, 
he may go to law to recover it. But the law 
must be used in the last place, when no en- 
treaties or arbitrations will prevail, then the 
chancery must decide it. Yet this is no re- 
venge, it is not so much to injure another, as 
to right one's self ; this may be, yet one may 
live in charity. 

Use 1st. Here is a bill of indictment against 
such as study revenge, and cannot put up the 
least discourtesy. They would have God 
forgive them, but they will not forgive others; 
they will pray, — come to church, — give alms, 
—but, as Christ said, Mark x. 21, Yet lack- 
est thou one thing; they lack a forgiving 
spirit ; they will rather want forgiveness from 
God, than they will forgive their brother. 
How sad is it, that, for every slight wrong, 
or disgraceful word, men should let malice 
boil in their hearts! Would there be so 
many duels, arrests, murders, if men had the 
art of forgiving ! Revenge is the proper sin 
of the devil ; he is no drunkard or adulterer, 
but this old serpent is full of the poison of 
malice ; and what shall we say to them who 
make profession of religion, yet instead of 
forgiving, pursue others despitefully ! It was 
prophesied, "the wolf should dwell with the 
lamb," Isa. xi. 6. But what shall we say, 



552 



OF THE FIFTH PETITION 



IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



when such as profess to be lambs become 
wolves 1 These open the mouths of the pro- 
fane against religion ; they will say, these are 
as full of rancour as any. O whither is love 
and mercy fled ! If the son of man did come, 
should he find charity on the earth 1 I fear 
but little ! Such as but cherish anger and 
malice in their hearts, and will not forgive, 
how can they pray, " Forgive us, as we for- 
give others ?" Either they must omit this 
petition (as Chrysostom saithsome did in his 
time) or else they pray against themselves. 

Use 2d. Let it persuade us all, as ever we 
hope for salvation, to pass by petty injuries 
and discourtesies, and labour to be of forgiv- 
ing spirits, Col. iii. 13, " Forbearing one an- 
other, and forgiving one another." 1. Herein 
we resemble God. He is " ready to for- 
give," Ps. lxxxvi. 5. He befriends his ene- 
mies, — he opens his hands to relieve them, 
who open their mouths against him. It was 
Adam's pride to go to resemble God in om- 
nisciency, but here it is lawful to resemble 
God in forgiving enemies, this is a God-like 
disposition ; and what is godliness, but God- 
likeness. 

2. To forgive is one of the highest evi- 
dences of grace. When grace comes into 
the heart, it makes a man, as Caleb, of an- 
other spirit, Numb. xiv. 24. It makes a great 
metamorphosis, — it sweetens the heart, and 
fills it with love and candour. When a scion 
is grafted into a stock, it partakes of the na- 
ture and sap of the tree, and brings forth the 
same fruit ; take a crab, graft it into a pepin, 
it brings forth the same fruit as the pepin, so 
he who was once of a sour crabby disposition, 
given to revenge, when he is once ingrafted 
into Christ, he partakes of the sap of this 
heavenly olive, and bears sweet and generous 
fruit, he is full of love to his enemies, and 
requites good for evil. As the sun draws up 
many thick noxious vapours from the earth, 
and returns them in sweet showers, so a gra- 
cious heart returns the unkindnesses of others 
with the sweet influence of love and merci- 
fulness, Ps. xxxv. 12, 13, " They rewarded 
me evil for good ; but as for me, when they 
were sick, my clothing was sackcloth, I hum- 
bled my soul with fasting." This is a good 
certificate to show for heaven. 



3. The blessed example of our Lord Jesus ; 
he was of a forgiving spirit ; his enemies re- 
viled him, but he did pity them ; their words 
were more bitter than the gall and vinegar 
they gave him, but Christ's words were 
smoother than oil ; they spat upon him, 
pierced him with the spear and nails, but he 
prayed for them, " Father forgive them ;" he 
wept over his enemies, he shed tears for them 
that shed his blood. Never such a pattern 
of amazing kindness ! Christ bids us learn 
of him, Matt. xi. 29, he doth not bid us learn 
of him to work miracles, but he would have 
us learn of him to forgive our enemies. If 
we do not imitate Christ's life, we cannot be 
saved by his death. 

4. The danger of an implacable unforgiv- 
ing spirit; it hinders the efficacy of ordi- 
nances ; it is like an obstruction in the body, 
which keeps it from thriving. A revengeful 
spirit poisons our sacrifice, — our prayers are 
turned into sin, — will God receive prayer 
mingled with this strange fire 1 Our coming 
to the sacrament is sin, we come not in 
charity ; so that ordinances are turned into 
sin. It were sad if all the meat one did eat 
should turn to poison ; malice poisons the 
sacramental cup, men eat and drink their own 
damnation ; Judas came to the passover in 
malice, " and after the sop Satan entered," 
John xiii. 27. 

5. God hath tied his mercy to this condi- 
tion, if we do not forgive, neither will he 
forgive us, Matt. vi. 15, " If ye forgive not men 
their trespasses, neither will your heavenly 
Father forgive your trespasses." A man may 
as well go to hell, for not forgiving, as for not 
believing. How can they expect mercy from 
God, whose bowels are shut up, and are mer- 
ciless to their trespassing brethren 1 James 
ii. 13, " He shall have judgment without 
mercy, that hath showed no mercy." I can- 
not forgive, said one, though I go to hell. 

6. The examples of the saints who have 
been of forgiving spirits. Joseph forgave 
his brethren, though they put him into a 
pit, and sold him, Gen. 1. 21, " Fear ye 
not, I will nourish you, and your little 
ones." Stephen prayed for his persecutors. 
Moses was of a forgiving spirit ; how many 
injuries and affronts did he put up} The 



OFJTHE FIFTH PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



people of Israel dealt unkindly with him, 
they murmured against him at the waters of 
Marah, (the water was not so bitter as their 
spirits) but he fell to prayer for them, Exod. 
xv. 25, " He cried unto the Lord, and the 
Lord showed him a tree, which when he had 
cast into the waters, the waters were made 
sweet." When they wanted water, they fell 
a-chiding with Moses, Exod. xvii. 3, " Why 
hast thou brought us out of Egypt, to kill us 
with thirst?" As if they had said, "If we 
die, we will lay our death to thy charge;" 
here was enough to have made Moses call for 
fire from heaven upon them, but he passeth 
by this injury, and, to show he forgave them, 
he becomes an intercessor for them, v. 4, and 
set the rock a broach for them, v. 5. The 
prophet Elisha feasted his enemies, 2 Kings 
vi. 23, he prepared a table for them who 
would have prepared his grave. Cranmer was 
famous for forgiv ing injuries. When Luther 
had reviled Calvin, saith Calvin, Eliamsi 
millies me diabolum vocet, — ' though he call 
me a devil a thousand times,' — yet I will love 
and honour him as a precious servant of 
Christ. When one had abused and wronged 
a Christian, asking him what wonders hath 
your master Christ wrought ? saith he, He 
hath wrought this wonder, that though you 
have so injured me, yet 1 can forgive you, 
and pray for you. 

7. Forgiving and requiting good for evil is 
the best way to conquer and melt the heart 
of an enemy. Saul having pursued David 
with malice, and hunted him as a partridge 
upon the mountains, yet David would not 
do him mischief when it was in his power. 
David's kindness melted Saul's heart, 1 Sam. 
xxiv. 16, 17, " Is this thy voice, my son Da- 
vid 3 And Saul lifted up his voice and wept, 
and said, Thou art more righteous than I, for 
thou hast rewarded me good." This forgiv- 
ing is heaping coals, which melts the ene- 
my's heart, Rom. xii. 20. This is the most 
noble victory, to overcome an enemy without 
striking a blow, to conquer him with love. 
Philip of Macedon, when it was told him that 
one Nicanor did openly rail against him, the 
king, instead of putting him to death, sent 
him a rich present, which did so overcome 
the man and make his heart relent, that he 
4 A 



f>.-).3 



went up and down to recant what he had 
said against the king, and did highly extol 
the king's clemency. 

8. Forgiving others is the way to have 
forgiveness from God, and ia a sign of for- 
giveness. 

(1) . It is the way to have forgiveness, 
Matt. vi. 14, " If ye forgive men their tres- 
passes, your heavenly Father will also for- 
give you." But one would think other things 
should sooner procure forgiveness from God, 
than our forgiving others : no surely, nothing 
like this to procure forgiveness, for all other 
acts of religion may have leaven in them. 
God forbade leaven in the sacrifice, Exod. 
xxxiv. 25. One may give alms, yet there 
may be the leaven of vain glory in this ; the 
Pharisees sounded a trumpet, they did not 
give alms, but sell them for applause, Matt, 
vi. 2. One may give his body to be burned, 
yet there may be leaven in this, — it may be a 
false zeal, — there may be leaven in many 
acts of religion which sours the whole lump ; 
but to forgive others that have offended us, — 
this can have no leaven in it, no sinister aim, 
— this is a duty wholly spiritual, and is done 
purely out of love to God ; hence it is God 
rather annexeth forgiveness to this than to 
the highest and most renowned works of 
charity, which are so cried up in the world. 

(2) . It is a sign of God's forgiving us. It 
is not a cause of God's forgiving us, but a 
sign ; we need not climb up into heaven, to 
see whether our sins are forgiven ; let us look 
into our hearts, and see if we can forgive 
others. Then we need not doubt but God 
hath forgiven us : our loving others is no- 
thing but the reflection of God's love to us. 
Oh therefore, by all these arguments, let ua 
be persuaded to the forgiving others. Chris- 
tians, how many offences hath God passed 
by in us? Our sina are innumerable and 
heinous : is God willing to forgive ua so 
many offences, and cannot we forgive a few? 
No man can do so much wrong to us all our 
life, as we do to God in one day. 

Quest. But how must we forgive? 

Ans. As God forgives us. 

1. Cordially. God doth not only make a 
show of forgiveness, and keep our sins by 
him, but doth really forgive,— he passeth an 



554 OF THE FIFTH PETITION 



IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



act of oblivion, Jer. xxxi. 34. So we must 
not only say, we forgive, but do it with the 
heart, Matt, xviii. 35, " If ye from your hearts 
forgive not." 

2. God forgives fully ; he forgives all our 
sins. He doth not for fourscore write down 
fifty, Ps. ciii. 3, " Who forgiveth all thy ini- 
quities." Hypocrites pass by some offences, 
but retain others. Would we have God deal 
so with us to remit only some trespasses, 
and call us to account for the rest. 

3. God forgives often ; we run afresh upon 
the score, but God multiplies pardon, Isa. 
lvii. 7. Peter asks the question, Matt, xviii. 
21, "Lord, how oft shall my brother sin 
against me, and I forgive him ! Till seven 
times'? Jesus saith to him, I say not, until 
seven times, but, until seventy times seven." 
If he say, "I repent," you must say, "I 
remit." 

Quest. But this is one of the highest 
acts of religion, flesh and blood cannot do 
it f — how shall I attain to it ? 

Ans. 1. Let us consider how many wrongs 
and injuries we have done against God, — 
what volume can hold our errata 7 Our sins 
are more than the sparks in a furnace. 

A. 2. If we would forgive, see God's hand 
in all that men do or say against us. Did 
we look higher than instruments, our hearts 
would grow calm, -and we would not medi- 
tate revenge. Shimei reproached David and 
cursed ; David looked higher, 2 Sam. xvi. 11, 
" Let him alone, let him curse, for the Lord 
hath bidden him." What made Christ, that 
when he was reviled he reviled not again 1 
He looked beyond Judas and Pilate, he saw 
his Father putting the bitter cup into his 
hand : and as we must see God's hand in all 
the affronts and incivilities we receive from 
men, so we must believe God will do us good 
by all, if we belong to him, 2 Sam. xvi. 12, 
" It may be the Lord will requite me good for 
his cursing this day." Quisquis detrahit 
famce me<B addet mercedi mecR. Aug. He 
that injures me shall add to my reward ; he 
that clips my name to make it weigh lighter, 
shall make my crown weigh heavier. Well 



might Stephen pray for his enemies, " Lord, 
lay not this sin to their charge," Acts vii. 60. 
He knew they did but increase his glory in 
heaven ; every stone his enemies threw at 
him, added a pearl to his crown. 

A. 3. Lay up a stock of faith, Luke xvii. 4, 
" If thy brother trespass against thee seven 
times in a day, and seven times in a day turn 
again unto thee, and say, I repent, thou shalt 
forgive him." And the apostles said to the 
Lord, " increase our faith :" as if they had 
said, " We can never do this without a great 
deal of faith ; Lord, increase our faith." Be- 
lieve God hath pardoned you, and you will, 
pardon others ; only faith can throw dust 
upon injuries, and bury them in the grave of 
forgetfulness. 

A. 4. Think how thou hast sometimes 
wronged others ; and may it not be just with 
God that the same measure you mete to 
others, should be measured to you again? 
Hast not thou wronged others, if not in their 
goods, yet in their name 1 If thou hast not 
borne false witness against them, yet perhaps 
thou hast spoken falsely of them : the con- 
sideration of this may make Christians bury 
injuries in silence. 

A. 5. Get humble hearts. A proud man 
thinks it a disgrace to put up an injury. 
What causeth so many duels and murders 
but pride'? "Be clothed with humility," 
1 Pet. v. 5. He who is low in his own eyes, 
will not be troubled much though others lay 
him low : he knows there is a day coming, 
when there shall be a resurrection of names 
as well as bodies, and God will avenge him 
of his adversaries, Luke xviii. 7, " And shall 
not God avenge his own elect]" The hum- 
ble soul leaves all his wrongs to God to re- 
quite, who hath said, " Vengeance is mine," 
Rom. xii. 19. 

Use, Of comfort. Such as forgive, God 
will forgive them. You have a good argu- 
ment to plead with God for forgiveness. " Lo, 
I am willing to forgive him who makes me 
no satisfaction, and wilt not thou forgive me 
who hast received satisfaction in Christ my 
surety." So ends the fifth petition. 



OF THE SIXTH PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



OF THE SIXTH PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 

Matt. vi. 13. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. 



This petition consists of two parts. First, 
Deprecatory, « Lead us not into temptation." 
Secondly, Petitionary, " but deliver us from 
evil." 

First, "Lead us not into temptation." Doth 
God lead into temptation'? God tempts no 
man to sin, James i. 13, " Let no man say 
when he is tempted, I am tempted of God, 
for God tempteth not any man." God doth 
permit sin, but doth not promote it. He who 
is an encourager of holiness cannot be a pa- 
tron of sin. God doth not tempt to that 
which he hath an antipathy against. What 
king will tempt his subjects to break those 
laws which he himself hath established. 

Quest. But is it not said, God tempted 
Abraham? Gen. xxii. 1. 

Ans. Tempting there was no more than 
trying. God tried Abraham's faith, as a 
goldsmith tries gold in the fire : but there is 
a great deal of difference between God's try- 
ing his people's grace, and exciting their 
corruptions ; he trieth their grace, but doth 
not excite their corruptions ; man's sin can- 
not be justly fathered on God. God tempts 
no man. 

Quest. What then is themeaning of this, 
Lead us not into temptation ? 

Ans. When we pray, « Lead us not into 
temptation," the meaning is, we desire of 
God that he would not suffer us to be over- 
come by temptation. That we may not be 
given up to the power of temptation, which 
is when we are trepanned into sin. 

Quest. Whence do temptations come ? 

Ans. 1. Ab intra,— -from ourselves. The 
heart is fomes peccati,— -the breeder of all 
evil. Our own hearts are the greatest tempt- 
ers : James i. 14, 14 Every man is tempted 
when he is drawn away of his own lust." 
The heart is a perfect decoy. 

2 Temptations come ab extra,— from 
Satan. He is called ■ the Tempter,' Matt, 
iv 3, he lies in ambush to do us mischief,— 
stat \n procinctu diabolus,-the devil lays a 
rain of temptation to blow up the fort of our 



grace ; the devil is not yet fully cast into 
prison, but is like a prisoner that goes under 
bail ; the world is his diocese where he vi- 
sits ; we are sure to find Satan, whatever wc 
are doing, — reading, — praying, — meditating ; 
we find him within, how he came there we 
know not ; we are sure of his company, un- 
certain how we came by it. A saint's whole 
life (saith Austin) is a temptation. Elias, 
who could shut heaven by prayer, could not 
shut his heart from a temptation. This is a 
great molestation to a child of God ; as it is 
a trouble to a virgin to have her chastity 
daily assaulted. The more one is tempted 
to evil, the more he is hindered from good ; 
we are in great danger of Satan 1 the prince 
of the air ;' and we had need often to pray, 
" Lead us not into temptation." That we 
may see in what danger we are of Satan's 
temptations, 

Consider 1st. His malice in tempting. 
This hellish serpent is swelled with the poi- 
son of malice. Satan envies man's happi- 
ness ; to see a clod of dust so near to God, 
and himself (once a glorious angel) cast out 
of the heavenly paradise, this makes him pur- 
sue mankind with inveterate hatred, Rev. xii. 
12, "The devil is come down to you having 
great wrath." If there be any thing this infer- 
nal spirit of hell can delight in, it is to ruin 
souls, and bring them into the same condem- 
nation with himself. This malice of Satan m 
tempting must needs be great, if we consider 
three things : 

1. That when Satan is so full of torment, 
yet, that at such a time he should tempt. One 
would think that Satan should scarce have 
a thought free from thinking of his own mise- 
ry ; yet such is his rage and malice, that, 
when God is punishing him, he is tempting. 

2. Satan's malice is great, that he will 
tempt where he knows he cannot prevail ; 
he will put forth his sting, though he cannot 
hurt. He tempted Christ, Matt. iv. 8, " 
thou be the Son of God." He knew well 
enough Christ was God as well a#man, yet 



556 OF THE SIXTH PETITION 



IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



he would tempt him. Such was his malice 
against Christ, that he would put an affront 
on Christ, though he knew he could not con- 
quer him. He tempts the elect to blasphemy ; 
he knows he cannot prevail against the elect ; 
yet such is his malice, that though he cannot 
storm the garrison of their hearts, yet he will 
plant his pieces of ordnance against them. 

3. Satan's malice is great, that though he 
knows his tempting men to sin will increase 
his own torment in hell, yet he will not leave 
off tempting ; every temptation makes his 
chain heavier, and his fire hotter, yet he will 
tempt. Therefore Satan being such a mali- 
cious revengeful spirit, had we not need pray 
that God would not suffer him to prevail by his 
temptations 1 " Lead us not into temptation." 

Consider 2d. Satan's diligence in tempt- 
ing, 1 Pet. v. 8, " He walketh about." He 
neglects no time ; he who would have us 
idle, yet he himself is always busied. This 
lion is ever hunting after his prey, — he com- 
passeth sea and land to make a proselyte, — 
he walks about, — he walks not as a pilgrim, 
but a spy, — he watcheth where he may throw 
in the fire-ball of a temptation. He is a 
restless spirit ; if we repulse him, yet he will 
not desist, but come again with a temptation. 
Like Marcellus, a Roman captain Hannibal 
speaks of, whether he was conquered or did 
conquer, he was never quiet. More particu- 
larly, Satan's diligence in tempting is seen 
in this, 

1. If he gets the least advantage by temp- 
tation, he pursues it to the utmost. If his 
motion to sin begins to take, he follows it 
close, and presseth to the act of sin. When 
he tempted Judas to betray Christ, and found 
that Judas was inclinable, and began to bite 
at the bait of thirty pieces of silver, he hur- 
ries him on, and never leaves him till he had 
betrayed his Lord and Master. When he 
had tempted Spira to renounce his religion, 
and saw Spira begin to yield, he follows his 
temptation close, and never left till he had 
made him go to the legate at Venice, and 
there abjure his faith in Christ. 

2. Again, Satan's diligence in tempting is 
seen in this, the variety of temptations he 
useth. He doth not confine himself to one 
sort of temptation, he hath more plots than 
one j if he finds one temptation doth not pre- 



vail, he will have another ; if he cannot tempt 
to lust, he will tempt to pride ; if a tempta- 
tion to covetousness doth not prevail, he will 
tempt to profuseness ; if he cannot frighten 
men into despair, he will see if he can draw 
them to presumption ; if he cannot make 
them profane, he will see if he can make 
them formalists ; if he cannot make them 
vicious, he will tempt them to be erroneous. 
He will tempt them to leave off ordinances ; 
he will pretend revelations. Error damns as 
well as vice ; the one pistols, the other poi- 
sons ; thus Satan's diligence in tempting is 
great, he will turn every stone, he hath seve- 
ral tools to work with ; if one temptation will 
not do, he will make use of another. Had 
not we need then to pray, " Lead us not into 
temptation." 

3. Consider Satan's power in tempting. 
He is called " the prince of the world," John 
xii. 31, and the "strong man," Luke xi. 21, 
and the " great red dragon," who " with his 
tail drew down the third part of the stars," 
Rev. xii. 4. He is full of power, being an 
angel ; though Satan hath lost his holiness, 
yet not his strength. The devil's power in 
tempting is seen several ways : 1. He, as a 
spirit having an intellectual being, can con- 
vey himself into the fancy, and poison it with 
bad thoughts. As the Holy Ghost doth cast . 
in good motions, so the devil doth bad ; he 
put it into Judas's heart to betray Christ, 
John xiii. 2. 2. Satan, though he cannot 
compel the will, yet he can present pleasing 
objects to the senses, which have a great 
force in them. He set a 1 wedge of gold' 
before Achan, and so enticed him with that 
golden bait. 3. The devil can excite and 
stir up the corruption within, and work some 
inclinableness in the heart to embrace the 
temptation ; thus he stirred up corruption in 
David's heart, and provoked him to number 
the people, 1 Chron. xxi. 1. Satan can blow 
the spark of lust into a flame. 

4. Herein lies much of his power, that 
he being a spirit, can so strangely convey 
his temptations into our minds, that we 
cannot easily discern whether they come 
from Satan, or from ourselves ; whether 
they are his suggestions, or the natural 
births of our own hearts. A bird may 
hatch the egg of another bird, thinking it is 



OF THE SIXTH PETITION 



IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



557 



her own : often we hatch the devil's motions, 
thinking they come from our own hearts. 
When Peter dissuaded Christ from suffering, 
sure Peter thought it came from the good 
affection which he did bear to his master, 
Matt. xvi. 22, little did Peter think Satan 
had a hand in it. Now, if the devil hath 
such a power to instil his temptations, that 
we hardly know whether they be his or ours, 
we are in a great deal of danger, and had 
need pray, not to be led into temptation. 
Here, I know, some are desirous to move 
the question, 

Quest. How shall we perceive when a 
motion comes from our own hearts, and 
when from Satan? 

Ans. 1. It is hard (as Bernard saith) to 
distinguish inter morsum serpentis, et mor- 
bum mentis, — between those suggestions 
which come from Satan, and which breed 
out of our own hearts. But I conceive there 
is this threefold difference.'; 

1. Such motions to evil as come from our 
own hearts, spring up more leisurely, and 
by degrees ; a sin is long concocted in the 
thoughts, ere consent be given, but usually 
we may know a motion comes from Satan by 
its suddenness ; therefore a temptation is 
compared to a dart, Eph. vi. 16, because it 
is . shot suddenly. David's numbering the 
people was a motion which the devil did in- 
ject suddenly. 

2. The motions to evil, which come from 
our own hearts, are not so terrible ; few are 
frighted at the sight of their own children ; 
but motions coming from Satan are more 
ghastly and frightful, as motions to blasphe- 
my and self-murder. Hence it is temptations 
are compared to fiery darts, Eph. vi. 16, for 
their terribleness, because they do, as flashes 
of fire, startle and affright the soul. 

3. When evil thoughts are thrown into our 
mind, when we loathe, and have reluctancy 
against ; when we strive against them, and 
flee from them, as Moses did from the serpent, 
this shows they are not the natural birth of 
our own heart, but the hand of Joab is in this. 
Satan hath injected these impure motions. 

4. Satan's power in tempting appears by 
the long experience he hath gotten in the 
art ; he hath been a tempter, well nigh as 



long as he hath been an angel. Who are 
fitter for action than men of experience 1 
Who is fitter to steer a ship than an old ex- 
perienced pilot ? Satan hath gained much 
experience, by his being so long versed in the 
trade of tempting. He having such experi- 
ence, knows what are the temptations which 
have foiled others, and are most likely to 
prevail : the fowler lays those snares which 
have caught other birds. Satan having such 
power in tempting, we are in danger, and had 
need pray, " Lead us not into temptation." 

5. Consider Satan's subtilty in tempting. 
The Greek word to tempt, signifies to de- 
ceive. Satan in tempting, useth many sub- 
tle policies to deceive ; we read of the depths 
of Satan, Rev. ii. 24 ; and his devices and 
stratagems, 2 Cor. ii. 11 ; we read of his 
snares and his darts ; his snares are worse 
than his darts ; he is called a lion for his 
cruelty, and an old serpent for his subtilty ; 
he hath several sorts of subtilty in tempting. 

1st Subtilty. The devil observes the natu- 
ral temper and constitution, Omnium discutit 
mores. The devil doth not know the hearts 
of men, but he may feel their pulse, know 
their temper, and so accordingly can apply 
himself. As the husbandman knows what 
seed is proper to sow in such a soil, so Satan 
finding out the temper, knows what tempta- 
tions are proper to sow in such a heart. That 
way the tide of a man's constitution runs, 
that way the wind of temptation blows ; 
Satan tempts the ambitious man with a 
crown, the sanguine man with beauty, the 
covetous man with a wedge of gold. He pro- 
vides savoury meat, such as the sinner loves. 

2d Subtilty. Satan chooseth the fittest 
season to tempt in. As a cunning angler 
casts in his angle when the fish will bite 
best ; the devil can hit the very joint of time 
when a temptation is likeliest to prevail. 
There are several seasons he tempts in. 

1st Season. In our first initiation and 
entrance into religion, when we have newly 
given up our names to Christ. Satan will 
uever disturb his vassals ; but when we have 
broke his prison in conversion, now he pur- 
sues us with violent temptations. Solet inter 
primordia conversionis acrius insurgere. 
Bern. When Israel were got a little out of 



558 



OF THE SIXTH PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



Egypt, then Pharaoh pursues them. Herod, 
as soon as Christ was born, sent to destroy 
him ; so when the child of grace is newly 
born, the devil labours to strangle it with 
temptation. When the first buddings and 
blossoms of grace begin to appear, the devil 
would nip these tender buds with the sharp 
blasts of his temptations. Indeed, at first 
conversion, grace is so weak, and temptation 
so strong, that one would wonder how the 
young convert escapes with his life ; Satan 
hath a spite at the new creature. 

2d Season. The devil tempts when he finds 
us idle, unemployed. We do not sow seed 
in fallow ground ; but Satan sows most of his 
seed in a person that lies fallow. When the 
fowler sees a bird sit still and perch upon the 
tree, now he shoots it ; so when Satan ob- 
serves us to sit still, now he shoots his fiery 
darts of temptation at us, Matt. xiii. 25, 
" While men slept, the enemy sowed tares ;" 
so, while men sleep in sloth, Satan sows his 
tares. When David was walking on the leads, 
and unemployed, now the devil set a tempt- 
ing object before him, and it prevailed, 2 
Sam. xi. 3. 

3d Season. When a person is reduced to 
outward wants and straits, now is the devil's 
tempting time. When Christ had fasted 
forty days and was hungry, then the devil 
comes and tempts him with the glory of the 
world, Matt. iv. 8. When provisions grow 
ehort, now Satan sets in with temptation ; 
What ! Wilt thou starve rather than steal 1 
Reach forth thy hand, pluck the forbidden 
fruit ! How oft doth this temptation prevail ! 
How many do we see, who, instead of living 
by faith, live by their shifts, and will steal the 
venison, though they lose the blessing ! 

Ath Season. Satan tempts after an ordi- 
nance. When we have been at hearing of 
the word, or prayer, or sacrament ; now 
Satan casts in the angle of temptation. 
When Christ had been fasting and praying, 
then came the tempter, Matt. iv. 3. 

Q,uest. Why doth Satan choose this time 
to tempt in, after an ordinance 1 One would 
think this were the most disadvantageous 
time, for now the soul is raised up to a 
heavenly frame ? 

Ans. 1. Malice puts Satan upon it. The 
ordinances, that cause fervour in a saint, 



cause fury in Satan. He knows in every 
duty we have a design against him, — in every 
prayer we put up a suit in heaven against 
him, — in the Lord's supper, we take the sa- 
crament upon it, to fight under Christ's ban- 
ner against the devil, — therefore now Satan 
is more enraged, he now lays his snares, and 
shoots his darts against us. 

A. 2. Satan tempts after an ordinance, 
because he thinks he shall now find us more 
secure. After we have been at the solemn 
worship of God, we are apt to grow remiss, 
and leave off former strictness, like a soldier, 
that after the battle leaves off his armour : 
now Satan watcheth his time. He doth as 
David did to the Amalekites, after they had 
taken the spoil, and were secure, they did eat 
and drink, and dance, now David fell upon 
them, and did smite them, 1 Sam. xxx. 17 : 
so when we grow remiss after an ordinance, 
and perhaps too much indulge ourselves in 
carnal delights, now Satan falls upon us by a 
temptation, and oft foils us. As after a full 
meal, men are apt to grow drowsy, so after 
we have had a full meal at an ordinance, we 
are apt to slumber and grow secure, and now 
Satan shoots his arrow of temptation, and 
hits us between the joints of our armour. 

5th Season. Satan tempts after some dis- 
coveries of God's love. Satan, like a pirate, 
sets on a ship that is richly laden : so when 
a soul hath been laden with spiritual com- 
forts, now the devil will be shooting at him 
to rob him of all. The devil envies to see 
a soul feasted with spiritual joy. Joseph's 
party-coloured coat made his brethren envy 
him, and plot against him. After David 
had the good news of the pardon of his sin 
(which must needs fill him with consola- 
tion) Satan presently tempted him to a new 
sin in numbering the people ; and so all his 
comfort leaked out, and was spilt. 

6th Season. Satan tempts when he sees 
us weakest. He breaks over the hedge 
where it is lowest ; as the sons of Jacob 
came upon the Shechemites when they were 
sore, and could make no resistance, Gen. 
xxxiv. 25. At two times Satan comes upon 
us in our weakness. 

(1). When we are alone; so he came to 
Eve when her husband was away, and she 
the less able to resist his temptation. Sa- 



OF THE SIXTH PETITION 



IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



559 



tan hath this policy, he gives his poison pri- 
vately, when no body is by ; others might dis- 
cover his treachery. Satan is like a cunning 
suitor that wooes the daughter when the 
parents are from home; so, when one is 
: alone, and none near, now the devil comes 
a-wooing with a temptation, and hopes to 
have the match struck up. 

(2). When the hour of death approaches. 
As the poor sheep when it is sick and weak 
and can hardly help itself, now the crows lie 
pecking at it, so, when a saint is weak on his 
death-bed, now the devil lies pecking at him 
with a temptation, — he reserves his most 
furious assaults till the last. The people of 
Israel were never so fiercely assaulted, as 
when they were going to take possession of 
the promised land ; then all the kings of Ca- 
naan combined their forces against them ; so, 
when the saints are leaving the world, and 
going to set their foot on the heavenly Ca- 
naan, now Satan sets upon them by tempta- 
tion ; he tells them they are hypocrites ; all 
their evidences are counterfeit. Thus, like 
a coward, he strikes the saints when they are 
down ; when death is striking at the body, 
he is striking at the soul. This is the second 
subtilty, Satan chooseth the fittest season 
when to throw in a temptation. 

3d Subtilty. A third subtle policy of Sa- 
tan in tempting, is, he baits his hook with 
religion ; the devil can hang out Christ's co- 
lours, and tempt to sin under pretences of 
piety. Now he is the white devil and trans- 
forms himself into an angel of light. Celsus 
wrote a book full of error, and he entitled it, 
Liber veritatis, 1 the book of truth :' so Satan 
can write the title of religion upon his worst 
temptation. He comes to Christ with scrip- 
ture in his mouth, ** it is written," &c. So 
he comes to many, and tempts them to sin, 
under the pretence of religion ; he tempts to 
evil, that good may come of it ; he tempts men 
to such unwarrantable actions, that they may 
be put into a capacity of honouring God the 
more. He tempts them to accept of prefer- 
ment against conscience, that hereby they 
may be in a condition of doing more good ; 
he put Herod upon killing John Baptist, that 
hereby he might be kept from the violation of 
his oath. He tempts many to oppression 



and extortion, telling them, they are bound to 
provide for their families. He tempts many 
to make away with themselves, that they 
may live no longer to sin against God : thus 
he wraps his poisonous pills in sugar. Who 
would suspect him when he comes as a 
divine, and quotes scripture. 

&tk Subtilty of Satan is, to tempt to sin 
gradually. The old serpent winds himself in 
by degrees, he tempts first to lesser sins, that 
so he may bring on greater. A small offence 
may occasion a great crime ; as a little prick 
of an artery may occasion a mortal gangrene. 
Satan first tempted David to an impure glance 
of the eye, to look on Bathsheba, and that 
unclean look occasioned adultery and mur- 
der. First the devil tempts to go into the 
company of the wicked, then to twist into a 
cord of friendship, and so, by degrees, to be 
brought into the same condemnation with 
them ; this is a great subtilty of Satan, to 
tempt to lesser sins first; for these harden 
the heart, and fit men for the committing of 
more horrid and tremendous sins. 

5th Subtilty. Satan's policy is to hand 
over temptations to us, by those whom we 
least suspect. 

1. By near friends ; he tempts us by them 
who are near in blood. He tempted Job by 
a proxy, — he handed over a temptation to- 
him, by his wife, Job ii. 9, " Dost thou still 
retain thy integrity'?" As if he had said, 
"Job, thou seest how for all thy religion, 
God deals with thee ; his hand is gone out 
sore against thee : What ! and still pray, and 
weep ? Cast off all religion ! turn atheist t 
curse God, and die !" Thus Satan made use 
of Job's wife to do his work ; the woman 
was made of the rib, and Satan made a 
bow of this rib, out of which he shot the 
arrow of his temptation. Per costam petit 
cor. The devil oft stands behind the cur- 
tain, he will not be seen in the business, but 
puts others to do his work. As a man makes 
use of a serjeant to arrest another, so Satan 
makes use of a proxy to tempt ; as he did 
creep into the serpent, so he can creep into 
a near relation. 

2. He tempts sometimes by religious friends; 
the devil keeps still out of sight, that his 
cloven foot may not be seen. Who would 



580 



OF THE SIXTH PETITION 



IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



have thought to have found the devil in Peter? 
When he dissuaded Christ from suffering, 
Master, ' spare thyself,' Christ spied Satan in 
the temptation, " Get thee behind me Satan !" 
When our religious friends would dissuade 
us from doing our duty, Satan is a lying spirit 
in their mouths, and would by them entice 
us to evil. 

6th Subtilty. Satan tempts some persons 
more than others ; some are like wet tinder, 
who will not so soon take the fire of tempta- 
tion as others. Satan tempts most where he 
thinks his policies will more easily prevail ; 
some are fitter to receive the impression of 
temptations, as soft wax is fitter to take the 
stamp of the seal. The apostle speaks of 
"vessels of wrath fitted for destruction," 
Rom. ix. 22, so there are vessels fitted for 
temptation. Some, like the spunge, suck in 
Satan's temptations. There are five sorts 
of persons that Satan doth most fit for brood- 
ing upon by his temptations. 

1st, Ignorant persons. The devil can lead 
them into any snare ; you may lead a blind 
man any whither. God made a law, that the 
Jews should not put a stumbling-block in the 
way of the blind, Lev. xix. 14 : Satan knows 
it is easy to put a temptation in the way of 
the blind, at which they shall stumble into 
hell. When the Syrians were smitten with 
blindness, the prophet Elisha could lead them 
whither he would into the enemy's country, 
2 Kings vi. 20. The bird that is blind is 
soon shot by the fowler. Satan, the god of 
this world, blinds men, and then shoots them. 
An ignorant man cannot see the devil's 
snares ; Satan tells them such a thing is no 
sin, or but a little one, and he will do well 
enough ; 'tis but repent. 

2<%, Satan tempts unbelievers. He who, 
with Diagoras, doubts of a Deity, or, with 
the Phocinians, denies hell, what sin will not 
this man be drawn to 1 He is like metal that 
Satan can cast into any mould ; he can dye 
him of any colour. An unbeliever will stick 
at no sin, — luxury, perjury, injustice. Paul 
was afraid of none so much as them that did 
not believe, Rom. xv. 31, "That I may be 
delivered from them that do not believe in 
Judea." 

3dly, Satan tempts proud persons ; these 



he hath more power of. None is in greater 
danger of falling by a temptation, than he 
who stands high in his own conceit. When 
David's heart was lifted up in pride, then 
the devil stirred him up to number the peo- 
ple, 2 Sam. xxiv. 2. Celsce graviore casu 
decidunt turres,feriuntque summos fulmina 
monies. Horace. Satan made use of Ha- 
inan's pride to be his shame. 

Athly, Melancholy persons. Melancholy 
is atra bilis, a black humour, seated chiefly 
in the brain. Melancholy clothes the mind 
in sable ; it doth disturb reason ; Satan doth 
work much upon this humour. There are. 
three things in melancholy, which give the 
devil great advantage : 1. It unfits for duty, 
it pulls off the chariot-wheels, it dispirits a 
man. Lute-strings, when they are wet, will 
not sound ; when the spirit is sad and melan- 
choly, a Christian is out of tune for spiritual 
actions. 2. Melancholy sides often with Sa- 
tan against God ; the devil tells such a per- 
son, God doth not love him, there's no mercy 
for him ; and the melancholy soul is apt to 
think so too, and sets his hand to the devil's 
lies. 3. Melancholy breeds discontent, and 
discontent is a cause of many sins, unthank- 
fulness, impatience, and oft it ends in self- 
murder. Judge then what an advantage Sa- 
tan hath against a melancholy person, and 
how easily he may prevail with his tempta- 
tions. A melancholy person tempts the devil 
to tempt him. 

5thly, Idle persons. He who is idle, the 
devil will find him work to do. Jerome gave 
his friend this counsel : to be ever well- 
employed, that when the tempter came, he 
might find him working in the vineyard. If 
the hands be not working, the head will be 
plotting sin, Micah ii. 1. 

7th Subtilty of Satan is, to give some lit- 
tle respite, and seem to leave off tempting a 
while, that he may come on after with more 
advantage : as Israel made as if they were 
beaten before the men of Ai, and fled, — but 
it was a policy to draw them out of their 
fenced cities, and ensnare them by an am- 
bush, Josh. viii. 15. The devil sometimes 
raiseth the siege, and feigns a flight, that he 
may the better obtain the victory. He goes 
away for a time, that he may return when 



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IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



561 



he sees a better season, Luke xi. 24, " When 
the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he 
walketh through dry places, seeking rest: 
and finding none, he saith, 'I will return to 
my house, whence I came out.' " Satan, by 
feigning a flight, and leaving off tempting a 
while, causeth security in persons, and they 
think they are safe, and are become victors, 
when, on a sudden, Satan falls on, and 
wounds them. As one that is going to leap, 
runs back a little, that he may take the great- 
er jump, Satan seems to retire and run back 
a little, that he may come, on again with a 
temptation more furiously and successfully ; 
therefore we need always to watch and have 
on our spiritual armour. 

8th Subtilty of the old serpent is, either 
to take men off from the use of means, or to 
make them miscarry in the use of means. 

First, He labours to take men off from 
duty, — from praying and hearing ; his design 
is to discourage them ; and, to do that, he 
hath two artifices : 

(1) . He discourageth them from duty, by 
suggesting to them their unworthiness ; they 
are not worthy to approach to God, or have 
any signals of his love and favour. They are 
sinful, and God is holy, how dare they pre- 
sume to bring their impure offering to God 1 
This is a temptation indeed. That we should 
see ourselves unworthy, is good, and argues 
humility ; but to think we should not approach 
to God because of unworthiness, is a con- 
clusion of the devil's making. God saith, 
"Come, though unworthy :" by this tempta- 
tion, the devil takes many off from coming 

| to the Lord's table. " O (saith he) this is a 
solemn ordinance, and requires much holi- 
ness ; how darest thou so unworthily come, 
lest thou eat and drink unworthily V Thus, 
as Saul kept the people from eating honey, 
iso the devil by this temptation, scares many 
from this ordinance, which is sweeter than 
honey and the honeycomb. 

(2) . Satan endeavours to discourage from 
duty, by objecting want of success. When 
men have waited upon God in the use of or- 
dinances, and yet find not that comfort they 
desire, now Satan disheartens them, and puts 
them upon resolves of declining all religion ; 
they begin to say as that wicked king, 2 

4B 



Kings vi. 33, " What should I wait for the 
Lord any longer]" ' When Saul saw God 
answered him not by dreams and visions,' 
Satan tempted him to leave God's worship, 
and seek to the witch of Endor, 1 Sam. xviii. 
6. No answer of prayer comes, "therefore," 
saith Satan, "leave off praying; who will 
sow seed where no crop comes up V Thus 
the devil would, by his subtle logic, dispute 
a poor soul out of duty. But if he sees he 
cannot prevail this way, to take men off from 
the use of means, then he labours, 

Secondly, To make them miscarry in the 
use of means. By this artifice he prevails 
over multitudes of professors. The devil 
stands as he did at Joshua's right hand, to 
resist men, Zech. iii. 1. If he can't hinder 
them from duty, he will be sure to hinder 
them in duty, two ways. 

1st, By causing distraction in the service 
of God ; and this he doth by proposing objects 
of vanity, or by whispering in men's ears, that 
they can scarce mind what they are doing. 

2dly, Satan hinders, by putting men upon 
doing duties in a wrong manner. L In a dead 
formal manner, that so they may fail of the 
success. Satan knows duties done superfi- 
cially were as good to be left undone. That 
prayer which doth not pierce the heart, will 
never pierce heaven. 2. He puts them upon 
doing duties for wrong ends. Finis specificat 
actionem; he will make them look a-squint, 
and have by-ends in duty, Matt. vi. 5, " Be 
not as the hypocrites, for they love to pray 
standing in the corners of the streets, that 
they may be seen of men." Prayer is good, 
but to pray to be seen of men, this was a dead 
fly in the box of ointment ; the oil of vain- 
glory feeds their lamp ; sinister aims corrupt 
and fly-blow our holy things. Here is Satan's 
policy, either to prevent duty, or pervert it ; 
either to take men off from the use of means, 
or make them miscarry in the use of means. 

9th Subtilty. Satan can colour over sin 
with the name and pretence of virtue. Al- 
cibiades hung a curtain curiously embroider- 
ed over a foul picture of satyrs ; so Satan 
can put the image of virtue over the foul 
picture of sin. Satan can cheat men with 
false wares ; he can make them believe, 
that presumption is faith,— that intemperate 



562 



OF THE SIXTH PETITION 



IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



passion is zeal, — revenge is prudence, — cov- 
etousness is frugality,— and prodigality good 
hospitality. *' Come, see my zeal for the 
Lord," saith Jehu. Satan persuaded him it 
was a fire from heaven, when it was nothing 
but the wildfire of his own ambition ; it was 
not zeal, but state-policy. This is a subtle 
art of Satan to deceive by tempting, and put 
men off with the dead child instead of the live 
child, — to make men believe that is a grace, 
which is a sin, — as if one should write balm- 
water upon a glass of poison. If Satan hath 
all these subtle artifices in tempting, are 
we not in great danger from this prince of 
the air] and had we not need often pray, 
" Lord, suffer us not to be led into tempta- 
tion V As the serpent beguiled Eve with 
his subtilty, 2 Cor. xi. 3, let us not be be- 
guiled by the snares and policies of this hell- 
ish Machiavel. Satan hath a dexterity in 
subtle contrivances ; he doth more hurt as 
a fox, than a lion ; his snares are worse 
than his darts, 2 Cor. ii. 11, " We are not 
ignorant of his devices." 

10th. The next subtilty of Satan is, he 
labours to ensnare us by lawful things. In 
Ileitis perimus omnes. More are hurt by law- 
ful things, than unlawful, as more are killed 
with wine than poison ; gross sins affright, 
but how many take a surfeit and die, in using 
lawful things inordinately % Recreation is 
lawful, — eating and drinking are lawful, — 
but many offend by excess, and their table 
is a snare. Relations are lawful, but how oft 
doth Satan tempt to over-love ! how oft is 
the wife and child laid in God's room I Ex- 
cess makes things lawful become sinful. 

11th Subtilty of Satan is, to make the 
duties of our general and particular calling 
hinder and justle out one another. Our gen- 
eral calling is serving God, — our particular 
calling is minding our employments in the 
world. It is wisdom to be regular in both 
these, when the particular calling doth not 
eat out the time for God's service, nor the 
service of God hinder diligence in a calling. 
The devil's art is to make Christians defec- 
tive in one of these two ; some spend all 
their time in hearing, reading, and under a 
pretence of living by faith, do not live in a 
calling ; others Satan takes off duties of re- 



ligion, under a pretence that they must pro- 
vide for their families, — he makes them so 
careful for their bodies, that they quite neg- 
lect their souls. This is the subtilty of the 
old serpent, to make men negligent in the 
duties either of the first table or the second. 

12th Subtilty of Satan in tempting is, to 
misrepresent true holiness, that he may 
make others out of love with it. He paints 
the face of religion full of scars, and with 
seeming blemishes, that he may create in 
the minds of men prejudices against it. 
Satan represents religion as the most me- 
lancholy thing, and that he who embraceth. 
it, must banish all joy out of his diocese ; 
though the apostle saith, " Joy and peace in 
believing," Rom. xv. 13. Satan suggests 
that religion exposeth men to danger ; he 
shows them the cross, but hides the crown 
from them ; he labours to put all the disgrace 
he can upon holiness, that he may tempt 
men to the renouncing of it. Satan abuseth 
the good Christian, and gives him a wrong 
name : the truly zealous man, Satan calls 
hot-headed and factious, — the patient man, 
that bears injuries without revenge, Satan 
represents him as a coward, — the humble man 
as low-spirited, — the heavenly man Satan 
calls fool, he lets go things that are seen, for 
things that are not seen : thus the devil mis- 
represents religion to the world. As John 
Huss, that holy man, was painted with red 
devils, so Satan paints holiness with as de- 
formed, misshapen a face as he can, that he 
may, by this temptation, draw men off from 
solid piety, and make them rather scorn than 
embrace it. The hand of Joab is in this : 
Satan is tempting persons to atheism, to cast 
off all religion. 

13th Subtilty of Satan in tempting is, to 
draw men off from the love of the truth to 
embrace error, 2 Thess. ii. 11, " That they 
should believe a lie." Satan is called, in 
scripture not only an unclean spirit, but a 
lying spirit. As an unclean spirit, so he 
labours to defile the soul with lust ; and as 
a lying spirit, so he labours to corrupt 
the mind with error ; and indeed this is 
dangerous, because many errors do look so 
like the truth, as alchymy represents true 
gold. Satan thus beguiles souls. Though 



OF THE SIXTH PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



563 



the scripture blames heretics for being the 
promoters of error, yet it chargeth Satan with 
i being the chief contriver of it. They spread 
\ the error, but the devil is a lying spirit in 
their mouths. This is Satan's great tempta- 
tion ; he makes men believe such are glorious 
truths, which are dangerous impostures ; thus 
he transforms himself " into an angel of 
light." What is the meaning of Satan's 
sowing tares in the parable, Matt. xiii. 25, 
but Satan's sowing error instead of truth ! 
How quickly had the devil broached false 
doctrine in the apostles' times 1 That it was 
necessary to be circumcised, Actsxv. 1, that 
angel-worship was lawful, and that Christ 
i was not yet come in the flesh, 1 John iv. 3. 
, Now the devil tempts by drawing men to 
error, because he knows how deadly this 
snare is, and the great mischief error will do 
when it comes. — 1. Error is of a spreading 
nature ; it is compared to leaven, because it 
sours, Matt. xvi. 11, and to a gangrene, be- 
cause it spreads, 2 Tim. ii. 17. (1). One 
error spreads into more, like a circle in the 
water, that multiplies into more circles, one 
error seldom goes alone. (2). Error spreads 
from one person to another ; it is like the 
plague, which infects all round about. Satan, 
by infecting one person with error, infects 
more. The error of Pelagius did spread on 
a sudden to Palestine, Africa, Italy; the 
Arian error was at first but a single spark, 
but at last it set almost all the world on fire. — 
2. The devil lays this snare of error, because 
error brings divisions into the church ; and 
divisions bring an opprobrium and scandal 
upon the ways of God. The devil danceth 
at discord: division destroys peace, which 
was Christ's legacy ; and love, which is the 
bond of perfection. Not only Christ's coat 
hath been rent, but his body, by the divisions 
which error hath caused. In churches and 
families where error creeps in, what animo- 
sities and factions doth it make ! It sets the 
father against the son, and the son against 
the father. What slaughters and bloodshed 
have been occasioned by errors broached in 
the church ! — 3. The devil's policy in raising 
errors, is to hinder reformation ; the devil 
was never a friend to reformation. In the 
primitive times, after the apostles' days, " the 



serpent cast out of his mouth water as a 
flood after the woman," Rev. xii. 15. Which 
was a deluge of heresies, that so he might 
hinder the progress of the gospel. — 4. Satan 
tempts to error, because error devours godli- 
ness. The Gnostics, as Epiphanius observes, 
were not only corrupted in their judgments, 
but in their morals, they were loose in their 
lives, Jude 4, " Ungodly men, turning the 
grace of our God into lasciviousness." The 
Familists afterwards turned ranters, and gave 
themselves over to vices and immoralities ; 
and this they did, boasting of the Spirit and 
perfection. — 5. The devil's design in seducing 
by error, is, he knows error is pernicious to 
souls. Error damns, as well as vice ; poison 
kills as well as a pistol. 2 Pet. ii. 1, "They 
shall privily bring in damnable heresies." 
Now, if Satan be thus subtle in laying snares 
of error to deceive, had not we need to pray 
that God would not suffer us to be led into 
temptation ; that he would make us wise to 
keep out of the snare of error, or, if we have 
fallen into it, that he would give us to recover 
out of the snare by repentance 1 

14th. Another subtilty of Satan is, to be- 
witch and ensnare men, by setting pleasing 
baits before them, — the riches, pleasures, 
honours of the world, Matt. iv. 9, " All this 
will I give thee." How many doth Satan 
tempt with this golden apple ! Pride, idle- 
ness, luxury, are the three worms which 
breed of plenty, 1 Tim. vi. 9, " They that 
will be rich fall into temptation and a snare." 
Satan kills with these silver darts. How 
many surfeit on luscious delights ! The 
pleasures of the world are the great engine 
by which Satan batters down men's souls. 
His policy is to tickle them to death, to damn 
them with delights. The flesh would fain be 
pleased, and Satan prevails by this tempta- 
tion ; he drowns them in the sweet waters of 
pleasure ; such as have abundance of the 
world, walk in the midst of golden snares. 
We had need watch our hearts in prosperity, 
and pray not to be 'led into temptation.' 
We have as much need to be careful that we 
are not endangered by prosperity, as a man 
hath to be careful at a feast, where there are 
some poisoned dishes of meat. 

15th Subtilty of Satan in tempting is, to 



564 



OF THE SIXTH PETITION 



IN THE LORD'S PRAYER, 



plead necessity. Satan's policy in tempting 
men under a plea p of necessity is this, he 
knows that necessity may in some cases 
seem to palliate and excuse a sin. It may 
seem to make a lesser evil good to avoid a 
greater, as Lot offered to expose his daugh- 
ters to the Sodomites, and was willing that 
they should defile them, that he might pre- 
serve the angel-strangers that were come into 
his house, Gen. xix. 8. Doubtless Satan had 
a hand in this temptation, and made Lot be- 
lieve that the necessity of this action would 
excuse the sin. The tradesman pleads a 
necessity of unlawful gain, else he cannot 
live ; another pleads a necessity of revenge, 
else his credit would be impaired : thus Satan 
tempts men to sin, by telling them of the 
necessity. Nay, the devil will quote scrip- 
ture for it, that in some cases extraordinary, 
there may be a necessity of doing that which 
is not justifiable. Did not David, in case of 
necessity, " eat the shew bread, which was 
not lawful for him, but only the priests'?" 
Matt. xii. 4. Nor do we read he was blamed ; 
then will Satan say, why may not you in 
eases extraordinary trespass a little, and 
take the forbidden fruit 1 O beware of 
this temptation, — see Satan's cloven foot in 
it ; nothing can warrant a thing in its own 
nature sinful ; necessity will not justify im- 
piety ! 

16th Subtilty of Satan in tempting is, to 
draw men to presumption. Presumption is 
a confidence without ground ; it is made up 
of two ingredients, audacity and security ; 
this temptation is common. There is a two- 
fold presumption: 1. Satan tempts men to 
presume of their own hearts, that they are 
better than they are ; they presume they 
have grace, when they have none ; they will 
not take gold on trust, but they will take 
grace upon trust ; the foolish virgins pre- 
sumed that they had oil in their vessels when 
they had none. Here that rule of Epichar- 
mus is good, " distrust a fallacious heart." — 
2. Satan tempts men to presume of God's 
mercy ; though they are not so good as they 
should be, yet God is merciful. They look 
upon God's mercy with the broad spectacles 
of presumption. Satan soothes men up in 
their sins ; he preacheth to them " all hope, 



no fear ;" and so he deludes them with these 
golden dreams. Quam multi cum vana spe 
descendant ad inferos ! Aug. Presump- 
tion is Satan's draw-net, by which he drags 
millions to hell ; Satan by this temptation, 
oft draws the godly to sin ; they presume 
upon their privileges, or graces, and so ven- 
ture on occasions of sin. Jehoshaphat twist- 
ed into a league of amity with king Ahab, 
presuming his grace would be antidote strong 
enough against the infection, 2 Chron. xviii. 
3. Satan tempted Peter to presume upon 
his own strength, and when it came to a 
trial, he was foiled, and came off with shame. 
We had therefore need pray, ' that we may 
not be led into this temptation ;' and with 
David, " Keep back thy servant also from 
presumptuous sins," Ps. xix. 13. 

17th Subtilty of Satan in tempting is, to 
carry on his designs against us under the 
highest pretences of friendship ; he thus puts 
silver upon his bait, and dips his poisoned 
pills in sugar. Satan doth, as some court- 
iers, make the greatest pretences of love, 
where they have the most deadly hatred. 
Joab's sword was ushered in with a kiss : 
" He kissed Abner, and then smote him under 
the fifth rib." Satan puts off his lion's skin, 
and comes in sheep's clothing, — he pretends 
kindness and friendship, — he would consult 
what might be for our good. Thus Satan 
came to Christ, " Command that these stones 
be made bread," Matt. iv. 3. As if he had 
said to Christ, " I see thou art hungry, and 
here there is no table spread for thee in the 
wilderness ; I therefore, pitying thy condi- 
tion, wish thee to get something to eat ; turn 
stones to bread, that thy hunger may be satis- 
fied." But Christ spied the temptation, and 
with the sword of the Spirit wounded the 
old serpent. Thus Satan came to Eve and 
tempted her under the notion of a friend : 
" Eat, saith he, of the forbidden fruit ; for 
the Lord knows, that, ' in the day ye eat 
thereof, ye shall be as gods:'" as if he had 
said, " I persuade you only to that which 
will put you into a better condition than 
now you are; eat of this tree, and it will 
make you omniscient, ' ye shall be as gods.' " 
What a kind devil was here ! But it was 
a subtle temptation, she greedily swallow- 



OF THE SIXTH PETITION 



IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



565 



ing the bait, it undid her and all her pos- 
terity. Let us fear his fallacious flatteries. 
Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes. 

18th Subtilty is, when Satan hath tempted 
men to sin, he persuades them to keep his 
counsel ; like them that have some foul dis- 
ease, they will rather die than tell the physi- 
cian. It were wisdom, in case of sore tempta- 
tion, to open one's mind to some experienced 
Christian, whose counsel might be an antidote 
against the temptation ; but the danger of a 
temptation lies in the concealing of it ; it is 
like the concealing of a distemper, which 
may prove mortal. How had we need renew 
this petition, 'Lead us not into temptation !' 

19th Subtilty of Satan in tempting is, to 
make use of fit tools and engines, for the 
carrying on of his work ; that is, he makes 
use of such persons as may be likely means 
to promote his tempting designs. The devil 
lays the plot of a temptation, and as it were 
cuts out the work, and then he employs 
others to finish it. 

(1) . Satan makes use of such as are in 
places of dignity. Men of renown. He 
knows, if he can get these on his side, they 
may draw others into snares ; when the 
princes and heads of the tribes joined with 
Korah, they presently drew a multitude into 
the conspiracy, Numb. xvi. 2, 10. 

(2) . The devil makes use of such to carry 
on his tempting designs, as are men of wit 
and parts ; such as, if it were possible, should 
deceive the very elect. He must have a great 
deal of cunning that shall persuade a man to 
be out of love with his food ; the devil can 
make use of such heretical spirits as shall 
persuade men to be out of love with the ordi- 
nances of God, which they profess they have 
found comfort in. Many who once seemed 
to be strict frequenters of the house of God, 
are now persuaded, by Satan's cunning in- 
struments, to leave off all, and follow an 
ignus fatuus, the light within them. This 
is a great subtilty of the devil, to make use 
of such cunning, subtle-pated men, as may 
be fit to carry on his tempting designs. 

(3) . Satan makes use of bad company to 
be instruments of tempting ; they draw youth 
to sin. First, they persuade them to come 
into their company, — then to twist into a 



cord of friendship, — then to drink with them, 
— and by degrees, debauch them. These are 
the devil's decoys to tempt others. 

20th Subtilty of Satan is, he, in his tempta- 
tion, strikes at some grace more than others ; 
as in tempting, he aims at some persons more 
than others, so he aims at some grace more 
than others ; and if he can prevail in this, he 
knows what an advantage it will be to him. 
If you ask, what grace is it that Satan in his 
temptations doth most strike at 1 I answer, 
it is the grace of faith ; he lays the train of 
his temptation to blow up the fort of our faith. 
Fidei scutum percutit. Why did Christ pray 
more for Peter's faith, than any other grace? 
Luke xxii. 32. Because Christ saw that his 
faith was most in danger ; the devil was 
striking at this grace. Satan, in tempting 
Eve, did labour to weaken her faith, Gen. iii. 
1, " Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of 
every tree of the garden V The devil would 
persuade her, that God had not spoken truth ; 
and when he had once wrought her to dis- 
trust, then she took of the tree. 'Tis called 
scutum fidei, " the shield of faith," Eph. vi. 
16. Satan in tempting, strikes most at our 
shield, he assaults our faith. True faith, 
though it cannot be wholly lost, yet it may 
suffer a great eclipse ; though the devil can- 
not by temptation take away the life of faith, 
yet he may the lively acting ; he cannot 
gratiam diruere but he may dehilitare. 

Quest. But why doth Satan in templing 
chiefly set upon our faith 1 

Ans. 1 Kings xxii. 31, " Fight neither with 
small nor great, save only with the king." 
So faith is as it were the king of the graces ; 
it is a royal princely grace, and puts forth 
the most majestic and noble acts, therefore 
Satan fights chiefly with this kingly grace. 
I shall show you the devil's policy in assault- 
ing faith most. 

1st, Because this is the grace doth Satan 
most mischief ; it makes the most resistance 
against him, 1 Pet. v. 9, " Whom resist, 
steadfast in the faith." No grace doth more 
bruise the serpent's head than faith. Faith 
is both a shield and a sword, defensive and 
offensive. (1). It is a shield ; a shield guards 
the head, defends the vitals ; the shield of 
faith causeth that the fiery darts of tempta- 



568 OF THE SIXTH PETITION 



IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



tion do not pierce us through. (2). Faith 
is a sword, it wounds the red dragon. 

Quest. How comes faith to be so strong, 
that it can resist Satan and put him to flight ? 

Ans. 1. Because faith brings the strength 
of Christ into the soul ; Samson's strength 
lay in his hair, ours lies in Christ. If a chi]d 
be assaulted, it runs and calls to its father for 
help, so, when faith is assaulted, it runs and 
calls Christ, and in his strength overcomes. 

A. 2. Faith furnishes itself with store of 
promises ; the promises are faith's weapons 
to fight with. Now as David, by five stones 
in his sling, wounded Goliah, 1 Sam. xvii. 40, 
so faith puts the promises, as stones, into its 
sling, " I will never leave thee nor forsake 
thee," Heb. xiii. 5. He will not break the 
bruised reed, Matt. xii. 20. 1 ' He will not 
suffer you to be tempted above that ye are 
able," 1 Cor. x. 13. The Lord will shortly 
bruise Satan under your feet, Rom. xvi. 20. 
" None is able to pluck them out of my Fa- 
ther's hand," John x. 29. Here are five pro- 
mises, like five stones, put in the sling of 
faith, and with these a believer wounds the 
red dragon. Now faith being such a grace, 
that doth so resist and wound Satan, he will 
watch his opportunity that he may batter our 
shield, though he cannot break it. 

2dly, Satan strikes most at our faith, and 
would weaken and destroy it, because faith 
hath a great influence upon all the other 
graces ; faith sets all the graces a-work. Like 
some rich clothier, that gives out a stock of 
wool to the poor and sets them all a-spinning, 
so faith gives out a stock to all the other 
graces, and sets them a-working. Faith sets 
love a-work, Gal. v. 6, " Faith which worketh 
by love." When once the soul believes God's 
love, this kindles love to God. The believing 
martyrs burned hotter in love than in fire. 
Faith sets repentance a-work. When the 
soul believes there is mercy to be had, and 
that this mercy is for him, this sets the eyes 
a-weeping. O saith the soul, that ever I 
should offend such a gracious God ! Repent- 
ing tears drop from the eye of faith, Mark ix. 
23, " The father of the child cried out and 
said with tears, Lord, I believe." Faith sets 
his eyes abroach with tears ; therefore the 
devil hath most spite at faith, and by his 



temptations would undermine it, because it is 
such an operative grace, it sets all the other 
graces on work. If the devil cannot destroy 
our faith, yet if he can disturb it, — if he can 
hinder and stop the actings of faith, — he 
knows all the other graces will be lame and 
inactive. If the spring in a watch be stopped, 
it will hinder the motion of the wheels : if faith 
be down, all the other graces are at a stand. 

21st Subtilty of Satan in tempting, is, in 
broaching those doctrines that are flesh- 
pleasing. Satan knows the flesh loves to be 
gratified, it cries out for ease and liberty ; it 
will not endure any yoke, unless it be lined 
and made soft. The devil will be sure so to 
lay his bait of temptation, as to please and 
humour the flesh. The word saith, ' Strive 
as in an agony' to enter into glory, — crucify 
the flesh, — take the kingdom of heaven by 
holy violence, — now Satan, to enervate and 
weaken these scriptures, comes with tempta- 
tions and flatters the flesh. He tells men, 
there needs no such strictness, — why so 
much zeal and violence ] a softer pace will 
serve, — sure there is an easier way to hea- 
ven, — there needs no breaking the heart for 
sin, — do but confess to a priest, or tell over 
a few beads, or say some Ave Marias, and 
this will procure you a pardon, and give you 
admission into paradise. Or, the devil can 
go another way to work ; if he sees men 
startle at popery, then he stirs up the flat- 
tering Antinomian, and he comes in another 
disguise, and saith, " What needs all this 
cost ] what needs repenting tears ] these are 
legal. What need you be so strict in your 
obedience ] Christ hath done all for you, you 
may make use of your Christian liberty." 
This temptation draws many away ; it takes 
them off from strictness of life. He who sells 
cheapest shall have most customers ; the 
devil knows this is a cheap easy doctrine, 
which will please the flesh, and he doth not 
doubt but he shall have customers enough. 

22d Subtilty of Satan in tempting, is, in 
reference to holy duties. His policy is either 
to hinder from duty, or discourage in duty, 
or put men too far in duty. 

1. To hinder from duty, as 1 Thess. ii. 
18, "I would have come once and again, 
but Satan hindered me." So many duties 



OF THE SIXTH PETITION 

of religion had been performed, "but Satan 
hindered." The hand of Joab is in this. 
There are three duties which the devil is an 
enemy to, and labours to keep us from. 

(1) . Meditation. He will let men profess, 
I; or pray and hear in a formal manner; this 
doth him no hurt, nor them no good ; but he 
doth oppose meditation, as being a means to 
compose the heart, and make it serious. 
Satan can stand your small shot ; if you do 
not put in this bullet, he cares not how much 
you hear, nor how little you meditate. Me- 
ditation is a chewing of the cud, — it makes 
ithe word digest, and turn to nourishment; 
meditation is the bellows of the affections, — 
the devil is an enemy to this. When Christ 
was alone in the wilderness, giving himself 
I to divine contemplations, then the devil 
comes and tempts him, to hinder him. He 
will thrust in worldly business, something or 
other to keep men off from holy meditation. 

(2) . Duty, which Satan, by tempting, 
would keep us from, is mortification. This 
is as needful as heaven, Col. iii. 5, " Mortify 
your members which are upon the earth, un- 
cleanness, inordinate affection." Satan will 

I let men be angry with sin, exchange sin, 
restrain sin, which is keeping sin prisoner, 
that it doth not break out ; but when it comes 

: to the taking away the life of sin, Satan la- 
bours to stop the warrant, and hinder the 
execution. When sin is mortifying, Satan 
is crucifying. 

(3) . Self-examination, 2 Cor. xiii. 5, " Ex- 
amine yourselves," — a metaphor from metal, 
that is pierced through, to see if it be gold 
within. Self examination is a spiritual in- 
quisition set up in one's soul ; a man must 
search his heart for sin, as one would search 
a house for a traitor, or, as Israel sought for 
leaven to burn it. Satan, if it be possible, 
will, by his temptations, keep men from this 
duty ; he useth a great deal of subtilty. Here, 
first he tells them, their estate is good, and 
what need they put themselves to the trouble 
of examination 1 Though men will not take 
their money on trust, but will examine it by 
the touch-stone, yet Satan persuades them 
to take their grace on trust. The devil per- 
suaded the foolish virgins, they had oil in 
their lamps. Satan hath another policy, he 



IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 567 

will show men the faults of others, to keep 
them from searching their own : see what a 
proud covetous man goes there. He will allow 
them spectacles to see what is amiss in others, 
but not a looking-glass to behold their own 
faces, and see what is amiss in themselves. 

2. Satan's policy is, to discourage us in 
duty. When one hath been about the per- 
forming of holy duties, then the devil stands 
up and tells him he hath played the hypo- 
crite, — he hath served God for a livre, — he 
hath had sinister ends, — his duties have been 
full of distraction, — they have been fly-blown 
with pride, — he hath offered the blind and 
lame, and can he expect a reward from God I 
Satan tells a Christian, he hath increased his 
sin by prayer ; and, by this temptation, he 
would make a child of God quite out of con- 
ceit with his duties, he knows not whether 
he had best pray or not. 

3. Or thirdly, if this plot will not take, 
Satan labours by temptation to put a Chris- 
tian on too far in duty ; if he cannot keep a 
child of God from duty, he will run him on 
too far in it. For instance, humiliation and 
mourning for sin is a duty, but Satan will put 
one on too far in it ; thou art not, saith he, 
humbled enough ; and indeed Satan never 
thinks a man is humbled enough, till he de- 
spair. He would make a Christian wade so 
far in the waters of repentance, that he should 
wade beyond his depth, and be drowned in 
the gulf of despair. Satan comes thus to the 
soul, " Thy sins have been great, and thy 
sorrow shall be proportionable to thy sins. 
But is it so ] canst thou say thou hast been 
as great a mourner as thou hast been a sin- 
ner 1 thou didst for many years drive no other 
trade but sin, and is a drop of sorrow enough 
for a sea of sin ? No ! thy soul must be more 
humbled, and lie steeping longer in the 
brinish waters of repentance." Satan would 
have a Christian weep himself blind, and in 
a desperate mood throw away the anchor of 
hope. Now, lest any here be troubled with 
this temptation, let me say this, this is a 
mere fallacy of Satan ; for sorrow proportion- 
able to sin is not attainable in this life, nor 
doth God expect. It is sufficient for thee, 
Christian, if thou hast a gospel-sorrow, — if 
thou grievest so far as to see sin hateful, and 



# 



568 



OF THE SIXTH PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



Christ precious, — if thou grievest so as to 
break off iniquity, — if thy remorse end in 
divorce, this is to be humbled enough. Then 
the gold hath lain long enough in the fire, 
when the dross is purged out ; then a Chris- 
tian hath lain long enough in humiliation, 
when the love of sin is purged out ; this is to 
be humbled enough to divine acceptation. 
God, for Christ's sake, will accept of this 
sorrow for sin ; therefore let not Satan's 
temptations drive to despair. You see how 
subtle an enemy he is, to hinder from duty, 
or discourage in duty, or put men on too far 
in duty, that he may run them upon the rock 
of despair. Had we not then need (having 
such a subtle enemy) pray, " Lord, lead us 
not into temptation]" As the serpent be- 
guiled Eve, let us not be beguiled by this 
hellish Machiavel. 

23d Subtilty of Satan in tempting to the 
act of sin, is the hopes of returning out of it 
by speedy repentance. But this is a fallacy ; 
it is easy for the bird to fly into the snare, 
but it is not easy to get out of the snare. Is 
it so facile a thing to repent t Are there no 
pangs in the new birth 1 Is it easy to leap 
out of Delilah's lap into Abraham's bosom 1 
How many has Satan flattered into hell by 
this policy, that if they sin, they may reco- 
ver themselves by repentance 1 Alas ! is 
repentance in our power ] a spring-lock can 
shut of itself, but it cannot open without a 
key, — we can shut of ourselves to God, but 
we cannot open by repentance, till God open 
our heart, who hath the key of David in his 
hand. 

24:th Subtilty of Satan in tempting is, to put 
us upon doing that which is good unseason- 
ably. 

(1). To mourn for sin is a duty ; the sacri- 
fices of God are a broken heart, Ps. li. 17. 
But yet there is a time when it may not be 
so seasonable ; after some eminent deliver- 
ance, which calls for rejoicing, now to have 
the spirits dyed of a sad colour, and to sit 
weeping, is not seasonable. There was a 
special time at the feast of tabernacles, when 
God called his people to cheerfulness, Deut. 
xvi. 15, " Seven days shalt thou keep a so- 
lemn feast to the Lord thy God, and thou 
shalt surely rejoice." Now, if at this time, 
the Israelites had hung their harps upon the 



willows, and been disconsolate, it had been 
very unseasonable, like mourning at a wed- 
ding. When God by his providence calls us 
to thanksgiving, and we sit drooping, and, 
with Rachel, refuse to be comforted, this is 
very evil, and savours of ingratitude. This is 
Satan's temptation ; the hand of Joab is in 
this. 

(2) . To rejoice is a duty, Ps. xxxiii. 1. 
" Praise is comely for the upright." But 
when God, by his judgments, calls us to weep- 
ing, now joy and mirth is unseasonable, Isa. 
xxii. 12, 14, " In that day did the Lord call 
to weeping, and behold joy and gladness." 
CEcolampadius, and other learned writers, 
think it was in the time of king Ahaz, when 
the signs of God's anger, like a blazing star, 
did appear : now to be given to mirth was very 
unseasonable. 

(3) . To read the word is a duty, but Satan 
will sometimes put men upon it when it is 
unseasonable. To read it at home when 
God's word is preaching, or the sacrament 
administering, is unseasonable, yea sinful, as 
Hushai said, 2 Sam. xvii. 7, " The counsel is 
not good at this time." There was a set 
time enjoined for the passover, when the 
Jews were to bring their offering to the Lord, 
Numb. ix. 2. Had the people been reading 
the law at home in the time of the passover, 
it had not been in season, and God would 
have punished it for a contempt. This is the 
devil's subtle temptation, either to keep us 
from duty, or to put us upon it, when it is 
least in season. Duties of religion not well 
timed, and done in season, are dangerous. 
Snow and hail are good for the ground when 
they come in their season ; but in the harvest, 
when the corn is ripe, then a storm of hail 
would do hurt. 

25th Subtilty of Satan in tempting is, to 
persuade men to delay their repenting and 
turning to God. He saith, as Hag. i. 2, 
" The time is not come." Now youth is 
budding, or you are but in the flower of 
your age, it is too soon to repent, " The 
time is not yet come." This temptation is 
the devil's draw-net, by which he draws 
millions to hell ; it is a dangerous tempta- 
tion. Sin is dulce venemam, Bern., a poi- 
son ; the longer poison lies in the body, the 
more mortal ; by delay of repentance, sin 



OF THE SIXTH PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



569 



strengthens, and the heart hardens. The 
longer ice freezeth, the harder it is to be bro- 
ken : the longer a man freezeth in impeni- 
| tency, the more difficult it will be to have 
his heart broken. When sin hath gotten a 
haunt, it is not easily shaken off. Besides, 
the danger of this temptation to delay re- 
pentance appears in this, because life is 
hazardous, and may on a sudden expire. 
What security have you that you shall live 
[another day 1 Life is made up of a few flying 
| minutes ; it is a taper soon blown out, Jam. 
, iv. 14, "What is your life 7 It is even a 
vapour." The body is like a vessel, tunned 
with a little breath ; sickness broacheth this 
vessel, death draws it out : how dangerous 
therefore is this temptation, to procrastinate 
and put off turning to God by repentance ! 
Many now in hell did purpose to repent, but 
death surprised them. 

26tk Subtilty of Satan in tempting is, to 
infringe and weaken the saints' peace. If he 
cannot destroy their grace, he will disturb 
their peace. Satan envies a Christian should 
: have a good day ; and if he cannot keep 
them from heaven, he will keep them from 
a heaven upon earth. There is nothing (next 
to holiness) a Christian prizeth more, than 
! peace and tranquillity of mind; this is the 
; cream of life, a bunch of grapes by the way. 
I Now, it is Satan's great policy to shake a 
Christian's peace; that if he will go to 
! heaven, he shall go thither through frights, 
[and plenty' of tears. The devil throws in 
his fire-balls of temptation, to set the saints' 
[peace on fire. Of such great concern is 
spiritual peace, that no wonder if Satan 
would, by his intricate subtilties, rob us of 
jthis jewel. Spiritual peace is a token of 
God's favour. As Joseph had a special tes- 
timony of his father's kindness in the party- 
coloured coat he gave him, so have the saints 
a special token of God's good will to them, 
when he gives them inward peace, which is 
as it were, the party-coloured coat to wear. 
No wonder then, if Satan so much rage 
against the saints' peace, and would tear off 
this comfortable robe from them ! The devil 
troubles the waters of the saints' peace, be- 
cause hereby he hopes to have the more 
advantage of them. 
4C 



1. By this perplexing of their spirits, Sa- 
tan takes off their chariot-wheels, — unfits 
them for the service of God ; body and mind 
are both out of temper, like an instrument 
out of tune. Sadness of spirit prevailing, a 
Christian can think of nothing but his trou- 
bles ; his mind is full of doubts, fears, sur- 
mises, so that he is like a person distracted, 
and is scarce himself ; either he neglects the 
duties of religion, or his mind is taken off 
from them while he is doing them. Especi- 
ally there is one duty that melancholy and 
sadness of spirit unfits for, and that is thank- 
fulness. Thankfulness is a tribute or quit-rent 
due to God, Ps. cxlix. 5, 6, " Let the saints 
be joyful, let the high praises of God be in 
their mouth." But when Satan hath disturb- 
ed a Christian's spirit, and filled his mind full 
of black, and almost despairing thoughts, how 
can he be thankful 1 It rejoiceth Satan to see 
how his plot takes ; by making God's children 
unquiet, he makes them unthankful. 

2. Satan, by troubling the saints' peace, 
hath this advantage of laying a stumbling 
block in the way of others ; by this policy, 
the devil gets an occasion to render the 
ways of God unlovely to those who are 
looking heaven-ward. He sets before new 
beginners, the perplexing thoughts, the tears, 
the groans of them who are wounded in 
spirit, to scar them quite off from all seri- 
ousness in religion. He will object to new 
beginners, " Do you not see how these sad 
souls torture themselves with melancholy 
thoughts, and will you change the comforts 
and pleasures of this life to sit always in the 
house of mourning 1 Will you espouse that 
religion, which makes you a terror to your- 
selves, and a burthen to others 3 Can you 
be in love with such a religion, as is ready to 
fright you out of your wits ]" This advan- 
tage the devil gets by troubling the saints' 
peace, — he would discourage others who are 
looking towards heaven, — he would beat 
them off from prayer, and hearing all soul- 
awakening sermons, lest they fall into this 
black humour of melancholy, and end their 
days in despair. 

3. By this subtle policy of Satan, in dis- 
turbing the saints' peace, and making them 
believe God doth not love them, he hath 



570 OF THE SIXTH PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



this advantage, he sometimes so far prevails 
over them, as to make them begin to enter- 
tain hard thoughts of God. Through the 
black spectacles of melancholy, God's deal- 
ings look sad and ghastly. Satan tempts the 
godly to have strange thoughts of God, — to 
think he hath cast off all pity, and hath for- 
gotten to be gracious, Ps. lxxvii, and to make 
sad conclusions, Isa. xxxviii. 13, " I reckon- 
ed, that as a lion, so will he break all my 
bones : from day, even to night, wilt thou 
make an end of me." The devil setting in 
with melancholy, causeth a sad eclipse in 
the soul ; it begins to think, God hath shut 
up the springs of mercy, and there is no hope. 
Hereupon Satan getteth further advantage 
of a troubled spirit ; sometimes he puts the 
troubled soul upon sinful wishes and execra- 
tions against itself; Job, in distemper of 
mind, cursed his birth-day, Job iii. 3. Job, 
though he did not curse his God, yet he 
cursed his birth-day. Thus you see what 
advantages the devil gets by raising storms, 
and troubling the saints' peace ; and let me 
tell you, if the devil is capable of any delight, 
it is to see the saint's disquiets, — their 
groans are his music, — 'tis a sport to him to 
see them torture themselves upon the rack of 
melancholy, and almost drown themselves in 
tears. When the godly have unjust surmises 
of God,— question his love, — deny the work 
of grace, and fall to wishing they had never 
been born, — now Satan is ready to clap his 
hands, and shout for a victory. 

Having shown you the advantages the 
devil gets by this temptation of disturbing 
the saints' peace, I shall answer a question, 
By what arts and methods doth Satan, in 
tempting, disturb the saints' peace ? 

Ans. 1. Satan slily conveys evil thoughts, 
and then makes a Christian believe they 
come from his own heart. The cup was 
found in Benjamin's sack, but it was of Jo- 
seph's putting in : so a child of God often 
finds atheistical, blasphemous thoughts in his 
mind, but Satan hath cast them in. The 
devil doth as some, lay their children at an- 
other's door : so Satan lays his temptations 
at our door, — fathers them upon us, — and 
then we trouble ourselves about them, and 
nurse them, as if they were our own. 



A. 2. Satan disturbs the saints' peace, by 
drawing forth their sins in the most black 
colours, to affright them, and make them rea- 
dy to give up the ghost. Satan is called the 
accuser of the brethren, not only because he 
accuseth them to God, but accuseth them to 
themselves ; he tells them they are guilty of 
such sins, and they are hypocrites ; whereas 
the sins of a believer show only that grace is 
not perfect, not that he hath no grace. When 
Satan comes with this temptation, show him 
that scripture, 1 John i. 7, " The blood of Je- 
sus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." 

27th Subtilty of Satan is, by plausible ar- 
guments, to tempt men to be felo de se, — to 
make away themselves. This temptation 
doth not only cross the current of scripture, 
but is abhorring to nature, to be one's own 
executioner : yet such cunning artifices doth 
Satan, that he persuades many to lay violent 
hands upon themselves, which the bills of 
mortality witness. 1. He tempts some to 
do this in terror of conscience, telling them, 
All the hell they shall have is in their con- 
science, and death will give them present 
ease. 2. He tempts others to make away 
themselves, that they may live no longer to 
sin against God. 3. Others he tempts to 
make away themselves, that they may pre- 
sently arrive at happiness ; he tells them, 
the best of the saints desire heaven, and the 
sooner they are there the better. Austin 
speaks of Cleombratas, who hearing Plato 
read a lecture on the immortality of the soul, 
and the joys of the other world, threw him- 
self down a steep precipice, or rock, and 
killed himself. This is Satan's plot ; but we 
must not break prison by laying violent hands 
upon ourselves, but stay till God send and 
open the door. Let us pray, " Lead us not 
into temptation." Still bear in mind that 
scripture, Exod. xx. 13, " Thou shalt not 
kill." Clamitat in ccelum vox sanguinis. 
If we may not kill another, much less our- 
selves ; and take heed of discontent, which 
often opens the door to self-murder. 

Thus I have shown you twenty-seven 
subtilties of Satan in tempting, that so you 
may the better know them, and avoid them. 

There is a story of a Jew that would 
have poisoned Luther ; but a friend sent to 



OF THE SIXTH PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



571 



Luther the picture of this Jew, warning him 
to take heed of such a man when he saw him ; 
by which means he knew the murderer, and 
escaped his hands. I have told you the sub- 
tle devices of Satan in tempting ; I have 
shown you (as it were) the picture of him 
that would murder you ; I beseech you, being 
forewarned, take heed of the murderer. 

Use. From this subtilty of Satan in tempt- 
ing, let me draw three inferences. 

1. It may administer matter of wonder to 
us how any soul is saved. How may we ad- 
mire, that Satan, — this Abaddon, or " angel 
of the bottomless pit," Rev. ix. 11, — this 
Apollyon, — this soul-devourer, — doth not ru- 
in all mankind ! What a wonder is it that 
some are preserved, — that neither Satan's 
hidden snares prevail, nor his fiery darts, — 
that neither the head of the serpent, nor the 
paw of the lion destroys them ! Sure it will 
be matter of admiration to the saints when 
they come to heaven, to think how strangely 
they came thither ; that notwithstanding all 
the force and fraud, the power and policy of 
hell, yet they should arrive safe at the hea- 
venly port ; this is through the safe conduct 
of Christ, the captain of our salvation ; Mi- 
chael is too hard for the dragon. 

2. Is Satan subtle ? See then what need 
we have to pray to God for wisdom to dis- 
cern the snares of Satan, and strength to 
resist them. We cannot of ourselves stand 
against temptation ; if we could, this prayer 
were needless, " lead us not," &c. Let us 
not think we can be too cunning for the devil, 
we can escape his wiles and darts. If David 
and Peter, who were " pillars in God's tem- 
ple," fell by temptation, how soon should 
such weak reeds as we be blown down, did 
God leave us. Take Christ's advice, Matt, 
xxvi. 41, " Watch and pray, that ye enter 
not into temptation." 

3. See what the end of all Satan's sub- 
tilties in tempting is — he is a tempter, that 
he may be an accuser. He lays the plot, 
enticeth men to sin, and then brings in the 
indictment ; as if one should make another 
drunk, and then complain of him to the ma- 
gistrate for being drunk. The devil. is first 
a tempter, and then an informer ; first a liar, 
and then a murderer. Having shown you 



the subtilties of Satan in tempting, I shall 
answer two questions : 

Quest. 1. Why doth God suffer his 
saints to be hurried and buffeted by Satan's 
temptations ? 

Ans. The Lord doth it for many wise and 
holy ends. 

1. He lets them be tempted to try them. 
The Hebrew word nissa in pyhil, signifies 
both to tempt and to try, — temptation is a 
touchstone to try what is in the heart ; the de- 
vil tempts that he may deceive, but God lets 
us be tempted to try us. Qui non tentatur, 
non probatur, Aug. 

(1) . Hereby God tries our sincerity, 
Job's sincerity was tried by temtpation ; the 
devil told God that Job was an hypocrite, and 
served God only for a livery ; but saith he, 
" touch him, (that is, let me tempt him) and 
then see if he will not curse thee to thy 
face V Job i. 11. Well, God did let the 
devil touch him by a temptation, yet Job re- 
mains holy, he worships God, and blesseth 
God, v. 20, 21. Here Job's sincerity was 
proved ; Job had fiery temptations, but he 
came out of the fire a golden Christian. 
' Temptation is a touchstone of sincerity.' 

(2) . By temptation, God tries our love. 
The wife of Tigranes did never so show her 
chastity and love to her husband, as when she 
was tempted by Cyrus, but did not yield ; so, 
our love to God is seen in this, when we can 
look a temptation in the face, and turn our 
back upon it ; though the devil come as a 
serpent subtilely, and offers a golden apple, 
yet we will not touch the forbidden fruit. 
When the devil showed Christ all the king- 
doms of the world, and the glory of them, 
such was Christ's love to^his Father, that he 
abhorred the temptation. True love will not 
be bribed. When the devil's darts are most 
fiery, a saint's love to God is most fervent. 

(3) . By temptation, God tries our courage, 
Hos. vii. 11, " Ephraim also is like a silly 
dove without a heart." So it may be said 
of many, they are ex corde, — without a 
heart ; they have no heart to resist a tempta- 
tion ; no sooner doth Satan come with his 
solicitations, but they yield : like a coward, 
as soon as the thief approacheth, he delivers 
his purse ; but he is a valorous Christian, that 



572 



OF THE SIXTH PETITION 



IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



brandisheth the sword of the Spirit against 
Satan, and will rather die than yield. The 
courage of the Romans was never more seen 
than when they were assaulted by the Cartha- 
ginians ; the heroic spirit of a saint is never 
more seen than in a field-battle, when he is 
fighting with the red dragon, and by the power 
of faith puts the devil to flight. Fidei robor 
potest esse concussum, non excussum, Ter. 
This is one reason why God lets his people 
be tempted, — that their metal may be tried, 
— their sincerity, love, magnanimity ; when 
grace is proved, the gospel is honoured. 

A. 2. God suffers his children to be tempt- 
ed, that they may be kept from pride. Quos 
non gula superavit ? Cypr. Pride crept 
once into the angels, and into the apostles, 
when they disputed " which of them should 
be greatest ;" and in Peter, " though all men 
forsake thee, yet I will not," as if he had 
more grace than all the apostles. Pride 
keeps grace low, that it cannot thrive ; as the 
spleen swells, so the other parts of the body 
consume ; as pride grows, so grace consumes. 
God resists pride ; and, that he may keep his 
children humble, he suffers them sometimes 
to fall into temptation, 2 Cor. xii. 7, " Lest 
I should be exalted, there was given to me a 
thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Sa.tan to 
buffet me." When Paul was lifted up in 
revelations, he was in danger to be lifted 
up in pride, now came the messenger of 
Satan to buffet him, that was, some sore 
temptation to humble him. The thorn in 
the flesh was to prick the bladder of pride ; 
better is that temptation that humbles me, 
than that duty which makes me proud. 
Rather than a Christian should be proud, 
God lets him fall into the devil's hands a 
while, that he may be cured of his impos- 
thume. 

A. 3. God lets his people be tempted, that 
they may be fitter to comfort others who are 
in the same distress ; they can speak a word 
in due season to such as are weary. St 
Paul was trained up in the fencing-school of 
temptation, 2 Cor. ii. 11. And he was able 
to acquaint others with Satan's wiles and 
stratagems. A man that hath rid over a place 
where there are quicksands, is the fittest to 
guide others through that dangerous way ; he 



who hath been buffeted by Satan, and hath 
felt the claws of this roaring lion, is the fit- 
test man to deal with one that is tempted. 

A. 4. God lets his children be tempted, to 
make them long more for heaven, where 
they shall be out of gun-shot ; there they 
shall be freed from the hissing of the old 
serpent. Satan is not yet fully cast into 
prison, but is like a prisoner that goes under 
bail, he doth vex and molest the saints ; he 
lays his snares, throws his fire-balls, but 
this is only to make the people of God long 
to be gone from hence, and that they may. 
pray that they had " the wings of a dove," 
to fly away beyond Satan's temptations. 
God suffered Israel to be vexed with the 
Egyptians, that they might long the more 
to be in Canaan. Heaven is the centrum, 
a place of rest, centrum quiet ativium ; no 
bullets of temptation fly there. The eagle 
that soars! aloft in the air, and sits perching 
upon the tops of high trees, is not troubled 
with the stinging of serpents : so, when be- 
lievers are gotten above into the empyrean 
heaven, they shall not be stung with the old 
serpent. The devil is cast out of the hea- 
venly paradise. Heaven is compared to an 
exceeding high mountain, Rev. xxi. 10. It 
is so high, that Satan's fiery darts cannot 
reach up to it. JSullus ibi hostium metus 
nulled insidice demonum, Bern. The temp- 
tations here are to make the saints long till 
death sound a retreat, and call them off the 
field where the bullets of temptation fly so 
thick, that they may receive a victorious 
crown. Thus I have answered this question, 
why God lets his dear servants be tempted. 

Quest. 2. What rocks of support are 
there, or what comfort for tempted souls? 

Ans. 1st, That is not our case alone, but 
hath been the case of God's eminent saints, 
1 Cor. x. 13, " There hath no temptation 
taken you but such as is common to man," 
yea, to the best men ; Christ's lambs, which 
have had the ear-mark of election upon 
them, have been set upon by the world. 
Elijah that could shut heaven by prayer, 
could not shut his heart from a temptation, 
1 Kings xix. 4 ; Job was tempted to curse 
God, Peter to deny Christ ; hardly ever 
any saint hath got to heaven but hath met 



OF THE SIXTH PETITION 



IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 573 



with a lion by the way. Sortem quam om- 
nes sancti patiuntur nemo recusat. Nay, 
Jesus Christ himself though he was free from 
sin, yet not from temptation : we read of 
Christ's baptism, Matt, iii, and Matt. iv. 1, 
" Then he was led into the wilderness to be 
tempted of the devil." No sooner was Christ 
out of the water of baptism, but he was in the 
fire of temptation ; and if the devil would set 
upon Christ, no wonder if he set upon us. 
There was no sin in Christ, no powder for the 
devil's fire ; temptation to Christ, was like a 
bur on a crystal glass, which'glides off, or like a 
spark of fire on a marble pillar, which will not 
stick ; yet Satan was so bold as to tempt Christ. 
This is some comfort, such as have been our 
betters have wrestled with temptations. 

2d Rock of support, that may comfort a 
tempted soul, is, that temptations (where they 
are burthens) evidence grace. Satan doth not 
tempt God's children, because they have sin 
in them, but because they have grace in them. 
Had they no grace, the devil would not dis- 
turb them ; where he keeps possession all is 
in peace, Luke xi. 21. His temptations are to 
rob the saints of their grace. A thief will 
not assault an empty house, but where he 
thinks there is treasure ; a pirate will not set 
upon an empty ship, but one that is full 
fraught with spices and jewels ; so the devil 
most assaults the people of God, because he 
thinks they have a rich treasure of grace in 
their hearts, and he would rob them of that. 
What makes so many cudgels be thrown at a 
tree, but because there is so much fruit hang- 
ing upon it ? The devil throws his tempta- 
tions at you, because he sees you have so 
much fruit of grace growing upon you. 
Though to be tempted is a trouble, yet to 
think why you are tempted is a comfort. 

Sd Rock of support or comfort, is, that 
Jesus Christ is near at hand, and stands by 
us in all our temptations. Here take notice 
of two things : 1. Christ's sympathy in temp- 
tation. 2. Christ's succour in temptation. 

1. Christ's sympathy in our temptations. 
Nobis compatitur Christus. Heb. iv. 15, 
■ We have not a high-priest who cannot be 
touched with the feeling of our infirmities." 
Jesus Christ doth sympathize with us ; he is 
so sensible of our temptations as if he him- 



self lay under them and did feel them in his 
own soul. As in music, when one string is 
touched all the rest sound, so Christ's bowels 
sound ; we cannot be tempted but he is 
touched. If you saw a wolf worry your 
child, would you not pity your child 1 You 
cannot pity it so as Christ doth tempted 
ones. Christ had a fellow-feeling when he 
was upon earth, much more now in glory. 

Quest. But how can it stand with ChrisVs 
glory now in heaven, to have a fellow-feel- 
ing of our miseries and temptations ? 

Ans. This fellow-feeling in Christ ariseth 
not from an infirmity or passion, but from the 
mystical union between him and his mem- 
bers, Zech. ii. 8, "He that toucheth you 
toucheth the apple of mine eye." Every in- 
jury done to a saint Christ takes as done to 
him in heaven ; every temptation is a strik- 
ing at Christ, and he is touched with the 
feeling of our temptations. 

2. Christ's succour in temptation. As the 
good Samaritan first had compassion on the 
wounded man, — there was sympathy; then he 
poured in wine and oil, — there was succour, 
Luke x. 34. So when we are wounded by 
the red dragon, Christ is first touched with 
compassion, and then he pours in wine and 
oil, Heb. ii. 18, " In that he himself hath suf- 
fered, being tempted, he is able to succour 
them that are tempted." The Greek word to 
succour, signifies to run speedily to one?s 
help : so fierce is Satan, so frail is man, that 
Christ, who is God-man, runs speedily to his 
help. When Peter was ready to sink, and 
said, " Lord, save me !" Christ presently 
stretched forth his hand, and caught him : so 
when a poor soul ig tempted, and cries to hea- 
ven for help, " Lord, save me !" Christ comes 
in with his auxiliary forces ; noscit Christus, 
our Lord Jesus knows what it is to be tempted, 
therefore he is so ready to succour such as 
are tempted. It hath been an observation, 
that child-bearing women are more pitiful to 
others in their travails, than such women as 
are barren : so the Lord Jesus having heen 
in travail by temptations and sufferings, is 
more ready to pity and succour such as are 
tempted. Concerning Christ's succouring the 
tempted, consider two things: 1. Christ's 
ability. 2. His agility to succour. 



574 OF THE SIXTH PETITION 

1. Christ's ability to succour, Heb. ii. 18, 
"He is able to succour them that are tempt- 
ed." Christ is called Michael, Rev. xii. 7, 
which signifies " Who is like God." Though 
the tempted soul is weak, yet he fights under 
a good Captain, ' the Lion of the tribe of Ju- 
dah.' When a tempted soul fights, Christ 
comes into the field as his second. Michael 
would be too hard for the dragon ; when the 
devil lays the siege of a temptation, Christ 
can raise the siege when he pleases ; he can 
beat through the enemy's quarters, and can 
so rout Satan that he shall never be able to 
rally his forces any more. Jesus Christ is 
on the saint's side, and who would desire a 
better life-guard than omnipotency 1 

2. Christ's agility in succouring. As 
Christ is able to succour the tempted, so he 
will certainly succour them. Christ's power 
enables him, his love inclines him, his faith- 
fulness engages him to succour tempted 
souls. This is a great comfort to a soul in 
temptation, he hath a succouring Saviour. 
As God did succour Israel in the wilderness 
among fiery serpents, they had the rock set 
abroach, — the manna, the pillar of cloud, the 
brazen serpent, — what was this but a type of 
God's succouring a poor soul in the wilder- 
ness of temptation, stung by the devil that 
fiery serpent 1 Alexander being asked how 
he could sleep so securely, when his enemies 
were about him, said, " Antipater is awake, 
who is always vigilant :" so when our tempt- 
ing enemy is near us, Jesus Christ is awake, 
who is a wall of fire about us. There is a 
great deal of succour to the tempted in the 
names given to Christ: as Satan's names 
may terrify, so Christ's names may succour. 
The devil is called Apollyon, the devourer, 
Rev. ix. 11 ; Christ is called a Saviour. The 
devil is called the 1 strong man,' Matt. xi. 29; 
Christ is called El-Gibbor, the "Mighty 
God," Isa. ix. 6. The devil is called " the 
accuser," Rev. xii. 10 ; Christ is called " the 
Advocate," 1 John ii. 1. The devil is called 
" the tempter," Matt. iv. 3 ; Christ is called 
" the comforter," Luke ii. 25. The devil is 
called " the prince of darkness ;" Christ is 
called "the Sun of Righteousness." The 
devil is called " the old serpent ;" Christ is 
called " the brazen serpent" that heals, John 



IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 

iii. 14. Thus the very names of Christ have 
some succour in them for tempted souls. 

Quest. How and in what maimer, doth 
Christ succour them that are tempted ? 

Ans. Several ways : 

1. Christ succours them, by sending his 
Spirit, whose work it is to bring those pro- 
mises to their mind, which are fortifying, 
John xiv. 26, " He shall bring all things to 
your remembrance." The Spirit furnishes 
us with promises as so many weapons to 
fight against the old serpent, Rom. xvi. 20, 
"The Lord will shortly bruise Satan under 
your feet ;" 1 Cor. x. 13, " God will not suffer 
you to be tempted above that ye are able ;" 
Gen. iii. 15, The seed of the woman shall 
break the serpent's head. We are oft in 
times of temptation, as a man that hath his 
house beset, and cannot find his weapons, he 
hath his sword and gun to seek : now, in this 
case, Christ sends his Spirit, and he brings 
things to our remembrance that helps us in 
our combat with Satan. The Spirit of Christ 
doth to one that is tempted, as Aaron and 
Hur did to Moses, they put a stone under 
him, and held up his hands, and then Israel 
prevailed ; so God's Spirit puts the pro- 
mises under the hand of faith, and then a 
Christian overcomes the devil, that spiritual 
Amalek. The promise is to the soul, as the 
anchor is to the ship, which keeps it steady 
in a storm. 

2. Christ succours them that are tempted 
by his blessed ' interceding for them.' When 
the devil is tempting, Christ is praying. That 
prayer Christ put up for Peter when he was 
tempted, extends to all his saints, Luke xxii. 
32, Lord, saith Christ, " it is my child that is 
tempted ; Father, pity him." When a poor 
soul lies bleeding of his wounds the devil hath 
given him, Christ presents his wounds to his 
Father, and, in the virtue of those, pleads for 
mercy. How powerful must Christ's prayer 
needs be ! He is a favourite, John xi. 42. 
He is both a high-priest and a son ; if God 
could forget that Christ were a priest, yet he 
cannot forget that he is a Son. Besides, 
Christ prays for nothing but what is agreeable 
to his Father's will ; if a king's son petitions 
only for that which his father hath a mind to 
grant, his suit will not be denied. 



OF THE SIXTH PETITION 



IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



575 



3. Christ succours his people, by taking off 
the tempter. A shepherd, when the sheep 
begin to straggle, may set the dog on the 
sheep to bring it nearer the fold, but then he 
calls off the dog again ; God will take off the 
tempter, 1 Cor. x. 13, "He will with the 
temptation make a way to escape," he will 
make an outlet. Christ will rebuke the 
tempter, Zech. iii. 2, "The Lord rebuke 
thee, O Satan." This is no small support, 
that Christ succours the tempted. The mo- 
ther succours the child most when it is sick ; 
she sits by its bed-side, brings it cordials ; so, 
when a soul is most assaulted, it shall be 
most assisted. 

Ob j. But I have dealt unkindly with 
Christ and sinned against his love ; and sure 
he will not succour me, but let me perish in 
the battle. 

Ans. Christ is a merciful high priest, and 
will succour thee notwithstanding thy fail- 
ings. Joseph was a type of Christ ; his bre- 
thren sold him away, and the ' irons entered 
into his soul ;' yet afterwards, when his 
brethren were ready to die in the famine, he 
forgot their injuries, and succoured them with 
money and corn ; " I am, (saith he) Joseph 
your brother !" So will Christ say to a 
tempted soul, " I know thy unkindnesses, — 
how thou hast distrusted my love, grieved my 
Spirit, — but I am Joseph, I am Jesus, therefore 
I will succour thee, when thou art tempted." 

4Lth Rock of support. The best man may 
be most tempted. A rich ship may be vio- 
lently set upon by pirates : he who is rich in 
faith, yet may have the devil (that pirate) set 
upon him by his battering pieces. Job, an 
eminent saint, yet how fiercely was he as- 
saulted 1 Satan did smite his body, that he 
might tempt him, either to question God's 
providence, or quarrel with it. St Paul was 
a chosen vessel, but how was this vessel bat- 
tered with temptation 1 2 Cor. iv. 7. 

Obj. But is it not said. He who is born of 
God, the wicked one toucheth him not ] 1 John 
v. 18. 

Ans. It is not meant, that the devil doth 
not tempt him, but he toucheth him not, that 
is, tactu lethali, Cajetan, with a deadly 
touch. 1 John v. 16, " There is a sin unto 
death." Now Satan with all his temptations 



doth not make a child of God sin 4£ a sin unto 
death." Thus he toucheth him not. 

bth Rock of support. Satan can go no 
further in tempting than God will « give him 
leave ;' the power of the tempter is limited. 
A whole legion of devils could not touch one 
swine, till Christ gave them leave. Satan 
would have sifted Peter till he sifted out all 
his grace ; but Christ would not suffer him, 
" I have prayed for thee," &c. Christ binds 
the devil in a chain, Rev. xx. 1. If Satan's 
power were according to his malice, not one 
soul should be saved ; but he is a chained 
enemy ; this is a comfort, Satan cannot go a 
hair's breadth beyond God's permission. If 
an enemy could not touch a child further 
than the father did appoint, sure he should 
do the child no great hurt. 

6th Rock of support. It is not the having 
a temptation makes guilty, but the giving 
consent ; we cannot hinder a temptation ; 
Elijah, that could by prayer shut heaven, 
could not shut out a temptation ; but if we 
abhor the temptation, it is out burthen, not 
our sin. We read in the old law, if one went 
to force a virgin, and she cried out, she was 
reputed innocent : if Satan would by tempta- 
tion commit a rape upon a Christian, and he 
cries out, and will not give consent, the Lord 
will charge it upon the devil's score. It is 
not the laying the bait hurts the fish, if the 
fish do not bite. 

7th Rock of support. Our being tempted 
is no sign of God's hating us. A child of 
God oft thinks God doth not love him, be- 
cause he lets him be haunted with the devil : 
non sequitur, this is a wrong conclusion. 
Was not Christ himself tempted] yet by a 
voice from heaven proclaimed, " This is my 
beloved Son," Matt. iii. 17. Satan's tempting, 
and God's loving, may stand together. The 
goldsmith loves his gold in the fire ; God loves 
a saint, though shot at by fiery darts. 

8th Rock of support. Christ's temptation 
was for our consolation. Jesus Christ is to 
be looked upon as a public person, as our 
head and representative j and what Christ 
did, he did for us, — his prayer was for us, — 
his suffering was for us,— when he was tempt- 
ed, and overcame the temptation, he over- 
came for us. Christ's conquering Satan was 



576 



OF THE SIXTH PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



to show that elect persons shall at last be 
conquerors over Satan ; when Christ over- 
came Satan's temptation, it was only to give 
us an example of courage, but an assurance 
of conquest ; we have overcome Satan already 
in our head, and we shall at last perfectly 
overcome. 

9th Rock of support. The saints' tempta- 
tion shall not be above their strength. The 
lutenist will not stretch the strings of his 
lute too hard lest they break, 1 Cor. x. 13, 
" God is faithful who will not suffer you to 
be tempted above that ye are able." God 
will proportion our strength to the stroke, 
2Cor.xii.9, " My grace is sufficient for thee." 
The torchlight of faith shall be kept burn- 
ing, notwithstanding all the winds of tempta- 
tion blowing. 

10th Rock of support. These temptations 
shall produce much good. 

1. They shall quicken a spirit of prayer in 
the saints, they shall pray more and better ; 
temptation is orationes stabellum, the exciter 
of prayer ; perhaps, before, the saints came 
to God as cold suitors in prayer, they prayed 
as if they prayed not. Temptation is a me- 
dicine for security ; when Paul had a mes- 
senger of Satan to buffet him he was more 
earnest in prayer, 2 Cor. xii. 8, " For this 
thing I besought the Lord thrice ;" the thorn 
in his flesh was a spur in his sides to quicken 
him in prayer. The deer being shot with the 
dart, runs faster to the water : when a soul is 
shot with the fiery darts of temptation, he 
runs the faster to the throne of grace, — now 
he is earnest with God, either to take off the 
tempter, or to stand by him when he is 
tempted. 

2. God makes the temptation to sin a means 
to prevent sin. The more a Christian is tempt- 
ed, the more he fights against the temptation ; 
the more a chaste woman is assaulted, the 
more she abhors the motion ; the stronger Jo- 
seph's temptation was, the stronger was his 
opposition ; the more the enemy attempts to 
storm a castle, the more he is repelled and 
beat back. 

3. A godly man's temptations cause the 
increase of grace. Unus Christianus temp- 
tatus mille, — 'one tempted Christian (saith 
Luther) is worth a thousand.' He grows 
more in grace ; as the bellows increaseth the 



flame, so the bellows of a temptation doth 
increase the flame of grace. 

4. By these temptations God makes way for 
comfort ; as Christ after he was tempted, the 
" angels came and ministered unto him," 
Matt. iv. 11. As, when Abraham had been 
warring, Melchizedek brought him bread and 
wine to revive his spirits, Gen. xiv. 18. So, 
after the saints have been warring with Satan, 
now God sends his Spirit to comfort them ; 
which made Luther say, that temptations 
were amplexus Christi, ' Christ's embraces,' 
because he doth then most sweetly manifest 
himself to the soul. Thus you see what rocks 
of support there are for tempted souls. That 
I may further comfort such as are tempted, 
let me speak to two cases of the tempted. 

1st Case. I have horrid temptations to 
blasphemy. 

Ans. Did not the devil tempt Christ after 
this manner, Matt. iv. 9, " All these things will 
I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship 
mel" What greater blasphemy can be imagin- 
ed, than that the God of heaven and earth 
should worship the devil? Yet Christ was 
tempted to this. If when blasphemous thoughts 
are injected, you tremble at them, and are in a 
cold sweat, they are not yours, Satan shall 
answer for them ; let him that plots the trea- 
son, suffer. 

2d Case. But my case is yet worse ; I have 
been tempted to such sins, and have yielded ; 
the tempter hath overcome me. 

Ans. I grant, that, through the withdrawing 
of God's grace, and the force of a temptation, 
a child of God may be overcome. David was 
overcome by a temptation in the case of Bath- 
sheba, and numbering the people. There is a 
party of grace in the heart, true to Christ ; but 
sometimes it may be over-voted by corrup- 
tion, and then a Christian yields ; it is sad 
thus to yield to the tempter. But yet let not 
a child of God be wholly discouraged, and 
say there is no hope : let me pour in some 
balm of Gilead into this wounded soul. 

1. Though a Christian may fall by a temp- 
tation, yet the seed of God is in him, 1 John 
iii. 9, " His seed remaineth in him." Gratia 
concutitur non executitur, Aug. A man may 
be bruised by a fall yet there is life in him : a 
Christian, being foiled by Satan, may be like 
him, who going to Jericho, fell among thieves, 



OF THE SIXTH PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



577 



" wounded and half dead," Luke x. 30. But 
still there is a vital principle of grace, his 
seed remains in him. 

2. Though a child of God's may be over- 
come in prcelio, in a skirmish, — yet not in 
bello, in the main battle ; an army may be 
worsted in a skirmish, but may overcome at 
last. Though Satan may foij a child of God 
in a skirmish by a temptation, yet the believ- 
er shall overcome at last ; a saint may be foil- 
ed, not conquered, — he may lose ground, not 
lose the victory. 

3. God doth not judge of his children by 
one action, but by the frame of their heart ; 
as God doth not judge of a wicked man by 
one good action, so neither of a godly man 
by one bad action ; a holy person may be 
worsted by a temptation ; but God doth not 
measure him by that. Who measures milk 
when it seethes and boils up ? God doth not 
take the measure of a saint when the devil 
hath boiled him up in a passion, but God 
judgeth of him by the pulse and temper of his 
heart ; he would fear God ; when he fails he 
weeps. God looks which way the bias of his 
heart stands : if his heart be set against sin, 
God will pardon. 

4. God will make a saint's being foiled by 
temptation, turn to his spiritual advantage. 

(1) . He may let a regenerate person fall 
by a temptation, to make him more watch- 
ful ; perhaps he walks loosely, and so was de- 
coyed into sin, but for the future, he grows 
more curious and cautious in his walking. 
The foiled Christian is a vigilant Christian ; 
he will have a care of coming within the 
lion's chain any more, he will be shy and 
fearful of the occasion of sin ; he will not go 
abroad without his spiritual armour, and he 
girds on his armour by prayer. When a wild 
beast gets over the hedge, and hurts the corn, 
a man will make his fence stronger : so, when 
the devil gets over the fence by a temptation, 
and foils a Christian, he will be sure to mend 
his fence, and be more vigilant against a 
temptation afterwards. 

(2) . God lets his children be sometimes 
foiled by a temptation, that they may see 
their continual dependence on God, and 
may go to him for strength. We need not 
only habitual grace, to stand against temp- 

4D 



tation, but auxiliary grace : as the boat needs 
not only the oars, but wind, to carry it against 
a strong tide. God lets his children some- 
times fall by a temptation, that seeing their 
own weakness, they may rest more on 
Christ and free grace, Cant. viii. 5. 

(3). God, by suffering his children to be 
foiled by a temptation, will settle them the 
more in grace : they shall get strength by 
their foils. The poets feign, that Antseas 
the giant, in wrestling with Hercules, got 
strength by every fall to the ground : it is 
true here, — a saint, being foiled in wrest- 
ling with Satan, gets more spiritual strength. 
Peter had never such a strengthening in 
his faith, as after his being foiled in the high- 
priest's hall. How was he fired with zeal, 
steeled with courage 1 He who before was 
dashed out of countenance by the voice of a 
maid, now dares openly confess Christ before 
the rulers and the councils ! Acts ii. 14. 
The shaking of the tree settles it the more : 
God lets his children be shaken with the wind 
of temptation, that they may be more settled 
in grace afterwards. This I have spoken, 
that such Christians as God hath suffered to 
be foiled by temptation, may not cast away 
their anchor, or give way to sad despairing 
thoughts. 

Obj. But this may seem to make Christ- 
ians careless whether they fall into a temp- 
tation or not, if God can make their being 
foiled by a temptation advantageous to them. 

Ans. We must distinguish between one 
who is foiled though weakness, and through 
wilfulness. If a soldier fights, but is foiled 
for want of strength, the general of the army 
will pity him, and bind up his wounds ; but if 
he be wilfully foiled, and proves treacherous, 
he must expect no favour : so, if a Christian 
fight it out with Satan, but is foiled for want 
of strength (as it was with Peter), God will 
pity him, and do him good by his being foiled ; 
but if he be foiled wilfully, and runs into a 
temptation (as it was with Judas), God will 
show him no favour, but will execute martial 
law upon him. 

The uses remain. 

Use 1. Branch 1. See in what conti- 
nual danger we are. Satan is an exquisite 
artist, — a deep head-piece, — he lies in am- 



578 OF THE SIXTH PETITION 



IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



bush to ensnare, — he is the tempter, — it is 
his delight to make the saints sin ; and he is 
subtle in tempting, he hath ways and me- 
thods to deceive. 

First, He brings a saint into sin, by mak- 
ing him confide in his habitual graces. Satan 
makes him believe he hath such a stock of 
grace as will antidote him against all tempta- 
tions ; thus Satan deceived Peter, he made him 
trust in his grace ; he had such a cable of faith 
and strong tacklings, that though the winds of 
temptation did blow never so fierce, he could 
weather the point : " Though all men forsake 
thee yet will not I !" as if he had more grace 
than all the apostles. Thus he was led into 
temptation, and fell in the battle : a man 
may make an idol of grace. Habitual grace 
is not sufficient without auxiliary. The 
boat needs not only oars, but a gale of wind 
to carry it against the tide, so we need not 
only habitual grace, but the blowing of the 
Spirit, to carry us against a strong tempt- 
ation. 

Secondly, Satan tempts to sin by the baits 
and allurements of the world. Fcenus pe- 
cunicB funus animaz. One of Christ's own 
apostles was caught with a silver bait. Such 
as the devil cannot debauch with vice, he will 
corrupt with money : " all these things will 
I give thee," was his last temptation, Matt, 
iv. 9. Achan was deluded by a wedge of 
gold. Sylvester II. did sell his soul to the 
devil for a popedom. 

Thirdly, Satan tempts to sin, sub specie 
boni, under a mask and show of good ; his 
temptations seem gracious motions. 

1. He tempts men to duties of religion. 
You would think this strange, that Satan 
should tempt to duty ; but it is so. 1. He 
tempts men to duty out of sinister ends. 
Thus he tempted the Pharisees to pray and 
give alms, that they might be seen of men, 
Matt. vi. 5. Prayer is a duty, but to look 
a-squint in prayer, to do it for vain-glory, 
this prayer is turned into sin. 2. He tempts 
to duty, when it is not in season, Numb, 
xxviii. 2, " My offering and my bread for my 
sacrifices, shall ye offer unto me in their due 
season." Satan tempts to duty when it is 
out of season ; he tempts to read the word at 
home, when we should be hearing the word ; 



he will so tempt to one duty, as it may hin- : 
der another. 3. He tempts some to duty, out 
of design that it may be a cloak for sin. He 
tempts them to frequency in duty, that they 
may sin and be less suspected. He tempted 
the Pharisees to make long prayers, that they 
might devour widows' houses under this pre- 
tence, Matt, xxiii. 14. Who would suspect 
him of false weights, that so oft holds a Bible 
in his hand? Thus cunning is Satan he I 
tempts to duty. 

2. He tempts men to sin, out of a show of j 
love to Christ. You will think this strange,, 
but there is truth in it. Many a good heart 
may think what he doth is in love to Christ, ' 
and all this while he may be under a temp- 
tation. Christ told Peter he must suffer at 
Jerusalem ; Peter took him and rebuked him, 
" Be it far from thee, Lord," Matt. xvi. 22, 
as if he had said to Christ, Lord thou hast 
deserved no such shameful death, and this 
shall not be unto thee. Peter, as he thought, 
did this out of love to Christ, but Peter was 
all this while under a temptation. What had 
become of us, if Christ had hearkened to Pe- 
ter, and had not suffered ? So when Christ 
washed his disciples' feet, Peter was so 
mannerly that he would not let Christ wash 
his feet, John xiii. 8, 1 1 Thou shalt never 
wash my feet." This Peter did (as he 
thought) out of love and respect to Christ ; 
Peter thoughtChrist was too good to wash his 
feet, and therefore would have put Christ 
off; but this was a temptation, the devil I 
put Peter upon this sinful modesty, he struck 
at Peter's salvation, insomuch that Christ 
saith, " If I wash thee not, thou hast no 
part in me." So again, when the Samaritans 
would not receive Christ, the disciples, James 
and John, said, " Lord wilt thou that we 
command fire from heaven and consume 
them'?" Luke ix. 54, they did this, as they 
thought, out of love to Christ ; they would 
wish for fire to consume their enemies, but 
they were under a temptation ; it was not 
zeal, but the wild fire of their own passion : 
" ye know not (saith Christ) what spirits ye 
are of." 

Fourthly, Satan tempts to that sin which 
a man's heart is naturally most inclinable 
to ; he will not tempt a civil man to gross 



OF THE SIXTH PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



579 



sin, this is abhorring to the light of nature. 
Satan never sets a dish before men that they 
do not love : but he will tempt a civil man 
to pride, and to trust in his own righteous- 
ness, and to make a Saviour of his civility. 
The spider weaves a web out of her own 
bowels ; the civil man would weave a web 
of salvation out of his own righteousness. 
See then in what danger we are, when Sa- 
tan is continually lying in ambush with his 
temptations. 

Branch 2. See man*B inability of himself 
to resist a temptation. Could he stand of 
himself against a temptation, this prayer were 
needless, " Lead us not into temptation ;" 
no man hath power of himself to resist a 
temptation, further than God gives him 
strength, Jer. x. 23, " O Lord, I know that 
the way of man is not in himself!" If Peter 
who had true grace, and Adam who had per- 
fect grace, could not stand against tempta- 
tion, much less can any stand by the power 
of nature ; which confutes the doctrine of 
free-will ; what freedom of will hath man, 
when he cannot resist the least temptation'? 

Branch 3. Here is matter of humiliation, 
that there is in us such an aptitude and prone- 
ness to yield to temptation. Nitimur in 
vetitum — We are as ready to swallow a 
temptation, as the fish to swallow the bait. If 
the devil tempt to pride, lust, envy, revenge, 
how do we symbolize with Satan, and em- 
brace his snares ] Like a woman that hath a 
suitor come to her, and she doth not need 
much wooing, she presently gives her con- 
sent : Satan comes a-wooing by temptation, 
and we soon yield ; he strikes fire, and we 
are as dry tinder that catcheth the first spark ; 
he knocks by temptation, and it is sad to 
think how soon we open the door to the devil, 
which is as if one should open the door to a 
thief ; this may cause a spring of tears. 

Branch 4. See hence, a Christian's life is 
no easy life ; it is military ; he hath a Goliah 
in the field to encounter with, one that is 
armed with power and subtilty ; he hath his 
wiles and darts. A Christian must be con- 
tinually watching and fighting. Satan's de- 
signs carry death in the front, 1 Pet. v. 8, 
" Seeking whom he may devour ;" therefore 
we had need be always with our weapons in 



our hand. How few think their life a warfare? 
Though they have an enemy in the field, that 
is always laying of snares, or shooting of 
darts, yet they do not stand sentinel or get 
their spiritual artillery ready ; they put on 
their jewels, but not their armour, Job xxi. 
12, " They take the timbrel and harp, and 
rejoice at the sound of the organ," as if they 
were rather in music than in battle. Many 
are asleep in sloth, when they should be 
fighting against Satan ; and no wonder the 
devil shoots them when he finds them asleep ! 

Use 2. It reproves them who pray, " Lead 
us not into temptation," yet run themselves 
into temptation : such are they who go' to 
plays and masquerades, and hunt after strange 
flesh. Some go a slower pace to hell, but 
such as run themselves into temptation, 
these go galloping thither ; we have too 
many of these in this debauched age, who as 
if they thought they could not sin fast enough, 
tempt the devil to tempt them. 

Use 3. Exhortation. Let us labour that 
we be not overcome by temptation. 

Quest. What means may be used, that Sa- 
tan's temptations may not prevail against us? 

Ans. 1. Avoid solitariness. It is no wis- 
dom in fighting with an enemy to give him 
the advantage of the ground : we give Satan 
advantage of the ground when we are alone. 
Eve was foiled in the absence of her husband. 
A virgin is not so soon set upon in compa- 
ny, Eccl. iv. 9, " Two are better than one." 
Get into the communion of saints, and that 
is a good remedy against temptation. 

2. If you would not be overcome of temp- 
tation, beware of the predominancy of melan- 
choly ; this is atra bilis, a black humour 
seated chiefly in the brain. Melancholy 
disturbs reason, and exposeth to temptation. 
One calls melancholy balneum diaboli, 'the 
devil's bath ;' he bathes himself with delight 
in such a person. Melancholy clothes the 
mind in sable ; it fills it with such dismal 
apprehensions, as oft end in self-murder. 

3. If you would not be overcome of temp- 
tation, study sobriety, 1 Pet. v. 8, " Be sober, 
because your adversary walketh about." 
Sober-mindedness consists in the moderate 
use of earthly things ; an immoderate desire 
of these things oft brings men into the snare 



580 OF THE SIXTH PETITION 

of the devil. 1 Tim. vi. 9, " They that will 
be rich fall into a snare." He who loves 
riches inordinately, will purchase them un- 
justly. Ahab would swim to Naboth's vine- 
yard in blood. He who is drunk with the 
love of the world, is never free from tempta- 
tion ; he will pull down his soul to build up 
an estate. ' Quid non mortalia pectora 
cogis auri sacra fames V Be sober, take 
heed of being drunk with the love of the 
world, lest ye fall into temptation. 

4. Be always upon your guard, — watch 
against Satan's wiles and subtilties, — 1 Pet. 
v. 8, " Be vigilant, because your adversary 
the devil walks about." A Christian must 
excubias agere, — keep watch and ward ; see 
where Satan labours to make a breach, — see 
what grace he most strikes at, or what sin 
he most tempts to : Mark xiii. 37, " I say 
unto you all, watch." Watch all the senses, 
the eye, the ear, the touch ; Satan can creep 
in here. how needful is the spiritual 
watch ! Shall Satan be watchful, and we 
drowsy 1 Doth he watch to devour us, and 
shall not we watch to save ourselves 1 Let 
us see what sin our heart most naturally in- 
clines to, and watch against this.. 

5. Beware of idleness ; Satan sows most 
of his seed in fallow ground. It was Hie- 
rom's counsel to his friend, to be ever busied, 
that if the devil did come, he might find him 
working in the vineyard. Idleness tempts 
the devil to tempt ; the bird that sits still is 
shot ; he that wants employment, never 
wants temptation ; when a man hath nothing 
to do, Satan will bring grist to the mill, and 
find him work enough. 

6. Make known thy case to some godly 
friend ; the hiding a serpent in the bosom, is 
not the way to be safe ; when the old serpent 
hath gotten into your bosom by a temptation, 
do not hide him there by keeping his counsel. 
If a spark be got into the thatch, it is not 
wisdom to conceal it, it may set the house 
on fire ; conceal not temptation. The keep- 
ing of secrets is for familiar friends : be not 
so great a friend to Satan, as to keep his 
eecrets ; reveal your temptations, which is 
the way to procure others' prayers and ad- 
vice ; let all see that you are not true to 
Satan's party, because you tell all his plots, 
and reveal his treasons. Besides, the telling 



IN THE LORD'S PRATER. 

of our case to some experienced Christian, 
is the way to have ease ; as the opening of 
a vein gives ease, so the opening of our case 
to a friend gives ease to the soul, and a 
temptation doth not so much inflame. 

7. Make use of the word. This the apostle 
calls ' the sword of the Spirit,' Eph. vi. 17, ; 
a fit weapon to fight against the tempter. 
This ' sword of the Spirit' is g laudius anceps, 
'a two-edged sword ;' it wounds carnal lust, 
and it wounds Satan. He who travels a road 
where there is robbing, will be sure to ride 
with his sword ; we are travelling to heaven, 
and in this road there is a thief will always 
beset us, Satan is in every place where we go, 
— he meets us at church, he doth not miss a 
sermon, he will be tempting us there, — some- 
times to drowsiness ; when you sleep at ser- 
mon, the devil rocks you asleep, — sometimes 
he tempts by distracting the mind in hearing, 
sometimes he tempts to question the truth of 
what you hear, — thus we meet with the 
tempter at church. And he tempts in the | 
shop, he tempts you to use collusion and de- 
oeit, Hos. xii. 7, " The balances of deceit are 
in his hand;" so that we meet with the 
tempter every where. Therefore, this thief 
being in the road, we had need ride with a 
sword ; we must have ' the sword of the Spirit* 
about us. We must have skill to use this 
sword, and have a heart to draw it out, and 
this sword will put the devil to flight. Thus 
our blessed Saviour, when Satan tempted 
him to distrust and blasphemy, he used a 
scripture weapon, " It is written." Three 
times Christ wounded the old serpent with 
this sword. Christ could with his power and 
authority have rebuked the prince of the air, 
as he did the winds ; but he stops the devil's 
mouth with scripture, "It is written." It 
is not our vows and resolutions will do it, — 
it is not the papist's holy water or charms 
will drive away the devil, — but let us bring 
the word of God against him ; this is such 
an argument as he cannot answer. It was 
a saying of Luther, " I have had great 
troubles of mind ; but so soon as I laid hold 
on any place of scripture, and stayed myself 
upon it, as upon my chief anchor, straight- 
way my temptations vanished away." There's 
no temptation but we have fit scripture to 
answer it. If Satan tempts to sabbath- 



OF THE SIXTH PETITION 



IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 581 



breaking, answer him, "It is written, 'Re- 
member the sabbath day to keep it holy.' " 
If he tempts to uncleanness, answer him, " It 
is written, ' whoremongers and adulterers 
God will judge.' " If he tempts to carnal 
fear, say, " It is written, ' fear not them that 
kill the body, and after that, have no more 
that they can do.' " No such way to confute 
temptation as by scripture ; the arrows which 
we shoot against Satan must be fetched out 
of this quiver. Many people want this sword 
of the Spirit, they have not a Bible ; others 
seldom make use of this sword, but let it rust ; 
they look seldom into the scripture, therefore 
no wonder they are overcome by temptations. 
He who is well skilled in the word is like 
one who hath a plaster ready, to lay upon 
the wound as soon as it is made, and so the 
danger is prevented. Oh study the scripture, 
and you will be too hard for the devil ; he 
cannot stand against this ! 

8. Let us be careful of our own hearts that 
they do not decoy us into sin. The apostle 
6aith, "a man is drawn away of his own 
heart, and enticed," James i. 14. Quisque 
sibi Satan est, Bern. Every man hath a 
tempter in his own bosom. A traitor within 
the castle is dangerous. The heart can bring 
forth a temptation, though Satan do not mid- 
wife it into the world ; if Satan were dead 
and buried, the heart could draw us to evil. 
As the ground of all diseases lies in the hu- 
mours of the body, so the seed of all sin lies 
in the original lust. Look to your hearts. 

9. If you would not be overcome of tempta- 
tion, flee the ' occasions of sin.' Occasions 
of sin have a great force in them to awaken 
lust within. He that would keep himself 
free from infection, will not come near an 
infected house : if you would be sober, avoid 
drunken company. Joseph, when he was 
enticed by his mistress, shunned the occa- 
sion ; the text saith, he would not be with 
her, Gen. xxxix. 10. If you would not be 
ensnared with popery, do not hear the mass. 
The Nazarite, who was forbid wine, might 
not eat grapes, which might occasion intem- 
perance. Come not near the borders of a 
temptation. Suppose one had a body made of 
gunpowder, he would not come near the least 
epark of fire, lest he should be blown up : 



many pray " lead us not into temptation," 
and they run themselves into temptation. 

10. If you would not be overcome by temp- 
tation, make use of faith, " above all things 
take the shield of faith," Eph. vi. 16. Faith 
wards off Satan's fiery darts, that they do not 
hurt, 1 Pet. v. 9, " Whom resist, steadfast in 
the faith." Mariners in a storm flee to their 
anchor : flee to your anchor of faith ; faith 
brings Christ along with it ; duellers bring 
their second with them into field : faith brings 
Christ along for its second. Faith puts into 
Christ, and then the devil cannot hurt us. 
The chicken is safe from the birds of prey, 
under the wings of the hen : and we are 
secure from the tempter, under the wings of 
the Lord Jesus. Though other graces are of 
use to resist the impulsions of Satan, yet faith 
is the conquering grace ; faith takes hold of 
Christ's merits, value, and virtue ; and so 
a Christian is too hard for the devil. The 
stars vanish when the sun appears : Satan 
vanisheth when faith appears. 

11. If you would not be overcome of temp- 
tation, be much in prayer. Such as walk in 
infectious places, carry antidotes about them : 
prayer is the best antidote against tempta- 
tion. When the apostle had exhorted to 
" put on the whole armour of God," Eph. vi. 
11, he adds, v. 18, " Praying always with all 
prayer." Without this, reliqua arrna parum 
prosunt, Zanch. All other weapons will do 
little good. Christ prescribes this remedy, 
" Watch and pray, lest ye enter into tempta- 
tion," Mark xiv. 38. A Christian fetcheth 
down strength from heaven by prayer. Let 
us cry to God for help against the tempter, 
as Samson cried to heaven for help, Judges 
xvi. 28, " O Lord God, remember me and 
strengthen me, 1 pray thee, that I may be 
avenged of the Philistines !" And v. 30, 
" The house fell upon the lords and all the 
people." Prayer is fiagellum diaboli, — it 
whips and torments the devil; the apostle 
bids us " pray without ceasing," 1 Thess. v. 
17. It was Luther's advice to a lady, when 
temptation came, to fall upon her knees by 
prayer. Prayer doth assuage the force of a 
temptation. Prayer is the best charm or 
spell we can use against the devil. Tempta- 
tion may bruise our heel ; but by prayer we 



582 



OF THE SIXTH PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



wound the serpent's head. When Paul had 
" a messenger of Satan to buffet him," what 
remedy doth he use 1 He betook himself to 
prayer, 2 Cor. xii. 8, " For this thing I be- 
sought the Lord thrice, that it might depart 
from me." When Satan assaults furiously, 
let us pray fervently. 

12. If you would not be overcome of 
temptation be humble in your own eyes : 
such are nearest falling, who presume of 
their own strength. Penelton,who said, his 
fat flesh should melt in the fire, instead of his 
fat melting, his heart melted, and he turned 
from the truth : when men grow into a big 
conceit, God lets them fall, to prick the blad- 
der of pride. O be humble ! such are like to 
hold best out in temptation, who have most 
grace ; but God gives more grace to the 
humble, James iv. 6. Beware of pride ; an 
imposthume is not more dangerous in the 
body, than pride in the soul. The doves 
(saith Pliny) take a pride in their feathers, 
and in their flying high ; at last they fly so 
high, that they are a prey to the hawk : when 
men fly high in pride and self-confidence, 
they become a prey to the tempter. 

13. If you would not be foiled by tempta- 
tion, do not enter into a dispute with Sa- 
tan. When Eve began to argue the case 
with the serpent, the serpent was too hard 
for her ; the devil, by his logic, disputed 
her out of paradise ! Satan can mince sin, 
make it small, and varnish it over, and 
make it look like virtue : Satan is too sub- 
tle a sophister to hold an argument with 
him. Dispute not, but fight. If you enter 
into a parley with Satan, you give him half 
the victory. 

14. If we would not be overcome of Sa- 
tan, let us put on Christian fortitude. An 
enemy we must expect who is either shoot- 
ing of darts, or laying of snares, therefore 
let us be armed with courage, 2 Chron. xix. 
11, " Deal courageously, and the Lord shall 
be with the good." The coward never won 
victory ; and, to animate us in our combat 
with Satan, 1. We have a good Captain 
that marcheth before us ; Christ is called 
4 the Captain of our salvation,' Heb. ii. 10. 
1. We have good armour ; grace is armour 
of God's making, Eph. vi. 11. 3. Satan is 



beaten in part already, Christ hath given 
him his death-wound upon the cross, Col. i. 
15. 4. Satan is a chained enemy, — his pow- 
er is limited, — he cannot force the will ; it 
was all Eve complained of that the serpent 
deceived her, not constrained her, Gen. iii. 
13. Satan hath astutium suadendi not po- 
tentiam cogendi, — he may persuade, not 
compel. 5. He is a cursed enemy, and 
God's curse will blast him : therefore put on 
holy gallantry of spirit and magnanimity. 
Fear not Satan. Greater is he that is in 
you, than he that is against you. 

15. If we would not be overcome of a 
temptation, let us call in the help of others. 
If a house be set on fire, would not you call 
in help 1 Satan tempts, that he may rob 
you of your soul ; acquaint some friends with 
your case, and beg for their counsel and 
prayers. Who knows but Satan may be cast 
out by the joint prayers of others 1 In case 
of temptation, how exceeding helpful is the 
communion of saints 1 

16. If we would not be overcome of 
temptation, let us make use of all the en- 
couragements we can. If Satan be a roar- 
ing lion, ' Christ is the lion of the tribe of 
Judah.' If Satan tempts, Christ prays. If 
Satan be a serpent to sting, Christ is a bra- 
zen serpent to heal. If the conflict be hard, 
look to the crown, James i. 12. Whilst we 
are fighting, Christ will succour us ; and 
when we overcome he will crown us. What 
makes the soldier endure a bloody fight, but 
the hope of a golden harvest 1 Think, that 
shortly God will call us out of the field where 
the bullets of temptation fly so fast, and he 
will set a garland of glory upon our head. 
How will the case be altered ! Instead of 
fighting, singing ; instead of a helmet, a 
diadem ; instead of a sword, a palm-branch 
of victory ; instead of armour, white robes ; 
instead of Satan's skirmishes, the kisses and 
embraces of a Saviour; the viewing these 
eternal recompenses^ would keep us from 
yielding to temptation. Who would, to gra- 
tify a lust, lose a crown 1 

Use 4. A word of counsel to such as are 
tempted ; be so wise as to make good use 
of your temptation. As we should labour 
to improve our afflictions, so to improve 



OF THE SIXTH PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



583 



our temptations. We should pick some good 
out of temptation, as Samson got honey out 
of the lion. 

Quest. What good comes out of a temp- 
tation ? Can there be any good in being 
set upon by an enemy 1 Can there be any 
good to have fiery darts shot at us? 

Ans. Yes, God that can make a treacle of 
poison, can make his people get much good 
by their temptations. First, hereby a Chris- 
\ tian sees that corruption in his heart, which 
! he never saw before. Water in a glass looks 
I pure, but set it on fire, and the scum boils up : 
I so in temptation a Christian sees that scum 
I of sin boil up, that passion and distrust of 
God, as he thought had not been in his heart, 
j Secondly, hereby a Christian sees more of the 
wiles of Satan, and is better able to with- 
I stand them ; St Paul had been in the fencing- 
I school of temptation, and he grew expert in 
finding out Satan's stratagems, 2 Cor. ii. 11, 
, " We are not ignorant of his devices." Third- 
jly, hereby a Christian grows more humble; 
I God will rather let his children fall into the 
| devil's hands, than be proud ; temptation 
[makes the plumes of pride fall, 2 Cor. xii. 7, 
|" Lest I should be exalted above measure, 
jthere was given me a thorn in the flesh." 
Better is that temptation that humbles, than 
I that duty which makes one proud. Thus you 
;see how much good a Christian may get by 
temptation ; which made Luther say, three 
| things make a good divine, — prayer, medita- 
tion, temptation. 

Use 5. To such as have been under sore 
temptations and buffetings of Satan, to lust, 
revenge, self-murder, but God hath stood by 
them, and given them strength to overcome 
the tempter. 

1. Be very thankful to God ; say as 1 Cor. 
i xv. 57, " Thanks be to God, which giveth us 
the victory V Be much in doxology. Why 
were we kept more than others from falling 
into sin 1 Was it because temptation was 
not so strong] No ! Satan shoots his darts 
jwith all his force. Was the cause in our 
will ? No ! such a broken shield would never 
have conquered Satan's temptations ; know, 
that it was free grace that beat back the 
tempter, and brought us off with trophies of 
victory. O be thankful to God ! Had you 
been overcome by temptation, you might 



have put black spots in the face of religion, 
and given occasion to the enemies of God to 
blaspheme, 2 Sam. xii. 14. Had you been 
overcome you might have lain sick of ' a 
wounded spirit,' and cried out, with David, 
of ' broken bones.' After David yielded to 
temptation, he lay for three quarters of a year 
in horror of mind ; and some divines think, 
he never recovered his full joy to the day of 
his death. O therefore, what cause have 
they to stand upon mount Gerizim blessing 
of God, who in a field of battle have got the 
better of Satan, and been more than conquer- 
ors ! Say, as the Psalmist, Ps. cxxiv. 6, 
" Blessed be the Lord, who hath not given us 
a prey to their teeth !" so, blessed be God, 
who hath not given us as a prey to Satan 
that roaring lion ! When God puts mercy 
in the premises, we must put praise in the 
conclusion. 

2. You that have been tempted, and come 
off victors, be full of sympathy, — pity tempt- 
ed souls, — show your piety in your pity. Do 
you see Satan's darts sticking in their sides ? 
Do what you can to pull out these darts ; 
communicate your experiences to them ; tell 
them how you broke the devil's snare, and 
your Saviour was your succourer. The apos- 
tle speaks of restoring others, 1 in the spirit 
of meekness,' Gal. vi. 1. The Greek word 
for rest, alludes to chirurgeons, who set 
bones out of joint : so when we see such as 
are tempted, and Satan hath, as it were, put 
their bones out of joint, labour to put them in 
joint again, with all love, meekness, and com- 
passion. ' A word spoken in season' may re- 
lieve a soul fainting in temptation ; and you 
may do, as the good Samaritan, drop in oil 
and wine into the wound, Luke x. 34. Vir 
spiritualis consilia magis quam convitia 
meditatur, Aug. 

3. You that have got a conquest of Satan, 
be not secure. Think not that you shall never 
be troubled with the tempter more ; he is not 
like the Syrians, 2 Kings vi. 23, " The bands 
of Syria came no more into the land of Is- 
rael." A cock, if he be made once to run 
away, he will fight no more ; but, it is not so 
with Satan, he is a restless enemy, and if 
you have beaten him back, he will make a 
fresh onset. Hannibal said of Marcellus, a 
Roman captain, that whether he did beat 



584 OF THE SIXTH PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER, 



or was beaten, he was never quiet. When 
Christ had worsted Satan, he went away from 
Christ, but ad tempus, " for a season," Luke 
iv. 13, as if he meant to come again. When 
we have gotten the better of Satan, we are 
apt to grow secure, to lay aside our armour, 
and leave off our watch ; which, when Satan 
perceives, then he comes upon us with a new 
temptation and wounds us ; he deals with us 
as David did with the Amalekites, when they 
had taken the spoil, and were secure, 1 Sam. 
xxx. 16, " They were spread abroad upon 
all the earth, eating, and drinking, and 
dancing :" then, ver. 17, " David smote them, 
and there escaped not a man of them." 
Therefore, after we have got the better of 
the tempter, we must do as the mariners in 
the calm, mend our tackling, as not knowing 
how soon another storm may come. Satan 
may for a time retreat, that he may after- 
wards come on more fiercely ; he may go 
away a while, and bring other seven spirits 
with him, Luke xi. 26. Therefore, be not 
secure, but stand upon your watch-tower, lie 
in your armour, always expect a fight. Say, 
as he that hath a short respite from an ague, 
I look every day when my fit shall come ; 
so say, I look every day when the tempter 
should come ; I will put myself into a war- 
like posture. Satan when he is beaten out of 
the field, is not beaten out of heart, he will 
come again. He had little hope to prevail 
against Christ ; Christ gave him three deadly 



Matt. vi. 13. But 

The second branch of this sixth Petition 
is, Libera nos a malo, — "Deliver us from 
evil." There is more in this petition than is 
expressed ; the thing expressed is, that we 
may be kept from evil ; the thing further in- 
tended is, that we may make a progress in 
piety, Titus ii. 12, " Denying ungodliness, 
and worldly lusts ;" there is being delivered 
from evil ; " that we should live soberly, 
righteously, and godly ;" there is a progress 
in piety. I begin with the first thing in this 
petition expressed, " Deliver us from evil." 

Quest. What evil do we pray to be de- 
livered from ? 



wounds, and made him retreat ; yet he de- 
parted only ' for a season.' If the devil 
cannot conquer us, yet he knows he shall 
molest us ; if he cannot destroy us, he will 
surely disturb us ; therefore we must, with 
the pilot, have our compass ready, and be 
able to turn our needle to any point where 
temptation shall blow. If the tempter come 
not so soon as we expect, yet, by putting 
ourselves into a posture, we have this ad- 
vantage, we are always prepared. 

To conclude all : let us oft make this 
prayer, " Lead us not into temptation." If 
Satan woo us by a temptation, let us not give 
consent. But in case a Christian hath, 
through weakness, and not out of a design, 
yielded to a temptation, yet let him not * cast 
away his anchor ;' take heed of despair, this 
is worse than the fall itself. Christian, .steep 
thy soul in the brinish waters of repent- 
ance, and God will be appeased. Repent- 
ance gives the soul a vomit ; Christ loved 
Peter after his denial of him, and sent the 
first news of his resurrection to him ; " Go 
tell the disciples and Peter." It is an error 
to think that one act of sin can destroy the 
habit of grace. It is a wrong to God's mer- 
cy and a Christian's comfort, — to make this i 
despairing conclusion, that after one hath 
fallen by temptation, his estate is irrecover- 
able. Therefore, Christian, if thou hast 
fallen with Peter, repent with Peter, and 
God will be ready to seal thy pardon. 



deliver us from evil. 

Ans. First, In general, from the evil of 
sin. 

Secondly, More particularly, we pray to 
be delivered, — 

1. From the evil of our own heart ; it is 
called " an evil heart," Heb. iii. 12. 

2. From the evil of Satan ; he is called 
" the wicked one," Matt. xiii. 19. 

3. From the evil of the world ; it is called 
" the present evil world," Gal. i. 4. 

First, In general, " Deliver us from evil :" 
we pray to be delivered from the evil of 
sin. Not that we pray to be delivered im- 
mediately from the presence and in-being of 



OF THE SIXTH PETITION 



IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



585 



sin, for that cannot be in this life, we cannot 
shake off this viper ; but we pray, that God 
would deliver us more and more from the 
power and practice, from the scandalous acts 
of sin, which cast a reflection upon the gos- 
pel. Sin then is the deadly evil we pray 
against : " Deliver us from evil." With 
what pencil shall I be able to draw the de- 
formed face of sin] The devil would bap- 
i tize sin with the name of virtue : it is easy to 
lay fair colours on a black face. But I shall 
endeavour to show you what a prodigious 
monster sin is ; and there is great reason 
we should pray, " Deliver us from evil." 

Sin is (as the apostle saith) lt exceeding 
sinful," Rom. vii. 13. Sin is the very spi- 
rits of mischief distilled ; it is called " the 
accursed thing," Josh. vii. 13. That sin is 
the most execrable evil, appears several 
ways ; 

1. Look upon sin in its original. 

2. Look upon sin in its nature. 

3. Look upon sin in the judgment and 
opinion of the godly. 

4. Look upon sin in the comparative. 

5. Look upon sin in the manner of cure. 

6. Look upon sin in its direful effects ; and 
when you have seen all these, you will ap- 
prehend what a horrid evil sin is, and what 
great reason we have to pray, " Deliver us 
from evil." 

1st, Look upon sin in its original ; it fetch- 
eth its pedigree from hell. Sin is of the de- 
vil, John viii. 34. Sin calls the devil, father. 
It is serpentis venerium, as Austin saith, — it 
is the poison the old serpent hath spit into 
our virgin-nature. 

2dly, Look upon sin in its nature, and so 
it is evil. 

1. See what the scripture compares it to. 
Sin hath got a bad name, it is compared to the 
vomit of dogs, 2 Pet. ii. 22, to a menstruous 
cloth, Isa. xxx. 22, which, as Jerom saith, 
was the most unclean thing under the law ; 
it is compared to the plague, 1 Kings viii. 38, 
to a gangrene, 2 Tim. ii. 17. Persons under 
these diseases we would be loath to eat and 
drink with. 

2. Sin is evil in its nature, as it is injurious 
to God three ways ; 

(1). It is a. breach of God's royal law, 1 
4E 



John iii. 4, " Sin is a transgression of the 
law :" It is crimen 1<zs<b majestatis, — high 
treason against heaven. What greater injury 
can be offered to a prince than to trample up- 
on his royal edicts] Neh. ix. 26, " They 
have cast thy laws behind their backs." 

(2) . Sin is a contumacious affront to God, 
it is a walking contrary to him, Lev. xxvi. 40. 
The Hebrew word for sin signifies rebellion : 
sin flies in the face of God, — Job xv. 25, " He 
stretcheth out his hand against God." We 
ought not to lift up a thought against God, 
much less to lift up a hand against him ; but 
the sinner doth so. Sin is Deicidium; it 
would not only unthrone God, butungod him ; 
if sin could help it, God should be no longer 
God. 

(3) . Sin is injurious to God, as it is an act 
of high ingratitude. God feeds a sinner, 
screens off many evils from him ; yet he not 
only forgets God's mercies, but abuseth 
them, Hos. ii. 8, ■* I gave her corn, and wine, 
and oil, and multiplied her silver, which they 
prepared for Baal." God may say, I gave 
thee wit, health, and riches, which thou hast 
employed against me. A sinner makes an 
arrow of God's mercies, and shoots at him, 
2 Sam. xvi. 17, " Is this thy kindness to thy 
friend]" Did God give thee life to sin] 
Did he give thee wages to serve the devil 1 
O what an ungrateful thing sin is ! Ingrati- 
tude forfeits mercy, as the merchant forfeits 
his goods by not paying custom. 

3. Sin is evil in its nature, as it is a fool- 
ish thing, Luke xii. 20, "Thou fool, this night 
thy soul shall be required of thee I" Is it 
not foolish to prefer a short lease before an 
inheritance] A sinner prefers the pleasures 
of sin for a season before those pleasures 
which are at God's right hand for evermore. 
Is it not folly to gratify an enemy 3 Sin gra- 
tifies Satan. Mortalium errores epulce sunt 
dcemonum, men's sins feast the devil. Is it 
not folly for a man to befelo de se, guilty of 
his own destruction, to give himself poison] 
A sinner hath a hand in his own death, Prov. 
i. 18, "They lay wait for their own blood ;" 
no creature did ever willingly kill itself but 
man. 

4. Sin is a polluting thing. Sin is not only 
a defection, but a pollution ; it is as rust to 



OF THE SIXTH PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



586 

gold, — as a stain to beauty ; it is called " filth- 
iness of the flesh and spirit," 2 Cor. vii. 1. 
It makes the soul red with guilt and black 
with filth. Quanta fcedit as vitiosce mentis ! 
Cicero. This filth of sin is inward; a spot 
in the face may easily be wiped off, but to 
have the liver and lungs tainted is far worse ; 
sin hath got into the conscience, Tit. i. 15. 
Sin defiles all the faculties, the mind, memory, 
affections, as if the whole mass of blood were 
corrupted ; sin pollutes and fly-blows our holy 
things ; the leper, in the law, if he had touched 
the altar, the altar had not cleansed him, but 
he had polluted the altar ; an emblem of sin's 
leprosy spotting our holy things. 

5. Sin is a debasing thing, it degrades us 
of our honour, Dan. xi. 21. In those days 
"shall stand up a vile person." This was 
spoken of Antiochus Epiphanes, who was a 
king, and his name signifies illustrious ; but 
sin had made him vile. Sin blots a man's 
name ; nothing so turns a man's glory into 
shame as sin doth ; sin makes one like a 
beast, Ps. xlix. 20. It is worst to be like a 
beast, than to be a beast ; it is no shame to be 
a beast, but it is a shame fo a man to be like 
a beast. Lust makes a man brutish, and wrath 
makes him devilish. 

6. Sin is an enslaving thing. A sinner is 
a slave when he sins most freely. Grave 
servitutis jugum ! Cicero. Sin makes men 
the devil's servants ; Satan bids them sin, and 
they do it ; he bid Judas betray Christ, and 
he did it ; he bid Ananias tell a lie, and he 
did it ; Acts v. 3. When a man commits a 
sin, he is the devil's lackey and runs on his 
errand ; they who serve Satan have such a 
bad master, that they will be afraid to receive 
their wages. 

7. Sin is an unsavoury thing, Ps. xiv. 3, 
" They are altogether become filthy ;" in the 
Hebrew, they are become stinking. Sin is 
very noisome to God ; that person who shall 
worship in God's house, yet live in the sin of 
uncleanness, let him be perfumed with all the 
spices of Arabia, his prayers are unsavoury, 
Isa. i. 13, " Incense is an abomination to 
me ;" therefore God is said to behold the proud 
afar off, Ps. cxxxviii. 6. He will not come 
near the dunghill-sinner, that hath such noi- 
some vapours coming from him. 



8. Sin is a painful thing, it costs men much 
labour and pains to accomplish their wicked 
designs, Jer. ix. 5, " They weary themselves 
to commit iniquity." Peccatum est sui ip- 
sius poena. What pains did Judas take to 
bring about his treason ! He goes to the high 
priest, and then after to the band of soldiers, 
and then back again to the garden. What 
pains did the powder-traitors take in digging 
through a thick stone-wall ! What pains in 
laying their barrels of powder, and then co- 
vering them with crows of iron ! How did 
they tire out themselves in sin's drudgery 5 ! 
Chrysostom saith, virtue is easier than vice ; 
it is easier to be sober than intemperate ; it is 
easier to serve God than to follow sin. A 
wicked man sweats at the devil's plough, and 
is at great pains to damn himself. 

9. Sin is a disturbing thing ; whatever de- 
files, disturbs. Sin breaks the peace of the 
soul, Isa. lvii. 21, " No peace to the wicked." 
When a man sins presumptuously, he stuffs 
his pillow with thorns, and his head will lie 
very uneasy when he comes to die. Sin 
causeth a trembling at the heart. When 
Spira had sinned, he had a hell in his consci- 
ence ; he was in that horror, that he profess- 
ed he envied Cain and Judas. Charles IX. 
who was guilty of the massacre in Paris, was 
afterwards a terror to himself ; he was fright- 
ed at every noise, and could not endure to be 
awakened out of his sleep without music. 
Sin breaks the peace of the soul. Cain in 
killing Abel, stabbed half the world at a blow, 
but could not kill the worm of his own con- 
science. Thus you see what an evil sin is in 
the nature of it ; and had we not need pray, 
" Deliver us from evil." 

3dly, Look upon sin in the judgment and 
opinion of the godly, and it will appear to be 
the most prodigious evil. 

1. Sin is so great an evil, that the godly 
will rather do any thing than sin, Heb. xi. 
24, 25, " Moses chose rather to suffer with, 
the people of God, than to enjoy the plea- 
sures of sin." The primitive Christians said, 
ad leonum potius quam leonem, — they chose 
rather to be devoured by lions without than 
lusts within. Irenaeus was carried to a 
place where was a cross on one side and an 
idol on the other, and he was put to his 



OF THE SIXTH PETITION 



IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



587 



choice, either to bow to the idol, or suffer on 
the cross, and he chose the latter. A wise 
man will choose rather to have a rent in his 
coat than in his flesh ; the godly will rather 
endure outward sufferings than a rent in their 
conscience. So great an evil is in sin, that 
the godly will not sin for the greatest gain ; 
they will not sin though they might purchase 
an estate by it, nay though they were sure 
to promote God's glory by it. 

2. The godly testify sin is a great evil, in 
that they desire to die upon no account more 
than this, that they may be rid of sin ; they 
are desirous to put off the clothing of the 
flesh, that they may be unclothed of sin ; it is 
their greatest grief that they are troubled 
with such inmates, they have the stirrings of 
pride, lust, envy. It was a cruel torment 
Mezentius used, he tied a dead man to a 
living : thus a child of God hath corruption 
joined with grace, — here is a dead man tied 
to the living. So hateful is this, that a be- 
liever desires to die for no other reason more 
than this, that death shall free him from sin. 
Sin brought death into the world, and death 
shall carry sin out of the world. Thus you 
see, in the opinion of the godly, sin is the 
most hyperbolical and execrable evil. 

4thly, Look upon sin in the comparative, 
and it will appear to be the most deadly evil. 
Compare what you will with it: 1. Afflic- 
tions. 2. Death. 3. Hell, and still sin is 
worse. 

1. Compare sin with affliction: there is 
more evil in a drop of sin, than in a sea of 
affliction. 

(1). Sin is the cause of affliction, the cause 
is more than the effect. Sin brings all mis- 
chief ; sin hath sickness, sword, famine, and 
all judgments in the womb of it. Sin rots 
the name, consumes the estate, wastes the 
radical moisture. As the poets feigned of 
Pandora's box, when it was opened, it filled 
the world full of diseases : so when Adam 
broke the box of original righteousness, it 
caused all the penal evils in the world. Sin 
is the Phaeton that sets the world on fire. Sin 
turned the angels out of heaven, and Adam 
out of paradise. Sin causeth mutinies, divi- 
sions, massacres, Jer. xlvii. 6, " O thou 
sword of the Lord, how long will it be ere 



thou be quiet !" The sword of God's justice 
lies quietly in the scabbard, till sin draws it 
out and whets it against a nation. So that 
sin is worse than affliction, it being the cause 
of it : the cause is more than the effect. 

(2) . God is the author of affliction, Amos 
iii. 6, " Shall there be evil in a city, and the 
Lord hath not done it 7" It is meant of the 
evil of affliction. God hath a hand in afflic- 
tion, but no hand in sin ; God is the cause 
of every action, so far as it is natural, but 
not as it is sinful. He who makes an in- 
strument of iron, is not the cause of the rust 
and canker which corrupts the iron, so God 
made the instrument of our souls, but the 
rust and canker of sin, which corrupts our 
souls, God never made. Peccatum Deus 
non fecit, Austin. God can no more act 
evil, than the sun can darken. In this sense 
sin is worse than affliction. God hath a 
hand in affliction, but disclaims having any 
hand in sin. 

(3) . Affliction doth but reach the body, 
and make that miserable, but sin makes the 
soul miserable. The soul is the most noble 
part. The soul is a diamond set in a ring of 
clay ; it is excellent in its essence, a spirit- 
ual, immortal substance, — excellent in the 
price paid for it, redeemed with the blood of 
God, Acts xx. 28. It is more worth than a 
world ; the world is of a coarser make, the 
soul of a finer spinning ; in the world we see 
the finger of God, in the soul the image of 
God. To have the precious soul endanger- 
ed, is far worse than to have the body endan- 
gered. Sin wrongs the soul, Prov. viii. 36. 
Sin casts this jewel of the soul overboard. 
Affliction is but skin-deep, it can but take 
away the life, but sin takes away the soul, 
Luke xii. 20. The loss of the soul is an 
unparalleled loss, it can never be made up 
again. " God (saith St Chrysostom) hath 
given thee two eyes, if thou losest one thou 
hast another ; but thou hast but one soul, and, 
if that be lost, it can never be repaired." 
Thus sin is worse than affliction ; the one 
can but reach the body, the other ruins the 
soul. Is there not great reason then, that 
we should often put up this petition, " De- 
liver us from evil f 

(4) . Afflictions are good for us, Ps. cxix. 



588 



OF THE SIXTH PETITION 



IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



71, " It is good for me that I have been af- 
flicted." Many can bless God for affliction. 
Affliction humbles, Lam. iii. 19, 20, " Re- 
membering- my affliction, the worm-wood 
and the gall, my soul hath them still in 
remembrance, and is humbled in me." Afflic- 
tions are compared to thorns, Hos. ii. 6, 
these thorns are to prick the bladder of pride. 
Affliction is the school of repentance, Jer. 
xxxi. 18, 19, " Thou hast chastised me, and 

1 was chastised ; I repented." The fire 
being put under the still, makes the water 
drop from the roses : the fire of affliction 
makes the water of repentance drop from the 
eyes. Affliction brings us nearer to God. 
The loadstone of mercy doth not draw us so 
near to God as the cords of affliction. When 
the prodigal was pinched with want, then, 
saith he, " I will arise and go to my father," 
Luke xv. 18. Afflictions prepare for glory, 

2 Cor. iv. 17, " Our light affliction worketh 
for us an eternal weight of glory :" the 
limner lays his gold upon dark colours, so 
God lays first the dark colours of affliction, 
and then the golden colour of glory. Thus 
affliction is for our good ; but sin is not for 
our good, it keeps good things from us, Jer. 
v. 25, "Your sins have withholden good 
things from you." Sin stops the current of 
God's mercy, it precipitates men to ruin. Ma- 
nasseh's affliction brought him to humiliation ; 
but Judas his sin brought him to desperation. 

(5). A man may be afflicted, and his con- 
science may be quiet. Paul's feet were in the 
stocks, yet he had the witness of his con- 
science, 2 Cor. i. 12. The head may ache, 
yet the heart may be well ; the outward man 
may be afflicted, yet the soul may dwell at 
ease, Ps. xxv. 13. The hail may beat upon 
the tiles of the house, when there is music 
within ; in the midst of outward pain, there 
may be inward peace. Thus, in affliction, 
conscience may be quiet ; but when a man 
commits a presumptuous, scandalous sin, 
conscience is troubled ; by defiling the purity 
of conscience, we lose the peace of con- 
science. When Spira had sinned and abjured 
the faith, he was a terror to himself, he had 
a hell in his conscience. Tiberius the em- 
peror felt such a sting in his conscience, that 
he told the senate, he suffered death daily. 



(6) . In affliction we may have the love of 
God. Afflictions are love-tokens, Rev. iii. 
19, " As many as I love, I rebuke." Afflic- 
tions are sharp arrows, but shot from the 
hand of a loving father. If a man should 
throw a bag of money at another, and it 
should bruise him a little, and raise the skin, 
he would not be offended, but take it as a 
fruit of love : so, when God bruiseth us with 
affliction, it is to enrich us with the golden 
graces of his Spirit, all is love : but when 
we commit sin, God withdraws his love, — it 
is the sun overcast with a cloud, nothing 
appears but anger and displeasure. When 
David had sinned in the matter of Uriah, 
2 Sam. xi. 27, " The thing that David had 
done displeased the Lord." 

(7) . There are many encouragements to 
suffer affliction. God himself suffers with us, 
Isa. lxiii. 9, " In all their afflictions he was 
afflicted." God will strengthen us in our suf- 
ferings, Ps. xxxvii. 39, " He is their strength 
in the time of trouble." Either God makes 
our burthen lighter, or our faith stronger. He 
will compensate and recompense our suffer- 
ings, Matt. xix. 29, " Every one that hath 
forsaken houses or lands for my name's sake, 
shall receive a hundred-fold, and inherit life 
everlasting." Here are encouragements to 
suffer affliction, but there is no encourage- 
ment to sin. God hath brandished a flaming 
sword of threatenings to deter us from sin, 
Ps. lxviii. 21, " God shall wound the hairy 
scalp of such a one as goes on still in his 
trespasses." There is a flying roll of curses 
which enters into the house of a sinner, 
Zech. v. 4, " If a man sin, be it at his peril : 
Deut. xxxii. 42, " I will make mine arrows 
drunk with blood." God will make men wea- 
ry of their sins, or he will make them weary 
of their lives. Thus sin is worse than afflic- 
tion ; there are encouragements to suffer 
affliction, but no encouragement to sin. 

(8) . When a person is afflicted, only he 
himself suffers ; but by sinning openly he 
doth hurt to others. 1. He doth hurt to 
the unconverted ; one man's sin may lay a 
stone in another man's way, at which he 
may stumble and fall into hell ; O the evil 
of scandalous sin ! Some are discouraged, 
others hardened ; thy sinning may be the 



OF THE SIXTH PETITION 



IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



589 



cause of another's damning, Mai. ii. 7, 8. 
The priests going wrong caused others to 
stumble. 2. He doth hurt to the converted ; 
by an open scandalous sin he offends weak 
believers, and so sins against Christ, 1 Cor. 
viii. 12. Thus sin is worse than affliction 
because it doth hurt to others. 

(9) . In affliction the saints may rejoice, 
1 Thes. i. 6, " Ye received the word in much 
affliction, with joy." Heb. x. 34, " Ye took 
joyfully the spoiling of your goods." Aristo- 
tle speaks of a bird that lives among thorns, 
yet sings sweetly, so a child of God can re- 
joice in afflictions. St Paul had his prison 
songs, Rom. v. 3, " We glory in tribulation." 
The Greek word signifies an exuberancy of 
joy, — a joy with boasting and triumph. God 
doth oft pour in those divine consolations as 
cause the saints to rejoice in afflictions ; 
they had rather have their afflictions, than 
want their comforts ; God doth candy their 
wormwood with sugar, Rom. v. 5. You have 
seen the sun-shine when it rains : the saints 
have had the shinings of God's face, when 
afflictions have rained and dropped upon 
them. Thus we may rejoice in affliction, but 
we cannot rejoice in sin, Hos. ix. 1, " Re- 
joice not, O Israel, for joy, as other people, 
for thou hast gone a-whoring from thy God." 
Sin is matter of shame and grief, not of joy. 
David having sinned in numbering of the 
people, his " heart smote him," 2 Sam. xxiv. 
10. As the pricking of a vein lets out the 
blood, so, when sin hath pricked the con- 
science it lets out the joy. 

(10) . Affliction is a magnifying of a per- 
son. Job vii. 17, 18, " What is man, that thou 
shouldst magnify him, and visit him every 
morning!" That is, visit him with affliction. 

Quest. How do afflictions magnify us ? 

Ans. 1. As they are signs of sonship, 
Heb. xii. 7, " If ye endure chastening, God 
deals with you as sons." Every print of the 
rod is a badge of honour. 2. As the suffer- 
ings of the godly have raised their fame and 
renown in the world ; the zeal and constancy 
of the martyrs in their sufferings have eter- 
nized their name. O how eminent was Job 
for his patience! James v. 11, "Ye have 
heard of the patience of Job." Job the suf- 
ferer was more renowned than Alexander 



the conqueror. Thus afflictions magnify a 
person, but sin doth not magnify but vilify 
him. When Eli's sons had sinned and pro- 
faned their priesthood, they turned their glory 
into shame ; the text saith, " They made 
themselves vile," 1 Sam. iii. 1.3. Sin casts an 
indelible blot on a man's name, Prov. vi. 32, 
33, " Whoso commits adultery with a wo- 
man, a wound and dishononr shall he get, 
and his reproach shall not be wiped away." 

(11) . A man may suffer affliction, and 
bring honour to religion. Paul's iron chain 
made the gospel wear a gold chain ; suffer- 
ing credits and propagates the gospel, but 
committing of sin brings a dishonour and 
scandal upon the ways of God. Cyprian 
saith, when in the primitive times a virgin, 
who vowed herself to religion, had defiled 
her chastity, totum ecclesice coztum erubes- 
cere, — shame and grief filled the face of the 
whole congregation. When scandalous sins 
are committed by a few, they bring a reproach 
upon all them that profess ; as three or four 
brass shillings in a sum of money make all 
the rest suspected. 

(12) . When a man's afflictions are upon a 
good account, when he suffers for Christ, he 
hath the prayers of God's people. 'Tis no 
small privilege to have a stock of prayer go- 
ing ; it is like a merchant that hath a part in 
several ships ; suffering saints have a large 
share in the prayers of others, Acts xii. 5, 
" Peter was in prison, but prayer was made 
without ceasing of the church to God for him." 
What greater happiness than to have God's 
promises, and the saints' prayers 1 But when 
a man sins presumptuously and scandalously, 
— he hath the saints' bitter tears and just cen- 
sures, — he is a burthen to all that know him, 
as David speaks in another case, Ps. xxxi. 11, 
" They that did see me without, fled from 
me." So a scandalous sinner, the people of 
God flee from him, he is like an infected 
person, every one shuns and avoids him. 

(13) . Affliction can hurt a man only while 
he is living, but sin doth hurt him when he 
is dead. As a man's virtues and alms may 
do good when he is dead, so a man's sins 
may do him mischief when he is dead. 
When a spider is killed, the poison of it may 
do hurt ; so the poison of an evil example 



590 



OF THE SIXTH PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



may do much hurt, when a man is in his 
grave. Affliction at most can but last a 
man's life, but sin lives and doth hurt when 
he is gone. Thus you see sin is far worse 
than affliction. 

2. Sin is worse than death. Aristotle 
calls death 'the terrible ofterribles,' and Job 
calls it < the king of terrors,' Job xviii. 14, 
but sin is more deadly than death itself. 1. 
Death, though it be painful, yet it were not 
hurtful but for sin ; it is sin that embitters 
death and makes it sting, 1 Cor. xv. 58, 
" The sting of death is sin." Were it not 
for sin, though death might kill us, it could 
not curse us. Sin poisons death's arrow, so 
that sin is worse than death, because it puts 
a sting into death. 2. Death doth but sepa- 
rate between the body and the soul : but sin, 
without repentance, separates between God 
and the soul, Judges xviii. 24, " Ye have 
taken away my gods, and what have I more 
Death doth but take away our life from us, 
but sin takes away our God from us : so that 
sin is worse than death. 

3. Sin is worse than hell. In hell there is 
the worm and the fire, but sin is worse. 1. 
Hell is of God's making, but sin is none of 
his making ; it is a monster of the devil's 
creating. 2. The torments of hell are a bur- 
then only to the sinner, but sin is a burthen 
to God, Amos li. 13, "I am pressed under you, 
as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves." 
3. In hell-torments there is something that 
is good, — there is the execution of God's jus- 
tice, — there is justice in hell ; but sin is the 
most unjust thing, — it would rob God of his 
glory, — Christ of his purchase, — the soul of 
its happiness ; so that it is worse than hell, 

5thly, Look upon sin in the manner of its 
cure ; it cost dear to be done away : the 
guilt of sin could not be removed but by the 
blood of Christ ; he who was God must die, 
and be made a curse for us, before sin could 
be remitted. How horrid is sin, that no an- 
gel or archangel, nor all the powers of hea- 
ven, could procure the pardon of sin, but it 
cost the blood of God ! If a man should 
commit an offence, and all the nobles should 
kneel upon their knees before the king for 
him, but no pardon could be had, unless the 
king's son be arraigned and suffer death for 



him, — all must conceive it was a horrible 
fact that must be the cause of this ; such is 
the case here, the Son of God must die to . 
satisfy God's justice for our sins. O the 
agonies and sufferings of Christ ! 1. In his 
body ; his head crowned with thorns, his 
face spit upon, his side pierced with the 
spear, his hands and feet nailed — Totum -pro 
vulnere corpus. 2. He suffered in his soul, 
Matt. xxvi. 38, " My soul is exceeding sor- 
rowful unto death." He drank a bitter cup, 
mingled with ^curses ; which made him, — 
though he was sanctified by the Spirit, — 
supported by the Deity, — comforted by an- 
gels, — sweat drops of blood, and cry out 
upon the cross, " My God, why hast thou 
forsaken me !" All this was to do away our 
sin. View sin in Christ's blood, and it will 
appear of a crimson colour. 

6thly, Look upon sin in the dismal effects 
of it, and it will appear the most horrid pro- 
digious evil, Rom. vi. 23, " The wages of sin 
is death," that is, "the second death," Rev. 
xxi. 8. Sin hath shame for its companion, 
and death for its wages. A wicked man 
knows what sin is in the pleasure of it, but 
doth not know what sin is in the punishment 
of it. Sin draws hell at the heels of it. This 
hellish torment consists of two parts : 

1. Poena damni, — the punishment of loss, 
Matt. vii. 23, " Depart from me." It was a 
great trouble to Absalom, that he might not 
see the king's face ; to lose God's smiles, to 
be banished from his presence, in whose 
presence is fulness of joy, how sad and tre- 
mendous ! this word, ' depart,' (saith Chry- 
sostom) is worse than the fire. Sure sin must 
be the greatest evil, which separates us from 
the greatest good. 

2. Poena sensus, — the punishment of 
sense, Matt. xxv. 41, "Depart from me, ye 
cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for 
the devil and his angels." — " Why," might 
sinners plead, " Lord, if we must depart 
from thee, let us have thy blessing :" " No I 
Go ye cursed." — " But if we must depart 
from thee, let it be into some place of ease 
and rest." " No ! Go into fire."—" But, 
if we must into fire, let it be for a little 
time ; let the fire be quickly put out." " No ! 
Go into everlasting fire." — " But if it. b4 



OF THE SIXTH PETITION 



IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 591 



so, that we must be there, let us be with good 
company." — " No ! with the devil and his 
angels." O what an evil is sin ! all the tor- 
ments of this life are but ludibrium et risus, 
a kind of sport to hell torments. What is a 
burning fever to the burning in hell ! it is 
called, " the wrath of Almighty God," Rev. 
xix. 15. The Almighty God inflicts the pu- 
nishment, therefore it will be heavy. A 
child cannot strike very hard, but if a giant 
strike, he kills with a blow : to have the Al- 
mighty God to lay on the stroke, it will be 
intolerable. Hell is the emphasis of misery. 
The body and soul, which have sinned toge- 
ther, shall suffer together ; and those tor- 
ments shall have no period put to them, Rev. 
ix. 6, " They shall seek death and shall not 
find it." Rev. xiv. 11, " and the smoke of 
their torments ascendeth for ever and ever ;" 
here the wicked thought a prayer long, a sab- 
bath long, but how long will it be to lie upon 
beds of. flames- for ever ! This word, ever, 
breaks the heart. Thus you see sin is the 
most deadly and execrable evil ; look upon 
it in its original, in its nature, in the judg- 
ment and estimate of the wise ; look upon it 
i comparatively, it is worse than affliction, 
| death, hell ;■ look upon it in the manner of 
cure, and in the dismal effect, it brings eter- 
nal damnation ; is there not then a great 
deal of reason that we should make this 
prayer, " deliver us from evil !*' 

Use 1st. Branch 1. Is sin such a deadly, 
pernicious evil, the evil of evils ? See then 
what it is we are to pray most to be delivered 
from, and that is from sin, our Saviour hath 
(taught us to pray, " deliver us from evil." 
j Hypocrites pray more against temporal evils 
than spiritual. Pharaoh prayed more to have 
the plague of hail and thunder to be removed, 
[than his hard heart should be removed, Exod. 
r ix. 28. The Israelites prayed, tolle serpen- 
I tes, — take away the serpents from us, — more 
i than to have their sin taken away, Numb. 
! xxi. 8. The hypocrite's prayer is carnal, — 
ij he prays more to be cured of his deafness 
! and lameness, than of his unbelief, — more 
I that God would take away his pain, than take 
I away his sin. But our prayer should be, 
"deliver us from evil." Spiritual prayers 
I are best. Hast thou a diseased body 1 pray 



more that the disease of thy soul may be re- 
moved than thy body, Ps. xli. 4, " Heal my 
soul, for I have sinned." The plague of the 
heart is worse than a cancer in the breast. 
Hast thou a child that is crooked ] pray more 
to have its unholiness removed than its 
crookedness. Spiritual prayers are more 
pleasing to God, and are as music in his ears. 
Christ hath here taught us to pray against 
sin, " deliver us from evil." 

Branch 2. If sin be so great an evil, then 
admire the wonderful patience of God that 
bears with sinners. Sin is a breach of God's 
royal law, it strikes at his glory ; now, for 
God to bear with sinners, who provoke him, 
it shows admirable patience ; well may he be 
called " the God of patience," Rom. xv. 4, 5. 
It would tire the patience of the angels, to 
bear with men's sins one day ; but what doth 
God bear ] How many affronts and injuries 
doth he put up 1 God sees all the intrigues 
and horrid impieties committed in a nation, 
Jer. xxix. 23, "They have committed villany 
in Israel, and have committed adultery ; even 
I know, and am a witness, saith the Lord." 
God could strike men " dead in their sins ;" 
but he forbears and respites them. Methinks 
I see the justice of God with a flaming sword 
in his hand, ready to strike the stroke ; and 
patience steps in for the sinner, Lord, spare 
him a while longer. Methinks I hear the 
angel saying to God, as the king of Israel to 
the prophet, 2 Kings vi. 21, " Shall I smite 
them? Shall I smite them? Lord, here is 
such a sinner, shall I smite him 1 Shall I take 
off the head of such a drunkard, swearer, sab- 
bath-breaker V And God's patience saith, 
as the dresser of the vineyard, Luke xiii. 8, 
" Let him alone this year." O the infinite 
patience of God, that sin being so great an 
evil, and so contrary to God, he should bear 
with sinners so long ! 1 Sam. xxiv. 19, " If 
a man find his enemy, will he let him go well 
away ?" God finds his enemies, yet he lets 
them r go, he is not presently avenged on 
them. Every sin hath a voice to cry to God for 
vengeance ; Sodom's sin cried, Gen. xviii. 20. 
Yet God spares men ; but let not sinners pre- 
sume upon God's patience ; if they repent not, 
long forbearance is no forgiveness ; God's pa- 
tience abused will leave men more inexcusable. 



592 



OF THE SIXTH PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



Branch 3. If sin be so great an evil, then 
there is no sin little. There is no little trea- 
son ; every sin strikes at God's crown and 
dignity, and in this sense it may be said, as 
Job xxii. 5, " Are not thy iniquities infinite 1" 
The least sin, as the schoolmen say is infinite 
objective, because it is committed against an 
infinite Majesty ; and besides, nothing can do 
away sin, but that which hath an infiniteness 
in it ; for though the sufferings of Christ as 
man were not infinite, yet the divine nature 
did shed forth an infinite value and merit 
upon his sufferings. So that no sin is little, 
there is no little hell for sin. As we are not 
to think any of God's mercies little, because 
they are more than we can deserve, so nei- 
ther are we to think any of our sins little, 
because they are more than we can answer 
for. That sin we esteem lightest, without 
Christ's blood will be heavy enough to sink 
us into perdition. 

Branch 4. If sin be so great an evil, then 
see whence all personal or national troubles 
come ; they come from the evil of sin ; our 
sin grows high, that makes our divisions grow 
wide ; sin is the Achan that troubles us, it is 
the cockatrice egg out of which comes a 
fiery flying serpent. Sin is like Phseton, 
who, as the poets feign, driving the chariot 
'of the sun, set the world on fire. Sin, like 
the planet Saturn, hath a malignant influ- 
ence ; sin brings us into straits, 2 Sam. xxiv. 
14, " David said unto Gad, I am in a great 
strait." Jer. iv. 17, " As keepers of a field 
are they against her round about ;" as horses 
or deer in a field are so enclosed with hedges, 
and so narrowly watched, that they cannot 
get out, so Jerusalem was so close besieged 
with enemies and watched, that there was 
no escape for her. Whence was this 1 v. 
18, " This is thy wickedness." All our evils 
are from the evil of sin. The cords that 
pinch us are of our own twisting. Sin rais- 
eth all the storms in conscience ; the sword 
of God's justice lies quiet till sin draws it out 
of the scabbard, and makes God whet it 
against a nation. 

Branch 5. If sin be so great an evil, then 
how little reason hath any one to be in love 
with sin. Some are so infatuated with sin 
that they delight in it. The devil can so 



cook and dress sin that it pleaseth the sin- 
ner's palate, Job xx. 12, " Though wicked- 
ness be sweet in his mouth." Sin is as de- 
lightful to corrupt nature, as meat to the taste. 
Sin is a feast on which men feed their lusts ; 
but there's little cause to be so in love with 
sin, Job xx. 12, 14, " Though wickedness be 
sweet in his mouth, it is the gall of asps with- 
in him." To love sin is to hug an enemy. 
Sin puts a worm into conscience, — a sting 
into death,- — a fire into hell. Sin is like those 
locusts, Rev. viii. 10, " On their heads were 
as it were crowns like gold, and they had 
hair as the hair of women, and their teeth 
were as the teeth of lions, and they had tails 
like scorpions, and they had stings in their 
tails." After the woman's hair comes in the 
scorpion's sting. 

Branch 6. If sin be so great an evil, then 
what may we judge of them who make light 
of sin as if there were no danger in it ; as if 
God were not in earnest when he threatens 
sin ; or as if ministers were about a needless 
work, when they preach against sin 1 Some 
people make nothing of breaking a command- 
ment ; they make nothing of telling a lie, of 
cozening, of slandering ; nothing of living in 
the sin of uncleanness. If you weigh sin in 
the balance of some men's judgments, it 
weighs very light ; but, who are those that 
make so very light of sin ? Solomon hath 
described them, Prov. xiv. 9, " Fools make a 
mock at sin." Stultus in vitia cito dilabi- 
tur, Isidor. Who but fools would make 
light of that which grieves the Spirit of God ] 
Who but fools would put such a viperous 
thing in their bosom ] Who but fools would 
laugh at their own calamity, and make sports 
while they give themselves poison 1 

Branch 7. If sin be so great an evil, then 
I infer, that there is no good to be gotten by 
sin ; of this thorn we cannot gather grapes. 
If sin be so deadly an evil, then we cannot 
get any profit by it ; no man did ever thrive 
upon this trade. Those Atheists said, Mai. 
iii. 14, " It is vain to serve God, and what 
profit is it V But we may say more truly, 
What profit is there in sin 1 Rom. vi. 21, 
" What fruit had ye then in those things 
whereof ye are now ashamed V 9 Where are 
your earnings ] What have you gotten by 



OP THE SIXTH PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



593 



sin 1 It hath shame for its companion ; and 
death for its wages. What profit had Achan 
of his wedge of gold ? That wedge seemed 
to cleave asunder his soul from God. What 
profit had Ahab of the vineyard he got un- 
justly 1 The dogs licked his blood, 1 Kings 
xxi. 19. What profit had Judas of his trea- 
son 1 For thirty pieces he sold his Saviour, 
and bought his own damnation. All the gain 
men get by their sins, they may put in their 
eye ; nay, they must, and weep it out again. 

Branch 8. If sin be so great an evil, see 
then the folly of those who venture upon sin, 
because of the pleasure they have in it, 2 
Thess. ii. 12, « But had pleasure in unright- 
eousness." As for the pleasure of sin, 1. It 
is but seeming, it is but a pleasant fancy, a 
golden dream. 2. And besides, it is a mixed 
pleasure, it has bitterness intermingled, Prov. 
vii. 17, " I have, saith the harlot, perfumed 
my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon." 
For one sweet, here are two bitters ; cinna- 
mon is sweet, but myrrh and aloes are bitter ; 
the harlot's pleasure is mixed. There are 
those inward fears and lashes of conscience, 
as imbitter the pleasure. 3. If there be any 
pleasure in sin, it is only to the body, the 
brutish part ; the soul is not at all gratified 
by the pleasure, Luke xii. 19, " Soul, take 
thy ease ;" he might have more properly said, 
" Body take thy ease ;" the soul cannot feed 
on sensual objects. 4. In short, that plea- 
sure men talk of in sin, is their disease. 
Some take pleasure in eating chalk or coals, 
this is from their disease : so, when men talk 
of pleasure in eating the forbidden fruit, it is 
from the sickness and disease of their souls, 
" they put bitter for sweet," Isa. v. 20. O 
what folly is it, for a cup of pleasure, to 
drink a sea of wrath ! Sin will be bitter in 
the end, Prov. xxiii. 31, 32, " Look not on the 
wine when it is red, when it gives its colour 
in the cup ; at last it bites like a serpent." 
Sin will prove like Ezekiel's roll, sweet in the 
mouth, but bitter in the belly, — mel in ore, 
fel in corde. Ask Cain now how he likes 
his murder ] Achan, how he likes his golden 
wedge 1 O remember that saying of Austin, 
Momentarum est quod delectat, cBternum 
quod cruciat I The pleasure of sin is soon 
gone, but the sting remains. 
4F 



Branch 9. If sin be so great an evil, then, 
what wisdom is it to depart from evil ! Job 
xxviii. 28, "To depart from evil is under- 
standing." To sin, is to do foolishly : there- 
fore, to depart from sin, is to do wisely. 
Solomon saith, Prov. xxix. 6, In every trans- 
gression is a snare 1 Is it not wisdom to avoid 
a snare 1 Sin is a deceiver, it cheated our 
first parents ; instead of being as gods, they 
became as the beasts that perish, Ps. xlix. 20. 
Sin hath cheated all that have meddled with 
it ; is it not wisdom to shun such a cheater ? 
Sin hath many fair pleas, and tells how it will 
gratify all the senses with pleasure : " But," 
saith a gracious soul, " Christ's love is sweet- 
er, — peace of conscience is sweeter, — what 
are the pleasures of sin to the pleasures of 
paradise V Well may the saints be called 
wise virgins, because they spy the deceits 
that are in sin, and avoid the snares. " The 
fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to 
depart from evil, is understanding." 

Branch 10. If sin be so great an evil, then, 
how justifiable and commendable are all those 
means which are used to keep men from sin 1 
How justifiable are a minister's admonitions 
and reproofs'? Tit. i. 13, "Rebuke them 
sharply f or cuttingly ; a metaphor from a 
chirurgeon that searches a wound, and cuts 
out the proud flesh that the patient may be 
sound; so God's minister comes with a cut- 
ting reproof, but it is to keep you from sin, 
and to save your souls. Si merito objurga- 
veril te aliquis, scito quia profuit, Seneca. 
Esteem them your best friends who would 
keep you from sinning against God. If a 
man were going to poison or drown himself, 
were not he his friend who would hinder him 
from doing it 1 All a minister's reproofs are 
but to keep you from sin, and hinder you 
from self-murder ; all is in love, 2 Cor. v. 11, 
" Knowing the terror of the Lord, we per- 
suade men." 'Tis the passion of most to be 
angry with them that would reclaim them 
from sin, Amos v. 10, " They hate him that 
rebuketh in the gate." Who is angry with 
the physician for prescribing a bitter potion, 
seeing it is to purge out the peccant humour ? 
'Tis mercy to men's souls to tell them of 
their sins. And surely those are priests for 
the devil, 2 Cor. xi. 15, who see men go on 



594 OF THE SIXTH PETITION 



IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



in sin, and ready to drop into hell, yet never 
pull them back by a reproof, nay, perhaps 
flatter them in their sins. God never made 
ministers as false glasses, to make bad faces 
look fair; such make themselves guilty of 
other men's sins. 

Branch 11. If sin be so great an evil, — the 
evil of evils, — then see what a bad choice 
they make, who choose sin to avoid afflic- 
tion : as, if to save the coat from being rent, 
one should suffer his flesh to be rent. It was 
a false charge that Elihu brought against 
Job, xxxvi 21, Thou hast chosen iniquity 
rather than affliction. This is a bad choice. 
Affliction hath a promise made to it, 2 Sam. 
xxii. 28, but sin hath no promise made to it. 
Affliction is for our good, but sin is not for 
our good ; it would entail hell and damnation 
upon us. Spira chose iniquity rather than 
affliction, but it cost him dear ; he at last re- 
pented of his choice. He who commits sin 
to avoid suffering, is like one that runs into a 
lion's den to avoid the stinging of a gnat. 

Branch 12. If sin be so great an evil, see 
then what should be a Christian's great care 
in this life, to keep from sin ; "Deliver us 
from evil-" Some make it all their care to 
keep out of trouble ; they had rather keep 
their skin whole than their conscience pure ; 
but our care should be chiefly to keep from 
sin. How careful are we to forbear such a 
dish, as the physicians tell us is hurtful for 
us, — it will bring the stone or gout : much 
more should we be careful that we eat not 
the forbidden fruit, which will bring divine 
vengeance, 1 Tim. v. 22, " Keep thyself 
pure." It hath always been the study of the 
saints to keep alooff off from sin, Gen. xxxix. 
9, "How can I do this great wickedness, 
and sin against God V Ps. xix. 13, " Keep 
back thy servant from presumptuous sins." 
It was a saying of Anselm, " If sin were on 
one side, and hell on the other, I would ra- 
ther leap into hell, than willingly sin against 
my God." O what a mercy is it to be kept 
from sin ! We count it a great mercy to be 
kept from the plague and fire, but what is it 
to be kept from sin 1 

Branch 13. Is sin so great an evil 1 see 
then that which may make us long for hea- 
ven, when we shall be perfectly freed from 



sin, not only from the outward acts of sin, 
but from the inbeing of sin. In heaven we 
shall not need to pray this prayer, " Deliver 
us from evil." What a blessed time will it 
be, when we shall never have a vain thought 
more ] Then Christ's spouse shall be sine 
macula et ruga, — without spot or wrinkle, 
Eph. v. 27. Now there is a dead man tied to 
the living ; we cannot do any holy duty, but 
we mix sin ; we cannot pray without wander- 
ing, — we cannot believe without doubting, — 
but then, our virgin-soul shall not be capable 
of the least tincture of sin, but we shall all 
be as the angels of God. In heaven we shall 
have no temptation to sin. The old serpent 
is cast out of paradise, and his fiery darts 
shall never come near to touch us. 

Use 2d. Exhortation. And it hath two 
distinct branches. 

Branch 1. To all in general. If sin be so 
great and prodigious an evil, then, as you 
love your souls take heed of sin. If you 
taste of the forbidden fruit, it will cost you 
dear, — it will cost you bitter tears, — it may 
cost you lying in hell, — O therefore flee 
from sin ! 

1. Take heed of sins of omission, Matt, 
xxiii. 23. It is as really dangerous not to 
do things commanded, as to do things for- 
bidden. Some think it no great matter to 
omit reading scripture ; the Bible lies by like 
rusty armour, which they never use ; they 
think it no great matter to omit family or 
closet-prayer; they can go several months, 
and God never hear of them. These have 
nothing sanctified to them ; they feed upon 
a curse ; for every creature is sanctified by 
prayer, 1 Tim. iv. 5. The bird may shame 
many, it never takes a drop but its eye is 
lifted up towards heaven. O take heed of 
living in the neglect of any known duty ! It 
was the prayer of a reverend holy man on 
his death-bead, " Lord, forgive my sins of 
omission." 

2. Take heed of secret sins. Some are 
more modest than to sin openly in a balco- 
ny ; but they will carry their sins under a 
canopy, they will sin in secret. Rachel 
did not let her father's images be seen, 
but she put them under her, " and sat up- 
on them," Gen. xxxi. 34. Many will be 



OF THE SIXTH PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



595 



drunk and unclean, if they may do it when 
nobody may see them ; they are like one that 
shuts up his shop-windows, but follows his 
trade within doors. But if sin be so great 
an evil, let me warn you this day not to sin 
in secret ; know, that you can never sin so 
privately, but that there are two witnesses 
always by, — God and conscience. 

3. Take heed of your complexion-sin, that 
sin which your nature and constitution doth 
most incline you to. As in the hive there is 
a master-bee, so in the heart there is a 
master-sin, Ps. xviii. 23, " I have kept myself 
from mine iniquity." There is some sin that 
is a special favourite, — the peccatum in de- 
liciis, — the darling sin that lies in the bosom, 
and this doth bewitch and draw away the 
heart. O beware of this ! 

Quest. How may this darling sin be 
known ? 

Ans. 1. That sin which a man doth most 
cherish, and to which all other sins are sub- 
servient ; this is the sin which is most tended 
and waited upon. The Pharisees' darling-sin 
was vain-glory ; all they did was to feed this 
sin of pride, Matt. vi. 2, " That they may have 
glory of men ;" when they gave alms, they 
sounded a trumpet. If a stranger had asked 
the question, " Why doth this trumpet sound V s 
The answer was, " The Pharisees are. going 
to give alms to the poor. Their lamp of 
charity was filled with the oil of vain-glory," 
Matt, xxiii. 5. All their works they did to 
be seen of men. Pride was their bosom-sin. 
Often-times covetousness is the darling-sin ; 
all other sins are committed to maintain this. 
Why do men equivocate, oppress, defraud, 
take bribes 1 all is to uphold covetousness. 

A. 2. That sin which a man doth not love 
to have reproved, is the darling-sin. Herod 
could not endure to have his incest spoken 
against : if John the Baptist meddles with 
that sin it shall cost him his head. 

A. 3. That sin which hath most power 
over one, and doth most easily lead him cap- 
tive, that is the beloved of the soul. There 
are some sins a man can better put off, and 
give a repulse to ; but there is one sin, which, 
if it comes to be a suitor, he cannot deny, 
but is overcome by it : this is the bosom-sin. 
The young man in the gospel had a com- 



plexion-sin which he could not resist, and 
that was the love of the world ; his silver was 
dearer to him than his Saviour. It is a sad 
thing a man should be so bewitched by a lust, 
that he will part with the kingdom of heaven 
to gratify it. 

A. 4. That sin which men use arguments 
to defend is the darling-sin. To plead for 
sin, is to be the devil's attorney ; if the sin be 
covetousness and we vindicate it; if it be rash 
anger, and we justify it, Jonah iv. 9, " I do 
well to be angry ;" this is the complexion-sin. 

A. 5. That sin which doth most trouble 
one, and flee in his face in an hour of sick- 
ness and distress, that is the beloved sin. 
When Joseph's brethren were distressed, 
their sin came to remembrance in selling 
their brother, Gen. xlv. 2 : so, when a man is 
upon his sick-bed, and conscience shall say, 
Dost not thou remember how thou hast lived 
in such a sin, though thou hast been often 
warned, yet thou wouldst not leave it? Con- 
science reads a curtain-lecture ; sure that 
was the darling-sin. 

A. 6. That sin which a man is most un- 
willing to part with, that is the darling-sin. 
Jacob could of all his sons, most hardly part 
with Benjamin, Gen. xlii. 36, " Joseph is not, 
and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin 
away :" so saith the sinner, this and that sin 
have I parted with ; but must Benjamin go ? 
must 1 part with this delightful sin ? that goes 
to the heart. This is the Delilah, the be- 
loved sin. O if sin be such a deadly evil, 
dare not to indulge any bosom-sin ! This is 
of all the most dangerous: like a humour 
striking to the heart, which is mortal, leave 
open but one gap, the wild beast may enter 
at it ; one darling-sin lived in, is setting open 
a gap for Satan to enter. 

4. Take heed of the sins which attend 
your particular callings. A calling you 
must live in ; Adam in Paradise tilled the 
ground ; God never sealed warrants to idle- 
ness ; but every calling hath its snare ; as 
some sin in living out of a calling, so others 
sin in a calling. Remember how deadly > 
an evil sin is ; avoid those sins which you 
may be exposed to in your trade ; take heed 
of all fraud and collusion in your dealings, 
Matt. vii. 12, " Whatsoever ye would that 



596 



OF THE SIXTH PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



men should do to you, do ye even so to 
them." 

(1) . Take heed of a deceitful tongue in 
selling. The scripture makes it the character 
of one that goes to heaven, Ps. xv. 2, " He 
speaketh the truth from his heart." It is the 
custom of many to say, the commodity stands 
them more, yet take less. This is hardly 
credible. 

(2) . Beware of a deceitful balance, Hos. 
xii. 7, ''• The balances of deceit are in his 
hand." Men by making their weights lighter, 
make their accounts heavier. 

(3) . Beware of sophisticating, mingling 
and embasing commodities, Amos viii. 6, 
" They sell the refuse of the wheat." They 
would pick out the best grains of the wheat, 
and sell the worst at the same price as they 
did the best; to mix a coarser commodity 
with a fine, and yet sell it all for fine, is no 
better than deceit, Isa. i. 22, 

(4) . Beware of stretching your consciences 
too far, or taking more for a commodity than 
it is worth, Lev. xxv. 14, " If thou sellest 
ought unto thy neighbour, ye shall not oppress 
one another." There is a lawful gain allow- 
ed, yet one may not so advantage himself as 
to damnify another. Let that be the trades- 
man's motto, Acts xxiv. 16, "A conscience 
void of offence, toward God and toward man." 
He hath a hard bargain, that doth purchase 
the world with the loss of his soul. 

(5) . Sin being so deadly an evil, "take 
heed of the appearance of sin." Abstain not 
only from apparent evil, but the appearance 
of evil ; if it be not absolutely a sin, yet if it 
looks like sin, avoid it. He who is loyal to 
his prince, not only forbears to have his hand 
in treason, but he will take heed of that which 
hath a show of treason. Joseph's mistress 
tempted him, and he fled and would not be 
with her, Gen. xxxix. 12. An appearance of 
good is too little, and an appearance of evil 
is too much. 1. The appearance of evil is 
oft an occasion of evil; dalliance is an ap- 
pearance of evil, and oftentimes it occasions 
evil. Touching the forbidden fruit, may 
occasion tasting : dancing in masquerades, 
hath often been the occasion of uncleanness. 
2. The appearance of evil may scandalize 
another, 1 Cor. viii. 12, "When ye sin 



against the brethren, and wound their weak 
conscience, ye sin against Christ:" sinning 
against a member of Christ, is a sinning 
against Christ. 

Thus you see sin being so deadly an evil, 
we should avoid all sin, — sins of omission, — 
secret sins,- — complexion-sins, — sins that at- 
tend our particular calling, — yea, the appear- 
ance of evil. 

Quest. What means shall we use to he 
kept from the acts of sin 1 

Ans. 1. If you would be preserved from 
actual and scandalous sins, labour to mortify 
original sin. If you would not have the 
branches bud and blossom, smite at the root. 
I know original sin cannot in this life be 
removed, but labour to have it subdued. Why 
do men break forth into actual sins, but be- 
cause they do not mortify heart sins I Sup- 
press the first risings of pride, lust, passion ; 
original sin unmortified, will prove such a 
root of bitterness, as will bring forth the 
cursed root of scandalous sin. 

A. 2. If you would be kept from actual sins, 
think what an odious thing sin is. Besides 
what you have heard, remember, sin is 1 the 
accursed thing,' Josh. vii. 13. It is the 
abominable thing God hates, Jer. xliv. 4, 14 O 
do not this abominable thing that I hate !" 
Sin is the spirits of witchcraft ; it is the devil's 
excrement ; it is called ' filthiness,' James i. 
21. If all the evils in the world were put 
together, and their quintessence strained out, 
they could not make a thing so filthy as sin 
doth. So odious is a sinner, that God loathes 
the sight of him, Zech. xi. 8, " My soul 
loathed them." He who defiles himself with 
avarice, what is he but a serpent licking the 
dust] He who defiles himself with the lust 
of uncleanness, what is he but a swine with 
a man's head 1 He who defiles himself with 
pride, what is he but a bladder, which the 
devil hath blown up 1 He who defiles him- 
self with drunkenness, what is he but a beast 
that hath got the staggers? To consider 
how odious and base a thing sin is would be 
a mean to keep us from sinning. 

A. 3. If you would be kept from actual 
sins, get the fear of God planted in your 
hearts, Prov. xvi. 6, " By the fear of the 
Lord men depart from evil." Cavebis si 



OF THE SIXTH PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



597 



pavebis. Fear is a bridle to sin, and a spur 
to holiness. Fear puts a holy awe upon the 
heart, and binds it to its good behaviour. By 
the fear of the Lord men depart from evil. 
When the empress Eudoxia, threatened to 
banish Chrysostom, " Tell her (saith he) I 
fear nothing but sin." Fear is janitor ani- 
mcs ; it stands as a porter at the door of the 
soul, and keeps sin from entering ; all sin is 
committed for want of the fear of God, Rom. 
iii. 14, 15, 18, " Whose mouth is full of curs- 
ing and bitterness ; their feet are swift to 
shed blood ; there is no fear of God before 
their eyes." Holy fear stands sentinel, and 
is ever watching against security, pride, wan- 
tonness. Fear is a Christian's life-guard to 
defend him against the fiery darts of tempta- 
tion. Si vis esse securus, semper time. 
The way to be safe, is always to fear, Prov. 
ii. 14. 

A. 4. If we would be kept ftom actual sins, 
let us be careful to avoid all the inlets and 
occasions of sin ; run not into evil company ; 
he that would not have the plague, will not 
go into an infected house. Guard your senses, 
which may be the inlets to sin. Keep the 
two portals, the eye and the ear ; especially, 
look to your eyes ; much sin comes in by the 
eye, — the eye is oft an inlet to sin, — sin 
takes fire at the eye, — the first sin in the 
world, began at the eye, Gen. iii. 6, " When 
the woman saw that the tree was good for 
food, and was pleasant to the eyes, then she 
took of the fruit thereof." Looking begat 
lusting. Intemperance begins at the eye : 
looking on the wine when it is red and gives 
its colour in the glass, causeth excess of 
drinking, Prov. xxi. 31. Covetousness be- 
gins at the eye, Josh. vii. 21, " When I saw 
among the spoils a goodly Babylonish gar- 
ment, and a wedge of gold, I coveted and 
took them." The fire of lust begins to kin- 
dle at the eye : David walking upon the roof 
of his house, saw a woman washing herself, 
and she was, saith the text, 1 very beautiful 
to look upon,' and he sent messengers and 
took her, and defiled himself with her, 2 Sam. 
xi. 2. O therefore look to your eyes ! Job 
made a covenant with his eyes, Job xxxi. 1. 
If the eye be once inflamed, it will be hard to 
stand out long against sin ; if the outworks 



are taken by the enemy, there is great dang e r 
of taking the whole castle. 

A. 5. If you would be kept from actual 
gross sin, study sobriety and temperance, 
1 Pet. v. 8, Sobrii est, 'be sober.' Check 
theinordinancy of appetite ; sin doth frequent- 
ly make its entrance this way. By gratify- 
ing the sensitive appetite, the soul, that is 
a-kin to angels, is enslaved to the brutish 
part. Many drink, if not to drunkenness, 
yet to drowsiness. The not denying the 
sensitive appetite, makes men's consciences 
so full of guilt, and the world so full of scan- 
dal. If you would be kept from running into 
sin, lay restraint upon the flesh. What hath 
God given reason and conscience for, but to 
be a bridle to check inordinate desires 1 

A. 6. If you would be kept from actual 
sins, be continually upon your spiritual watch. 

1. Watch your thoughts, Jer. iv. 14, "How 
long shall thy vain thoughts lodge within 
theel" Sin begins at the thoughts. First, 
men cherish revengeful thoughts, then they 
dip their hands in blood. Set a spy over 
your thoughts. 

2. Watch your passions : passions of anger, 
passions of lust. The heart is ready to be 
destroyed by its own passions, as the vessel 
is to be overturned by the sail. Passion 
transports beyond the bounds of reason ; it is 
brevis insania, Seneca, ' A short frenzy.' 
Moses in a passion spake unadvisedly with 
his lips, Ps. cvi. 33. The disciples in a pas- 
sion called for fire from heaven. A man in 
a passion is like a ship in a storm, that hath 
neither pilot nor sails to help it, but is ex- 
posed to the waves and rocks. 

3. Watch your temptations. Satan con- 
tinually lies in ambush, and watcheth to draw 
us to sin. Stat in procinctu diabolus : he 
is fishing for our souls, — he is either laying 
of snares, or shooting of darts, — therefore we 
had need watch the tempter, that we be not 
decoyed into sin. Most sin is committed for 
want of watchfulness. 

A. 7. If you would be kept from the evil of 
sin, consult with the oracles of God, be well- 
versed in scripture, Ps. cxix. 11, " Thy word 
have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin 
against thee." The word is amceps gladius, 
— a two-edged sword, to cut asunder men's 



598 



OF THE SIXTH PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



lusts. When the fogs and vapours of sin 
begin to arise, let but the light of scripture 
shine into the soul, and it dispels those fogs ; 
" let the word of Christ dwell in you richly," 
Col. iii. 16. Alphonsus, king of Arragon, 
read over the Bible fourteen times. The 
word shows the damnable evil of sin ; it fur- 
nisheth us with precepts, which are so many 
recipes and antidotes against sin. When 
Christ had a temptation to sin, he beat back 
the tempter, and wounded him three times 
with this sword of the Spirit, " It is written." 
Why do men live in sin, but because they 
either do not read the word or do not be- 
lieve it 1 

A. 8. If you would be preserved from gross, 
presumptuous sin, get your hearts fired with 
love to God. Love hath great force in it, it 
is " strong as death," it breaks the league be- 
tween the heart and sin. Two things in God 
cause love. 

1. His glorious beauty: Moses desired to 
see some glimpse of it. "Lord, show me 
thy glory." 

2. His amazing love. What a prodigy of 
love was it, to give his Son out of his bosom, 
and lay such a jewel to pawn for our redemp- 
tion ! These two, — the glories of God's 
beauty, and the magnitude of his love, — may, 
like two loadstones, draw our love to God ; 
and if we love him, we will not sin against 
him ; he that loves his friend, will not by any 
means displease him. I have read of four 
men meeting together, who asked one an- 
other, what it was that kept them from sin- 
ning ] One said, the fear of hell ; another 
said, the joys of heaven ; the third said, the 
odiousness of sin ; the fourth said, that which 
keeps me from sin, is love to God ; shall I 
sin against so good a God ] shall I abuse 
love ] Love to God is the best curbing-bit 
to keep from sin. 

A. 9. If you would be kept from the evil 
of sin, be diligent in a calling. Dii laboribus 
omnia vendunt. Adam in paradise must till 
the ground. Such as live idly, expose them- 
selves to sin ; if we have no work to do, Sa- 
tan will find us work ; he sows most of his 
seed in fallow ground. A woman being much 
tempted to sin, came to the reverend Mr 
Greenham for advice, what she should do to 
resist the temptation 1 He gave her this 



answer : " Be always well employed, that so 
when Satan comes, he may find thee busied in 
thy calling, and thou mayest not be at leisure 
to listen to his temptation." 

A. 10. If you would be kept from sin, fix 
the eye of your mind upon 'the beauty of 
holiness.' Holiness consists in our conform- 
ity to God ; holiness is the sparkling of the 
divine nature, a beam of God shining in the 
soul. How lovely is Christ's bride, when 
decked and bespangled with the jewels of 
holiness ! What makes the seraphims an- 
gels of light, but their holiness'? Do but 
think with yourselves what a splendid, glo- 
rious thing holiness is, and it will cause a 
disgust and hatred of sin, which is so con- 
trary to it. The beholding of beauty, makes 
one out of love with deformity. 

A. 11. If you would keep from the evil of 
sin, meditate frequently on death : First, the 
unavoidableness of it, Heb. ix. 27, " It is 
appointed unto all men once to die." We are 
not so sure to lie down this night in bed, as 
we are to lie down in the grave. Secondly, 
The uncertainty of the time. We are but 
tenants at will ; we hold our life at the will 
of our landlord, and how soon may God turn 
us out of this house of clay 1 Death oft comes 
when we least look for it. The flood as 
some learned writers observe came in the 
month Ziph, or April, — in the spring, — when 
the trees were blossoming, and the birds sing- 
ing, then came the flood, when they least 
looked for it : so oft in the spring of youth, 
when the body is most healthy, and the spirits 
most sprightly and vigorous, and death is 
least thought on, then it comes. Could we 
think often and seriously of death, it would 
give a death's-wound to sin. No stronger 
antidote against sin than this : I am now 
singing, and to-morrow may be dying? 
What if death should take me doing the devil's 
work, would it not send me to him to receive 
my wages 1 Would but the adulterer think, I 
am now in the act of sin, but how soon may 
death come, and then I who have burned in 
lust, must burn in hell : this sure would strike 
a damp into him ; and make him afraid of 
going after strange flesh. 

A. 12. If ye would be kept from gross 
scandalous sins, beware of a covetous heart. 
Covetousness is a dry drunkenness. He 



OF THE SIXTH PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



599 



who thirsts insatiably after the world will 
stick at no sin, he will betray Christ and a 
good cause for money. Cui nihil satis, 
eidem nihil turpe, Tacitus. 1 Tim. vi. 10, 
" The love of money is the root of all evil." 
From this root comes, First, theft : Achan's 
covetous humour made him steal the wedge of 
gold, Josh. vii. 21. Covetousness makes the 
gaols so full. Secondly, from this root comes 
murder. Why did Ahab stone Naboth to 
death, but to possess his vineyard 1 1 Kings 
xxi. 13. Covetousness hath made many swim 
to the crown in blood. Thirdly, from this 
bitter root of covetousness proceeds cozen- 
age ; it is the covetous hand holds false 
weights. Fourthly, from this root of covet- 
ousness comes uncleanness. You read of the 
hire of a whore, Deut. xxiii. 18. For money 
she would let both her conscience and chastity 
be set to sale. O if you would be kept from 
the evil of sin, beware of covetousness which 
is the inlet to so many sins ! 

A. 13. Let us be much in prayer to God, to 
keep us from ingulphing ourselves in sin, Ps. 
xix. 13, "Keep back thy servant from pre- 
sumptuous sins." We have no power in- 
herent to keep ourselves from evil. Arnoldus 
saith, that man, in his corrupt estate, hath 
aliquas reliquias vit<B spiritualis, — some 
reliques of spiritual life left. And Arminias" 
saith, man hath a sufficiency of grace in him- 
self whereby he may abstinere a malo, ab- 
stain from evil ; free-will is a sufficient curb 
to check and pull him back from sin. But 
then what needed Christ to have taught us 
this prayer : Libera nos a malo, " Deliver us 
from evil 1" If we have power of ourselves to 
keep from sin, what need we pray to God for 
power ] Alas ! if David and Peter, in a habit 
of grace, fell, for want of a fresh gale of the 
Spirit to hold them up, much more will they 
be in danger of falling, who have only the 
power of free-will to hold them. Let us there- 
fore sue to God for strength to keep us> from 
sinning ; pray that prayer of David, Ps. cxix. 
117, " Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe." 
And that other prayer, Ps. xvii. 5, " Hold up 
my goings in thy paths that my footsteps slip 
not." Lord, keep me from dishonouring 
thee,— keep me from the defiling sins of the 
age, that I may not be worse for the times, 



nor the times the worse for me, — " Keep 
back thy servant from presumptuous sins." 
Lord, whatever I suffer, keep me from sin. 
The child is safe in the nurse's arms ; and 
we are only safe from falling into sin, while 
we are held up in the arms of Christ and free 
grace. The 

2eZ Branch of the exhortation hath an as- 
pect to God's children. You that are pro- 
fessors, and carry Christ's colours, I beseech 
you, above all others, to take heed of sin ; 
beware of any action that is scandalous and 
unbecoming the gospel. You have heard 
what a prodigious hyperbolical evil sin is. 
Come not near the forbidden fruit, Hos. iv. 15, 
" Though thou Israel, play the harlot, yet let 
not Judah offend." So, though wicked men 
run into sin, yet let not the spouse of Christ 
defile the breasts of her virginity. Sin doth 
ill become any but doth worse become pro- 
fessors. Dung is unhandsome in the street ; 
but to see it in the temple, how offensive is 
it] Leprosy in the foot doth ill, but to see a 
leprous sore in the face is much worse ; to see 
sin break forth in them who have a face of 
religion, is most to be abominated. The sins 
of the wicked are not so much wondered at, 
Dan. xii. 10, " The wicked shall do wicked- 
ly." It is no wonder to see a toad spit poi- 
son ; it was not so much wondered to see 
Cain or Ahab sin ; but to see Lot's incest, — 
to see David's hands stained with blood, — 
this was strange. When the sun is eclipsed, 
every one stands and looks upon it : so when 
a child of light is eclipsed by scandalous sin, 
all stand and gaze at this eclipse. The sins 
of God's people do, in some sense, more pro- 
voke God than the sins of the wicked. We 
read " of the provokings of his sons and 
daughters," Deut. xxxii. 19. The sins of the 
wicked anger God, but the sins of his people 
grieve him. The sins of God's people have 
a more malignant aspect, and are of a blacker 
dye, than others ; there are those aggravations 
in the sins of God's people, as are not to be 
found in the sins of the unregenerate, in 
eight particulars. 

For, 1. The godly have something which 
may ponere obicem, restrain them from sin. 
Wicked men, when they sin, have no princi- 
ple to restrain them ; they have wind and tide 



600 



OF THE SIXTH PETITION} 



IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



to carry them, but have nothing to pull them 
back from sin ; but a child of God hath a 
principle of grace to give check to sin ; he 
hath the impulses of God's Spirit dissuading 
him from evil ; therefore, for him to commit 
ein, is far worse than for others, — this is to 
sin more desperately, — it is, as if a woman 
should go about to kill the babe in her womb. 
Christian, this thou art to do, when thou sin- 
nest presumptuously, thou dost what in thee 
lies to kill the babe of grace in thy soul. 

2. The sins of God's people are greater 
than others, because they sin against more 
mercy. This is like a weight put in a scale, 
it makes sin weigh heavier. God hath given 
Christ to a believer ; he hath cut him off from 
the wild stock of nature, and grafted him 
into the true olive ; and for him to abuse all 
this mercy, it is to out-do the wicked, and to 
sin with a higher aggravation, because it is 
to sin against greater love. How was Peter's 
sin enhanced and accented, that when Christ 
had done more for him than others, — had 
dropped some of the holy oil upon him, — had 
taken him into the number of the apostles, — 
had carried him up into the mount of trans- 
figuration, and shown him the glory of hea- 
ven in a vision, — that Peter should deny 
Christ after all this mercy, this was heinous, 
and could not be forgiven but by a miracle 
and prodigy of love. 

3. The sins of the godly are worse, and 
have this aggravation in them that they sin 
against more clear illumination than the 
wicked, Job xxiv. 13, " They are of those 
that rebel against the light:" light is here 
taken figuratively for knowledge. It cannot 
be denied, but the wicked sin knowingly ; but 
the godly have a light beyond them, — such a 
divine penetrating light, as no hypocrite can 
attain unto ; they have better eyes to see sin 
than others ; and for them to meddle with sin, 
and embrace this dunghill, how must this 
needs provoke God, and make the fury rise 
up in his face ! Oh therefore, you that are the 
people of God, flee from sin ; your sins are 
more enhanced, and have worse aggravations 
in them than the sins of the unregenerate ! 

4. The sins of the godly are worse than 
the sins of the unregenerate, for, when they 
sin, it is against great experiences. They 



have felt the bitterness of sin in the pangs 
of the new-birth, and afterwards God hath 
spoken peace, and they have had an experi- 
mental taste how ' sweet the Lord is ;' and 
yet, after these experiences, that they should 
touch the forbidden fruit, — venture upon a 
presumptuous sin, — how doth this enhance 
and aggravate their guilt ; it is like putting 
a weight more in the scale to make their sin 
weigh heavier. The wicked, when they sin, 
never tasted the sweetness of a heavenly 
life, — they never knew what it was to have 
any smiles from God, — they never tasted any 
thing sweeter than corn and wine, therefore 
no wonder if they sin : but for a child of God, 
who hath had such love-tokens from heaven, 
and signal experiences from God, — for him 
to gratify a lust, how horrid is this ! It was an 
aggravation of Solomon's sin, that i his heart 
was turned from the Lord God of Israel which 
had appeared to him twice,' 1 Kings xi. 9. 

5. The sins of the godly are greater than 
others, because they sin against their son- 
ship. When wicked men sin, they sin 
against the command ; but when the godly 
sin, they sin against a privilege, they abuse 
their sonship. The godly are adopted into 
the family of heaven, they have a new name. 
Is it a light thing said David to be son-in- 
law to a king] So, to be called the sons of 
God, to be heirs of the promises, is no small 
honour ; now, for such to run into an open 
offence, it is a sinning against their adoption ; 
they hereby make themselves vile, as if a 
king's son should be tumbling into the mire, 
or lie among swine. 

6. The sins of the godly are worse than 
others, because they are committed against 
more vows and engagements. They have 
given up their names to God; they have 
bound themselves solemnly to God by oath, 
Ps. cxix. 106, "I have sworn that I will 
keep thy righteous judgments." And in the 
supper of the Lord they have renewed this 
sacred vow ; and, after this, to run into a 
presumptuous sin, — it is a breach of vow, a 
kind of perjury, which dyes the sin of a 
crimson colour. 

7. The sins of the godly are worse than 
others, because they bring a greater re- 
proach upon religion. For the wicked to 



OF THE SIXTH PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



601 



sin, there is no other expected from them ; 
swine will wallow in the mire, but when sheep 
do so,— when the godly sin,— that redounds 
to the dishonour of the gospel, 2 Sam. xii. 14, 
" By this deed thou hast given great occasion 
to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme." 
A stain in scarlet, every one's eye is upon it : 
for the godly to sin, it is like a spot in scar- 
let, it is more taken notice of, and it reflects 
a greater dishonour upon the ways of God. 
When the sun is eclipsed, every one stands 
and looks upon it, so, when a child of light is 
eclipsed by scandalous sin, all stand and gaze 
at this eclipse. How doth the gospel suffer 
by the miscarriages of the godly 1 Their 
blood never can wash off the stain that they 
| bring upon religion. 

8. The sins of the godly are worse, because 
they are a mean to encourage and harden 
wicked men in sin. If the wicked see the 
godly to be loose and uncircumspect in their 
lives, they think they may do so too : the 
wicked make the godly their pattern, not in 
imitating their virtues, but their vices, and is 
not this fearful to be a mean to damn others ? 
These are the aggravations of the sins of the 
godly ; therefore you, above all others, beware 
of presumptuous sin ; your sins wound consci- 
ence, weaken grace, and do more highly pro- 
voke God than the sins of others, and God 
will be sure to punish you. Whoever escapes, 
you shall not, Amos iii. 2, " You only have 
I known of all the families of the earth, 
therefore I will punish you for all your in- 



iquities." If God doth not damn you, yet, 
he may send you to hell in this life ; he may 
cause such agonies and tremblings of heart, 
that you will be a terror to yourselves ; you 
may draw nigh to despair, and be ready to 
ook upon yourselves as castaways. When 
David had stained himself with adultery and 
nurder, he complained of his 4 broken bones,' 
Ps. li. 8, — a metaphor to set forth the grief 
ind agony of his soul ; he lay in sore deser- 
ion three quarters of a year, and it is thought 
le never recovered his full joy to his dying 
lay. Oh, therefore, you who belong to God 
md are enrolled in his family, take heed of 
lemishing your profession with scandalous 
in ; you will pay dear for it ! Think of the 
roken bones : though God doth not blot 
4G 



you out of his book, yet he may cast you 
out of his presence, Ps. li. 11. He may 
keep you in long desertion. You may feel 
such lashes in your conscience, that you 
may roar out, and think yourselves half in 
hell. 

So much for the first, "deliver us from 
evil :" we pray to be delivered from evil, in 
general, that is sin. 

Secondly, In special. " Deliver us from 
evil." We pray to be delivered from evil, 
under a threefold notion. 1. From the evil 
of our heart ; it is called 1 an evil heart,' Heb. 
iii. 12. 2. From the evil of Satan ; he is 
called the " wicked one," Matt. xiii. 19. 
3. From the evil of the world ; it is called 'an 
evil world,' Gal. i. 4. 

1st, In this petition, " deliver us from evil." 
we pray to be delivered from the evil of our 
heart, that it may not decoy and trepan us in- 
to sin. The heart is the poisoned fountain 
from whence all actual sins flow, Mark vii. 
21, " Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, 
fornications, murders." The cause of all 
evil lies in a man's own breast, all sin begins 
at the heart. Lust is first conceived in the 
heart, and then it is midvvifed into the world. 
Whence comes rash anger 1 ? The heart sets 
the tongue on fire. The heart is a shop or 
workhouse where all sin is contrived and 
hammered out ; how needful therefore is this 
prayer, " deliver us from evil," from the evil 
of our hearts'? The heart is the greatest 
seducer ; therefore the apostle James saith> 
" every man is drawn away of his own lust, 
and enticed," James i. 14. The devil could 
not hurt us, if our own hearts did not give 
consent ; all that he can do is, to lay the bait, 
but it is our fault to swallow the bait. 
O let us pray to be delivered from the lusts 
and deceits of our own heart ! " Deliver us 
from evil." Luther feared his own heart 
more than the pope or cardinal ; and it was 
Austin's prayer, libera me, Domine, a me- 
ip S0) — t Lord deliver me from myself.' It was 
a good advice one gave to his friend, Caveas 
teipsum. Beware of the bosom traitor, the 
flesh. The heart of a man is the Trojan horse, 
out of which comes a whole army of lusts. 

2dly, In this petition, " deliver us from 
evil," we pray to be delivered from the evil 



602 



OF THE SIXTH PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



of Satan. He is 1 the evil one,' Matt.xiii. 
19. 

Quest. In what respect is Satan the 
wicked one 1 

Ans. 1. He was the first inventor of evil, 
John viii. 44. He plotted the first treason. 

A. 2. His inclination is only to evil, Eph. 
vi. 12. 

A. 3. His constant practice is doing evil, 
1 Pet. v. 8. 

A. 4. All the evils and mischiefs that fall 
out in the world, he hath some hand in them. 

(1) . He hinders from good, Zech. iii. 1, 
" He showed me Joshua the high-priest 
standing before the angel of the Lord, and 
Satan standing at his right hand to resist 
him." 

(2) . He provokes to evil ; he put it into 
Ananias's heart to lie, Acts v. 3, " Why hath 
Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy 
Ghost V 1 The devil blows the fire of lust and 
strife. When men are proud, the old serpent 
hath poisoned them, and makes them swell. 
Thus he is the evil one ; and well may we 
pray, " Lord deliver us from the evil one." 
The word Satan in the Hebrew signifies an 
opponent or adversary. 

1. He is a restless adversary, he never 
sleeps ; spirits need no sleep. He is a pe- 
ripatetic, — " He walks about," 1 Pet. v. 8. 
And, how doth he walk 1 not as a pilgrim, 
but as a spy ; he narrowly observes where he 
may plant his pieces of battery and make 
his assaults with most advantage against us. 
Satan is a subtle engineer; there is no place 
that can secure us from Satan's assaults and 
inroads. We find him while we are praying, 
hearing, meditating. We are sure of his 
company, uncertain how we came by it. 

2. Satan is a puissant adversary, he is 
armed with power. He is called { the strong 
man,' Luke xi. 21. He takes men captive at 
his pleasure, 2 Tim. ii. 26, " Who are taken 
captive by him at his will," — who are taken 
alive by him. It alludes to a bird that is 
taken alive in the snare. Thus you see he is 
in the evil one. The devil's work is to an- 
gle for men's souls ; he lays suitable baits ; 
he allures the ambitious man with honour, 
■ — the covetous man with riches, he hooks 
his baits with silver, — he allures the lustful 



man with beauty, he tempts men to Delilah's 
lap to keep them from Abraham's bosom. 
The devil glories in the damnation of souls. 
How needful then is this prayer, " Deliver us 
from evil." Lord, keep us from the evil one ; 
though Satan may solicit us to sin, suffer us 
not to give consent ; though he may assault 
the castle of our hearts, yet let us not deli- 
ver up the keys of the castle to our mortal 
enemy. 

3dly, In this petition, " Deliver us from 
evil," we pray to be delivered from the evil 
of the world. It is called an 1 evil world,' 
Gal. i. 4 ; not but that the world (as God 
made it) is good, but through our corruption 
it becomes evil, and we had need pray, deliver 
us from an evil world. 

Quest. In what sense is it an evil world ? 

Ans. 1. As it is a defiling world. It is 
like living in an infectious air ; it requires a 
high degree of grace to " keep himself un- 
spotted from the world," James i. 27. It is 
as hard to live in the world and not be defiled, 
as to go much in the sun, and not be tanned. 

(1) . The opinions of the world are defil- 1 
ing ; that a little religion will serve the turn, 
like leaf-gold, it must be spread but thin; 
that morality runs parallel with grace ; that 
to be zealous, is to be righteous over much ; 
that it is better to keep the skin whole than 
the conscience pure ; that the flesh is rather 
to be gratified than mortified. These opin- 
ions of the world are defiling. 

(2) . The examples of the world are de- j 
filing. Examples have a great force in 
them to draw us to evil. — Princeps imperio ^ 
magnus examplo major, Princes are looking- 
glasses which we dress ourselves by ; if 
they do evil, we are apt to imitate them. 
Great men are copies we set before us, and 
usually we write most like the copy when 
it is blotted. There is a great proneness 
in us to follow the examples of the world ; 
therefore God hath put in a caveat against 
it, Exod. xxiii. 2, " Thou shalt not follow 
a multitude to do evil." How easily are 
we hurried to sin, when we have the tide 
of natural corruption, and the wind of ex- 
ample to carry us ! Lot was the world's 
wonder ; the complexion of his soul kept 
pure in Sodom's infectious air. The river 



OF THE SIXTH PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



(503 



of Peru in America, after it hath run into the 
main sea, keeps fresh, and doth not mingle 
with the salt waters : to this river might Lot 
be compared, whose piety kept fresh in So- 
dom's salt water. Bad examples are catch- 
ing, Ps. cvi. 35, They " were mingled among 
the heathen, and learned their works." Had 
not we need then pray, Lord, deliver us from 
this evil world 1 Living in the world is like 
travelling in a dirty road. 

A. 2. It is an evil world, as it is an en- 
snaring world. The world is full of snares. 
Company is a snare, — recreations are snares, 
— oaths are snares, — riches are golden 
snares, — Opes irritamenta malorum. The 
apostle speaks of " the lust of the flesh, the 
lust of the eyes, and the pride of life," 1 John 
ii. 16. The lust of the flesh is beauty, — the 
lust of the eye is money, — the pride of life 
is honour ; these are the natural man's trinity. 
In mundo splendor opum, gloria majeslas, 
voluptatum illecebra, ab amore Dei nos 
astrahunt. The world is a flattering enemy ; 
whom it kisses, it oft betrays ; it is a silken 
halter ; the pleasures of the world, like opium, 
cast men into the sleep of security. Lysi- 
machus sold his crown for a draught of water : 
so many part with heaven for the world. It 
is an ensnaring world: the king of Armenia 
was sent prisoner to queen Cleopatra in 
golden fetters, — too many are enslaved with 
the world's golden fetters. The world be- 
witched Demas, 2 Tim. iv. 10. One of 
Christ's own apostles was caught with a sil- 
ver bait. It is hard to drink the wine of pros- 
perity, and not be giddy. Thus the world, 
through our innate corruption, is evil, as it is 
a snare, 1 Tim. vi. 9, " They that will be 
rich, fall into temptation, and a snare." If 
an angel were to live here, there were no 
danger of the world's ensnaring him because 
he hath no principle within to receive the 
temptation, but we have a corrupt principle 
that suits with the temptation, and that makes 
us always in danger. 

A. 3. It is an evil world, as it is a dis- 
couraging world. It casts scorn and reproach 
upon them who live virtuously. What! 
Will you be holier than others, wiser than 
your ancestors ? The world deals with the 
professors of religion as Sanballat did with 



the Jews when they were building, Neh. iv. 
1, 2, " He mocked the Jews, and said, What 
do these feeble Jews] Will they fortify 
themselves? Will they revive the stones 
out of the heaps of rubbish that are burnt !" 
So the wicked world casts out squibs of re- 
proach at the godly. What ! Will ye build 
for heaven? What needs all this cost? 
What profit is it to serve the Almighty? 
Thus the world would pluck off our chariot- 
wheels when we are driving towards heaven. 
They are called 'cruel mockings,' Heb. xi. 
36. It requires a great measure of sanctity 
to withstand the discouragements of the 
world, to dance among serpents, to laugh at 
reproaches, and bind them as a crown about 
our head. 

A. 4. It is an evil world, as it is a deaden- 
ing world. It dulls and deadeneth the affec- 
tions to heavenly objects. The world cools 
holy motions, like a damp in a silver mine 
which puts out the light ; earthly things choke 
the seed of the word. A man entangled in 
the world is so taken up about secular con- 
cerns that he can no more mind the things 
above than the earth can ascend, or the ele- 
phant fly in the air ; and, even such as have 
grace in them, yet, when their affections are 
belimed with the earth, they find themselves 
much indisposed to meditation and prayer ; 
it is like swimming with a stone about the 
neck. 

A. 5. It is an evil world, as it is a malign- 
ing world. It doth disgust and hate the peo- 
ple of God, John xv. 19, " Because ye are not 
of the world therefore the world hateth you." 
Hatred is— as Aristotle saith— against the 
whole kind. Haman's hatred was against 
the seed of the whole Jews. When you can 
find a serpent without a sting, or a leopard 
without spots, then you may expect to find a 
wicked world without hatred. The white that 
is shot at its piety, Ps. xxxviii. 20, " They 
are mine adversaries, because I follow the 
thing that is good." The world pretends to 
hate the godly for something else, but the 
ground of the quarrel is holiness. The world's 
hatred is implacable ; anger may be recon- 
ciled, hatred cannot ; you may as well recon- 
cile heaven and hell, as the two seeds. If 
the world hated Christ, no wonder it hates 



604 OF THE SIXTH PETITION 



IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. 



us, John xv. 18, " The world hated me before 
it hated you." Why should any hate Christ ? 
This blessed dove had no gall, — this rose of 
Sharon did send forth a most sweet perfume ; 
but this shows the world's baseness, it is a 
Christ-hating and a saint-hating world. Had 
not we need to pray, deliver us from this evil 
world 1 

A. 6. It is an evil world, as it is a deceit- 
ful world. 

(1) . There is a deceit in dealing, Hos. xii. 
7, " He is a merchant, the balances of deceit 
are in his hand." The Hebrew word signi- 
fies both to deceive and oppress. He who 
dares use deceit, will not spare to oppress. 

(2) . There is a deceit in friendship : Prov. 
xx. 6, " But a faithful man who can find]" 

— Trita frequensque via est per amici fall ere nomen — 

Some use too much courtship in friend- 
ship ; they are like trumpets which make a 
great noise, but within they are hollow. 
Some can flatter and hate, commend and 
censure. Mel in ore, fel in corde. Dis- 
sembled love is worse than hatred. 

(3) . There is deceit in riches, Matt. xiii. 
22, "The deeeitfulness of riches." The 
world makes us believe it will satisfy our 
desires, and it doth but increase them ; it 
makes us believe it will stay with us, and it 
takes wings, Prov. xxiii. 5. 

A. 7. It is an evil world, as it is a dis- 
quieting world. It is full of trouble, John 
xvi. 33. The world is like a bee-hive ; when 
we have tasted a little honey, we have been 
stung with a thousand bees. St Basil was 
of opinion, that before the fall, the rose did 
grow without prickles ; but now every sweet 
flower of our life hath its prickles. There 
are many things cause disquiet: loss of 
friends, — law-suits, — crosses in estate ; rela- 
tions are not without their troubles, — some 
are troubled that they want children,— others 
troubled that they have children ; the world 
is a vexing vanity. If a man be poor, he is 
despised by the rich; if he be rich, he is 
envied by the poor. If we do not find it an 
ensnaring world, we shall find it an afflicting 
world ; it hath more in it to wean us than 
tempt us. The world is a sea where we are 
tossed upon the surging waves of sorrow, 
and often in danger of shipwreck ; the world 



is a wilderness full of fiery serpents. What 
storms of persecution are raised against the 
righteous 1 2 Tim. iii. 12. The wicked are 
briars, Mic. vii. 4, where Christ's sheep lose 
some of their golden fleece. Then had we 
not need pray, Lord, deliver us from being 
hurt by this evil world 1 Why should we 
love the world 1 Though we are commanded 
to love our enemies, yet this enemy we must 
not love, 1 John ii. 15, " Love not the 
world." 

I have been all this while opening the 
first sense of this petition, " Deliver us from 
evil ;" we pray to be delivered from sin in 
general, and to be delivered from evil under 
this threefold notion, — from the evil of our 
heart, — from the evil of Satan, — from the 
evil of the world. Ere I leave this, let me 
insert a 

Caution. Not that our abstaining from, 
or forbearing the external acts of sin, is suffi- 
cient to entitle us to salvation : but when we 
pray, " Deliver us from evil," there is more 
implied in it, namely, that we make a pro- 
gress in holiness. Being divorced from sin is 
not enough, unless we are espoused to virtue ; 
therefore in scripture these two are joined, 
Ps. xxxiv. 14, " Depart from evil, and do 
good," Rom. xii. 9, and Isa. i. 16, " Cease to 
do evil, learn to do well," 2 Cor. vii. 1, " Let 
us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of flesh 
and spirit, perfecting holiness." Leaving sin 
is not enough, unless we embrace righteous- 
ness. Virtutis est magis honesto ageri, 
quam non turpia. As it is in the body, it is 
not enough that the disease be stopped, but 
it must grow in health ; so it is in the soul, it 
is not enough acts of sin be forborne, — which 
is the stopping a disease — but it* must be 
healthy, that is, grow in holiness. 

Use. Which reproves those who labour 
only to suppress the outward acts of sin, 
but do not press on to holiness ; they cease 
from doing evil, but do not learn to do 
well. Their religion lies only in negatives ; 
they glory in this, that they are given to no 
vice, none can charge them with any foul 
miscarriages, Luke xviii. 11, " God I thank 
thee, that I am not as other men are ; extor- 
tioners, unjust, adulterers." This is not 
enough, you must advance a step further in 



OF THE SIXTH PETITION IN THE LORD'S PRAYER. G03 



solid piety ; it is not enough that a field be 
not sown with tares or hemlock, but it must be 
sown with good seed. Consider two things : 

1. If this be the best certificate you have 
to show that you are not guilty of gross sins, 
God makes no account of you. A piece of 
brass, though it be not so bad as clay, yet not 
being so good as silver, it will not pass for 
current coin : so though you are not grossly 
profane, yet not being of the right metal, 
wanting the stamp of holiness, you will never 
pass current in heaven. 

2. A man may abstain from evil, yet he 
may go to hell for not doing good, Matt. iii. 
10, " Every tree that bringeth not forth good 
fruit, is hewn down, and cast into the fire." 
Why were the foolish virgins shut out? they 
had done no hurt, — they had not broke their 
lamps, — yea, but their fault was, there was 
no goodness in them, they had no oil in their 
lamps. Oh therefore let us not content our- 
selves in being free from gross acts of sin, 
but let us launch forth further in holiness ; 
let us cleanse ourselves from all pollution, 
* perfecting holiness.' 

Secondly, " Deliver us from evil," that is, 
from temporal evil. We pray that God will 
either prevent temporal evils, or deliver us 
out of them. 

1. We pray that God will prevent tem- 
poral evils ; that he will be our screen, to 
stand between us and danger, Ps. vii. 1, 
" Save me from them that persecute me." 
We may lawfully pray against the plots of 
the wicked, that they may prove abortive, — 
that, though they have a design upon us, 
they may not have their desire upon us. Ps. 
cxli. 9, "Keep me from the snares which 
they have laid for me." 

2. We pray that God will deliver us out 
of temporal evils, — that he will remove his 
judgments from us, whether famine, sword, 
pestilence, Ps. xxxix. 10, "Remove thy 
stroke away from me." Yet with this 

Caution. We may pray to be delivered 
from temporal evils only so far as God sees 
it good for us. We may pray to be delivered 
from the evil of sin absolutely, but we must 



pray to be delivered from temporal evils con- 
ditionally, so far as God sees it fitting for us, 
and may stand with his glory. 

Use. In all the troubles that lie upon us, 
let us look up to God for ease and succour. 
" Deliver us from evil," Isa. viii. 19, " Should 
not a people seek unto their God?" To 
blame then are the papists, who knock at the 
wrong door ; when they are in any trouble, 
they pray to the saints to deliver them ; 
when they are in danger of shipwreck, they 
pray to St Nicholas ; when they are in the 
fit of a fever, they pray to St Petronelle ; 
when they are in travail, they pray to St 
Margaret. How unlawful it is to invocate 
saints in prayer, I will prove from one scrip- 
ture, Rom. x. 14, " How then shall they call 
on him in whom they have not believed V 
We may pray to none but such as we be- 
lieve in ; but we ought not to believe in any 
saint, therefore we may not pray to him. 
The papists have, in their Lady's psalter, 
directed their prayers for deliverance to the 
virgin Mary : " Deliver me, O Lady !" Bene- 
dicta Domina, in manibus tuis reposita est 
nostra solus, — ' O thou blessed Lady, in thy 
hands our salvation is laid up.' But " Abra- 
ham is ignorant of us," Isa. Ixiii. 16 : the 
saints and virgin Mary are ignorant of us. 
To pray to saints, is idolatry advanced to 
blasphemy. Our Saviour hath taught us bet- 
ter, in all our distresses to pray to God for 
a cure, " Deliver us from evil." He only 
knows what our troubles are, and can give 
us help from trouble ; he only that laid the 
burthen on, can take it off. David went to 
God, Ps. xxv. 17, " O bring thou me out of 
my distresses !" God can, with a word, heal, 
Ps. cvii. 20, " He sent forth his word, and 
healed them." He delivered the three chil- 
dren out of the fiery furnace, — Joseph out 
of prison, — Daniel out of the lion's den ; 
this proves him to be God, because none can 
deliver as he doth, Dan. iii. 29, " There is 
no other God that can deliver after this 
sort." Let us then, in all our straits and 
exigencies, seek to God, and say, " Deliver 
us from evil." 



END OF THE AUTHOR'S LECTURES ON THE CATECHISM. 



SELECT SERMONS, 

BY THE 

REV. THOMAS WATSON. 



SELECT SERMONS. 

SERMON I. 

Matt. x. 16, " Be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves." 



The apostle saith, " All scripture is given 
by inspiration," 2 Tim. iii. 16. God's word 
is compared to a lamp, for its enlightening 
quality, Ps. cxix. 105, and to silver refined, 
for its enriching quality, Ps. xii. 6. Among 
other parts of sacred writ, this, in the text, 
is not the least : M Be ye wise as serpents, 
and harmless as doves." This is the speech 
of our blessed Saviour ; his lips were a tree 
of life which fed many ; his works were mira- 
cles ; his words were oracles, and deserve 
to be engraved upon our hearts as with the 
point of a diamond. This is a golden sen- 
tence ; " Be ye wise as serpents, and harm- 
less as doves." Our Lord Jesus, in this chap- 
ter, 1st, Gives his apostles their commission ; 
2dly, Foretells their danger; 3dly, Gives 
them several instructions. 

I. Christ gives his apostles their commis- 
sion. Before they went abroad to preach, 
Christ ordains them, ver. 5, " These twelve 
Jesus sent forth." Those who exercise in 
the ministerial function must have a lawful 
call, Heb. v. 4, " No man takes this honour 
to himself, but he that is called of God." 
Christ gave not only the apostles and pro- 
phets a call to their office, (who were extra- 
ordinary ministers) but even "pastors and 
teachers," Eph. iv. 11. 

Quest. But if one have gifts, is not this 
sufficient to the ministerial office ? 

Ans. No: as grace is not sufficient to 
make a minister, so neither is gifts ; there- 
fore it is observable, that the scripture puts 
a difference between gifting and sending, 
Rom. x. 15, " How shall they preach unless 
they be sent 1" If gifts were enough to con- 
stitute a minister, the apostle should have 
4H 



said, " How shall they preach unless they 
be gifted ?" But he saith, " unless they be 
sent :" which denotes a lawful call, or inves- 
titure into the office. The attorney that 
pleads at the bar may have as good gifts as 
the judge that sits upon the bench : but he 
must have a lawful commission before he sit 
as a judge. If it be thus in matters civil, 
much more in church matters, which are of 
higher concern. Those, therefore, who usurp 
the work of the ministry without being so- 
lemnly set apart for it, discover more pride 
than zeal, and they can expect no blessing, 
Jer. xxiii. 32, "I sent them not, nor com- 
manded them ; therefore they shall not profit 
this people at all, saith the Lord." So much 
for the first : the apostles' commission ; 
" These twelve Jesus sent forth." 

II. Christ foretells their danger, v. 10. 
" Behold I send you forth as sheep in the 
midst of wolves." The apostles were going 
about a glorious work, but a hazardous work ; 
they would meet with enemies fierce and sa- 
vage like wolves. As all that will live godly 
in Christ shall meet with sufferings, so com- 
monly Christ's ambassadors encounter the 
deepest trials. Most of the apostles died by 
the hands of tyrants ; Peter was crucified 
with his head downwards ; Luke the evange- 
list was executed on an olive-tree ; John was 
cast by Domitian into a vessel of scalding oil. 
Maximinus the emperor— as Eusebius relates 

gave charge to his officers, to put none to 

death but the governors and pastors of the 
church. The ministers are Christ's antesig- 
nani, his ensign-bearers to carry his colours, 
therefore they are most shot at ; they hold 
forth his truth, Phil. i. 17, « 1 am set for the 



610 



SELECT SERMONS. 



defence of the gospel." The Greek word, 
Ks/^fiti alludes to a soldier that is set in the 
forefront of the battle, and hath all the bullets 
flying about his ears. The minister's work is 
to part between men and their sins ; and this 
causeth opposition. When Paul preached 
against Diana, all the city was in an uproar, 
Acts xix. This may stir up prayer for Christ's 
ministers, that they may be able to withstand 
the assaults of the enemy, 2 Thess. iii. 2. 

III. Christ gives the apostles their instruc- 
tions, whereof this in the text was one, " Be 
ye wise as serpents, and harmless as doves." 
1. The exhortation, " Be ye wise ;" 2. The 
simile, " as serpents ;" 3. The qualifica- 
tion of this wisdom, — a wisdom mixed with 
innocency, "Harmless as doves." 

This union of the dove and the serpent is 
hard to find, Matt. xxiv. 45, " Who then is a 
wise and faithful servant V On which place, 
saith St Chrysostom, it is a hard matter to 
find one faithful and wise. Faithful, there is 
the dove ; wise, there is the serpent : 'tis 
hard to find both. If one would seek for a 
faithful man, questionless he may find many ; 
if for a wise man, he may find many ; but if 
he seek for one both wise and faithful, this is 
rara avis, hard to find, yet it is possible 
though not common. Moses, a man " learned 
in all the wisdom of the Egyptians," Acts 
vii. 22, there was the wisdom of the serpent ; 
and the meekest man alive, Numb. xii. 3, 
" Now the man Moses was very meek, above 
all the men which were upon the face of the 
earth," there was the innocency of the dove. 
Daniel was an excellent person, Dan. v. 14, 
" Excellent wisdom is found in thee," there 
was the prudence of the serpent ; and, Dan. 
vi. 4, " The presidents and princes sought to 
find occasion against Daniel, but they could 
find no occasion nor fault," behold here the 
innocency of the dove. Look on St Paul, 
Acts xxiii. 6, " When Paul perceived that 
the one part were Sadducees, and the other 
Pharisees, he cried out, lam a Pharisee;" by 
which speech Paul got all the Pharisees on 
his side ; here was the wisdom of the ser- 
pent ; and v. 1, " I have lived in all good 
conscience before God unto this day," here 
was the innocency of the dove. How amia- 
ble is this, the union of the dove and serpent ! 



The scripture joins these two together, 
" Meekness of wisdom," Jam. iii. 13 ; wis- 
dom, there is the serpent ; meekness, there is 
the dove. This beautifies a Christian, when 
he hath the serpent's eye in the dove's head. 
We must have innocency with our wisdom, 
else our wisdom is but craftiness ; and we 
must have wisdom with our innocency, else 
our innocency is but weakness. We must 
have the innocency of the dove, that we 
may not circumvent others; and we must 
have the wisdom of the serpent, that others 
may not circumvent us. We must have the 
innocency of the dove, that we may not be- 
tray the truth ; and the wisdom of the ser- 
pent, that we may not betray ourselves. In 
short, religion without policy, is too weak to 
be safe ; policy without religion is too subtle 
to be good. When wisdom and innocency, 
like Castor and Pollux, appear together, they 
presage the soul's happiness. 

Doctrine. That Christians must be both 
wise and innocent. 

I begin with the first, wise : be ye " wise 
as serpents." 

1. I shall speak concerning wisdom in 
general. Solomon saith, " Wisdom is the 
principal thing," Prov. iv. 7. It is better 
than riches, Prov. iii. 13, " Happy is the man 
that findeth wisdom ; for the merchandise of 
it is better than the merchandise of silver." 
If the mountains were pearl, if every sand 
of the sea was a diamond, they were not 
comparable to wisdom. Without wisdom, a 
person is like a ship without a pilot, in dan- 
ger to split upon rocks. Job sets forth the 
encomium and praise of wisdom, Job xxviii. 
13, 18, " The price of wisdom is above ru- 
bies." The ruby is a precious stone, trans- 
parent, of a red fiery colour. It is reported 
of one of the kings of India, that he wore a 
ruby of that bigness and splendour, that he 
might be seen by it in the dark : but wisdom 
casts a more sparkling colour than the ruby, 
it makes us shine as angels. No chain of 
pearl you wear doth so adorn you as wisdom. 
Wisdom consists chiefly in three things : 

(1) . Knowledge to discern wherein hap- 
piness lies. 

(2) . Skill to judge what will be the fittest 
means to conduce to it. 



SELECT 

(3). Activity to prosecute those things 
i which will certainly accomplish that end. So 
much for wisdom in general. 

2. More particularly : wisdom is variously 
distinguished. Tis either natural, moral, or 
theological. 

(1) . A natural wisdom, which is seen in 
finding out the arcana natures, the secrets of 
nature. Aristotle was by some of the an- 
cients called an eagle fallen from the clouds, 
because he was of such raised intellectuals, 
and had so profound an insight into the 
causes of things. This natural wisdom is 
adorning, but it is not sufficient to salvation. 
St Hierom brings in Aristotle with his syllo- 
gisms, and Tully with his rhetoric, crying 
out in hell. 

(2) . A moral wisdom, which consists in 
two things malum respuendo, bonum eligen- 
do. Moral wisdom lies in the rejection of 
those things which are prejudicial, and the 
election of those things which are beneficial; 
this is called prudence. Knowledge without 
prudence may do hurt ; many a man's wit 
hath undone him, for want of wisdom. 

(3) . A theological or sacred wisdom, which 
is our knowing of God, who is the supreme 
and sovereign good. Greece was counted 
the eye of the world, for wisdom ; and Athens 
the eye of Greece ; but neither of them knew 
God, Acts xvii. 23, " I found an altar with 
this inscription, To the unknown God." To 
know God, in whom is both verum et bonum, 
truth and goodness, is the master-piece of 
wisdom, 1 Chron. xxviii. 9, " And thou, Solo- 
mon my son, know thou the God of thy fa- 
ther." And this knowledge of God is through 
Christ ; Christ is the glass in which the face 
of God is seen, Col. i. 15. And then we 
know God aright, when we know him not 
only with a knowledge of speculation, but 
"appropriation, Ps. xlviii. 14, " This God is 
our God." This knowledge of God is the 
most sublime wisdom, therefore it is called, 
" Wisdom from above," James iii. 17. 

3. But to come nearer to the text, and speak 
of the wisdom of the serpent : " Be ye wise 
as serpents." 

Quest. But must we in every thing be 
like the serpent ? 

Ans. No : our Saviour meant not that in 
every thing we should imitate the serpent. 



SERMONS. 611 

I shall show you, 1. Wherein we should not 
be like the serpent ; 2. Wherein we should 
be like the serpent. 

1. Wherein we should not be like the ser- 
pent. 

(1) . The serpent eats dust, Isa. Ixv. 25, 
" Dust shall be the serpent's meat." It was a 
curse upon the serpent. Thus we should not 
be like the serpent, to feed immoderately upon 
earthly things. It is absurd for him that hath 
a heaven-born soul, capable of communion 
with God and angels, to eat greedily the 
serpent's meat ; a Christian hath better food 
to feed on, — the heavenly manna, the pre- 
cious promises, the body and blood of Christ. 
'Tis counted a miracle to find a diamond in 
a golden mine ; and it is as great a miracle 
to find Christ, the pearl of price, in an earth- 
ly heart. The lapwing wears a little coronet 
on its head, yet feeds on dung : to have a 
crown of profession on the head, yet feed in- 
ordinately on these dunghill comforts, is 
unworthy of a Christian. What a poor con- 
temptible thing is the world ! It cannot fill 
the heart. If Satan should take a Christian 
up to the top of the pinnacle, and show him 
all the kingdoms and glory of the world, what 
could he show him, but a show, a pleasant 
delusion 7 There is a lawful use God allows 
of these outward things, but the sin is in the 
excess. The bee may suck a little honey 
from the leaf, but put it in a barrel of honey, 
and it is drowned. The wicked are thus 
characterized, Phil. iii. 19, " Who mind 
earthly things." They are like Saul, " hid 
among the stuff." We should be as eagles 
flying aloft towards heaven, and not as ser- 
pents, creeping upon the earth, and licking 
the dust. 

(2) . The serpent is deceitful. The serpent 
useth many shifts, and glides so cunningly, 
that we cannot trace him. This was one of 
those four things which wise Agur could not 
find out, " the way of a serpent upon a rock," 
Prov. xxx. 19. 'Tis a deceitful creature : we 
should not in this sense be like the serpent, 
for deceitfulness. Naturally we too much 
resemble the serpent for fraud and collusion, 
Jer. xvii. 9, "The heart is deceitful above 
all things." 1st, Deceit towards man : (1). 
To dissemble friendship, — to cover malice 
with pretences of love, — to commend and 



612 



SELECT SERMONS. 



censure, to flatter and hate, — a Judas's kiss, 
and a Joab's sword, — mel in ore, f el in corde. 
(2). To dissemble honesty ; to pretend just 
dealing-, yet use false weights. 2dly, Deceit 
towards God : to draw nigh to God with the 
lips while the heart is far from him, — to 
serve God, and seek ourselves, — to pretend 
to love God, and yet be in league with sin, — 
we should not in this sense be like the ser- 
pent, deceitful, and given to shifts. O be 
upright ! Be what you seem to be ! God 
loves plainness of heart, Ps. li. 6. The 
plainer the diamond is, the more it sparkles ; 
the plainer the heart is, the more it sparkles 
in God's eye. What a commendation did 
Christ give Nathaniel 1 John i. 47, " Be- 
hold an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no 
guile." 

(3) . The serpent cast the coat, but another 
new coat comes in the room ; in this we 
should not be like the serpent, to cast the 
coat, to cast off one sin, and another sin as 
bad come in the room. The drunkard leaves 
his drunkenness, because it impairs his health, 
his credit, his purse, and falls to the sin of 
cozenage ; the prodigal leaves his prodigality, 
and turns usurer ; this is as if one disease 
should leave a man, and he should fall into 
another as bad, — his ague leaves him, and he 
falls into a consumption. O be not like the 
serpent, that casts one coat and another 
comes ! This is like him in the gospel, that 
had one devil go out of him, and seven worse 
spirits came in the room, Matt. xii. 45. 

(4) . The serpent is a venomous creature, 
it is full of poison, Deut. xxxii. 24. In this 
be not like the serpent. It is said of wicked 
men, their poison is like the poison of a ser- 
pent, Ps. lviii. 4. What is this poison 1 It 
is the poison of malice. Malice is the devil's 
picture. Lust makes men brutish, and ma- 
lice makes them devilish. Malice carries in 
it its own punishment ; a malicious man, to 
hurt another, will injure himself. Quintil- 
lian speaks of one who had a garden of flow- 
ers, and he poisoned his flowers that his 
neighbour's bees sucking from them might be 
poisoned, and die : Oh be not venomous like 
the serpent ! Malice is mental murder ; you 
may kill a man, and never touch him, 1 John 
iii. 15, " Whosoever hateth his brother is a 



murderer." Malice spoils all your good du- 
ties ; the malicious man defiles his prayer, — 
poisons* the sacramental cup, — he eats and 
drinks his own damnation. I have read of one 
who lived in malice, and being asked how he 
could say the Lord's prayer, he answered, 
" I leave out those words, ' As we forgive 
them that trespass against us.' " But St 
Austin brings in God replying thus to him : 
" Because thou dost not say my prayer, 
therefore I will not hear thine." The ma- 
licious man is not like to enjoy either earth 
or heaven ; not the earth, for the " meek shall 
inherit the earth," Matt. v. 5 ; nor is he like 
to enjoy heaven, for God " will beautify the 
meek with salvation," Ps. cxlix. 4, so that 
the malicious man is cut off both from earth 
and heaven. 

(5) . The serpent is given to hissing: so 
it is said of the basilisk. In this be not like 
the serpent to hiss out reproaches and invec- 
tives against the saints and people of God ; 
they are the seed of the serpent that hiss at 
godliness. The Lord will one day reckon 
with men for all their hard speeches, Jude 
15. Lucian was such a one who did hiss out 
and scoff against religion ; and as a just judg- 
ment of God, he was afterwards torn in pieces 
by dogs. 

(6) . The serpent stops her ear : it is an 
obstinate deafness, Ps. lviii. 4, " They are 
like the deaf adder, that stoppeth her ear." 
In this be not like the serpent, obstinately to * 
stop your ears to the voice of God's word. 
While God calls you to repent of sin, be not 
as the basilisk to stop your ear, Zech. vii. 11, 

" They refused to hearken, and stopped their 
ears, that they should not hear." The word 
denounceth threatenings against sin ; but 
many, instead of being like the publican, 
smiting on their breast, they are as deaf ad- 
ders, stopping their ears. If you shut your 
ear against God's word, take heed God doth 
not shut heaven against you ; if God cries to 
you to repent, and you will not hear, when 
you cry for mercy, God will not hear, Zech. 
vii. 13, "As he cried and they would not 
hear, so they cried and I would not hear, 
saith the Lord of hosts." 

(7) . The serpent casts her coat, but keeps 
her sting : in this sense be not like the ser- 



SELECT SERMONS. 



613 



pent, to cast off the outward acts of sin, and 
keep the love of sin : he whose heart is in 
love with any sin, is a hypocrite. 1. A man 
may forbear sin, yet retain the love of it ; he 
may forbear the act of gross sin, formidine 
pcencB, for fear of hell, as a man may forbear 
a dish he loves, for fear it should bring his 
disease upon him, the stone or gout. 2. A 
man may forsake sin, yet keep the love of 
sin ; he may forsake sin either out of policy 
or necessity. 1st, Policy : vice will impair 
his health, eclipse his credit, therefore out of 
policy, he will forsake it ; or, 2dly, Neces- 
sity : perhaps he can follow the trade of sin 
no longer, — the adulterer is grown old, — the 
prodigal poor, — either the purse fails, or the 
strength. Thus a man may refrain the act of 
sin, yet retain the love of sin ; this is like the 
serpent, which casts her coat, but keeps her 
sting. O take heed of this ! Herein be not 
like the serpent ; remember that saying of 
Hierom, gravius est peccatum diligere quam 
perpretare ; it is worse to love sin than to 
commit it. A man may commit sin through 
a temptation, or out of ignorance, and when 
he knows it to be a sin, he is sorry for it, but 
he that loves sin, his will is in the sin, and 
that aggravates it, and is like the dye which 
makes the wool of a crimson colour. 

(8). Serpents are chased away with sweet 
perfumes ; the perfume of hartshorn, or the 
sweet odour of the styrax will drive the ser- 
^pent away. In this be not like the serpent, 
to be driven away with the sweet perfumes 
of holiness. Carnal hearts are for things 
only which delight the senses ; they will dis- 
course of news or traffic, here they are in 
their element ; but let a man bring with him 
the sweet perfume of religious discourse,— 
let him talk of Christ, or living by faith,— 
this spiritual perfume drives them away : Oh, 
be not in this like the serpent ! How do you 
think to live with the saints in heaven, that 
cannot endure their company here? You 
hate the sweet savour of their ointments, the 
fragrant perfume of their graces. 

(7). The serpent (as is noted of the stellio, 
a kind of serpent) doth no sooner cast his 
skin, but he eats it up again : in this be not 
like the serpent to forsake sin, and then take 
it up again, 2 Pet. ii. 22, "It is happened 



unto them according to the true proverb, 
" The dog is returned to his own vomit again." 
Such were Demas and Julian. Many, after 
a divorce, espouse their sins again ; as if 
one's ague should leave him a while, and 
then come again ; the devil seemed to be cast 
out, but comes the second time: and, the 
end of that man is worse than his beginning, 
Luke xi. 26, because his sin is greater ; he 
sins knowingly and wilfully, and his damna- 
tion will be greater. 

(10). Serpents are great lovers of wine. 
Pliny, who writes the natural history, saith, 
" If serpents come where wine is, they drink 
insatiably." In this be not like the serpent ; 
though the scripture allows the use of wine, 
1 Tim. v. 23, yet it forbids the excess, Eph. v. 
18, " Be not drunk with wine wherein is ex- 
cess." Be not like the serpent in this " lovers 
of wine." Because this sin of drunkenness 
doth so abound in this age, I shall enlarge 
something more on this head. It is said of 
the old world, M They did eat, they drank, till 
the flood came," Luke xvii. 27. Drinking is 
not a sin, but the meaning is they drank to 
intemperance, they disordered themselves 
with drink; and God let them have liquor 
enough, first they were drowned in wine, 
and then in water. 

There is no sin which doth more deface 
God's image than drunkenness, it disguiseth a 
person, and doth even unman him ; drunken- 
ness makes him have the throat of a fish, the 
belly of a swine, and the head of an ass ; 
drunkenness is the shame of nature, the ex- 
tinguisher of reason, the shipwreck of chastity, 
and the murder of conscience ; drunkenness 
is hurtful for the body, the cup kills more than 
the cannon ; it causeth dropsies, catarrhs, 
apoplexies ; drunkenness fills the eyes with 
fire, and the legs with water, and turns the 
body into a hospital ; but the greatest hurt is 
that it doth to the soul ; excess of wine breeds 
the worm of conscience. The drunkard is 
seldom reclaimed by repentance, and the 
ground of it is partly, because, by this sin, the 
senses are so enchanted, reason so impaired, 
and lust so inflamed ; and partly, it is judicial, 
the drunkard being so besotted with this sin, 
God saith of him as of Ephraim, Hos. iv. 17, 
" Ephraim is joined to idols, let him alone ;" 



614 



SELECT SERMONS. 



so, this man is joined to his cups, « let him 
alone,' let him drown himself in liquor till he 
scorch himself in fire. How many woes hath 
God pronounced against this sin, Isa. xxviii. 
1, " Wo to the drunkards of Ephraim !" Joe] 

1. 5, " Howl ye drinkers of wine !" Drunken- 
ness excludes a person from heaven, 1 Cor. 
vi. 10, " Drunkards shall not inherit the king- 
dom of God :" a man cannot go to heaven 
reeling. King Solomon makes an oration 
full of invectives against this sin, Pro v. xxiii. 
29, 30, " Who hath wo 1 Who hath conten- 
tions 1 Who hath babbling 1 Who hath red- 
ness of eyes ] they that tarry long at the wine. 
Who hath contentions V Drink when abused, 
breeds quarrels, it causeth duels. ' Who hath 
babbling?' When one is in drink, his tongue 
runs, he will reveal any secrets of his friend. 
' Who hath redness of eyes V Redness of 
eyes comes sometimes from weeping, but too 
often from drinking ; and what is the issue ? 
v. 32. At last, the wine bites like a serpent, 
and stings like an adder. The wine smiles 
in the glass, but stings in the conscience. 
Drunkenness is a sin against all the ten com- 
mandments. 1. Drunkenness casts off the 
true God, Hos. iv. 11, " Wine takes away 
the heart :" it takes the heart off from God. 

2. It makes the belly a god, Phil. iii. 19. To 
this the drunkard pours drink-offerings ; there 
is a breach of the second commandment. 

3. The drunkard in his cups takes God's 
name in vain by his oaths. 4. The drunkard 
makes no difference of day ; he is seldom 
sober on a sabbath ; he on that day worships 
Bacchus. 5. The drunkard honours neither 
his natural father nor the magistrate his civil 
father; he will be intemperate though the 
laws of the land forbid it. 6. The drunkard 
commits murder. Alexander killed his friend 
Clytus when he was drunk, for whom he 
would have given half his kingdom when he 
was sober. 7. The drunkard's wine proves 
lust. Austin calls wine /omentum libidinis, 
—the inflamer of lust. Nunquam ego ebrium 
castum putavi ; I never did believe a drunken 
man to be chaste, saith Hierom. 8. The 
drunkard is a thief ; he spends that money 
upon his drunken lust, which should have 
been given to charitable uses ; so he robs the 
poor. 9. The drunkard is a slanderer ; he 



cares not, when he is on the ale-bench, how 
he doth defame and belie others ; when he 
hath taken his full cups, he is now fit to take 
a false oath. 10. The drunkard sins against 
the tenth commandment ; for he covets to 
get another's estate, by circumvention and 
extortion, that he may be the better able to 
follow his drunken trade. Thus he sins 
against the ten commandments. 

If this sin of drunkenness be not reformed, 
I pray God, the sword be not made drunk with 
blood. And whereas some will go to shift off 
this sin from themselves, that they are no 
drunkards, because they have not drunk away 
their reason and senses, — they are not so far 
gone in drink that they cannot go, — he is 
a drunkard in the scripture-sense who is 
" mighty to drink wine," Isa. v. 22. He is a 
drunkard, saith Solomon, that tarries long at 
the wine, Prov. xxiii. 30. He who sits at it 
from morning to night, — that drinks away his 
precious time, though he doth not drink away 
his reason, — he is a drunkard that drinks more 
than doth him good, and th it, though he be 
not himself drunk, yet he makes another 
drunk, Hab. ii. 15, " Wo to him that gives 
his neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle 
to him, and makest him drunken !" Oh, I 
beseech you, be not in this like the serpent, 
lovers of wine ! This I fear is one cause why 
the word preached doth so little good to many 
in this city, they drink away sermons ; they 
do as the hunted deer when it is wounded 
runs to the water and drinks ; so, when they 
have been at a sermon, and the arrows of re- 
proof hath wounded their conscience, they 
run presently, and drink away those convic- 
tions ; they steep the sermon in wine. The 
tavern-bell doth more hurt than the sermon- 
bell doth good. Thus you have seen wherein 
we should not be like serpents. 

2. Wherein we should be like the ser- 
pent, and that is in prudence 'and wisdom: 
" be ye wise as serpents." The serpent is a 
most prudent creature, therefore the devil 
made use of the serpent to deceive our first 
parents, because it was such a subtle crea- 
ture, Gen. iii. 1, "The serpent was more 
subtle than any beast of the field." There 
is a natural wisdom and subtilty in every 
part of the serpent, and we should labour 



SELECT SERMONS. 



615 



to imitate them, and be " wise as ser- 
pents." 

(1) . The serpent hath a subtilty in his 
eye, he hath a singular sharpness of sight ; 
therefore among the Grecians, a serpent's 
eye was a proverbial speech for one of a 
quick understanding ; in this we should be 
like the serpent. Get the serpent's eye, have 
a quick insight into the mysteries of the 
Christian religion. Knowledge is the beauty 
and ornament of a Christian, Prov. xiv. 18, 
" The prudent are crowned with knowledge." 
Get the serpent's eye, be divinely illumina- 
ted. Faith without knowledge is presump- 
tion ; zeal without knowledge is passion, 
Prov. xix. 2. Without knowledge, the heart 
is not good ; for one to say he hath a good 
heart, who hath no knowledge, is as if one 
should say he hath a good eye, when he hath 
no sight. In this be like the serpent, of a 
quick understanding. 

(2) . The serpent hath a prudence and 
subtilty in bis ear ; the serpent will not be 
deluded with -he voice of the charmer, but 
stops its ear . in this we must be " wise as 
serpents," — stop our ears to false teachers 
who are the devil's charmers. 1. We must 
stop our ears to Arminian teachers, who place 
the chief power in the will, as if that were 
the helm that turns about the soul in conver- 
sion, 1 Cor. iv. 7, " Who maketh thee to dif- 
fer from another V Ego me ipsum discerno, 
said Grevinchovius, I have made myself to 
differ. Be as the serpent, stop your ears to 
such doctrine. 2. We must stop our ears 
to Socinian teachers, who raze the founda- 
tion of all religion, and deny Christ's divi- 
nity. This the apostle calls " a damnable 
heresy," 2 Pet. ii. 1. 3. We must stop our 
ears to Popish teachers, who teach merit, 
indulgencies, transubstantiation ; who teach 
that the pope is the head of the church. 
Christ is called " the head of the church," 
Eph. v. 23 : for the pope to be head, is, to 
make the church monstrous, to have two 
heads. Popish teachers teach the people 
nonsense and blasphemy ; they cause the peo- 
ple to pray without understanding,— to obey 
without reason,— to believe without sense ; it 
is a damnable religion ; therefore worshipping 
the beast, and drinking the cup of God's 



indignation are put together, Rev. xiv. 9. 
Oh, in this be " wise as serpents ;" stop your 
ears to the charming of false teachers ! God 
hath given his people this wisdom, to stop 
their ears to heretics, John x. 5, " A stranger 
will they not follow, but will flee from him." 

(3). The serpent hath a chief care to de- 
fend his head, — a blow, there is deadly ; so 
in this we should " be wise as serpents ;" 
our chief care should be to defend our head 
from error. The plague in the head is worst. 
Loose principles breed loose practices. If 
the head be tainted with erroneous opinions, 
— that believers are free a lege ?norali, — that 
there is no resurrection, — that we may do 
evil that good may come of it, — what sin will 
not this lead to 1 Oh keep your head ! Error 
is a spiritual gangrene, 2 Tim. ii. 17, which 
spreads, and, if not presently cured, is mor- 
tal. Heresies destroy the doctrine of faith, 
they rend the mantle of the church's peace, 
and eat out the heart of religion. The 
Gnostics, as Epiphanius observes, did not 
only pervert the judgment of their proselytes, 
but brought them at last to corporeal un- 
cleanliness : error damns as well as vice. 
Vice is like killing with a pistol, and error 
killing with poison. Oh be wise as ser- 
pents ; defend your head ! " Be ye wise as 
serpents, and harmless as doves." Our Sa- 
viour Christ here commends to us the wis- 
dom of the serpent, and the innocency of the 
dove. The elect are called wise virgins, 
Matt. xxv. 4; virgins, there is the dove; 
wise, there is the serpent. We must have 
innocency with our wisdom, else our wis- 
dom is but craftiness; and we must have 
wisdom with our innocency, else our inno- 
cency is but weakness. We must have the 
innocency of the dove, that we may not 
circumvent others ; and we must have the 
wisdom of the serpent, that others may not 
circumvent us. 

This union of the dove and serpent is 
hard to find, but it is possible ; Moses was 
learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, 
Acts vii. 22; there was the prudence of 
the serpent ; and he was, " meek above all 
the men which were upon the face of the 
earth," Numb. xii. 3 ; there was the inno- 
cency of the dove. But the most famous 



616 



SELECT SERMONS. 



instance of wisdom and innocency was in our 
Saviour : when the Jews came to him with 
an ensnaring question, Mark xii. 14, " Is it 
lawful to give tribute to Caesar or not 1 ?" Christ 
answers wisely, v. 17, " Render to Caesar the 
things that are Caesar's, and to God the 
things that are God's," — deny not Csesar his 
civil right, nor God his religious worship, — 
let your loyalty be mixed with piety ; here 
he showed the wisdom of the serpent. And 
would you see Christ's innocency ? 1 Pet. ii. 
22, " There was no guile found in his mouth ; 
who, when he was reviled, reviled not again," 
— he opened his mouth in praying for his 
enemies, but not in reviling them ; behold 
here the innocency of the dove. 

The second thing I am to speak of is the 
dove : " be harmless as doves." The dove is 
an excellent creature ; it was so acceptable, 
that in the old law, God would have the dove 
offered in sacrifice. The Holy Ghost, when 
he would appear in a visible shape, assumed 
the likeness of a dove, Matt. iii. 16. We 
should be as doves in three respects : 1. In 
respect of meekness ; 2. In respect of inno- 
cency ; 3. In respect of purity. 

1. In respect of meekness. The dove is 
the emblem of meekness. It is sine felle, 
without gall ; we should be as doves for 
meekness ; we must avoid unruly passion, 
which is brevis insania, a short frenzy ; we 
must be without the gall of bitterness and 
revenge ; we must be of mild spirits, praying 
for our enemies : so Stephen, Acts vii. 60, 
" Lord, lay not this sin to their charge." This 
dove-like meekness is the best jewel and 
ornament we can wear, 1 Pet. iii. 4, " The 
ornament of a meek spirit, which is in the 
sight of God, of great price." Passion doth 
disguise, meekness adorns. 

2. We should be as doves for innocency. 
The innocency of the dove is seen in two 
things: 1. Not to deceive ; 2. Not to hurt. 

(1). Not to deceive. The dove is, as 
without gall, so without guile; it doth not 
deceive or lie at the catch : thus we should 
be as the dove, without fraud and craft. 
There is a holy simplicity commendable, 
Rom. xvi. 19, " I would have you simple 
concerning evil ;" to be a bungler at sin, 
not to have the art to beguile, this is a good 



simplicity; as Nathaniel, in whose spirit 
there is no guile, John i. 47. Where almost 
is this dove-like innocence to be found 7 We 
live in an age wherein there are more foxes 
than doves ; persons are full of guile, they 
study nothing but fallacies, so that one knows 
not how to deal with them, Ps. xii. 2, " With 
a double heart do they speak." 

(2). Not to hurt. The dove hath no horns 
or talons to hurt, only wings to defend itself 
by flight ; other creatures are commonly 
well armed ; the lion hath its paw, the boar 
its tusk, the stag its horns, but the dove is 
a most harmless creature, it hath nothing 
wherewith to offend : thus we should be as 
doves for harmlessness, — we should not do 
wrong to others, but rather suffer wrong. 
Such a dove was Samuel, 1 Sam. xii. 3, 
" Whose ox have I taken 1 or whose ass have 
I taken 1 ? or whom have I defrauded]" He 
did not get men's estates into his hands, or 
raise himself upon the ruins of others. How 
rare is it to find such doves ! Sure they are 
flown away ! How many birds of prey are 
there ! Micah vii. 2, " They all lie in wait 
for blood, they hunt every man his brother 
with a net ;" these are not doves, but vul- 
tures ; they travail with mischief, and are in 
pain till they bring forth. 

3. We should be as doves for purity. The 
dove is the emblem of purity ; it loves the 
purest air, it feeds on pure grain ; the raven 
feeds on the carcass, but the dove feeds pure. 
Thus let us be as doves for sanctity, cleans- 
ing ourselves from all pollution both of flesh 
and spirit, 2 Cor. vii. 1. Christ's dove is 
pure, Cant. v. 2, " My dove, my undefiled." 
Let us keep pure among dregs, 1 Tim. v. 22, 
" Keep thyself pure." Better have a rent in 
the flesh, than a hell in the conscience ; the 
dove is a chaste, pure creature ; let us be 
doves for purity. 

Use 1. See here the nature of a good 
Christian ; he is wise and innocent ; he hath 
so much of the serpent, that he doth not 
forfeit his discretion, and so much of the 
dove, that he doth not defile his conscience. 
A godly man is looked upon by a carnal 
eye as weak and indiscreet, as having some- 
thing of the dove but nothing of the ser- 
pent ; to believe things not seen, to choose 



SELECT SERMONS. 



017 



sufferings rather than sin, this is counted 
folly ; but the world is mistaken in a believer, 
—he hath his eyes in his head,— he knows 
what he doth,— he is prudent, as well as 
holy ;— he is wise that finds the pearl of price 
—he is wise that provides for eternity,— he is 
the wisest man that hath wit to save his soul, 
he is wise that makes him his friend who shall 
be his judge. The godlymanacts both the po- 
litician and the divine ; he retains his ingenu- 
ity, yet he doth not part with his integrity. 

Use 2. Reproof. It reproves them who 
have too much of the serpent, but nothing of 
the dove, Jer. iv. 22, " Wise to do evil, "but 
to do good they have no knowledge these 
are like the devil, who retains his subtilty, 
but not his innocency. 1. We have many 
in this age like the serpent for craftiness, 
Dan. viii. 25, "Through his policy also he 
shall cause craft to prosper." Men have the 
head-piece of subtilty, but want the breast- 
plate of honesty ; they are wise to contrive 
ein, to forge plots, to study compliance, ra- 
ther than conscience ; the port they aim at, 
is preferment ; the compass they sail by, is 
policy ; the pilot that steers them, is Satan. 
These have the craftiness of the serpent, 
" They are wise to do evil." 2. They are 
I like the serpent for mischief. You know the 
I fiery serpents did sting Israel : these have the 
sting of the serpent, — they have a sting in 
their tongues, stinging the people of God 
with bitter slanders and invectives, calling 
them factious and seditious, — and they sting 
with their indictments and excommunica- 
tions, Gal. iv. 29. Such stinging serpents 
were Nero, Dioclesian, and Julian ; and their 
spirit is yet alive in the world. These have 
too much of the serpent in them, but nothing 
of the dove, 2 Pet. ii. 3, " Their damnation 
slumbereth not." 

Use 3. Exhortation. To put in practice 
our Saviour's counsel in the text, join the ser- 
pent and the dove together, wisdom and ho- 
liness ; here lies the knot, — this is the great 
difficulty, — to unite these two together, the 
serpent and the dove, prudence and innocen- 
cy ; if you separate these two, you spoil all. 

Quest. Wherein doth a Christian join 
these two together, the serpent and the dove, 
prudence and holiness 1 
41 



Ans. This I shall answer in twelve par- 
ticulars. 

1. To be wise and innocent consists in this, 
to be sensible of an injury yet not revenge it. 
A Christian is not a stoic, nor yet a fury : he 
is so wise, that he knows when an injury is 
done him ; but so holy, that he knows how to 
pass it by ; this is a most excellent temper of 
soul, — I had almost said, angelical. As the 
wind doth allay the heat of the air, so grace 
doth allay the heat of revenge. Moses here- 
in showed a mixture of the serpent and the 
dove : Miriam murmured against him, Numb, 
xii. 2, " Hath the Lord indeed spoken only 
by Moses ?" is he the only prophet to declare 
God's mind to us] Moses was so wise as to 
discern her pride and slighting of him ; yet so 
meek as to bury the injury. When God 
struck her with leprosy, he prays for her, 
Numb. xii. 13, " Heal her now, O God, 1 
beseech thee." And upon his prayer, she 
was cured of her leprosy. A good Christian 
hath so much wisdom as to discern his en- 
emy's malice, but so much grace as to con- 
quer his own ; he knows it is the glory of a 
man to pass by a transgression, Prov. xix. 
11. Though a Christian hath so much pru- 
dence as to vindicate himself, yet so much 
goodness as not to avenge himself. Behold 
here the serpent and the dove united, sa- 
gacity and innocency. 

2. The mixing wisdom and innocency is 
seen in this, to be humble, but not base. 
Humility is part of the dove's innocency, 1 
Pet. v. 5, " Be ye clothed with humility." St 
Paul, though the chief of the apostles, calls 
himself the least of saints. A gracious soul 
hath low thoughts of himself, and carries 
himself lowly toward others ; but though he 
be humble, he is not base ; though he will not 
saucily resist his superiors, he will not sin- 
fully humour them ; though he will not do 
such proud actions as to make his enemies 
hate him, yet he will not do such sordid ac- 
tions as to make them despise him ; here is 
the serpent and the dove united. A good 
Christian is so humble as to oblige others, 
but not so unworthy as to disobey God. St 
Paul, as far as he could with a good consci- 
ence, did " become all things to all, that he 
might save some," 1 Cor. ix. 20, 22 ; but he 



618 SELECT 

would not break a commandment to gratify- 
any. When God's glory lay at stake who 
more resolute than Paul! Gal. ii. 5. The 
three children were humble, they gave the 
king his title of honour, but they were not 
sordidly timorous, Dan. iii. 18, " Be it known 
unto thee, O king, we will not serve thy gods." 
Though they showed reverence to the king's 
person, yet no reverence to the image he had 
set up. A good Christian will not do any 
thing below himself ; though he is for obey- 
ing of laws, yet he will not prostitute himself 
to men's lusts. He is humble, there he shows 
the innocency of the dove ; but not base, — 
there he shows the wisdom of the serpent. 

3. The prudence of the serpent and inno- 
cency of the dove is seen in this, to reprove 
the sin, yet love the person. We are com- 
manded to reprove, Lev. xix. 17, " Thou shalt 
not hate thy brother in thy heart ; thou shalt 
rebuke him, and not suffer sin upon him." 
Not to reprove sin is to approve it ; but this 
sword of reproof is a dangerous weapon, if it 
be not well-handled ; to reprove and yet love 
is to act both the serpent and the dove. 

Quest. How may a Christian so reprove 
sin as to show love to the person ? 

Ans. 1. In taking a fit season to reprove 
another ; that is, when his anger is over. As, 
when God did rebuke Adam, he came to him, 
"in the cool of the day," Gen. iii. 8: so, 
when we are to reprove any, we are to come 
to them when their spirits are more cool, and 
fit to receive a reproof. To reprove a man 
when he is in a passion, is to give strong 
water in a fever ; it doth more hurt than good. 
By observing a fit season, we show both pru- 
dence and holiness, — we discover as well 
discretion as affection. 

A. 2. Reproving sin so as to show love to 
the person is seen in this, when, though we 
tell him plainly of his sin, yet it is in mild, 
not provoking words, 2 Tim. ii. 25, "In 
meekness instructing those that oppose them- 
selves." Peter tells the Jews plainly of their 
sin in crucifying Christ, but useth suasives 
and gospel-lenitives, to allure and encourage 
them to believe, Acts ii. 23, " Him ye have 
taken, and by wicked hands have crucified ;" 
v. 38, " Repent and be baptized in the name 
of Jesus Christ for the remission of sin : for 



SERMONS. 

the promise is to you, and to your children." 
Reproof is a bitter pill, and hard to swallow, 
therefore we must dip it in sugar ; use those 
sweet mollifying expressions, that others may 
see love coming along with the reproof. 
David compares reproof to oil, Ps. cxli. 5 : 
oil supples the joints when they are hard and 
stiff ; our reproofs being mixed with the oil of 
compassion, they work most kindly, and do 
most soften stiff obdurate hearts. 

A. 3. Reproving sin, yet love to the per- 
son, is when the end of our reproof is not to 
revile him but to reclaim him. While we go 
to heal men's consciences, we must take 
heed of wounding their names. The chi- 
rurgeon, in opening a vein, shows both skill 
and love, — skill in not cutting an artery, — 
and love, in letting out the bad blood ; here 
is the mixing the serpent and the dove ; the 
wisdom of the serpent is seen, in not re- 
proaching the sinner ; the innocency of the 
dove is seen, in reclaiming him from sin. 

4. Prudence and holiness is seen in this, to 
" know what we should do, and do what we 
know." To know what we should do, — 
there is the wisdom of the serpent ; to do 
what we know, — there is the innocency of 
the dove, John xiii. 17. Knowledge is a jew- 
el which adorns him that wears it ; it is the 
enriching and bespangling of the mind ; 
knowledge is the eye of the soul, to guide it 
in the right way ; but this knowledge must be 
joined with holy practice ; to separate prac- 
tice from knowledge, is to separate the dove 
from the serpent. Many illuminated heads 
can discourse fluently in matters of religion, 
but they do not live up to their knowledge ; 
this is to have good eyes, but to have the 
feet cut off ; they know they should not break 
the sabbath, they should not defame nor de- 
fraud : but they do not practise what they 
know, — here they separate the dove from the 
serpent, virtue from knowledge. How vain 
is knowledge without practice ! as if one 
should know a sovereign medicine and not 
apply it. Satan is a knowing spirit, he hath 
enough of the serpent ; but that which makes 
him a devil is, he wants the dove, he doth not 
practise holiness. 

5. To mix the serpent and dove, is to 
keep two trades going. To understand 



SELECT SERMONS. 



619 



| worldly affairs, — there is the wisdom of the 
j serpent ; yet not neglect the soul, — there is 
the innocency of the dove. God hath said, 
" six days shalt thou labour," Exod. xx. 9. 
Religion did never grant a patent to idleness ; 
j; there is a lawful care to be had about secular 
l things ; to have insight into one's calling is 
j a commendable wisdom, but with this wis- 
dom join the dove's innocency; so follow 
i your calling, as not to neglect your soul, 
i The soul is a precious thing, it would beggar 
the angels to give half the price of a soul. 
Our greatest care should be to get grace. 
While you put gold in your bag, do not for- 
get to put oil in your vessel. Trade beyond 
the East Indies; drive a trade of holiness. 
" This merchandize is better than the mer- 
chandize of silver," Prov. iii. 14. Live in a 
calling, but especially live by faith ; look to 
the providing for your families, but especially 
I to the saving of your souls. The soul is the 
angelical part, the loss of this can never be 
made up again. God (saith Chrysostom) 
hath given a man two eyes, if he lose one, 
he hath another ; but he hath but one soul, 
i if he lose that, it is irrecoverable, it can 
! never be made up again. Oh unite the ser- 
pent and the dove, — prudence and holiness ! 
1 Use the world, but love your soul ; trade on 
i earth, but beware of breaking in your trade 
for heaven. How many part these two, the 
i serpent and the dove 1 They are wise for 
the world, but fools for their souls. It is 
too often seen, that men pull down their 
souls to build up an estate. 

6. To join the serpent and the dove, pru- 
dence and innocency, consists in this, to 
know how to give counsel, and how to keep 
counsel. He hath the wisdom of the serpent 
that can give counsel ; he knows how to ad- 
vise another in difficult cases, and speak a 
word in due season, 2 Sam. xvi. 23, " The 
counsel of Ahithophel was as if a man had 
inquired at the oracle of God." But this is 
not enough to have the wisdom of the ser- 
pent, in being able to give counsel ; but there 
must be the innocency of the dove too, in 
keeping counsel. If a friend's secret be im- 
parted to us, unless in case of blood we are 
not to reveal it. A friend is alter idem, as 
one's own soul, Deut. xiii. 6 ; and what he 



imparts of his heart should be kept under 
lock and key, Prov. xxv. 9, 10, " Discover 
not a secret to another, lest he that hear 
thee put thee to shame," &c. To disclose a 
friend's secret, though it be not treason, it is 
treachery, it is most unchristian ; a word may 
be spoken in secret, which, when it is trum- 
peted out, may occasion quarrels or law-suits. 
He that cannot keep a matter committed to 
him, is like a vessel that runs out, or a sick 
stomach that cannot keep the meat, butbrings 
it up again. He that publisheth his friend's 
secret, doth publish his own shame. 

7. To mix these two, prudence and holi- 
ness, is to know the seasons of grace, and 
improve them ; to know the seasons of grace, 
— there is the wisdom of the serpent. It is 
wisdom in the husbandman to know the fit 
time for pruning of trees, sowing of seed : so 
it is no less wisdom to know the golden sea- 
sons of grace ; while we hear the joyful 
sound, — while we have praying hours, — 
while the Spirit of God blows on our hearts, 
— here is a gale for heaven. The day of 
grace will not always last ; the shadows of 
the evening seem to be stretched out ; things 
look as if the gospel tended apace to a sun- 
setting ; be wise as serpents, to know what a 
prize is put in your hands. And with the 
serpent join the dove, that is, in improving 
the seasons of grace. The stork and turtle 
not only know their season but improve it ; 
they approach to the warmer climate against 
the spring, saith Pliny : here is the serpent 
and dove united, knowing and improving the 
day of grace ; when we profit by ordinances, 
— when we mix the word with faith, — when 
an ordinance hath stamped holiness upon 
us, as the seal leaves its print upon the wax, 
— this is to improve the seasons of grace. 

8. The serpent and the dove, wisdom and 
innocency, is to be moderate yet zealous. 
Moderation is good in some cases, Phil. iv. 5, 
" Let your moderation be known to all." 

(2) . Moderation is good in case of anger. 
When the passions are up, moderation sits, 
as queen and governess in the soul ; it allays 
the heat of passion. Moderation is franum 
ira, the bridle of anger 

(3) . Moderation is good m case of law- 
suits ; so the Greek word for moderation is 



620 



SELECT SERMONS. 



properly taken. If there be a dispute in law 
between us and others, we are not to take the 
extremity of the law, but use Christian equity 
and mildness ; nay, for peace's sake, cedere de 
jure, rather part with some of our right, than 
oppress them : this much honours the gospel. 

(3). Moderation is good in things indiffer- 
ent. Things ought not to be rigorously im- 
posed on God's worship which are not of di- 
vine injunction ; God never made governors 
of the church to be like pilots of a ship, to 
steer men's consciences which way they 
please. Moderation and Christian forbear- 
ance, in things indifferent, would much tend 
to the peace and unity of the church. All 
this moderation is commendable, and shows 
the wisdom of the serpent : but remember to 
join the dove with the serpent, — we must so 
exercise moderation as withal to cherish 
zeal. St Paul in some things was moderate, 
he did not press circumcision, Acts xv. 25, 
he was tender of laying a yoke upon the 
consciences of the disciples ; but he had zeal 
with his moderation ; when he saw their 
idolatry at Athens, the fire of his zeal broke 
forth, Acts xvii. 16, " His spirit was stirred 
in him." It was good advice Calvin gave to 
Melancthon, that he should not so affect the 
name of moderate, as to lose all his zeal. To 
be cool and silent when God's blessed truths 
are undermined or adulterated, is not mode- 
ration, but lukewarmness, which is to God a 
most hateful temper, Rev. iii. 15, " I would 
thou wert cold or hot ;" and any thing but 
hike- warm. This is to show prudence and 
holiness, when we are moderate, yet zealous. 

9. To unite serpent and dove, consists in 
this, when we defend the truth by argument 
and adorn it by life ; defending the truth is 
the serpent's wisdom ; an intelligent Chris- 
tian can convince gainsayers. This wisdom 
of the serpent was eminently in Stephen, 
Acts vi. 9, 10 : " There arose certain of the 
synagogue, disputing with Stephen, and they 
were not able to resist the wisdom and the 
spirit by which he spake." We read in the 
acts and monuments of the church, John 
Fryth, martyr, being opposed by three pa- 
pists, he, like another Hercules, fighting 
with all the three at once, did by his wisdom 
so convince them, that one of them turned 



from popery and became a zealous protest- 
ant. Herein is the wisdom of the serpent, 
not only to love them that profess the truth, 
but silence them that oppose it. Bat with 
this wisdom of the serpent, there must be 
joined the innocency of the dove ; together 
with defending the truth by argument, there 
must be adorning it by life, Tit. ii. 10, " That 
they may adorn the doctrine of God our Sa- 
viour." There are some who can dispute for 
the truth, but disgrace it by their bad living ; 
this is to act both the serpent and the dove, 
when we not only plead for the truth, but 
walk in the truth, like Nazianzen, of whom 
it was said, he did thunder in his doctrine, 
and lighten in his conversation. 

10. The uniting the serpent and the dove, 
is to be serious in religion, yet cheerful. Se- 
riousness puts the heart in a holy frame, it 
fixeth it on God ; seriousness is to the soul, 
as ballast to the ship, it keeps the soul from 
being overturned with vanity ; the heart is 
ever best when it is serious. But this serious- 
ness in religion must be mixed with cheer- 
fulness ; cheerfulness conduceth to health, 
Prov. xvii. 22. It honours religion, it pro- 
claims to the world we serve a good master ; 
cheerfulness is a friend to grace, it puts the 
heart in tune to praise God ; Ps. lxxi. 21. 
Uncheerful Christians, like the spies, bring 
an evil report on the good land : others sus- 
pect there is something unpleasant in reli- 
gion, that they who profess it hang their 
harps upon the willows, and walk so deject- 
edly. Be serious, yet cheerful, Phil. iv. 4, 
"Rejoice in the Lord alway." Why was 
Christ anointed, but to give the oil of joy for 
mourning'? Isa. xvi. 1. Joy is as well a 
fruit of the Spirit as faith, Gal. v. 22. One 
way of grieving the Spirit, saith Heinsius, is 
by Christians' uncheerful walking ; if you 
would render the gospel lovely, mix the dove 
and the serpent ; be serious, yet cheerful in 
God. 

11. The uniting of the serpent and the 
dove, wisdom and holiness, consists in this, 
when we so lay up as we lay out. It is a 
duty to provide for our charge, 1 Tim. v. 8, 
" If any man provide not for his own, he is 
worse than an infidel." To lay up for our 
family, — here is the wisdom of the serpent ; 



SELECT SERMONS. 



621 



but we must lay out for the poor too, — here 
is the mixture of the dove, 1 Tim. vi. 17, 18, 
" Charge them that are rich in the world, 
that they do good, that they be rich in good 
works." The poor man is as it were an altar, 
if we bring our alms and lay upon it, with 
such sacrifices God is well pleased. Faith, 
though it hath sometimes a trembling hand, 
it must not have a withered hand, but must 
stretch forth itself to works of mercy ; there's 
nothing lost by charitableness, Prov. xi. 25, 
" The liberal soul shall be made fat," Ps. xli. 
1, " Blessed is he that considereth the poor, 
thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness." 
While men do so remember their family, that 
they do not forget the poor, they show both 
prudence and piety ; they, unite the serpent 
and the dove. 

12. The serpent's wisdom and the dove's 
innocency is seen in this, — so to avoid dan- 
ger, as not to commit sin, — to preserve our 
liberty, yet keep our integrity. There is a 
sinful escaping danger, namely, when we are 
called to suffer for the truth, and we decline 
it ; but there is an escaping danger without, 
sin ; as thus, when we do not betray ourselves 
into the enemies' hands by rashness, nor yet 



betray the truth by cowardice. We have a 
pattern of this in our Saviour ; he avoided 
his enemies in one place, that he might 
preach the gospel in another, Luke iv. 29, 30, 
" They led him unto the brow of the hill, that 
they might cast him down headlong ; but he 
passing through the midst of them, went his 
way," — there was Christ's wisdom in not be- 
traying himself to his enemy ; and v. 43, " I 
must preach the kingdom of God to other 
cities also," — there was his holiness. Christ's 
securing of himself was in order to the 
preaching of the gospel. This is to mix pru- 
dence and innocency, when we so avoid dan- 
ger as we do not commit sin. 

Thus I have, as briefly and as clearly as I 
could, shown you how we must unite these 
two, the serpent and the dove, prudence and 
holiness. For want of coupling these two to- 
gether religion doth much suffer in the Chris- 
tian world. " What Christ hath joined toge- 
ther, let no man put asunder." Observe these 
two, prudence and holiness ; here is the 
serpent's eye in the dove's head. When these 
two, wisdom and innocency — like Castor and 
Pollux — appear together, they presage much 
good and happiness that will befall a Christian. 



SERMON II. 



1 Cor. v. 17, " Therefore, if any man be in 
juissed away, behold all 



In this scripture consists the essence and 
soul of religion. I note here two things. 

1st, That the true definition of a Christian 
is to be in Christ. M If any man be in Christ." 
He may be in the church visible, yet not in 
Christ ; it is not to be baptized into Christ's 
name makes a true Christian : but to be in 
Christ, that is to be grafted into him by faith. 
And if to be in Christ makes a Christian, then 
there are but few Christians. Many are in 
Christ nominally, not really ; they are in 
Christ by profession, not by mystical union. 
Are they in Christ that do not know him ] 
Are they in Christ who persecute them that 
are in Christ 1 Sure such a holy head as 
Christ will disclaim such spurious members. 



Christ, he is a new creature ; old things are 
things are become new." 

2d, That whosoever is in Christ, is a new 
creature. For illustration, I shall show, 1. 
What a new creature is ; 2. What kind of 
work it is. 

1. What a new creature is. It is a second 
birth added to the first, John iii. 3. It may 
be thus described : it is a supernatural work 
of God's Spirit, renewing and transforming 
the heart into the divine likeness. 

(1). The efficient cause of the new crea- 
ture, is the Holy Ghost ; no angel or arch- 
angel is able to produce it. Who but God 
can alter the hearts of men, and turn stones 
into flesh ? If the new creature was not 
produced by the Holy Ghost, then the great- 
est glory in a man's conversion would belong 



622 



SELECT SERMONS, 



to himself; but this glory God will not give 
to another. The turning of the will to God 
is from God, Jer. xxxi. 19, " After I was 
turned, I repented." 

(2) . The organical cause or instrument 
by which the new creature is formed, is the 
word of God, James i. 18, " Of his own will 
begat he us, by the word of truth." The 
word is the seed, out of which springs the 
flower of the new creature. 

(3) . The matter of which the new creature 
consists is, the restoring God's image lost 
by the fall. 

Quest. But doth God in the new crea- 
ture, give a new soul ? 

Ans. No : he doth not bestow new facul- 
ties, but new qualities. As in the altering of 
a lute, the strings are not new, but the tune 
is mended : so, in the new creature, the 
substance of the soul is not new, but is new 
tuned by grace ; the heart, that before was 
proud, is now humble ; the eyes, that before 
were full of lust, are now full of tears. Here 
are new qualities infused. 

2. What kind of work the new creature is. 

(1). The new creature is a work of divine 
power ; so much it imports, because it is a 
creation. The same power which raised 
Christ from the grave, goes to the produc- 
tion of the new creature, Eph. i. 20. It is a 
work of greater power to produce the new 
creature, than to make a world. It is true, 
in respect to God, all things are alike possi- 
ble to him ; but, as to our apprehension, it 
requires a greater power to make a new 
creature, than to make a world, for, 

1. When God made the world, he met 
with no opposition ; but when God is about 
to make a new creature, he meets with op- 
position ; Satan opposeth him, and the heart 
opposeth him. 

2. It cost God nothing to make the world, 
but to make the new creature costs him some- 
thing; Christ himself was fain to become man. 
In making the world, it was but speaking a 
word ; but in making of the new creature, it 
cost Christ the shedding of his blood. 

3. God made the world in six days ; but 
he is carrying on the new creature in us 
all our lives long. The new creature is 
but begun here, it is not perfected or drawn 



in all its orient colours till it come to hea- 
ven. 

(2) . The new creature is a work of free- 
grace. There is nothing in us to move God 
to make us anew ; by nature we are full of 
pollution and enmity, yet now God forms the 
new creature. Behold the banner of love dis- 
played ! The new creature may say, " By the 
grace of God I am what I am." In the crea- 
tion we may see the strength of God's arm ; 
in the new creature we may see the working 
of God's bowels. That God should conse- 
crate any heart, and anoint it with grace, is 
an act of pure love ; that he should pluck one 
out of the state of nature, and not another, 
must be resolved into free grace, Matt. xi. 26, 
" Even so, Father, for so it seemed, good in 
thy sight." This will increase the saint's tri- 
umphs in heaven, that the lot of free grace 
should fall upon them, and not on others. 

(3) . The new creature is a work of rare 
excellency. A natural man is a lump of earth 
and sin, God loathes him, Zech. xi. 8, but 
upon the new creature is a spiritual glory, as 
if we should see a piece of clay turned into a 
sparkling diamond, Cant. iii. 6, " Who is 
this that cometh out of the wilderness, like 
pillars of smoke perfumed with myrrh and 
frankincense V That is the natural man 
coming out of the wilderness of sin, perfumed 
with all the graces of the Spirit. The new 
creature must needs be glorious, for it par- 
takes of the divine nature, 2 Pet. i. 4. A soul 
beautified with holiness, is like the firmament 
bespangled with glittering stars ; it is God's 
lesser heaven, Isa. lvii. 15. In the incarna- 
tion, God made himself in the image of man, 
— in the new creation, man is made in the 
image of God ; by our being creatures, we 
are the sons of Adam, — by being new crea- 
tures, we are the members of Christ. Reason 
makes one live the life of a man, — the new 
creature makes him live the life of God ; a 
new creature excels the rational nature, and 
equals the angelical. It is excellent to hear 
of Christ's being crucified for us, but more 
excellent to have Christ formed in us. 

Concerning the new creature, I shall lay 
down two positions. 

1st Position. That it is not in the pow- 
er of a natural man to convert himself ; 



SELECT SERMONS. 



6*3 



>ecause it is a new creation. As we cannot 
nake ourselves creatures, so not new crea- 
tures. 

Quest. But why doth God command us 
to convert ourselves, if toe have no power ? 
Ezek. xviii. 31, Make you a new heart. 

Ans. 1. We once had power. God gave 
us a stock of holiness, but we lost it. If a 

I master give his servant money to employ in 
his service, and he waste and embezzle it, 
may not the master require his money of him ] 
Though we have lost our power to obey, God 
hath not lost his right to command. 

A. 2. Though men cannot convert them- 
selves, and make themselves new creatures, 
yet they may do more than they do in a ten- 
dency to it ; they may avoid temptations, they 
may read the word ; the same feet that carry 
! them to a play, will carry them to a sermon ; 
they may implore divine grace. But they do 
not what they are able ; they do not improve 
I the power of nature to the utmost, and 
j put God to the trial whether he will give 
! grace. 

A. 3. God is not wanting to them who 
seek to him for grace. Deus volentibus non 
j deest. He is willing to put to his helping 
hand. With his command there goes apro- 
mise, Ezek. xviii. 31, " Make you a new 
heart;" and there is a promise, Ezek. xxxvi. 
26, "A new heart also will I give you." 

2d Position. When God converts a sin- 
ner, he doth more than use a moral persua- 
sion, for conversion is a new creation, Eph. 
iv. 24. The Pelagians talk much of free- 
will ; they say, " The will of man is by na- 
ture asleep, and conversion is nothing but 
the awakening a sinner out of sleep, which 
is done by moral persuasion." But man is 
by nature dead in sin, Eph. ii. 1. And God 
must do more than awaken him, he must en- 
liven him before he be a new creature. 

1st Use. Terror to such as are not new 
creatures. Such as are still growing upon 
the stock of old Adam, who continue in their 
sins, and are resolved so to do, these are in the 
gall of bitterness, and are the most miserable 
creatures that ever God made, except the 
devils. These stand in the place where all 
God's arrows fly ; these are the centre where 
all God's curses meet. An unregenerate 



person is like one in debt that is in fear to 
be arrested ; he is every hour in fear to be 
arrested by death, and carried prisoner to hell. 
Can that traitor be happy, who is fed by his 
prince in prison, only to be kept alive for 
execution 1 God feeds the wicked as prison- 
ers, they are reserved for the day of wrath, 
2 Pet. ii. 9. How should this fright men out 
of their natural condition, and make them 
restless till they are new creatures. 

2d Use. Trial. Whether we are new 
creatures ; our salvation depends upon it. 

I. I shall show you the counterfeits of the 
new creature, or that which seems to be the 
new creature, and is not. 

1. Natural honesty, moral virtue, prudence, 
justice, liberality, temperance, — these make 
a glorious show in the eye of the world, but 
differ as much from the new creature as a me- 
teor from a star. Morality, indeed, is com- 
mendable, and it were well if there were 
more of it ; this our Saviour loves, Mark x. 
21, " Then Jesus beholding him, loved him." 
It was a love of compassion, not election. 
Morality is but nature at best, it doth not 
amount to grace. There is nothing of Christ 
in morality; and that fruit is sour which 
grows not on the root Christ. Moral actions 
are done out of a vain-glorious humour, not 
any respect to God's glory. The apostle 
calls the heathen magistrates unjust, 1 Cor. 
vi. 1. While they were doingjustice in their 
civil courts, they were unjust ; their virtues 
became vices, because faith was wanting, and 
they did all to raise them trophies for their 
own praise and fame. So that morality is 
but the wild olive of nature, it doth not 
amount to grace. Heat water to the highest 
degree, you cannot make wine of it, it is wa- 
ter still : so, let morality be raised to the high- 
est, it is nature still, — it is but old Adam put 
in a better dress. I may say to a civil man, 
"yetlackest thou one thing," Mark x. 21. 
Moral virtue may stand with the hatred of 
godliness. A moral man doth as much hate 
holiness, as he doth vice. The stoics were 
moralists, and had sublime notions about vir- 
tue, yet were the deadliest enemies St Paul 
had, Acts xvii. 18. . So that this is a coun- 
terfeit jewel. 

2. Religious education is not the new crea- 



624 



SELECT SERMONS. 



ture. Education doth much cultivate and re- 
fine nature ; education is a good wall to plant 
the vine of grace against, but it is not grace. 
King Jehoash was good as long as his uncle 
Jehoiada lived ; but when Jehoiada died, all 
Jehoash's religion was buried in his uncle's 
grave, 2 Kings xii. 2. Have not we seen 
many who have been trained up religiously 
under their parents, and were very hopeful, 
yet these fair blossoms of hope have been 
blown off, and they have lived to be a shame 
to their friends 1 

3. A form of godliness is not the new 
creature. Every bird that hath fine fea- 
thers, hath not sweet flesh? all that shine 
with the golden feathers of profession, are 
not saints, 2 Tim. iii. 5, " Having a form 
of godliness, but denying the power." What 
is a lifeless form ] Formality is the ape of 
piety ; formalists may perform all the ex- 
ternal parts of religion, — pray, fast, give 
alms. Whatever duties a believer doth in 
sincerity, the same may a formalist do in 
hyprocisy. How devout were the Phari- 
sees ! How humble was Ahab ! what a 
reformer was Jehu ! Yet this was but a 
formal show of religion. Daedalus, by art, 
made images to move of themselves, inso- 
much that people thought they were living: 
formalists do so counterfeit, and pay a de- 
votion, that others think they are living 
saints ; they are religious mountebanks. 

4. Every change of opinion doth not 
amount to the new creature ; man may change 
from error to truth, yet be no new creature ; 
here is a change in the head, but not in the 
heart ; one may be orthodox in his judgment, 
yet not cordially embrace the gospel ; he may 
be no papist, yet no true believer. He who 
is changed only in opinion, is but almost a 
Christian, and shall be but almost saved. 

5. Every sudden passion, or stirring of 
the affections, is not the new creature. 
There may be affections of sorrow ; some, 
upon the reading the history of Christ's 
passion, may be ready to weep, but it is 
only a natural tendency, which relents at 
any tragical sight. Affections of desire 
may be stirred, John vi. 34, " Lord, ever- 
more give us this bread ;" but these basely 
deserted Christ, and would walk no more 



with him, v. 66. Many desire heaven but 
will not come up to the price. Affections 
of joy may be stirred. In the parable, the 
second sort of hearers are said to " receive 
the word with joy," Matt. xiii. 20. What 
was this but to have the affections moved 
with delight in hearing ! Yet, that this 
did not amount to the new creature, is 
plain, 1st, Because those hearers are said to 
have no root. 2d, Because they fell away, 
v. 21. King Herod did hear John the Bap- 
tist gladly ; he was much affected with John's 
preaching ; where then was the defect ] 
Why was not Herod a new creature "? The 
reason was, because Herod was not reformed 
by the Baptist's preaching ; his affections 
were moved, but his sin was not removed. 
Many have sweet motions of heart, and seem 
to be much affected with the word, but their 
love to sin is stronger than their love to the 
word; therefore all their good affections prove 
abortive, and come to nothing. 

6. One may have trouble for sin, yet not 
be a new creature. Trouble of spirit may 
appear, while God's judgments lie upon 
men ; when these are removed, their trou- 
ble ceaseth, Ps. lxxviii. 34, 36, " When he 
slew them, then they sought him ; never- 
theless they did flatter him with their 
mouths." Metal that melts in a furnace, 
take it out of the furnace and it returns to 
its former hardness : many in time of sick- 
ness seem to be like melted metal. What 
weeping and wringing of hands ! What 
confessions of sin will they make ! Do not 
these look like new creatures 1 But as 
soon as they recover, they are as bad as 
ever ; their pangs go off again, and it never 
comes to a new birth. 

7. A man may have the Spirit, yet not be a 
new creature. The apostle supposeth a case, 
that one might be made a partaker of the Holy 
Ghost, yet fall away, Heb. vi. 4. A man may 
have some slight transient work of the Spirit 
but it doth not go to the root ; he may have the 
common gifts of the Spirit, but not the special 
grace; he may have the Spirit to convince him, 
not to convert him ; the light he hath is like a 
winter sun, which hath little or no influence, 
— it doth not make him more holy ; he hath the 
motions of the Spirit, but walks after the flesh. 



SELECT SERMONS. 



625 



• 8. Every abstaining from sin is not the 
new creature. This abstaining- may be, 1st, 
From restraining grace, not renewing grace : 
as God withheld Laban from hurting Jacob, 
Gen. xxxi. 24. The Lord may restrain men 
from sin, by the terror of a natural con- 
science. Conscience stands as the angel 
with a drawn sword, andsaith, " Do not this 
evil." Men may be frighted from sin, but 
not divorced. 2d, Men may abstain from sin 
for a while, and then return to it again ; as 
Saul left off pursuing David, for some time, 
and then hunted him again. This is like a 
man that holds his breath under water, and 
then takes breath again, Jer. xxxi v. 15, 16, 
" Ye were now turned, and had done right in 
!my sight : but ye turned and polluted my 
holy name." 3d, Men may leave gross sin, 
and yet live in more spiritual sins, — leave 
drunkenness, and live in pride, — leave un- 
cleanness, and live in malice. The Pharisee 
boasted he was no adulterer, but he could not 
say he was not proud or superstitious ; here 
he left gross sin, and lived in spiritual sins. 
&h, Men may leave sin partially, — abstain 
from some sins, not all, — they feed some sin 
! in a corner. Herod left many sins, but one 
sin he lived in, viz. incest. All this doth not 
■ amount to the new creature. 

II. I shall show you wherein the essence of 
the new creature consists. 

1st, In general. To the constituting of 
the new creature there must be a great change 
wrought. He who is a new creature, is not 
the same man he was. He is of another 
spirit, Numb. xiv. 24, " My servant Caleb, 
because he had another spirit." When the 
harlot, Lais, came to one of her old acquaint- 
ance after he was converted, and tempted 
him to sin, Ego non sum ego, saith he, "I 
am not the same man." When one becomes 
a new creature, there is such a visible change 
that all may see it ; therefore it is called a 
change " from darkness to light," Acts xxvi. 
18. Paul, a persecutor, when converted, 
was so altered that all who saw him, won- 
dered at him and could scarce believe that he 
was the same, Acts ix. 21 : as if another soul 
had lived in the same body. Mary Magda- 
lene, an unchaste sinner, when once savingly 
wrought upon, what a penitent creature did ■ 
4K 



i she become ! Her eyes, that were entice- 
ments to lust, she takes penance of them, 
and washed Christ's feet with her tears ; her 
hair which she was so proud of, and which 
was a net to entangle her lovers, she now 
takes penance of it, and wipes Christ's feet 
with it. Thus the new creature makes a 
visible change. Such as are the same as 
they were, as vain and proud as ever, here is 
no new creature to be seen : for then a 
mighty change would appear, 1 Cor. vi. 11, 
" And such were some of you, but ye are 
washed, but ye are sanctified," &c. 

But every change doth not evidence the 
new creature. 1. There is a change from 
one extreme to another,— from a prodigal to 
an usurer, — from a Turk to a Papist. This 
is as if one should recover of one disease, and 
die of another. 2. There is an outward 
change, which is like the washing of a swine. 
Ahab was much changed to outward view, 
when he " rent his clothes, and put on sack- 
cloth," 1 Kings xxi. 27, insomuch that God 
stands and wonders at him : " Seestthou how 
Ahab hurnbleth himself 7" Yet, for all this, 
he was but an hypocrite. 

Quest. What change then is that which 
is requisite in the new creature ? 

Ans. It is an inward change, a change of 
heart. Though the heart be not new made, 
it is new moulded, Jer. iv. 14, Wash thy 
heart, O Jerusalem. Ahab's clothes were 
rent, but not his heart. The outward change 
will do no good without the inward ; what 
will become of them then, who have not so 
much as an outward change 1 Thus you see 
in general, that, in the production of the new 
creature, there must be a change. 

2dly, More particularly. The change in 
the new creature consists in two things, and 
they are both set down in the text : " old 
things are passed away ; behold all things 
are become new." 

1. "Old things are passed away." Old 
pride, old ignorance, old malice; the old 
house must be pulled down ere you can set 
up a new. 

Obj. But if all old things must pass away, 
then there are no new creatures. Who can 

be quite freed from sin ? Doth not Paul 
complain of a body of death ? 



626 



SELECT SERMONS. 



Ans. We must know that the change 
wrought in the new creature, though it be a 
thorough change, yet it is not a perfect 
change ; sin will remain. As there is a prin- 
ciple of grace, so of corruption ; like wine and 
water mixed, there is in the regenerate flesh 
as well as spirit. Here a question ariseth. 

Quest. If sin in the regenerate is not 
quite done away, then how far must one put 
off the old man, that he may be a new creature? 

Ans. 1. There must be a grieving for the 
remains of corruption, Rom. vii. 24, " O 
wretched man that I am, who shall deliver 
me from this body of death V Paul did not 
cry out of his sufferings, his being beaten 
with rods, shipwrecked, stoned ; — but, like 
the bird of paradise — he bemoaned himself 
for sin. In the new creature there must be 
quotidianus mugitus, — a daily mourning for 
the indwelling presence of corruption ; a child 
of God doth not wear sin as a gold chain, but 
as a fetter. 

A. 2. In the new creature there must be a 
detestation of old things, as one would detest 
a garment in which is the plague. It is not 
enough to be angry with sin ; but we must 
hate it, Ps. cxix. 163, " I hate and abhor 
lying." Hatred is the highest degree of 
enmity ; and we must hate sin not only for 
its hurtful effect, but its loathsome nature ; 
as one hates a toad for its poisonous quality. 

A. 3. In the new creature there is an op- 
position against all old things ; a Christian 
not only complains of sin, but fights against 
it, Gal. v. 17. 

Quest. But may not a natural man oppose 
sin ? 

Ans. Yes ; but there is a great difference 
between his opposing sin, and the new crea- 
ture's opposing it. 

1st, There is a difference in the manner of 
opposition. 1. The natural man opposeth 
sin, only for the shame of it, as it eclipseth 
his credit : but the new creature opposeth sin 
for the filth of it, — it is the spirit of mischief, 
— it is like rust to gold, or as a stain to 
beauty. 2. The natural man doth not oppose 
all sin. (1). He doth not oppose inward 
sins ; he fights against such sins as are against 
the light of a natural conscience, but not 
against heart-sins, — the first risings of vain 



thoughts, — the stirrings of anger and concu- 
piscence, — the venom and impurity of his 
nature. (2). He doth not oppose gospel sins,. 
— pride, — unbelief, — hardness of heart, — spi- 
ritual barrenness ; he is not troubled, that he 
can love God no more. (3). He opposeth 
not complexion-sins, such as the bias of his 
heart carries him more strongly to, as lust or 
avarice ; he saith of his constitution-sins, as 
Naaman, 2 Kings v. 18, " In this thing, the 
Lord pardon thy servant." But the new 
creature opposeth all kinds of sin : as he that 
hates a servant, hates all kinds of serpents ; 
Ps. cxix. 104, " I hate every false way." 

2dly, There is difference between the na- 
tural man's opposing sin, and the new crea- 
ture's opposing sin, in regard of the motives. 
A natural man opposeth sin, from carnal 
motives, — to stop the mouth of conscience, 
and to prevent hell. But the new creature 
opposeth sin upon more noble motives, — out 
of love to God, and fear of dishonouring the 
gospel. 

A. 4. In the new creature there is morti- 
fying old corrupt lusts, Gal. v. 24, " They 
that are Christ's have crucified the flesh." 
The new creature is said to be " dead indeed 
unto sin," Rom. vi. 11. He is dead as to the 
love of sin, that it doth not bewitch : and as 
to the power of it, that it doth not command. 
The new creature is continually crucifying 
sin ; some limb of the old Adam every day 
drops off ; though sin doth not die perfectly, 
it dies daily. A gracious soul thinks he can 
never kill sin enough ; he deals with sin as 
Joab with Absalom, 2 Sam. xviii. 14, " He 
took three darts in his hand and thrust them 
through the heart of Absalom." So, with the 
three darts of faith, prayer, and repentance, 
a Christian thrusts through the body of sin ; 
he never thinks this Absalom is enough dead. 

Try then, if we have this first sign of the 
new creature, " old things are passed away." 
There is a grieving for sin, a detesting it, 
an opposing it, a mortifying it ; this is the 
passing away of old things, though not in 
a legal sense, yet in an evangelical ; and 
though it be not to satisfaction, yet it is to 
acceptation. 

2. The second trial of the new creature, 
is "all things are become new." The new 



SELECT SERMONS. 



627 



creature is new all over ; grace, though it be 
but in part, yet it is in every part. By nature 
every branch of the soul is defiled with sin, 
as every part of wormwood is bitter ; so in 
regeneration, every part of the soul is replen- 
ished with grace, therefore grace is called 
the "new man," Eph. iv. 24. Not a new 
eye, or a new tongue, but a new man, — there 
are new dispositions, new principles, new 
aims, — " all things are become new." 

(1) . In the new creature there is a new 
understanding, Eph. iv. 23, " Be ye renewed 
in the spirit of your mind." The first thing 
a limner draws in a picture is the eye : when 
God newly limns us, and makes us new crea- 
tures, the first thing he draws in our souls is 
a new eye : the new creature is enlightened 
to see that which he never saw before. 1. 
He knows Christ after another manner. An 
unconverted man, by the light of common 
grace, may believe Christ to be the Son of 
God: but the new creature knows Christ 
after another guise, manner, so as to esteem 
him above all, to adore him, to touch him by 
faith, to fetch a healing virtue from him. 2. 
The new creature knows himself better than 
he did. When the sun shines into a room, it 
discovers all the dust and cobwebs in it : so, 
when the light of the Spirit shines into the 
heart, it discovers that corruption which 
before lay hid ; it shows a man his own 
vileness and nothingness, Job xl. 4, "Be- 
hold, I am vile." A wicked man blinded 
with self-love, admires himself; like Nar- 
cissus, that seeing his own shadow upon the 
water, fell in love with it. Saving-knowledge 
works self-abasement : " Lord, thou art in 
heaven, and I am in hell," said a martyr. 
Hath this day-star of knowledge shined on 
our mind 1 

(2) . The new creature is renewed in his 
conscience. The conscience of a natural 
man is either blind, or dumb, or seared ; but 
conscience in the new creature is renewed. 
Let us examine, doth conscience check for 
sin 1 The least hair makes the eye weep ; 
and the least sin makes conscience smite. 
How did David's heart smite him for cutting 
off the lap of Saul's garment ! A good 
conscience is a star to guide, a register to 
record, a judge to determine, a witness to 



accuse or excuse ; if conscience doth all 
these offices right, then it is a renewed con- 
science, and speaks peace. 

(3) . In the new creature the will is re- 
newed. An old bowl may have a new bias 
put into it : the will having a new bias of 
grace put into it, is strongly carried to good. 
The will of a natural man opposeth God ; 
when the wind goes one way and the tide 
another, then there is a storm ; so it is when 
God's will goes one way and ours another. 
But when our will goes with God's, as the 
wind with the tide, then there is a sweet 
calm of peace in* the soul, — the sanctified 
will answers to God's will, as the echo to the 
voice, Ps. xxvii. 8, " When thou saidst, seek 
ye my face, my heart said unto thee, thy face, 
Lord, will I seek." And the will being re- 
newed, like the primum mobile, it carries all 
the affections along with it. 

(4) . The new creature hath a new con- 
versation. Grace alters a man's walk ; before 
he walked proudly, now humbly ; before 
loosely, now holily ; he makes the word his 
rule, and Christ's life his pattern, Phil. iii. 
20, " Our conversation is in heaven." As 
a ship that is sailing eastward, there comes 
a gale of wind and blows it westward : so, 
before a man did sail hellward, and on a 
sudden the Spirit of God comes upon him, 
and blows him heavenward ; here is a new 
conversation. It was a speech of Oecolam- 
padius, " I would not speak nor do any thing 
that I thought Jesus Christ would not ap- 
prove of, if he were here corporally present." 
Where there is circumcision of heart, there 
is circumspection of life ; if we find it thus, 
that " all things are become new," then we 
are new creatures, and shall go to the new 
Jerusalem when we die. 

3d Use. Exhortation. Labour to be new 
creatures : nothing else will avail us, Gal. vi. 
15, "Neither circumcision availeth any thing, 
nor uncircumcision, but a new creature." 
We are for new things ; we love new fash- 
ions, and why not new hearts 1 but people are 
full of prejudices against the new creature. 

Ob j. 1. If we are new creatures, there 
must be so much strictness in religion, so 
much praying and watching, as discourag- 
eth. 



628 



SELECT SERMONS. 



Ans. 1. Is there any thing excellent to be 
obtained without labour ] What pains is ta- 
ken in searching for a vein of silver, or seek- 
ing for pearl 1 Men cannot have the world 
without labour ; and would they have salva- 
tion so 1 2. The labour in religion bears no 
proportion with the reward. What are a few 
tear3 shed, to a weight of glory 1 The soldier 
is content to wrestle with difficulties, and 
undergo a bloody fight, for a glorious victory. 
In all labour for heaven there is profit : it is 
like a man that digs in a golden mine, and 
carries away all the gold. 

3. Men take more pains to go to hell; 
what pains doth an ambitious man take to 
climb to the pinnacle of honour'? Tullia 
rode over the dead body of her father to be 
made queen. How doth the covetous man tire 
himself, break his sleep, and his peace, to get 
the world 1 Thus some men take more pains 
in the service of sin, than others do in pur- 
suit of holiness. Men talk of pains in reli- 
gion ; when God's Spirit comes into one, it 
turns labour into delight. It was Paul's 
heaven to serve God, Rom. vii. 22. The 
ways of wisdom " are ways of pleasantness," 
Prov. iii. 17. It is like walking among beds 
of spices, which cast forth a sweet perfume. 

Obj. 2. But if we leave our old company, 
and become new creatures, we shall be ex- 
posed to many reproaches. 

Ans. Who are they that speak evil of re- 
ligion but such as are evil 1 Male de me 
loquunter, sed mali, said Seneca. Besides, 
is it not better that men reproach us for being 
good, than that God damn us for being wick- 
ed ! Matt. v. 11, " Blessed are ye when men 
shall revile you." Stars are never the less 
glorious though they have ugly names given 
them, as the bear and the dragon. A saint's 
reproaches are like a soldier's scars, honour- 
able, 1 Pet. iv. 14, " If ye are reproached for 
the name of Christ, the Spirit of God and of 
glory rests upon you." While men clip your 
credit to make it weigh lighter, they make 
your crown heavier. 

Having answered these objections, I come 
now to resume the exhortation ; above all 
things labour to be new creatures. 

Motives. 1st, In this true Christianity 
doth consist. It is not baptism makes a 



Christian : many are no better than baptized 
heathens. The essential part of religion lies 
in the new creature, Rom. ii. 29, "Circum- 
cision is that of the heart." Every thing 
hath a name from the better part. We call 
a man a reasonable creature, because of his 
soul, which is the more noble part : so one is 
called a Christian, because he acts from a 
principle of the new creature, which the 
carnal man doth not. 

2dly, It is the new creature fits us for com- 
munion with God ; we cannot converse with 
God till then. Birds cannot converse with 
men unless they had a rational nature put 
into them, nor can men converse with God, 
unless, being made new creatures, they par- 
take of the divine nature. Communion with 
God is a mystery to most; every one that 
hangs about the court doth not speak with 
the king ; all that meddle with holy duties, 
and, as it were, hang about the court of hea- 
ven, have not communion with God. It is 
only the new creature enjoys God's pre- 
sence in ordinances, and sweetly converses 
with him as a child with a Father. 

2>dly, The necessity of being new crea- 
tures. 

1. Till then we are odious to God, Zech. 
xi. 8, " My soul loathed them." A sinner is to 
God worse than a toad ; a toad hath no poison, 
but what God hath put into it : but a sinner 
hath that which the devil hath put into him, 
Acts v. 3, " Why hath Satan filled thy heart 
to lie ]" A wicked man is possessed with 
an evil spirit, one man is possessed with the 
devil of pride, another with the devil of 
malice, — this must needs make persons odi- 
ous to God, to be possessed with the devil. 
Thus it is till we become new creatures. 

2. Till we are new creatures, our duties 
are not accepted with God; they are but 
wild grapes. 1. Because God accepts no 
man, but where he sees his image. The 
new creature is called the renewing of God's 
image, Eph. iv. 24. When they brought 
Tarnarlane a pot of gold, he asked what 
stamp it had on it, and when he saw the 
Roman stamp on it, he refused it : so, if 
God doth not see his own stamp and image 
on the soul, he rejects the most specious 
services. 2. Duties of religion are not ac- 



SELECT SERMONS. 



629 



cepted without the new creature, because 
there is that wanting which should make 
them a sweet savour to God. The holy oil 
for the tabernacle was to be made of seve- 
ral spices and ingredients, Exod. xxx. 23 : 
now, if any of these spices had been left 
out, it had not been pleasing. The unre- 
generate man leaves out the chief spice in 
his duties, and that is faith. And, Heb. xi. 
6, " Without faith it is impossible to please 
God." Faith lays hold on Christ, and so is 
accepted. 

3. Such as are not new creatures, but grow 
upon the stock of old Adam, get no benefit 
by ordinances ; they are to them, as dioscor- 
dium in a dead man's mouth ; they lose their 
virtue ; nay, not only ordinances do them no 
good, but hurt. It were sad, if all a man did 
eat should turn to poison. The word preach- 
ed is a " savour of death ;" it is not healing, 
but hardening ; nay Christ himself is acci- 
dentally " a rock of offence," 1 Pet. ii. 8. 
The wicked stumble at a Saviour, and suck 
death from the tree of life. 

4. Without being new creatures, we can- 
not arrive at heaven, Rev. xxi. 27, " There 
shall in nowise enter into it any thing that 
defileth." Heaven is not like Noah's ark, 
that receiveth clean and unclean. A sinner 
is compared to swine, 2 Pet. ii. 22, and shall 
a swinish creature tread upon the golden 
pavement of heaven 1 Indeed the frogs came 
into king Pharaoh's court, but in heaven 
there is no entertainment for such vermin. It 
is only the new creature qualifies us for glory : 
this consecrates the heart, and only the pure 
in heart shall see God. The new creature 
elevates the soul, as the loadstone elevates 
the iron. A soul renewed by grace, is fit to 
ascend to the heavenly glory. 

4:thty, The excellency of the new crea- 
ture : 1st, The nobility. 2d, The immorta- 
lity. 1. The nobility. The new creature 
fetcheth its pedigree from heaven ; it is 
born of God ; God counts none else of the 
blood royal ; it ennobles a man's spirit ; he 
aspires after the favour of God, and looks 
no lower than a crown. The new creature 
raiseth one to honour ; he excels the prin- 
ces of the earth, Ps. lxxxix. 27, and is fel- 
low-commoner with angels. 2. The im- 



mortality. The new creature is begotten of 
the incorruptible seed of the word, and never 
dies ; it lasts as long as the soul, as angels, 
as heaven. ~God hath laid out much cost 
upon it, and if it perish, he should lose all his 
cost. When Xerxes destroyed all the tem- 
ples in Greece, he caused the temple of Dia- 
na to be preserved for its beautiful structure ; 
the new creature is God's temple, adorned 
with all the graces, which he will not suffer 
to be demolished. Riches take wings, king's 
crowns tumble in the dust ; nay, some of the 
graces may cease : faith and hope shall be 
no more, but the new creature abideth for 
ever, 1 John ii. 27. 

bthly, The misery of the unregenerate 
creature ; dying so, I may say so of him, as 
Christ said of Judas, Mark xiv. 21, " Good 
were it for that man if he had never been 
born." Better have been a toad, a serpent, 
any thing, if not a new creature ; the old 
sinner must go into old Tophet, Isa. xxx. 33. 
Damned caitiffs will have nothing to ease 
their torments, — not one drop of honey in all 
their gall. In the sacrifice of jealousy there 
was no oil put to it, Numb. v. In hell there 
is no oil of mercy put to the sufferings of the 
damned to lenify them. 

Therefore get out of the wild olive of na- 
ture : labour to be new creatures, lest you 
curse yourselves at last. A sinful life will 
cause a despairing death. 

Quest. What shall we do to be new 
creatures 1 

Ans. 1. Wait on the ordinances. The 
preaching of the word is the seed of which 
the new creature is formed ; this is the 
trumpet which must make the dead in sin 
come out of their grave. 

A. 2. Pray earnestly for the new creature : 
" Lord thou hast made me once, make me 
again ; what shall I do with this old heart 1 
It defiles all it toucheth." Urge God with his 
promise, Ezek. xxxvi. 26, " A new heart also 
will I give you." Say, " Lord, I am as the 
dry bones, but thou didst cause breath to 
come into them, Ezek. xvii. 10. Do the same 
to me : breathe a supernatural life of grace 
into me." 

4th Use. Thankfulness. Let such as are 
new creatures stand upon mount Gerizim, 



630 



SELECT SERMONS. 



blessing and praising God ; ascribe all to 
the riches of God's love ; set the crown upon 
the head of free grace. God hath done more 
for you than if he had made you kings and 
queens ; though you have not so much of 
the world as others, you are happier than 
the greatest monarchs upon earth ; and, I 
dare say, you would not change with them. 
The apostles seldom speak of the new crea- 
tion, but they join some thankful praises 
with it, 1 Pet. i. 3, " Blessed be God, who, 



according to his abundant mercy, hath 
begotten us again to a lively hope." Col. i. 
12, " Giving thanks to the Father, who hath 
made us meet for the inheritance in light." 
The new creature is the sign of election, a 
badge of adoption. What distinguishing 
love is this, that God should make any of us 
new creatures, when he hath left the great- 
est part of the world to perish in their sins ! 
Such as are patterns of mercy, should be 
trumpets of praise. 



SERMON III. 



James iii. 6, " And the tongue 

The apostle James in this scripture, de- 
scribes the evil of the tongue, " The tongue 
is a fire, a world of iniquity." 

1. " It is a fire." It burns with intemper- 
ate heat ; it causeth the heat of contention ; 
it sets others in a flame. 

2. "A world of iniquity." It was at first 
made to be an organ of God's praise, but it 
is become an instrument of unrighteousness. 
All the members of the body are sinful, as 
there is bitterness in every branch of worm- 
wood, but the tongue is excessively sinful, 
"full of deadly poison," v. 8. 

Doctrine. The tongue, though it be a lit- 
tle member, yet it hath a world of sin in it ; 
the tongue is an unruly evil. I shall show 
you some of the evils of the tongue. 

1. The evil tongue is the silent tongue ; it 
is wholly mute in matters of religion ; it 
never speaks of God or of heaven, as if it 
cleaved to the roof of the mouth. Men are 
fluent and discoursive enough in other things, 
but in matters of religion their lips are sealed 
up. If we come into some people's company, 
we do not know what religion they are of, 
whether Jews or Mahometans, for they never 
speak of Christ ; they are like the man in the 
gospel, who was possessed with a dumb 
spirit, Mark ix. 17. 

2. The evil tongue is the earthly tongue ; 
men talk of nothing but the world, as if all 
their hopes were here, and they looked for 
an earthly eternity; these have earthly 
minds, John iii. 31, " He that is of the earth, 
speaketh of the earth." 



is a fire, a world of iniquity" 

3. The evil tongue is the hasty or angry 
tongue ; they have no command of passions, 
but are carried away with them, as a chariot 
with wild horses. I know there is an holy 
anger, when we are angry with sin : Christ 
had this anger when they made the temple a 
place of merchandise, John ii. 15. That anger 
is without sin, which is against sin ; but that 
is an evil tongue, which is presently blown 
up into exorbitant passion ; this ' tongue is 
set on fire from hell.' A wrathful spirit is 
unsuitable to the gospel; it is a gospel of 
peace, and its author is the Prince of Peace, 
and it is sealed by the Spirit, who came in 
the form of a dove, a meek peaceable crea- 
ture. Thou who art given much to passion, 
whose tongue is often set on fire, take heed 
thou dost not one day in hell desire a drop of 
water to cool thy tongue. 

4. The evil tongue is* the vain tongue, 
that vents itself in idle words : Ps. x. 7, 
" Under his tongue is vanity." A vain 
tongue shows a light heart ; a good man's 
words are weighty and prudent; his lips 
are as a tree of life to feed many ; his 
speech is edifying, Prov. x. 20, "The 
tongue of the just is as choice silver." But, 
Prov. xv. 2, " The mouth of fools pours 
out foolishness." How many idle away the 
day of grace in frivolous discourses 1 A 
wise man's words are like gold, weighty, 
and will sink into the hearts of others ; but 
the words of many are light and feathery, 
and will make no impression, Matt. xii. 36, 
"Every idle word that men shall speak, 



SELECT SERMONS. 



631 



they shall give an account thereof in the day 
of judgment." 

5. The evil tongue is the censorious tongue, 
James iv. 12, " Who art thou that judgest 
another 1 ?" Some make it a part of their re- 
ligion to judge and censure others ; they do 
not imitate their graces, but censure their 
failings ; such a one is a hypocrite ; this comes 
from pride. Were men's hearts more hum- 
ble, their tongues would be more charitable. 
The censurer sits in the chair of pride, and 
passeth sentence upon another, and doth 
reprobate him ; this is to usurp God's prero- 
gative, and take his work out of his hands ; 
it is God's work to judge, not ours. He who 
spends his time in censuring others, spends 
but little time in examining himself ; he doth 
not see his own faults. There is not a great- 
er sign of hypocrisy, than to be over hasty in 
judging and censuring persons. 

6. The evil tongue is the slanderous tongue, 
Ps. 1. 20, " Thou sittest and slanderest thy 
own mother's son." Slandering is when we 
speak to the prejudice of another, and speak 
that which is not true. Worth and eminen- 
cy are commonly blasted by slander ; holiness 
itself is no shield from slander : " John Bap- 
tist came neither eating nor drinking, yet 
they say he hath a devil," Matt. xi. Come 
and let us smite him with the tongue. A 
slanderer wounds another's fame, and no 
physician can heal these wounds. The sword 
doth not make so deep a wound as the tongue. 
The Greek word for slanderer, signifies devil. 
Some think it is no great matter to belie and 
defame another ; but know, this is to act the 
part of a devil. The slanderer's tongue is a 
two-edged sword, it wounds two at once : 
while the slanderer wounds another in his 
name, he wounds himself in his conscience. 
This is contrary to scripture, James iv. 11, 
" Speak not evil one of another." God takes 
this ill at our hands, to speak evil of others, 
especially such as are eminently holy, and 
help to bear up the honour of religion : Num. 
xii. 8, " Were ye not afraid to speak against 
my servant Moses 1" What ! my servant 
who hath wrought so many miracles, — whom 
I have spoken with in the mount face to face, 
— were not ye afraid to speak against him'? 
So will God say, Take heed of this, it is a sin 



our nature is very prone to ; and remember, 
it is no less sin to rob another of his good 
name, than to steal his goods or wares out of 
his shop. 

7. The evil tongue is the unclean tongue, 
that vents itself in filthy and scurrilous words, 
Eph. iv. 29, " Let no corrupt communication 
proceed out of your mouth." A sign of a great 
distemper, that the fever is high, when the 
tongue is black : a sign men's hearts are very 
evil, when such black words come from them. 

8. The evil tongue is the lying tongue, 
Col. iii. 9, " Lie not one to another." The 
Cretians were noted for liars ; Tit. i. 12, 
" The Cretians are alway liars." It becomes 
not Christians to be Cretians. Nothing is 
more contrary to God than a lie ; it shows 
much irreligion ; lying is a sin that doth not 
go alone, it ushers in other sins. Absalom 
told his father a lie, that he was going to pay 
his vow at Hebron, 2 Sam. xv. 7, and this 
lie was a preface to his treason. Lying is 
such a sin, as takes away all society and con- 
verse with men ; how can you have converse 
with him, that you cannot trust a word he 
saith ] It is a sin so sordid, that when the 
liar is convicted, he is ashamed. God's 
children have this character, they are " chil- 
dren that will not lie," Isa. lxiii. 8, the new 
nature in them will not suffer them. The 
liar is near a-kin to the devil, and the devil 
will shortly claim kindred with him, John viii. 
44, " The devil is a liar, and the father of it." 
He seduced our first parents by a lie, Gen. 
iii. 4. How doth this sin incense God 1 He 
struck Ananias dead for telling a lie, Acts 
v. 5. The furnace of hell is heated to throw 
liars into, Rev. xxii. 15, " Without are dogs, 
and sorcerers, and whosoever loveth and 
maketh a lie." 

9. The evil tongue is the flattering tongue, 
that will speak fair to one's face, but will de- 
fame, Prov. xxvi. 24, " He that hateth, dis- 
sembleth with his lips." When he speaketh 
fair, believe him not ; dissembled love is 
worse than hatred. Some can commend and 
reproach, flatter and hate, — honey in their 
mouths, but a sting of malice in their hearts : 
better are the wounds of a friend, than the 
kisses of such an enemy. Hierom saith, " the 
Arian faction pretended friendship ; they 



632 



SELECT SERMONS. 



(saith he) kissed my hands, but slandered me 
and sought my ruin." Many have dissem- 
bling tongues, they can say, your servant, and 
lay snares, Prov. xxix. 5, " A man that flat- 
tereth his neighbour, spreadeth a net for his 
feet." You oft think you have a friend in 
your bosom, but he proves a viper. To dis- 
semble love is no better than to lie ; for there 
is a pretence of that love which is not. Many 
are like Joab, 2 Sam. xx. 9, " And Joab said 
to Amasa, art thou in health, my brother] 
And he took him by the beard to kiss him, 
and he smote him in the fifth rib that he 
died." For my part, I must question his truth 
towards God, that will flatter and lie to his 
friend. God will bring such a one to shame 
at last, Prov. xxvi. 26, " Whose hatred is 
covered by deceit, his wickedness shall be 
showed before the whole congregation." 

10. The evil tongue is the tongue given to 
boasting, James iii. 5, "The tongue is a 
little member, and boasteth great things." 
There is a holy boasting, Ps. xliv. 8, "In 
God we boast all the day," when we triumph 
in his power and mercy : but it is a sinful 
boasting, when men display their trophies, 
boast of their own worth and eminency, that 
others may admire and cry them up ; a man's 
self is his idol, and he loves to have this idol 
worshipped, Acts v. 36, "There arose up 
Theudas, boasting himself to be somebody." 
Sinful boasting is when men boast of their 
sins, Ps. Iii. 1, " Why boastest thou thyself 
in mischief, O mighty man V 1 Some boast 
how wicked they have been ; how many they 
have made drunk ; how many they have de- 
flowered ; as if a beggar should boast of his 
sores ; or a thief boast of being burnt in the 
hand : such as boast of their sinful exploits, 
will have little cause to rejoice, or hang up 
their trophies when they come to hell. 

11. The evil tongue is the swearing tongue, 
Matt. v. 34, " Swear not at all." The scrip- 
ture allows an oath for the ending of a con- 
troversy, and to clear the truth, Heb. vi. 16 ; 
but in ordinary discourse to use an oath, 
and so to take God's name in vain, is sinful. 
Swearing may be called "the unfruitful works 
of darkness," there is neither pleasure nor 
profit in it ; it is like a hook the fish comes 
to without a bait, Jer. xxiii. 10, " Because of 



swearing the land mourneth." Some think 
it the grace of their speech ; but if God will 
reckon with men for idle words, what will he 
do for sinful oaths 1 

Obj. But it is only a petty oath, they 
swear by their faith 1 

Ans. Sure they which have so much faith 
in their mouth, have none in their heart. 
" But it is my custom :" Is this an excuse, 
or an aggravation of the sin 1 If a malefactor 
should be arraigned for robbing, and he 
should say to the judge, spare me, it is my 
custom to rob on the highway ; the judge 
would say, thou shalt the rather die. For 
every oath thou swearest, God puts a drop of 
wrath into his vial. 

Obj. But — may some think — what though 
now and then I swear an oath 1 Words are 
but wind. 

Ans. But they are such a wind as will 
blow thee into hell, without repentance. 

12. The railing tongue is an evil tongue : 
this is a plague-sore breaking out at the 
tongue, when we give opprobrious language. 
When the dispute was between the archan- 
gel and the devil about the body of Moses, 
Jude ver. 9, " The archangel durst not bring 
a railing accusation against him, but said, 
the Lord rebuke thee." The archangel durst 
not rail against the devil. Railing oft ends 
in reviling, and so men bring themselves into 
a premunire, and are " in danger of hell fire," 
Matt. v. 22. 

13. The seducing tongue is an evil tongue. 
The tongue that by fine rhetoric decoys men 
into error, Rom. xvi. 18, " By fair speeches 
deceive the hearts of the simple." A fair 
tongue can put off bad wares ; error is bad 
ware, which a seducing tongue can put off. 
The deceit lies in this ; a smooth tongue can 
make error look so like truth,, that you can 
hardly know them asunder ; as thus, in justi- 
fication, Christ bears infinite love to justified 
persons ; this is a glorious truth, but under 
this notion, the Antinomian presseth liber- 
tinism ; believers may take more liberty to 
sin, and God sees no sin in them. Thus, by 
crying up justification, they destroy sanctifi- 
cation ; here is the seducing tongue ; and 
error is as dangerous as vice ; one may die 
by poison as well as by a pistol. 



SELECT SERMONS. 



633 



14. The evil tongue is the cruel tongue, that 
speaks of the wounding the hearts of others. 
The tongue is made almost in the fashion 
of a sword ; and the tongue is sharp as a 
sword, Ps. lvii. 4, " Their tongue is a sharp 
sword." Kind, loving words should be 
spoken to such as are of a heavy heart, Job 
vi. 14, "To him that is afflicted pity should 
be shown." Healing words are fittest for a 
broken heart : but that is a cruel, unmerciful 
tongue, which speaks such words to the af- 
flicted, as to cut them to the heart, Ps. lxix. 
26, " They talk to the grief of those whom 
thou hast wounded." Hannah was a woman 
of a troubled spirit, 1 Sam. i. 10, " She was 
in bitterness of soul, and wept sore." And 
now Eli, ver. 14, " Said unto her, how long 
wilt thou be drunken ? Put away thy wine 
from thee." This word was like pouring 
vinegar into the wound. When Job was 
afflicted with God's hand, his friends, instead 
of comforting him, told him he was a hypo- 
crite, Job xi. 2. These were cutting words* 
which went to his heart : instead of giving 
him cordials in his fainting, they use corro- 
sives. This is to lay more weight upon a 
dying man. 

15. The evil tongue is the murmuring 
tongue, Jude 16. "These are murmurers." 
Murmuring is discontent breaking out at the 
lips ; men quarrel with God, and tax his pro- 
vidence as if he had not dealt well with them. 
Why should any murmur or be discontented 
at their condition 1 Doth God owe them any 
thing 1 Or, can they deserve any thing at his 
hands 1 O, how uncomely is it to murmur at 
providence ! It is fittest for a Cain to be 
wroth with God, Gen. iv. 6. (1). Murmuring 
proceeds from unbelief. When men distrust 
God's promise, then they murmur at his pro- 
vidence, Ps. cvi. 24, 25, " They believed 
not his word, but murmured." When faith 
grows low, then passion grows high. (2). 
Murmuring proceeds from pride. Men think 
they have deserved better ; and, because 
they are crossed, therefore they utter dis- 
contented expressions against God. He 
who is humble bears any thing from God; 
he knows his punishment is less than his 
sin, therefore saith, " I will bear the indig- 
nation of the Lord," Micah vii. 9. But 

4L 



pride arises discontent ; and hence comes 
murmurings. Murmuring is a sin that God 
cannot bear, Numb. xiv. 27, " How long 
shall I bear with this evil congregation that 
murmur against me ?" The murmurer disco- 
vers much ingratitude ; a murmuring tongue 
is always an unthankful tongue ; he con- 
siders not how much he is a debtor to free 
grace, and whatever he hath is more than 
God owes him ; he considers not that his 
mercies outweigh his afflictions; there's more 
honey than wormwood in his cup ; he con- 
siders not what God hath done for him, more 
than such as are better than he ; he hath the 
finest of wheat, when others feed, as Daniel, 
on pulse. The murmurer, I say, doth not 
consider this ; but, because he is crossed in 
some small matter, he repines against God. 
O ingratitude ! Israel, though they had man- 
na from heaven, to satisfy their hunger, an- 
gel's food, yet murmured for want of quails ; 
not content that. God should supply their 
want, but must satisfy their lust too. O un- 
thankful ! Israel's murmuring cost many of 
them their lives, 1 Cor. x. 10, "Neither 
murmur ye, as some of them did, and were 
destroyed of the destroyer." Their speeches 
were venomous, and God punished them with 
venomous serpents. 

16. The evil tongue is the scoffing tongue. 
The scoffer sits in the chair of scorners, and 
derides religion ; surely the devil hath taken 
great possession of men, when they have 
arrived at such a degree of sin, as to scoff at 
holiness. It was foretold as a sin of the last 
times, 2 Pet. iii. 3, " There shall come in 
the last days scoffers." Some scoff at the 
authority of scripture, the Deity of Christ, 
the immortality of the soul ; this is the worst 
sort of tongues. When men have laid aside 
the veil of modesty, and their consciences 
are seared, then they fall a scoffing at reli- 
gion ; and when once they are come to this, 
their case is desperate ; no proofs will re- 
claim them ; tell them of their sin, and they 
will hate you the more, Prov. ix. 8, " Re- 
prove not a scorner, lest he hate thee." Such 
a man is on the threshold of damnation. 

17. The evil tongue is the tongue given 
to cursing, Ps. x. 7, " His mouth is full of 
cursing :" a wishing some great evil to be- 



634 



SELECT SERMONS. 



fall another ; cursing is the scum that boils 
off from a wicked heart. Though it is true, 
the curse causeless shall not come, — it is not 
in man's power to make another cursed, — 
yet to wish a curse is a fearful sin. If to 
hate our brother be murder, 1 John iii. 15 ; 
then to curse him, which is the highest de- 
gree of hatred, must needs be murder. To 
use an execration or curse, is for a man to 
do what in him lies, to damn another. Some 
wish a curse upon themselves : so the Jews, 
" his blood be upon us," &c. And so do 
your " God damn-me's," as if damnation did 
not come fast enough, Ps. cix. 17, " As he 
loved cursing so let it come to him." 

18. The evil tongue is the unjust tongue ; 
that will for a piece of money open its mouth 
in a bad cause. The lawyer hath linguam 
venalem, a tongue that will be sold for mo- 
ney, Ps. lxxxii. 2, " How long will you judge 
unjustly]" Some will plead any cause, 
though never so bad : though it appears the 
deeds are forged, the witnesses bribed, 
there's perjury in the cause ; yet they will 
plead it. When a man pleads a bad cause 
he is the devil's attorney : as God hates false 
weights, so a false cause. Better be born 
dumb, than open one's mouth in a bad cause. 
O what times are we in ! Many pervert 
justice, and, for enriching themselves, over- 
throw a righteous cause ; these are worse 
than they that rob, for they fleece men's 
estates under a colour of law, and ruin them 
under a pretence of doing justice. 

Use 1. Branch 1. See what a blow we 
have sustained by the fall ; it hath put out of 
frame the whole course of nature. Original 
sin hath diffused itself as a poison into all 
the members of the body ; it hath made the 
eye unchaste, — the hands full of bribes, — 
amongst the rest it hath defiled the tongue, 
" it is a world of iniquity." That which was 
made to be the organ of God's praise, is be- 
come a weapon of unrighteousness. 

Branch 2. If there be so much evil in the 
tongue, what is the heart 1 If the stream be 
so full of water, how full of water is the 
fountain 1 If there be a world of iniquity in 
the tongue, how many worlds of sin are 
there in the heart 1 Ps. v. 9, " Their in- 
ward part is very wickedness." If the 



tongue, which is the outward part, be so 
wicked, the inward part is very wickedness, 
Ps. Ixiv. 6, "The heart is deep ;" it is such 
a deep as cannot be fathomed ; deep pride, 
hypocrisy, atheism. The heart is like the 
sea, where is the leviathan, and creeping 
things innumerable, Ps. civ. If the skin hath 
boils of leprosy in it, how much corruption 
is in the blood 1 If the tongue be so bad, 
how diabolical is the heart ] It is the heart 
sets the tongue awork : "Out of the abund- 
ance of the heart the mouth speaketh:" 
There are the seeds of all atheism and blas- 
phemy, Matt. xv. 19, 20, " Out of the heart 
proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries ; 
these defile a man." If a branch of worm- 
wood be so bitter, then how bitter is the 
root? O, what a root of bitterness grows in 
a man's heart ! Some say they have good 
hearts ; but if the tongue be so bad, what is 
the heart 1 If I see a smoke come out of the 
top of a chimney, what a fire burns within 1 
Prov. vi. 12, 14, " A wicked man walketh 
with a froward mouth ; frowardness is in his 
heart. Solomon shows the reason why the 
mouth is so froward, " Frowardness is in his 
heart." The heart is a store-house of wick- 
edness, therefore called the " evil treasure of 
the heart," Matt. xii. 35. Original righteous- 
ness was a good treasure, but we were rob- 
bed of that ; and now there is an evil trea- 
sure of sin. The word treasure, denotes 
plenty ; to show the fulness and abundance 
of sin that is in the heart. The heart is a 
lesser hell, which is a matter of deep humilia- 
tion ; the heart is, like the Egyptian temples, 
full of spiders and serpents. 

Use 2. Of reproof. It reproves such as 
abuse their tongues in all manner of evil 
speaking, lying, slandering, rash anger. 
The heart is a vessel full of sin, and the 
tongue sets it abroach. O how fast do 
men's tongues gallop in sin ! They say, 
they give God their hearts ; but let the de- 
vil take possession of their tongues, Ps. xii. 
4, " Our lips are our own, who is the Lord 
over us V Who' hath any thing to do with 
our words 1 Who shall control us "? Who 
is our lord 1 There is no engine the devil 
makes more use of than the tongue ; what 
errors, contentions, impieties, have been 



SELECT SERMONS. 



635 



propagated this way, to the dishonour of the 
High God ! David calls his tongue his glory, 
Ps. lvii. 8, " Awake my glory." Why did 
he call his tongue his glory, but because by 
it he did set forth God's glory in praising him] 
But a wicked man's tongue is not his glory, 
but his shame ; with his tongue he wounds 
the glory of God ; " it is set on fire of hell." 

Use 3. Confutation. Branch 1. It confutes 
the Catharists and Perfectists, that plead for 
perfection in this life. If the tongue hath so 
many evils in it, how are they perfect 1 Prov. 
xx. 9, " Who can say, I have made my heart 
clean, I am pure from sin V 9 He makes a 
challenge to all the world. But the Perfect- 
ist saith, he is pure from sin : like Isidore the 
monk, Non habeo Domine, quod mihi ignos- 
cos; I have nothing, Lord, for thee to pardon. 
If pure and perfect, then they put Christ out 
of office, he hath nothing to do for them as 
an advocate, they have no need of his inter- 
cession : but, Eccl. vii. 20, " There is not a 
just man upon earth, that doth good, and sin- 
neth not ;" how proud and supercilious are 
they who hold they are perfect, when the ho- 
liest men alive, at some time or other, offend 
in their tongues ! There is no perfection on 
this side the grave. 

Branch 2. It confutes the Arminians, those 
patrons of free-will : they say, they have 
power to their salvation, — they can change 
their heart. The apostle saith, " the tongue 
can no man tame," James iii. 8. If they can- 
not bridle their tongue, how can they con- 
quer their will 1 If they cannot master this 
little member, how can they change their 
nature 1 

Use 4. Caution. Take heed to your tongue ; 
have a care that ye offend not with your 
tongue, Ps. xxxiv. 14, " Keep thy tongue from 
evil." Ps. xxxix. 1, " I said, I will take 
heed to my ways, that 1 sin not with my 
tongue." Ahard lesson ! Pambas said he was 
above twenty years learning that scripture, 
not to offend with his tongue. The tongue 
is an unruly member ; God hath set a double 
hedge before the tongue, the teeth and lips, to 
keep it within its bounds, that it do not speak 
vainly. O look to your tongue ! When a 
city is besieged, he that keeps the gates of 
the city, keeps the whole city safe ; so if you 



keep the gates or doors of your mouth, you 
keep your whole soul. 

Rules for the well ordering and regulating 
your words, or the governing of your tongue, 
that you do not dishonour God therewith. 

1st Rule. If you would have better tongues, 
labour for better hearts. It is the heart 
hath influence upon the tongue. If the heart 
be vain and earthly, the tongue will be so ; if 
the heart be holy, the tongue will be so. Look 
to thy heart, get a better heart, and a better 
tongue. 

Quest. How shall I get my heart bettered? 

Ans. Get a principle of grace infused. 
Grace is like the salt cast into the spring ; 
grace changeth the heart, and sanctifies all 
the members of the body, — it sanctifies the 
eyes, and makes them chaste, — it sanctifies 
the tongue, and makes it meek and calm. 
When the Holy Ghost came upon the apostles, 
" they began to speak with other tongues," 
Acts ii. 4 : when God's Spirit comes on a 
man with a sanctifying work, he speaks with 
another tongue ; the speech is heavenly. 
Grace makes the heart serious, and that cures 
the levity of the tongue ; when the heart is 
serious, the words are savoury. 

2d Rule. If you would not sin in your 
tongue, call to mind how you have formerly 
offended in your tongue, and that will make 
you more watchful for the future. Have not 
you spoken words that have savoured of 
discontent or envy ] Have not you been 
guilty of censuring and slandering 1 Have 
not you been disgusted with passion ? Hath 
not your tongue out-run your discretion 1 
Have not you spoken words that you have 
been sorry for afterwards, and have caused 
either shame or tears ? O observe former 
failings, how you have sinned in your tongue, 
and that will be a good help for the future ! 
David certainly made a critical observation 
upon some of his words, wherein he had of- 
fended : words of pride, Ps. xxx. 6, " In my 
prosperity I said, I shall never be moved." 
And, Ps. cxvi. 11, ■" I said in my haste all 
men are liars ;" even Samuel, and all the 
prophets who promised me the kingdom, they 
are all liars ; and I shall die before I can come 
to enjoy it. David having observed how he 
had offended in his tongue, he is more care- 



636 



SELECT SERMONS. 



ful of his words, and made a strict vow with 
himself, that he would look better to them, 
Ps. xxxix. 1, " I said, I will take heed to my 
ways, that I sin not with my tongue." Look 
to the former slips of your tongue, and how you 
have by your words provoked God, and that 
will be a good means to make you more cau- 
tious for the future. A mariner that hath 
twice touched upon a rock, and been like to 
be cast away, will be more careful how he 
comes there again. 

3d Rule. Watch your tongue : most sin is 
committed for want of watchfulness. As the 
tongue hath a double fence set about it, so it 
had need have a double watch. The tongue, 
when it is let loose, will be ready to speak 
loosely ; watch it, lest it run beyond its bounds 
in frothy and sinful discourse, Prov. xxx. 32, 
" If thou hast thought evil, lay thy hand up- 
on thy mouth :" that is — say some — lay thy 
hand upon thy mouth, in token of repentanee. 
But it may bear another sense : if thou hast 
thought evil, if angry malicious thoughts come 
into thy mind, lay thy hand upon thy mouth to 
stop thy lips, that thy thoughts come not into 
words. 

4th Rule. If you would not offend in 
your tongue, ponder your words well before 
you speak, Eccl. v. 2, " Be not rash with thy 
mouth," Some speak vainly, because incon- 
siderately ; they do not weigh their words 
before they speak them. A talkative man 
doth not mind his words, but gives his tongue 
liberty ; he may speak not only unadvisedly, 
but unholily, and give just offence. 

5th Rule. If you would not offend in 
your tongue, pray to God to guard your 
tongue, Ps. cxli. 3, " Set a watch, O Lord, 
before my mouth." Set not about this 
work in your own strength, but implore 
God's help; "the tongue can no man 
tame," James iii. 8. But God can tame 
it ; therefore go to him by prayer ; pray, 
£ Lord, set a watch before the door of my 
lips ;' keep me, that I may speak nothing 
to grieve thy Spirit, or that may tend to thy 
dishonour. 

6th Rule. If you would be kept from evil 
speaking, inure your tongues to good speak- 
ing. If you would not have the cask have a 
bad scent, put good liquor into it ; so, if you 



would not have your tougue run out sinfully, 
let it be used to good discourse ; speak often 
one to another of Christ, and the things per- 
taining to the kingdom of God. The spouse's 
lips dropped as an honeycomb, Cant. iv. 11. 

Motives. To beware of tongue sins. 

1st Motive. If you have no care of your 
tongue, all your religion is vain, James i. 
26, " If any man among you seem to be 
religious, and bridleth not his tongue, this 
man's religion is vain." Many a one will 
hear the word, and make a profession of 
religion, but cares not what liberty lie takes 
in his tongue, to reproach and vilify others : 
this man's religion is vain ; that is, 1. He 
hath no religion, his religion is but a show 
or pretence. 2. It is vain, because it is in- 
effectual ; it hath not that force upon him as 
religion ought. 

2d Motive. The tongue discovers much 
of the heart ; such as the tongue is, such 
commonly the heart is. A lascivious tongue 
shows a lustful heart; an earthly tongue a 
covetous heart ; a murmuring tongue a dis- 
contented heart. The tongue is oft a com- 
mentary upon the heart. 

3d Motive. To allow ourselves in the 
abuse of the tongue, cannot stand with grace. 
I know a good man may sometimes speak 
unadvisedly with his lips ; he may fly out in 
words, be in a passion, but he doth not al- 
low himself in it ; when his passion is over, 
he weeps, Rom. vii. 15, " that which I do, I 
allow not :" but, for a man to allow himself 
in sin, censuring, slandering, dropping words 
like coals of fire ; sure it is not consistent 
with grace. 

4th Motive. The sins of the tongue are 
very defiling, James iii. 6, The tongue de- 
fileth. Defiling to one's self, and chiefly 
defiling to others. The tongue conveys poi- 
son into the ear of another ; sometimes by 
false suggestions, raising prejudices in the 
mind of another against such a person ; some- 
times by passionate speeches, the spirit of 
another is provoked. 

5th Motive. The sins of the tongue are 
provoking to God, and prejudicial to us. 
1. Provoking to God ; Ps. cvi. 33. Moses 
spake unadvisedly with his lips ; what was 
this unadvised speech ] Numb. xx. 10, 



SELECT SERMONS. 



637 



" Hear now, ye rebels ; must we fetch you 
water out of this rock? Though he were a 
favourite, and God had spoken with him face 
to face, yet God gives him a check for it ; it 
turned his smile into a frown. 2. Prejudicial 
to us ; Moses's rash speech shut him out of 
Canaan ; it may shut us out of heaven, of 
which that was but a type. Origen notes, 
he had sinned most in his tongue ; and God 
punished him most in his tongue. 

6th Motive. He who offends not in his 
tongue, is a perfect man ; a high expression ; 
" if any man offend not in word, the same is 
a perfect man ;" that is, attains to a very 
high degree, in the highest form of Christ's 
school. A prudent man, or an upright man ; 
or comparatively, in comparison of others, 
such as have not gotten the conquest over 
their passions, he is far above them, and, in 
comparison of them, he is a perfect man ; 
such a one was holy Cranmer, that could not 
be provoked by the ill carriage of others, but 
requited injuries with kindness. 

7th Motive. You must give an account 
to God, as well of your speeches, as your 



actions, Matt. xii. 36, " Every idle word that 
men shall speak, they shall give an account 
thereof in the day of judgment ;" words of 
no account, will have a heavy account. And, 
if God will reckon with men for every idle, 
angry word, then, what will he do for sinful 
oaths ? " Oh that my words were now writ- 
ten !" Job xix. 23. Truly, if many people's 
words were written, they would be ashamed 
of them. And, let me tell you, your words 
are written : Rev. xv. " The books were 
opened." In the book of God's remembrance 
all your words are written ; you had need 
then be careful you offend not with your 
tongue ; God writes down all you speak, and 
you must give an account to him. When La- 
timer heard the pen going behind the hang- 
ings, he was careful in his answers ; and let 
me tell you, as your words are, such will your 
sentence be ; when the books are opened, 
God will proceed with you in judicature, ac- 
cording to your words ; by your words you 
shall be saved or condemned ; Matt. xii. 37, 
" By thy words thou shalt be justified, and 
by thy words thou shalt be condemned." 



SERMON IV. 



Gal. vi. 9, " And let us not be weary in well-doing: for in due season we shall reap, if 

we faint not. 1 ' 



In the verses before the text, the apostle had 
laid down a proposition, " What a man sow- 
eth that shall he reap," ver. 7 ; he that sows 
in sin shall reap in sorrow ; he that sows the 
seeds of grace shall reap glory ; there is the 
proposition. In the text, the apostle makes 
the application. Let us not be weary in well- 
doing. We that have sown the good seed of 
repentance, and a holy life, " Let us not be 
weary ; for in due season we shall reap, if 
we faint not." 

I. A Dehortation : " Let us not be weary." 

II. The argument : * We shall reap in due 
season.' 

I. A Dehortation ; " Let us not be weary." 
Where there is, 1. Something implied,-— 
that we are apt to be weary in well-doing. 
2. Something expressed,— that we ought not 
to be weary in well-doing. 



1. The thing implied, that, we are apt to 
be weary in well-doing. This weariness is 
not from the regenerate part, but the fleshly ; 
as Peter's sinking in the water, was not from 
the faith in him, but the fear; this weariness 
in a Christian course is occasioned from 
four things : 

(1). From the revilings of the world, Ps. 
lxxi. 10, " My enemies speak against me." 
Innocency is no shield against reproach. 
But why should this make us weary of well- 
doing? Did not Jesus Christ undergo re- 
proach for us, when the Jews put a crown of 
thorns on him, and bowed the knee in scorn? 
Is it any dishonour to us to be reproached for 
doing that which is good ? Is it any dispar- 
agement to a virgin to be reproached for her 
beauty and chastity? Our reproaches for 
Christ, we should bind as a crown about our 



638 



SELECT SERMONS. 



head. Now a Spirit of glory rests upon us, 
1 Pet. iv. 14, " If ye be reproached for the 
name of Christ, happy are ye ; for the Spirit 
of God and of glory resteth upon you." 
Regium est benefacere et male audire. He 
that clips our credit to make it weigh lighter, 
makes our crown heavier. 

(2) . That which is apt to occasion weari- 
ness in well-doing, is the present sufferings 
we are exposed to, 2 Cor. iv. 8, " We are 
troubled on every side." But why should 
this make us weary in well-doing 1 Is not our 
life a warfare ? It is no more strange to meet 
with sufferings in religion, than for a mariner 
to meet with storms, or a soldier to meet 
with bullets. Do not we consider upon what 
terms we are entered into religion ? Did 
not we vow in baptism to fight under Christ's 
banner 1 ? Doth not our Lord tell us, we must 
take " up the cross and follow" him 1 Matt, 
xvi. 24. Is not this part of the legacy Christ 
hath bequeathed us? John xvi. 33. We 
would partake of Christ's glory but not of 
his sufferings : besides, doth not many a man 
suffer for his sins 1 Do not men's lusts bring 
them to an untimely end 1 Do men suffer for 
their sins, and do we think much to suffer 
for Christ 1 How did St Paul rejoice in suffer- 
ings 1 2 Cor. vii. 4. How did he glory in it ? 
" As a woman that is proud of her jewels," 
Chrysostoml. Why should sufferings make 
us faint 1 who would not be willing to tread 
upon a few thorns, that is going to a kingdom. 

(3) . That which is apt to occasion weari- 
ness in well-doing, is the deferring of the 
reward. We are apt to be discouraged and 
grow weary, if we have not what we desire 
presently ; we are all for present pay. But 
consider, 1. Our work is not yet done ; we 
have not yet finished the faith ; the servant 
doth not receive his pay till his work be done. 
Even Christ's reward was referred till he 
had done his work ; when he had completed 
our redemption, and said upon the cross, 
" It is finished," then he entered into glory. 
2. God defers the reward, to make heaven 
more welcome to us. After all our praying, 
weeping, suffering, how sweet will the joys 
of paradise taste ! 

(4) . That which is apt to occasion wea- 
riness in well-doing, is the greatness and 



difficulty of a Christian's work ; but why 
should this make us weary 1 Difficulty whets 
a generous mind ; the soldier's life hath its 
difficulties, but they raise his spirits the more ; 
he loves to encounter hardship, and will 
endure a bloody fight for a golden harvest. 
Besides, where is the least principle of grace, 
it renders the way of religion easy and plea- 
sant. When the loadstone draws, it is easy 
for the iron to move : when God's Spirit 
draws, we move in the way of religion with 
facility and delight. Christ's service is free- 
dom. Ps. cxix. 45, " I will walk at liberty." 
To serve God, to love God, to enjoy God, is 
the sweetest liberty in the world. Besides, 
while we serve God, we gratify ourselves ; 
as he who digs in a mine, while he sweats, 
he gets gold ; while we glorify God, we pro- 
mote our own glory. 

II. The second thing expressed is, that 
we should not grow weary in a Christian 
course, — we should not tire in our race, — 
" Let us not be weary in well-doing." The 
Greek word, to be weary, signifies to shrink 
back, as cowards in war ; let it not be thus 
with us : let us not shrink back from Christ's 
colours, Heb. iv. 14, " Let us hold fast our 
profession." We must not only hold forth 
our profession, but hold fast our profession. 
The crown is not given to him that fights, 
but to him that overcomes. 

Use 1st. Of reproof. It reproves such as 
are weary of well-doing. These are falling 
stars, 2 Tim. iv. 10. Demas forsook God, 
and afterwards became a priest in an idol tem- 
ple, Dorotheus. Hos. viii. 3, " Israel hath 
cast off the thing that is good." Many have 
thrown off Christ's livery ; they have left off 
a holy course of life ; they have turned to 
worldliness or wantonness, Gal. v. 7, " Ye did 
run well, who did hinder you?" Why did you 
tire in your race? 2 Pet. ii. 21, "It had been 
better for them not to have known the way of 
righteousness, than after they have known it 
to turn from the holy commandment." 

Use 2d. Exhortation : " Let us not be 
weary in well-doing." Consider, 

1. The way of religion is of good report ; 
Heb. xi. 2. By faith < < the elders obtained 
a good report." Shall we be weary of that 
which is our credit 1 If indeed the Christian 



SELECT SERMONS. 



639 



religion were a thing that would bring shame 
or loss — as the ways of sin do — then we had 
cause to desert it, and grow weary of it ; but 
it brings honour ; Pro v. iv. 9, " She shall 
give to thy head an ornament of grace." 
Why then should we be weary of well-doing'? 

2. The beauty of a Christian is to hold 
on in piety without being weary : Acts xxi. 
16, " Mnason of Cyprus, an old disciple." 
It is a beautiful sight to see silver hairs 
crowned with golden virtue. The beauty 
of a thing is when it comes to be finished ; 
the beauty of a picture is, when it is drawn 
out in its full lineaments, and laid in its 
orient colours ; the beauty of a Christian is, 
when he hath finished his faith, 2 Tim. iv. 7. 
It was the glory of the church of Thyatira, 
she kept her best wine till last, Rev. ii. 19, 
" I know thy works, and the last to be more 
than the first." 

3. Such as are weary of well-doing it is a 
sign they never acted in religion from choice, 
or from a principle of faith, but from the ex- 
ternal spring of applause or preferment, so 
that, when these fail, their seeming goodness 
ceaseth. 

4. God is never weary of doing us good ; 
therefore we should not be weary of serving 
him. A king that is continually obliging his 
subjects by gifts and gratitudes, those sub- 
jects have no cause to be weary of serving 
their prince. 

5. If we grow weary, and throw off reli- 
gion, we make all we have done null and 
void ; Ezek. xviii. 24, " When the righteous 
turneth away from his righteousness, all his 
righteousness that he hath done shall not be 

! mentioned." Ke who hath been serving God, 
! and doing angel's work, if once he grows 
weary and desists, he unravels all his work, 
and misseth of the recompense of reward. 
He that runs half a race, and then tires, 
loseth the garland ! O what folly is it to do 
well a while, and by apostacy to undo all ! 
As if a limner with a pencil should draw a 
fair picture, and then come with his sponge 
and wipe it out again. 

6. Consider the examples of such as have 
continued their progress unweariably in a 
Christian course. The apostle sets before 
our eyes a cloud of witnesses ; Heb. xii. 1, 



" Being compassed about with so great a 
cloud of witnesses, let us run the race that is 
set before us :" let us run it with swiftness 
and constancy. How many noble martyrs 
and confessors of old, have walked in the 
ways of God, though they have been strewed 
with thorns ] They scorned preferments, 
laughed at imprisonments, and their love to 
Christ burned hotter than the fire. Polycarp, 
when he came before the proconsul, and he 
bade him deny Christ, replied, " I have served 
Christ these eighty-six years, and he hath not 
once hurt me, and shall I deny him now V* 
Tertullian saith, such was the constancy of 
the primitive saints, that the persecutors 
cried out, " What a misery is this, that we 
are more weary in tormenting, than they are 
in enduring torment !" Let us tread in their 
steps, who through faith and patience in- 
herit the promises. 

7. It will be our comfort on our death-bed, 
to review a well spent life. It was Augustin's 
wish, that he might have a quiet easy death. 
If any thing make our pillow easy at death, 
it will be this, that we have been unweariable 
in God's work ; this will be a death-bed cor- 
dial. Did you ever know any repent at death 
that they had been too holy 1 Many have re- 
pented that they have followed the world too 
much, not that they have prayed too much, 
that they have repented too much. What 
hath made death sweet, but that they have 
" finished their course, and kept the faith." 

8. Think of the great reward we shall 
have, if we do not give over, or grow weary, 
and that is, glory and immortality. 1. This 
glory is ponderous ; it is called a " weight of 
glory," 2 Cor. iv. 17. The weight adds to 
the worth ; the weightier a crown of gold is, 
the more it is worth. 2. It is satisfying, Ps. 
xvii. 15, " I shall be satisfied when I awake, 
with thy likeness." This glory will abun- 
dantly recompense all our labours and suffer- 
ings. The joy of harvest will make amends 
for all the labour in sowing. O what harvest 
shall the saints reap ! It will be always reap- 
ing time in heaven ; and this reaping will be 
in due season ; so the apostle saith in the 
text, " We shall reap in due season." The 
husbandman doth not desire to reap till the 
season ; he will not reap his corn while it is 



640 



SELECT SERMONS. 



green, but when it is ripe ; so we shall reap 
the reward of glory in due season ; when our 
work is done, — when our sins are purged out, 
— when our graces are come to their full 
growth, — then is the season of reaping; 
therefore let us not be weary of well-doing, 
but hold on in prayer, reading, and all the 
exercises of religion ; we shall " reap in due 
season, if we faint not." To keep us from 
fainting, know, that the reward promised is 
very near, Rom. xiii. 11, " Our salvation is 
nearer than when we believed." We are 
but within a few days' march of the heavenly 
Canaan ; it is but a few more prayers and 
tears shed, and we shall be perfect in glory : 
as that martyr, Dr Taylor said, " I have but 
one stile more to go over, and I shall be 
at my Fathers house." Stay but a while, 
Christians, and your trouble shall be over, 
and your coronation-day shall come. Christ 
who is the oracle of truth hath said, "surely 
I come quickly," Rev. xxii. 20. And yet 
death's coming is sooner than Christ's per- 
sonal coming, and then begins the saint's 
blessed jubilee. 

Quest. What means shall we use, that we 
may not wax weary in a Christian course ? 

Ans. 1. Let us shake off spiritual sloth ; 
sloth saith, " there is a lion in the way." He 
who is slothful, will soon grow weary ; he is 
fitter to lie on his couch, than to run a race. 
It is a strange sight, to see a busy devil, and 
an idle Christian. 

Ans. 2. If we would not grow weary, let 



us pray for persevering grace. It was David's 
prayer, Ps. cxix. 117, " Hold thou me up, 
and I shall be safe ;" and it was Beza's 
prayer, " Lord, perfect what thou hast begun 
in me." That we may hold on a Christian 
course, let us labour for three persevering 
graces. Faith keeps from fainting; faith 
gives a substance to things not seen, and 
makes them to be as it were present, Heb. xi. 
As a perspective glass makes those things 
which are at a distance near to the eye, so 
doth faith : heaven and glory seem near. A 
Christian will not be weary of service, that 
hath the crown in his eye. The second per- 
severing grace is hope. Hope animates the 
spirits : it is to the soul as cork to the net, 
which keeps it from sinking. Hope breeds 
patience, and patience breeds perseverance. 
Hope is compared to an anchor, Heb. vi. 19, 
The Christian never sins, but when he casts 
away his anchor. The third persevering grace 
is love. Love makes a man that he is never 
weary. Love may be compared to the rod of 
myrtle in the traveller's hand, which refresh- 
eth him, and keeps him from being weary in 
his journey. He who loves the world, is never 
weary of following the world ; he who loves 
God will never be weary of serving him ; that 
is the reason why the saints and angels in 
heaven are never weary of praising and wor- 
shipping God ; because their love to God is 
perfect, and love turns service into delight. 
Get the love of God in your hearts, and you 
will run in his ways, and not be weary. 



SERMON V. 

James iv. 17, " To him that knoweth to do good, and doth it not, to him it is sin. 



The apostle, in the former verses, had 
met with a sin common in those days, a 
sinful boasting among men, ver. 13, 14, 
" Go to now, ye that say, to-day or to-mor- 
row, we will go into such a city, and buy 
and sell, and get gain ; whereas you know 
not what shall be on the morrow," — you 
may be in your graves before to-morrow, — 
"for what is your life 1 It is even a va- 
pour." A vapour being an exhalation, it 



1 cannot continue long ; as it is raised by the 
sun so it is dispersed by the wind ; such is 
your life, — a vapour, — a short breath, — a 
flying shadow, — it appears for " a little 
time, and then vanisheth." Well might 
they say, what need we be taught such a 
plain lesson 1 Who knows not all this, that 
life is a vapour, and that we ought not to 
boast what we will do to-morrow? The 
apostle seems in the text to meet witli them 



SELECT SERMONS. 



641 



by way of answer, do ye know all this 1 Then 
the greater is your sin that you do it not, " to 
him that knoweth to do good, and doth it not, 
j to him it is sin." I shall only explain this 
phrase, " to him it is sin ;" that is, it is a 
heinous sin, — it is sin with a witness ; every 
| infirmity, every thing that falls short of the 
. rule is sin, much more, that which contradicts 
the rule. This man's sin hath an emphasis, 
\ it is a crimson sin, and it shall have a greater 
punishment ; he that " knew his Lord's will 
J and did it not, shall be beaten with many 
| stripes," Luke xii. 47. If he that sins ig- 
j norantly be damned, then he that sins know, 
j ingly shall be double damned. 

1. Doctrine implied, that we ought to know 
to do good ; know our duty. 

2. That we ought not only to know to do 
good, but to do it. 

3. That he that knoweth to do good, and 
doth it not, is of all others the most 
guilty. 

£. Doctrine implied, that we ought to know 
to do good ; we ought to be well-informed of 
those things which are to be done by us, in 
order to salvation. The word written is a 
rule of knowledge, and the word preached is 
j a commentary upon the word written ; and 
both of them are to enrich our understanding, 
and to nurse us up in the knowledge of that 
which is good. 

The reasons why we should know to do 
good, are, 

1. Knowledge is our lamp and star to guide 
us in the truth. It shows us what we are to 
do, and what we are to leave undone. If we 

! do not know that which is good, we can ne- 
ver practise it. 

2. Knowledge is the foundation of all grace: 
of faith, — " They that know thy name, will 
put their trust in thee," Ps. ix. 10 ; and of love 
— Phil. i. 9, " This I pray, that your love may 
abound yet more and more, in knowledge ;" 
and of perseverance, — the apostle joins these 
two, such as are unlearned, will be unstable. 

3. The chief work in conversion consists in 
knowledge, Rom. xii. 2, " Be ye transformed 
by the renewing of your mind." The mind 
being renewed, the man is transformed. The 
first part of God's image consists in know- 
ledge, Col. iii. 10. 

4 M 



4. There is nothing in religion, though 
never so excellent, can do us good without 
knowledge. 

Use. See how necessary it is to get the 
knowledge of what is good ; it ushers in sal- 
vation, 1 Tim. ii. 4. Ignorance of God is 
the cause of all sin, Jer. ix. 3. Ignorance of 
God damns, Hos. iv. 6. It is sad to be igno- 
rant in gospel-times ; but many, alas ! do not 
only not know God, but they are not willing 
to know, Jer. ix. 6, " They refuse to know 
me, saith the Lord." 

II. Doctrine. That we ought not only to 
know to do good, but to do it. This the apos- 
tle implies, " to him that knows to do good, 
and doth it not;" he implies, that he who 
knows to do good should do it ; the end of 
knowledge is practice. Search from one end 
of the Bible to the other, and you will find, 
that it is the practical part of religion is chief- 
ly intended. The crown is not set upon the 
head of knowledge, but practice, Rev.xxii. 14, 
" Blessed are they that do his commandments 
that they may have right to the tree of life." 

Use 1. It shows us wherein most Chris- 
tians are defective in the times of gospel, viz. 
In the doing part of religion, they know how 
to do good, but do it not. They know they 
should abstain from evil and pursue holiness; 
but though they know this, yet they do it 
not. • 

(1). They know they should abstain from 
evil. Thus they know they should not swear, 
Matt. v. 34, " Swear not at all ;" yet they do 
it ; they are more free of their oaths than their 
alms. They know uncleanness to be a sin ; 
it wastes the body, wounds the conscience, 
blots the name, and damns the soul, Gal. v. 19, 
yet they will go on in that sin, and for a cup 
of pleasure, drink a sea of wrath. They 
know drunkenness to be a sin ; that it doth 
make them like beasts, takes away their rea- 
son, unfits them for happiness, for they can- 
not think on going reeling to heaven ; they 
know that God is preparing a cup for the 
drunkard, Rev. xvi. 19, yet for all that, they 
will not leave their drunken fits. Men know 
that rash censuring is a sin, James iv. 11, 
" Speak not evil one of another, brethren ;" 
yet they are guilty of this ; they will not 
swear, but they will slander, and speak to 



642 



SELECT SERMONS. 



the prejudice of others ; they can never make 
them recompense for this : no physician can 
heal the wounds of the tongue. Thus they 
know that covetousness is a sin, yea, the 
root of all evil ; yet the world engrosseth all 
their time and thoughts ; they thirst after 
gold more than grace, and labour more to 
have a full purse than a good conscience. 
They know they should not vent their pas- 
sions, Jam. i. 26, " If any man among you 
seems to be religious, and bridleth not his 
tongue, this man's religion is vain." Origen 
observes of the rich man in the gospel, he 
had no water to cool his tongue : he had 
sinned most in his tongue, therefore was 
punished most in it. How unworthy is it 
for men to have their eyes and hands lifted 
up to heaven, and their tongues set on fire 
from hell ; at one time praying, and another 
time cursing ? How can such pray in a fami- 
ly, that are possessed with an angry devil 1 
Thus men know they should abstain from evil, 
but they do it not. 

(2). They know they should pursue ho- 
liness, but they do it' not. They know they 
should read the word, sanctify the sabbath, 
use holy conference, pray in their families, 
redeem the time, walk circumspectly; they 
know to do good, but do it not. 

Quest. Whence is it that men know to do 
good, yet do it not ? 

Ans. It is for want of sound conviction. 
Men are not thoroughly convinced of the 
necessity of practial godliness ; they think 
there is a necessity of knowledge, because 
else there is no salvation ; they will get 
some notions of Christ, that he is a Saviour, 
and has satisfied divine justice, and they hope 
they believe in him. Well then ; we tell 
them that iaith and obedience go together : 
then God is merciful, and though they 
are not so good as they should be, yet free 
grace will save them. Thus men content 
themselves with general notions of religion, 
but are not convinced of the practical part 
of godliness. 

A. 2. Men know to do good, yet do it not, 
because they are not awakened out of their 
spiritual sloth. It is easy to get the know- 
ledge of a truth, to give assent to it, to com- 
mend it, to profess it ; but to digest know- 
ledge into practice, is the difficulty. 



A. 3. Men know to do good, but do it not, 
through incredulity ; they are in part atheists. 
Did they believe that sin was so bitter, that 
wrath and hell followed it, would they not 
leave off their sins 1 Did they believe that 
to do the will of God was a privilege, — reli- 
gion was their interest, — that there is joy in 
the way of godliness, and heaven at the end, 
— would they not espouse holiness] But peo- 
ple, though they have some slight transient 
thoughts of these things, yet they are not 
brought to the belief of them; therefore, 
though they know to do good, yet they do it 
not. The reason why there are so few doers 
of the word, is, because there are so few be- 
lievers. 

A. 4. Men know to do good, but do it not, 
because the knowledge in their head never 
works into their hearts ; it doth not quicken 
them, nor warm their affections with love to 
the truth. 

A. 5. Men know to do good but do it not, 
because of prejudicate opinion. The things to 
be done in religion are judged to be too strict 
and severe ; they restrain sin too much, or 
they press too much to holiness. 

A. 6. Men know to do good, yet do it not, 
because they love their sin more than they 
love the word, Hos. iv. 8, " They set their 
heart on their iniquity." Some content them- 
selves with having means of knowledge, 
Judges xvii. 13, " Then said Micah, now 
know I that the Lord will do me good, seeing 
I have a Levite to my priest." But what is 
one the better to know what physic he should 
take, if he doth not take it. 

Use 2. Of exhortation. Let me beseech 
you all who have been hearers of the word, 
and have gotten a great measure of know- 
ledge, that, as you know to do good, you 
would do it. This is the soul of religion. 
Luther says, I had rather do the will of 
God, than be able to work miracles. 1st, 
To do what you know, evidenceth your re- 
lation to Christ. You count it an honour 
to be near allied to the crown, but it is 
more honour to be a-kin to Christ. 2dly, 
To know to do good, and do it, sets a 
crown upon the gospel, Rom. xvi. 19, 
"Your obedience is come abroad unto all 
men ;" not your knowledge, but your obe- 
dience. To know to do good, and not to 



►SELECT SERMONS. 



643 



do it, hardens others in sin, scandalizeth 
religion, and makes people ready to turn 
! atheists. When some of the Spaniards came 
| to Hispaniola, the Spaniards' carriage being 
loose and profane, the Indians asked them, 
'What God they served? They answered, 
The God of heaven. The Indians replied, 
Sure your God is not a good God that hath 
such bad servants. Thus to know to do good, 
yet do it not, puts a scar in the face of re- 
ligion, and brings an evil report upon it ; but 
to do what we know, trumpets forth the fame 
■of the gospel, and makes them that oppose 
it, to admire it. Sdly, To know to do good 
and to do it, entitles you to blessedness, Jam. 
i. 25, " He shall be blessed in his deed not 
for the deed, but in the deed. 

III. Doctrine. That he who knoweth to 
do good, and doth it not, is of all others the 
most guilty ; to him it is sin, crimson sin ; 
that is, it is heinous sin, capital sin, sin em- 
phatically, sin with a witness, and punished 
with a vengeance. 

Quest. What is it to sin presumptuously? 

Ans. To sin presumptuously, is to sin 
against the light which shines in a man's con- 
science, i. e. a man is convinced those things 
he doth are sin. Conscience saith, O do not 
this great evil ! Conscience, like the cheru- 
bims, hath a flaming sword in its hand to 
affright and deter the sinner; yet he will 
pluck the forbidden fruit. This is to sin pre- 
sumptuously. This sin is highly aggravating, 
for two reasons : (1). Because sinning pre- 
sumptuously against conscience, is after 
counsels, admonitions, warnings. Such a 
one cannot say, he was never told of his sin ; 
he hath had ministers rising up early, who 
hath told him what a damnable thing sin was, 
yet he would venture on ; so that now he hath 
no excuse, John xv. 22, " Now you have no 
cloak for your sin." (2). It is an aggravation 
to sin presumptuously against conscience, 
when it is after afflictions. After God hath 
made him hear the voice of the rod, he hath 
made hirn to feel sin bitter, to read his sin in 
his punishment, yet he sins ; his sin was fol- 
lowing evil company, and God hath punished 
him for it ; he hath almost wasted his estate 
with riotous living, or he hath almost drunk 
himself blind, yet he will not leave his sin ; 



his sin was uncleanness, and his body is 
diseased, and full of noxious humours ; yet 
though he feels the smart of sin, he retains 
the love of sin. Here is an aggravation of 
sin, 2 Chron. xxviii. 22, " In the time of his 
distress, did he trespass yet more against the 
Lord : this is that king Ahaz." 

Use 3. To know what is good, yet not to 
do it, is to sin presumptuously, — is full of 
obstinacy and pertinaciousness ; it is so, be- 
cause men can say nothing for their sins, 
can bring no reason, they make no defence 
for themselves, yet they are resolved to hold 
fast their iniquity, like those, Jer. xviii. 12, 
" And they said, there is no hope, but we 
will walk after our own devices, and we will 
every one do after the imagination of his own 
evil heart." 

Use 4. Take heed of presumptuous sin. 
If God hath been so terrible against sins of 
infirmity and passion, as we see in Moses 
and Uzziah : O how fierce will his anger 
be against the presumptuous sinner ! Better 
never have known the ways of God, than to 
know and not to do them ! Oh ! as you love 
your souls, take heed of this. 

1. Presumptuous sins are desperate sins, 
because they are committed with much pre- 
meditation and forethought. The presumptu- 
ous sinner doth not sin unawares, but he doth 
project and cast in his mind how to bring his 
sin about, as Joseph's brethren did in betray- 
ing him, as Judas did in betraying Christ, and 
as those Jews did that laid wait for Paul. 

2. Presumptuous sins are desperate, be- 
cause they are accompanied with pride. 
The sinner who knows the mind of God, 
yet will act contrary to it, says, like Pha- 
raoh, " Who is the Lord that I should obey 
him?" 

3. Presumptuous sins are desperate, be- 
cause they are accompanied with impudency. 
Such sinners are hardened, fearless, and with- 
out shame. Like Judas, they are hardened ; 
though woes be pronounced against them, 
they will sin ; they are without fear like the 
leviathan, Job xli. 33, and they have sinned 
away shame ; Zeph. iii. 5, " The unjust 
knoweth no shame," he hath a forehead of 
brass. Nay, some are so far from blushing, 
that they glory in their shame, Phil. iii. 19. 



644 



SELECT SERMONS. 



4. To sin presumptuously, to know what is 
good, yet not to do it, is heinous, because it 
is ingratitude ; it is a high abuse of God's 
kindness ; and God cannot endure, of all 
things, to have his kindness abused. God's 
kindness is seen in this, that he hath ac- 
quainted the sinner with his mind and will, 
— that he hath not only instructed him, but 
persuaded him, — made mercy stoop and kneel 
to the sinner, — he hath wooed him with his 
Spirit, that he would flee from sin, and pur. 
sue holiness ; kindness is seen in this, that 
God hath spared the sinner so long, and not 
struck him dead in the act of sin ; kindness 
in this, that though the sinner hath sinned 
against his conscience, yet now, if he will 
repent of sin, God will repent of his judg- 
ments, and mercy shall be held forth, Jer. iii. 
1, u Thou hast played the harlot with many 
lovers; yet return again to me, saith the 
Lord." But the sinner is of a base spirit ; he 
is not melted with all this love ; but his heart 
like clay hardens under the sun. Here is an 
apparent abuse of God's kindness ; and God 
cannot endure to have his kindness abused. 
The vulture draws sickness from perfumes ; 
so the sinner contracts wickedness from the 
mercy of God. Here is high ingratitude. 

5. To sin presumptuously, — to know what 
is good, yet not to do it, — is a contempt done 
to God. He cares not whether God be pleased 
or not, he will have his sin. Therefore the 
presumptuous sinner is said to reproach God, 
Numb. xv. 30, « The soul that doth ought 
presumptuously, the same reproacheth the 
Lord f he reproacheth the Lord, though not 
explicitly, yet interpretatively ; by his pre- 
sumptuous sin makes as if God was either 
ignorant, and did not know his wickedness ; 
or impotent, and was not able to punish him. 
How horrid is this ! there is a kind of blas- 
phemy against God in every presumptuous sin. 

6. To sin presumptuously, — to know what 
is good, yet not to do it, — is a bold contest 
with Ged, a daring of God to punish. The 
man that sins against conscience presumptu- 
ously, and will not be reclaimed, doth in effect 
say, what care I for the commandment 1 It 
shall be no check upon me, but I will go on 
in sin, and let God do his worst. A godly 
man is said to fear the commandment, Prov. 



xiii. 13. He dares not sin, because the law 
of God stands in his way : but the presumptu- 
ous sinner doth not value the commandment ; 
he will sin in spite of God's law. O desperate 
madness, to dare God to his face ! 1 Cor. x. J 
22, " Do we provoke the Lord to jealousy 1 
Are we stronger than he 1 ?" Good reason 
then we should take heed of presumptuous 
sin, since it is so heinous and desperate ! 
" To him that knows to do good, yet doth 
it not, to him it is sin;" it is sin with a 
witness. 

Use 5. Trial. Let us examine if we are 
not guilty of sinning thus presumptuously, 
knowing to do good, yet not to do it. (1). Is 
it not to sin presumptuously, when we live 
in the total neglect of duty 1 We know we 
ought to pray in our families, yet do it not. 
To live in the neglect of family duties, is not 
this to sin presumptuously 1 (2). Is it not to 
sin presumptuously, when we will venture 
upon the same sins which we condemn in 
others] Rom. ii. 1. Thou (Christian) con- 
demnest another for pride, and yet thou 
livest in that sin thyself. A father condemns 
his son for swearing, yet he himself swears : 
the master reproves his servant for being 
drunk, yet he himself will be drunk. Is not 
this to sin presumptuously, to live in those 
sins which we condemn in others'? (3). Do 
not they sin presumptuously against con- I 
science, who will sin in spite of heaven 1 ? 
Though they see the judgments of God exe- 
cuted on others, yet will adventure on the 
same sins 1 Dan. v. 22, " And thou his son, 
O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thy heart, 
though thou knewest all this :" that is, thou 
sawest the judgments I inflicted on thy fa- 
ther. (4). Do not they sin presumptuously, 
they know to do good, yet do it not, who 
labour to stifle the convictions of their con- 
science, and will not let conscience speak 
freely to them'? This the scripture calls, 
"Holding the truth in unrighteousness," 
Rom. i. 18. (5). Do not they sin presump- 
tuously, who after they have felt the smart of 
sin, it hath bred a worm in their conscience, 
a moth in their estate ; yet, after all this, 
they again embrace their sins. 

That I may show you what you have to 
fear, and that I may beat you off from pre- 



SELECT 

sumptuous sins, let these things be seriouly 
laid to heart : 1st, These presumptuous sins 
do much harden the heart. These are two 
of the greatest blessings, a sound judgment 
and a soft heart ; but sinning presumptuously 
and knowingly doth congeal the heart, — it 
doth both waste the conscience and sear it, 
1 Tim. iv. 2. By sinning knowingly, a per- 
son gets a custom of sin ; and the custom 
of sinning takes away the sense of sinning, 
Eph. iv. 19, " Being past feeling." Tell the 
presumptuous sinner, there are treasures of 
wrath laid up for him, he fears not ; his heart 
is like a piece of marble or adamant that will 
take no impression. When men know to do 
good, yet do it not, their hearts are hardened 
insensibly, and that is dangerous. 

2d, Such as sin presumptuously, or they 
who know to do good, yet do it not, are self- 
condemned, Tit. iii. 11. The sinner knows in 
his conscience he is guilty ; that he hath sin- 
ned against warnings, education, conviction ; 
therefore his own heart does and must con- 
demn him. And when^God judges and con- 
demns him, he will clear his judge, Ps. li. 4. 

3d, Presumptuous sins make deep wounds 
in the soul. They lead to despair, and des- 
pair is the agony of the soul. Spira, in des- 
pair, was like a living man in hell ; despair 
did suck out his marrow and vital blood ; it 
made him a very anatomy. The sinner goes 
on stubbornly, yet his foolish heart tells him 
all will be well ; but when God begins to set 
his sins in order before him, and conscience, 
which was before like a lion asleep, begins 
to be awakened and roars upon him, and he 
sees death and hell before him, now his heart 
faints, his presumption is turned to despair, 
and he cries out as Cain, Gen. iv. 13, " My 
punishment is greater than I can bear." Now 
the sinner begins to think with himself thus : 
I would have my sins and I had them ; and 
now I have the wrath of God upon them ; 
O how foolish was I to refuse instruction ! 
But it is too late now; the mercy-seat is 
quite covered with clouds ; I am shut out from 
all hopes of mercy ; my wounds are such, 
that the balm of Gilead will not heal. The 
more presumption in the .time of life, the 
more despair at the hour of death. 

4th, To know to do good and not to do it, 



SERMONS. 645 

to sin presumptuously, God may, in just 
judgment, leave such a one to himself. It is 
a terrible thing, when God shall say, thou 
hast, by thy presumptuous sin, affronted me, 
and provoked me to my face ; therefore I will 
give thee up to thine own heart, thou shalt 
sin still ; seeing thou wilt be filthy, thou shalt 
be filthy still. 

5th, To know what is good, yet not to do 
it ; to sin presumptuously, is a great degree 
of the sin against the Holy Ghost. Such as 
sin presumptuously, sin wilfully. Though 
presumption is not final apostacy, yet it comes 
very near to it ; and a little matter more will 
make thee so guilty, that there remains no 
more sacrifice for sin. To sin presumptu- 
ously against light, may in time bring on 
malice and despite to the Spirit ; as it was 
with Julian, who threw up his dagger in the 
air, as if he would be revenged on God. 
When once it is come to this, there is but one 
step lower a man can fall, and that is into hell. 

6th, There is little hope for such as know 
to do good, yet do it not, — know what is evil, 
but will not forbear. There were sacrifices 
for sins of ignorance, but no sacrifices for 
sins of presumption, Numb. xv. 30. Indeed 
presumptuous sinners hope all will be well, 
Prov. xiv. 16, " The fool rageth and is confi- 
dent." Such a fool is spoken of, Deut. xxix. 
19, " When he heareth the words of this 
curse, he blesseth himself in his heart saying, 
I shall have peace, though I walk in the im- 
agination of my heart, to add drunkenness to 
thirst : the Lord will not spare him, but the 
anger and jealousy of the Lord shall smoke 
against that man." 

7th, Such as sin presumptuously, that 
know to do good, yet do it not, know what is 
evil, yet will not forbear it, God refuseth all 
their services, whether reading, hearing, 
praying, or communicating. God abhors their 
sacrifice, Isa. i. 15, " When you make many 
prayers, I will not hear ; your hands are full of 
blood." And Hos. viii. 13, "They sacrifice 
flesh for the sacrifices of mine offerings ; but 
the Lord accepted them not : now will he re- 
member their iniquities, and visit their sins." 
Thus you see what cause you have to tremble, 
who are guilty of this kind : you see your 
misery. , 



646 



SELECT SERMONS. 



Besides all that hath been said, consider 
these two things. 1. You that sin presump- 
tuously, — that know to do good and do it not, 
— that know what is evil, yet will not for- 
bear, — you cannot sin so cheap as others ; 
though sin will cost every one dear, yet it 
will cost you dearer. You go directly against 
conscience ; and if there be either justice in 
heaven, or fire in hell, you shall be sure to 
be punished. 2. You who sin presumptuous- 
ly, cannot take so much pleasure in your sin 
as another may have. One whose conscience 
is less enlightened, though his sin will be 
bitter to him afterwards, yet at present he 
may roll it as honey under his tongue, and 
find pleasure in it : but you that sin against 
your knowledge, you cannot have so much 
pleasure in sin as he, for conscience will put 
forth a sting, and all the threatenings of the 
word will set themselves in battle array 
against you, so that you can have no quiet. 
And that trouble thou feelest now in thy con- 
science, is but the beginning of sorrow. 

Quest. What shall we do, that we may 
not sin 'presumptuously against conscience 1 

Ans. L Take heed of little sins ; though — 
to speak properly — there are no such things 
as little sins, no little treason, but compara- 
tively, one sin may be lesser than another. 
Take heed of little sins. The frequent com- 
mitting of lesser sins, will prepare for greater. 



A lesser distemper of the body, if it be let 
alone, prepares for a greater distemper ; be- 
ing unjust in a little, prepares for being un- 
just in much, Luke xvi. 10. Such as were 
at first more modest, yet by accustoming 
themselves to lesser sins, by degrees their 
sins have grown up to a greater height ; jail 
sins have begun at little sins. 

A. 2. If you would not sin presumptuous- 
ly, viz. Knowingly and wilfully, then rever-. 
ence the dictates of conscience ; get con- 
science well-informed by the word, as you 
set your watch by the sun, and then be ruled 
by it ; do nothing against conscience. If con- 
science saith do such a thing, though never 
so unpleasing, set upon the duty. When 
conscience saith, Take heed of such a thing ! 
come not near the forbidden fruit. Con- 
science is God's deputy or proxy in the soul ; 
the voice of conscience is the voice of God ; 
do not trifle with checks of conscience, lest 
God suffer thee to harden in sin, and by de- 
grees come to presumptuous sin. 

A. 3. Labour to have your knowledge 
sanctified. Men sin against their knowledge, 
because their knowledge is not sanctified. 
Sanctified knowledge works upon the soul; 
it inclines us to do good ; it makes us flee 
from sin ; sanctified knowledge is like a 
breastplate, which keeps the arrow of pre- 
sumptuous sin from entering. 



SERMON VI. 

Col. iii. 11. " But Christ is all in all." 



The philosopher saith every science takes 
its dignity from the object ; the more noble 
the object, the more rare the knowledge. 
Hence it is, that Jesus Christ being the 
most sublime and glorious object, that 
knowledge which leads us to Christ must 
needs be most excellent ; it is called " the 
excellency of the knowledge of Christ," 
Phil. iii. 8. So sweet is this knowledge, 
that St Paul, " determined to know no- 
thing but Christ," 1 Cor. ii. 2. And in- 
deed what needed he to know more ] for 
" Christ is all in all." In the text there is 
a negation and an assumption : something 



the apostle sets down privatively, and some- 
thing positively. 

1st, Privatively. St Paul tells the Co- 
lossians what will not avail them, " neither 
circumcision, nor uncircumcision availeth," 
&c. Circumcision was a great privilege; 
it was a badge and cognizance to distinguish 
the people of God from those who were ex- 
teri and foreign ; it was a pail between the 
garden enclosed, and the common. The 
people of circumcision were a people of 
God's circumspection,— they were under 
his eye, and his wing, — they were his 
household family ; rather than they should 



SELECT SERMONS. 



647 



want, God would make the heavens a granary, 
and rain down manna upon them, — he would 
set the rock abroach, and make it a lively 
spring. How glorious was circumcision ! 
Rom. ix. 4, 5. What rich jewels hung upon 
Israel's crown ! But in matters of salvation, 
all this was nothing, " neither circumcision 
nor uncircumcision," &c. From whence we 
may observe, that external privileges com- 
mend no man to God ; whether wise, or rich, 
or noble, this doth not set us off in God's eye, 
1 Cor. i. 26. God sees not as man sees. 
We are taken with beauty and parts, — these 
things avail not with God ; God lays his left 
hand upon these, as Jacob did upon Manas- 
seh, Gen. xlviii. 14. God often passeth by 
those who cast a greater splendour and lustre 
in the world, and looks upon them of an infe- 
rior alloy ; the reason is, " that no flesh 
should glory in his presence," ] Cor. i. 29. 
If God should graft his grace only upon wis- 
dom and parts, some would be ready to say, 
my wisdom, or my eloquence, or my nobility 
hath saved me ; therefore " not many wise, 
not many noble are called." God will have 
no priding or vaunting in the creature. 

Use. Rest not in outward privileges or ex- 
cellencies, — these are no stocks to graft the 
hopes of salvation upon, — many of Christ's 
kindred went to hell. Paul is called " the ser- 
vant of the Lord," Rom. i. 1. And James is 
called " the brother of the Lord," Gal. i. 19. 
It is better to' be the servant of the Lord, than 
the brother of the Lord. The virgin Mary 
was saved, not as she was the mother of 
Christ, but as she was the daughter of faith ; 
it is grace, not blood gives the precedency ; a 
heart that hath Christ formed in it, is God's 
delight, and this brings me to the next. 

2d, The apostle sets down something po- 
sitively ; but " Christ is all in all f in which 
words there is, 

1. The subject, Christ. His name is sweet, 
it is " as ointment poured forth," Cant. i. 3. 
It was Job's wish, " O that my words were 
now written ! that they were graven with an 
iron pen and lead in the rock for ever !" Job 
xix. 23, 24. And it is my wish, O that this 
name — this sweet name — of Christ, were 
now written, — that it were graven with the 
pen of the Holy Ghost in our hearts for ever. 



The name of Christ hath in it, saith Chrysos- 
tom, a thousand treasuries of joy. 

2. The predicate, " all in all." Christ is 
all fulness, — all sweetness, — he is all that is 
imaginable, — all that is desirable ; he who 
hath Christ, can have no more, for " Christ 
is all." 

The proposition out of the words, is, that 
Jesus Christ is the quintessence of all good 
things, " he is all." 

1. Sometimes faith is said to be all, Gal. v. 
6. Nothing availeth but faith ; faith is all, as 
it is an instrument to lay hold on Christ, 
whereby we are saved ; as a man is saved by 
catching hold on a bough. 

2. Sometimes the new creature is said to 
be all, Gal. vi. 15. Nothing availeth "but a 
new creature ;" the new creature is all, as it 
qualifies and fits for glory ; " without holiness 
no man shall see the Lord," Heb. xii. 14. 
It is a saying of Chrysostom, at the day of 
judgment God will ask that question, as our 
Saviour did, Matt. xxii. 20, " Whose is this 
image and superscription." So will God say, 
Whose image is this 1 If thou canst not 
show him his image consisting in holiness, he 
will reject thee; thus the new creature is all. 

3. Here in the text Christ is said to be all ; 
but in what sense is Christ all? (1). Christ 
is all by way of eminency ; all good things 
are eminently to be found in him, as the sun 
doth virtually contain in it the light of the 
lesser stars. (2). Christ is all, by way of 
derivation ; all good things are transmitted 
and conveyed to us through Christ ; as your 
rich commodities, jewels and spices come by 
sea, so all heavenly blessings sail to us 
through the red sea of Christ's blood, Rom. 
xi. 36, " Through him and to him are all 
things." Christ is that spiritual pipe, through 
which the golden oil of mercy empties itself 
into the soul. Christ must needs be all, for 
" in him dwelleth all the fulness of the God- 
head," Col. ii. 9. He hath a partnership with 
God the Father, John xvi. 15, " All things 
that the Father hath are mine ;" so that there 
is enough in him to scatter all our fears, — to 
remove all our burdens, — to supply all our 
wants ; there can be no defect in that which 
is infinite. 

Use 1st, Information. And it hath six 



648 



SELECT SERMONS. 



branches. 1st, It shows us the glorious 
fulness of Jesus Christ ; " he is all in all." 
Christ is a panoply, a magazine and store- 
house of all spiritual riches ; you may go 
with the bee from flower to flower, and suck 
here and there a little sweetness, but you will 
never have enough till you come to Christ, 
for he is " all in all." 

Now in particular, Christ is all in six re- 
spects : (1). Christ is all in regard of right- 
eousness. 1 Cor. i. 30, " He is made to us 
righteousness." The robe of innocency, like 
the vail of the temple, is rent asunder, ours is 
a ragged righteousness. Isa. lxiv. 6, " Our 
righteousness is as filthy rags." As under 
rags the naked body is seen ; so under the rags 
of our righteousness the body of death is 
seen ; we can defile our duties, but they can- 
not justify us ; but Christ is all in regard of 
righteousness. Rom. x. 4, " Christ is the 
end of the law for righteousness to every one 
that believeth ;" that is, through Christ we 
are as righteous as if we had satisfied the law 
in our own persons. Jacob got the bless- 
ing in the garment of his elder brother : 
so in the garment of Christ our elder bro- 
ther, we obtain the blessing ; Christ's right- 
eousness is a coat woven without seam. 
" We are made the righteousness of God 
in him." (2). Christ is all in regard of 
sanctification. 1 Cor. i. 30, " He is made 
to us sanctification." Sanctification is the 
spiritual enamel and embroidery of the soul ; 
it is nothing else but God's putting upon 
us the jewels of holiness, — the angels glory 
by it, — we are made as the king's daughter, 
" all glorious within," Ps. xlv. 13. This 
doth tune and prepare the soul for heaven ; 
it turns iron into gold ; it makes the heart 
which was Satan's picture, Christ's epistle. 
The virgins, Esth. ii. 12, had their ' days 
of purification ;' they were first to be per- 
fumed and anointed, and then they were to 
stand before the king; we must have the 
anointing of God, 1 John ii. 27, and be 
perfumed with the graces of the Spirit, 
those sweet odours ; and then we shall stand 
before the King of heaven. There must 
be first our days of purification before our 
days of glorification. What a blessed work 
is this ! a soul beautified and adorned with 



grace, is like the firmament bespangled with 
glittering stars. O what a metamorphose is 
there ! I may allude to that Cant. iii. 6. 
So, who is this that comes out of the wilder- 
ness of sin, perfumed with all the graces of 
the Spirit? Holiness is the signature and 
engraving of God upon the soul. But whence 
is this ? Christ is all ; he is made to us 
sanctification ; he it is that sends his Spirit 
into our hearts to be a refiner's fire, to burn 
up our dross, and make our graces sparkle like 
gold in the furnace ; Christ ariseth upon the 
soul " with healing in his wings," Mai. iv. 2. 
He heals the understanding, and saith, " let 
there be light ;" he heals the heart by dissolv- 
ing the stone in his blood ; he heals the will, 
by filing off its rebellion. Thus he is all in 
regard of sanctification. (3). Christ is all in 
regard of divine acceptance. Eph. i. 6. He 
hath made us favourites — so Chrysostom and 
Theophylact render it ; through Christ God 
is propitious to us, and takes all we do in 
good part. A wicked man being out of 
Christ, is out of favour ; as his ploughing is 
sin, Prov. xxi. 4, so his praying is sin, Prov. 
xv. 8. God will not come near him, his 
breath is infectious ; God will hear his sins, 
and not his prayers ; but now in Christ God 
accepts us, Eccl. ix. 7. As Joseph did pre- 
sent his brethren before Pharaoh, and brought 
them into favour with the king, Gen. xlvii. 2, 
so the Lord Jesus carries the names of the 
saints upon his breast, and presents them be- 
fore his Father, so bringing them into repute 
and honour ; through Christ God will treat 
and parley with us, he speaks to us, as Isa. 
lxii. 4. Through the red glass every thing 
appears of a red colour ; through the blood 
of Christ we look of a sanguine complexion, 
ruddy and beautiful in God's eyes. (4). 
Christ is all in regard of divine assistance ; 
a Christian's strength lies in Christ : Phil, 
iv. 13. Whence is it a Christian is able to 
do duty, to resist temptation, but through 
Christ's strengthening 7 Whence is it that 
a sparkle of grace lives in a sea of corrup- 
tion, the storms of persecution blowing, 
but that Christ holds this sparkle in the 
hollow of his hand 1 Whence is it that the 
roaring lion hath not devoured the saints, 
but that the Lion of the tribe of Judah hath 



SELECT 

I | defended them 1 Christ not only gives us 

I I our crown but our shield ; he not only gives 
' J us our garland when we overcome, but our 
jj j strength whereby we overcome, Rev. xii. 11, 
j j ! " They overcame him — that is, the accuser of 
e j| the brethren — by the blood of the Lamb." 
s I Christ keeps the fortroyal of grace that it be 
.J not blown up; Peter's shield was bruised, 
J but Christ kept it that it was not broken. 

e 1 " I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail 
not," Luke xxii. 32, that it be not in a total 

8 

, eclipse. The crown of all the saints' victo- 
j ries must be set upon the head of Christ, 
Horn. viii. 38. Write the name of Michael 
' upon all your conquests. (5). Christ is all 
' in regard of pacification ; when conscience is 
in an agony, and burns as hell in the sense of 
God's wrath ; now Christ is all, he pours the 
j | balm of his blood into these wounds, — he 
I Imaketh the storm a calm. Christ doth not 
only make peace in the court of heaven, but 
, in the court of conscience ; he not on]y makes 
peace above us, but within us, John xvi. 
Saith Cyprian, all our golden streams of 
peace flow from this fountain. John xiv. 27, 
j" Peace I leave with you, my peace I give 
| unto you." Jesus Christ not only purchased 
peace for us, but speaks peace to us ; he is 
called the 44 Prince of peace," Isa. ix. 6. 
Thus Christ is all in regard of pacification, 
he makes peace for us, and in us ; this honey 
and oil flow out of the rock of Christ. (6). 
Christ is all in regard of remuneration ; he it 
is that crowns us after all our labours and 
sufferings ; he died to advance us ; his lying 
in the wine-press, was to bring us into the 
| wine-cellar ; he is gone before, to take pos- 
! session of heaven in the name of all believ- 
| ers. Heb. vi. 20, "Whither the forerunner 
is for us entered, even Jesus." Christ is 
; gone to bespeak a place for the saints, John 
I xiv. 2. He makes heaven ready for them, 
! and makes them ready for heaven. Thus 
; Christ is all in regard of remuneration. Rev. 
I xxii. 12, " Behold, I come quickly, and my 
; reward is with me." 

Use 2d, If Christ be all, it shows what a 
vast disproportion there is between Christ 
and the creature ; there is as much differ- 
ence as between ens and nihil ; Christ is all 
in all, and the creature is nothing at all. 
4N 



SERMONS. 649 

Prov. xxiii. 5, 44 Wilt thou set thine eyes on 
that which is not?" The creature is a non- 
entity ; though it hath a physical existence, 
yet considered theologically, it is nothing ; 
'tis but a gilded shadow, a pleasant fancy ; 
when Solomon had sifted up the finest flour, 
and distilled the spirit of all created excellen- 
cy, here is the result, " all was vanity," 
Eccl. ii. 11. We read the earth in the crea- 
tion was void, Gen. i. 2: so are all earthly 
comforts void, — they are void of that which 
we think is in them, — they are void of satis- 
faction, — therefore they are compared to 
wind, Hos. xii. 1. A man can no more fill 
his heart with the world, than he can fill his 
belly with the air he draws in. Now the 
creature is said to be nothing, in a threefold 
sense. 

1. It is nothing to a man in trouble of 
spirit ; if the spirit be wounded, outward 
things will no more give ease than a crown 
of gold will cure the headach. 

2. The creature is nothing to a man that 
hath heaven in his eye ; when St Paul had 
seen that light shining from heaven, surpass- 
ing the glory of the sun, Acts xxvi. 13, 
though his eyes were open, 44 he saw no 
man," Acts ix. 8 : so he that hath the glory 
of heaven in his eye, is blind to the world, he 
sees nothing in it to allure him, or make him 
willing to stay here. 

3. The creature is nothing to one that is 
dying. A man at the hour of death is most 
serious, and is able to give the truest verdict 
of things ; now at such a time the world is 
nothing, 'tis in an eclipse ; the sorrow of it 
is real, but the joy imaginary. O then what 
a vast difference is there between Christ and 
the creature ! Christ is 44 all in all," and the 
creature nothing at all ; yet how many damn 
their souls for nothing 1 

4. It shows whither the soul is to go in 
the want of all. Go to Christ who is all in 
all. Dost thou want grace 1 Go to Christ, 
Col. ii. 3, 44 In whom are hid all the trea- 
sures of wisdom and knowledge." Christ is 
the great Lord treasurer ; go then to Christ. 
Say, 44 Lord, I am indigent of grace, but in 
thee are all my fresh springs, fill my cistern 
from thy spring. Lord, I am blind, thou 
hast eye-salve to anoint me ; I am defiled, 



650 



SELECT SERMONS. 



thou hast water to cleanse me ; my heart is 
hard, thou hast blood to soften me ; I am 
empty of grace, bring thy fulness to my emp- 
tiness." In all our spiritual wants, we should 
repair to Christ, as Jacob's sons did to their 
brother Joseph : " He opened all the store- 
houses," Gen. xli. 56, and " gave to his bre- 
thren corn and provision for the way," Gen. 
xlii. 25. Thus the Lord hath made Christ 
our Joseph, Col. ii. 3, " In whom are hid all 
treasures." O then, sinners, make out to 
Christ; he is ' all in all ;' and to encourage 
you to go to him, remember there is in him 
not only fulness, but freeness. " O every 
one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters !" 
Christ is not only full as the honeycomb, but 
he drops as the honeycomb. 

5. If Christ be all, see here the Christian's 
inventory, how rich is he that hath Christ ! 
He hath all that may make him completely 
happy. Plutarch reports that the wife of 
Phocion being asked where her jewels were, 
she answered, "My husband, and his triumphs 
are my jewels!" so, if a Christian be asked, 
where are his riches, he will say, " Christ 
is my riches." A true saint cannot be poor ; 
if you look into his house, perhaps he hath 
scarce a bed to lie on, 1 Cor. iv. 11, " Even 
to this present hour, we both hunger and 
thirst, and are naked, and have no certain 
dwelling-place." Come to many a child of 
God, and bid him make his will, he saith as 
Peter, Acts iii. 6, " Silver and gold have I 
none :" yet he can at the same time make 
his triumph with the apostle, 2 Cor. vi. 10, 
" As having nothing, yet possessing all ;" he 
hath Christ who is all. When a believer can 
call nothing his, he can say all is his. The 
tabernacle was covered with badgers' skins, 
Exod. xxv. 5, yet most of it was of gold ; so 
a saint may have a poor covering, ragged 
clothes, but he is inlaid with gold, ' Christ is 
formed in his heart,' and so he is all glorious 
within. 

6. How could a Christian sit down satis- 
fied with Christ! 'Christ is all.' What 
though he wants other things, is not Christ 
enough 1 If a man hath sunshine, he doth 
not complain he wants the light of a candle ; 
hath he not enough who hath c the unsearch- 
able riches of Christ V I have read of a 
godly man, who being blind, his friend asked 



him if he was not troubled for the want of 
his sight ; he confessed he was ; " Why," 
saith his friend, " are you troubled because 
you want that which flies have, when you 
have that which angels have ?" So I say to 
a Christian, Why art thou troubled for want- 
ing that which a reprobate has, when thou 
hast that which the glorified saints have ? 
Thou hast Christ with all his perquisites and 
royalties ! Suppose a father should deny his 
son furniture for his house, but should settle 
all his land upon him, had he any cause to 
complain 1 If God denies thee a little furni- 
ture in the world, but in the mean time set- 
tles his land upon thee, he gives thee the 
field wherein the pearl of price is hid, hast 
thou any cause to repine 1 a Christian that 
wants necessaries, yet having Christ, he hath 
the one thing needful, Col. ii. 10, " Ye are 
complete in him." What ! complete in Christ, 
and not content with Christ ] Luther saith, 
the sea of God's mercy should swallow up 
our particular afflictions ; surely this sea of 
God's love in giving us Christ, should drown 
all our complaints and grievances ; let the 
Christian take the harp and the viol, and 
bless God. 

7. If Christ be all, see the deplorable con- 
dition of a Christless person ; he is poor, he 
is worth nothing, Rev. iii. 17, " Thou art 
wretched, miserable and poor," &c The 
sadness of a man that wants Christ, will 
appear in these seven particulars. 

(1) . He hath no justification. What a 
glorious thing is it when a poor sinner is ab- 
solved from guilt, and is declared to be rec- 
tus in curia ! but this privilege flows from 
Christ ; all pardons are sealed in his blood, 
Acts xiii. 39, " By him all that believe are 
justified ;" so that he who is out of Christ is 
unjustified ; the guilt of sin cleaves to him ; 
he must be responsible to justice in his own 
person, and the curse stands in full force 
against the sinner. 

(2) . He that wants Christ, wants the 
beauty of holiness ; Jesus Christ is a living 
spring of grace, John i. 14, " Full of grace 
and truth." Now a Christless person, is a 
graceless person, he hath not one shred of 
holiness. The scions must first be ingraft- 
ed into the stock, before it can receive sap 
and influence from the root ; we must first 



SELECT SERMONS. 



651 



be ingrafted into Christ, before we can " of 
his fulness receive grace for grace," John 
i. 16. A man out of Christ is red with guilt, 
and black with filth ; he is an unhallowed 
person, and dying in that condition, is ren- 
dered incapable of seeing God, Heb. xii. 14. 

(3.) He that wants Christ, hath no true 
nobility; it is through Christ that we are 
a-kin to God, — of the blood-royal of hea- 
ven ; it is through Christ that " God is not 
ashamed to be called our God," Heb. xi. 16. 
But out of Christ we are looked upon as 
ignoble persons ; the traitors' blood runs in 
our veins ; a man out of Christ is base born ; 

; whoever is his natural father, the devil is his 

\ spiritual father, John iv. 48. 

(4) . He that wants Christ, wants his free- 
\ dom ; John viii. 36, " If the Son make you 

| free, you shall be free indeed." A man out of 
1 Christ, is a slave, when he sins most freely. 

(5) . He that wants Christ, hath no ability 
i for service ; he is as Samson, when his locks 

were cut, — his strength is gone from him, — 
he wants a vital principle, — he cannot walk 
with God, — he is like a dead member in the 
body, that hath neither strength nor motion, 
John xv. 5, " Without me ye can do nothing." 
The organs will make no sound, unless you 
blow in them : so unless Christ by his Spirit 
breathe in the soul, it cannot make any har- 
mony, or put forth strength to any holy action. 

(6) . He that wants Christ, hath no con- 
solation ; Christ is called " the consolation of 
Israel," Luke ii. 25. A Christless soul is a 
comfortless soul ; how can such a one have 
comfort when he comes to die ? He is in debt, 
and hath no surety ; his wounds bleed, and 
he hath no physician ; he sees the fire of 
God's wrath approaching, and hath no screen 
to keep it off ; he is like a ship in a tempest ; 
sickness begins to make a tempest in his 
body, and sin to make a tempest in his con- 
science, and he hath no where to put in for 
harbour ; oh the terror and anguish of such 
a man at the hour of death ! Isa. xiii. 8, 
" Their face shall be as flames ;" — an ele- 
gant expression. The meaning is, such fear 
and horror shall seize upon sinners in the 
evil day, that their countenances shall change 
and be as pale as a flame. What are all the 
comforts of the world to a dying sinner % He 



looks upon his friends, but they cannot com- 
fort him ; bring his bags of gold and silver, 
they are as smoke to sore eyes, it grieves 
him to part with them ; bring him music, 
what comfort is the harp and viol to a con- 
demned man 1 There is in Spain tarantulas, 
venomous spiders, and those who are stung 
with them, are almost dead, but are cured 
with music ; but those that die without Christ, 
who is the consolation of Israel, are in such 
hellish pangs and agonies, that no music is 
able to cure them. 

(7). He that wants Christ, hath no salva- 
tion. Eph. v. 23, " He is the Saviour of the 
body ;" he saves none but those who are 
members of his body mystical ; a strong scrip- 
ture against the doctrine of universal redemp- 
tion ; Christ leaped into the sea of his father's 
wrath, only to save his spouse from drown- 
ing ; " he is the Saviour of the body ;" so 
that those who die out of Christ, are cut off 
from all hopes of salvation. 

Use 3c?, It reproves them who busy them- 
selves about other things with a neglect of 
Christ : Isa. lv. 2, " Wherefore do you spend 
money for that which is not bread, and your 
labour for that which satisfieth not]" If you 
get all the world, you are but golden beggars 
without Christ. The physician finds out 
noxious diseases, but is ignorant of soul-dis- 
eases ; and while he gets receipts to cure 
others, he neglects the receipt of Christ's 
blood to cure himself. The lawyer while he 
clears other men's titles to their land, he him- 
self wants a title to Christ. The tradesman 
is busied in buying and selling, but neglects 
to trade for the pearl of price ; like Israel, 
who went up and down to gather straw, or 
like the loadstone, that draws iron to it, but 
refuseth gold. Those who mind the world, 
so as to neglect Christ, their work is but 
spider-work. Hab. ii. 13, " Is it not of the 
Lord of hosts that the people shall labour 
in the fire, and weary themselves for very 
vanity ?" 

1. If Christ be all, then set a high valua- 
tion upon Jesus Christ, 1 Pet. ii. 7, "To you 
which believe, he is precious." If there were 
a jewel which contained in it the worth of 
all jewels, would you not prize that 1 ? Such a 
jewel is Christ ; so precious is he, that St 



652 



SELECT SERMONS. 



Paul counted all things " dung," that he 
" might win Christ," Phil iii. 8. O that I 
could raise the appreciation of Jesus Christ ! 
Prize Christ above your estates, above your 
relations ; that man doth not deserve Christ 
at all, who doth not prize Christ above all. 
Jesus Christ is an incomprehensible blessing; 
whatever God can require for satisfaction, or 
can desire for salvation, is to be found in 
Christ ; O then let him be the highest in our 
esteem ! No writing shall please me, saith St 
Bernard, if I do not read the name of Christ 
there. The name of Christ is the only music 
to a Christian's ear, and the blood of Christ 
is the only cordial to a Christian's heart. 

2. If Jesus Christ be all, then make sure 
of Christ; never leave trading in ordinances, 
till you have gotten this pearl of price. In 
Christ there is the accumulation of all good 
things ; O then let not your souls be quiet, 
till this bundle of myrrh lie between your 
breasts ! Cant. i. 13. In other things we 
strive for property, — this house is mine, 
these jewels are mine, — and why is not this 
Christ mine 1 There are only two words 
which will satisfy the soul, Deity and pro- 
perty : quid est Deus, non est meus ? saith 
Austin. What was it better for the old 
world they had an ark, as long as they did 
not get into the ark 1 And that I may per- 
suade all to get Christ, let me show you 
what an enriching blessing Christ is. 

(1) . Christ is a supreme good ; put what 
you will in the balance with Christ, he doth 
infinitely outweigh. Is life sweet] Christ is 
better. He is the life of the soul, Col. iii. 4, 
" his loving-kindness is better than life," Ps. 
lxiii. 3. Are relations sweet ? Christ is bet- 
ter. He is the friend that "sticks closer 
than a brother." 

(2) . Christ is a sufficient good; he who 
hath Christ needs no more ; he who hath 
the ocean, needs not the cistern. If one 
had a manuscript that contained all manner 
of learning in it, having all the arts and 
sciences, he need look in no other book, so 
he that hath Christ, needs look no further. 
Christ gives grace and glory, Ps. Ixxxiv. 11. 
The one to cleanse us, the other to crown 
us ; as Jacob said, " It is enough, Joseph my 
son is yet alive," Gen. xlv. 28. So he that 



hath Christ, may say, it is enough, Jesus is 
yet alive. 

(3) . Christ is a suitable good; in him 
dwells all fulness, Col. i. 19. He is whatever 
the soul can desire, &c. Christ is beauty to 
adorn, gold to enrich, balm to heal, bread to 
strengthen, wine to comfort, salvation to 
crown; if we are in danger, Christ is a 
shield ; if we are disconsolate, he is a sun ; 
he hath enough in his wardrobe abundantly 
to furnish the soul. 

(4) . Christ is a sanctifying good, he makes 
every condition happy to us, he sweetens all 
our comforts, and sanctifies all our crosses. 

1. Christ sweetens all our comforts ; he 
turns them into blessings ; health is blessed ; 
estate is blessed, relations are blessed. 
Christ's love is as the pouring sweet water 
on flowers, which makes them cast a more 
fragrant perfume. A wicked man cannot 
have that comfort in outward things which a 
godly man hath ; he may possess more, but 
he enjoys less ; he who hath Christ may say, 
this mercy is reached to me by the hand of 
my Saviour, this is a love-token from him, 
an earnest of glory. 

2. Christ sanctifies all our crosses, they 
shall be medicinal to the soul; they shall 
work sin out, and work grace in. God's 
stretching the strings of his viol, is to tune 
it, and make the music better : Christ sees 
to it that his people lose nothing in the fur- 
nace but their drossy impurities. 

(5) . Christ is a rare blessing, there are but 
few that have him ; the best things when they 
grow common, begin to be slighted ; when 
silver was in "Jerusalem as stones," 1 Kings 
x. 27, it was apt to be trod upon ; Christ is a 
jewel that few are enriched with, which may 
both raise our esteem of him, and quicken our 
pursuit after him ; those to whom God hath 
given both the Indies, he hath not given them 
Christ ; they have the fat of the earth, but 
not the dew of heaven ; and among us Pro- 
testants, many who hear of Christ, but few 
that have him. Read Luke iv. 25. There 
are many in this city who have Christ 
sounded in their ears, but few who have 
Christ formed in their hearts. O how should 
we labour to be of this few ! They who are 
Christians, should be restless. 



SELECT SERMONS. 



653 



(6) . Christ is a select choice good. God 
shows more love in giving us Christ, than in 
giving us crowns and kingdoms. God may- 
give us other things, and hate us ; but 
in giving Christ to a man, he gives him the 
blessings of the throne. What though others 
have a crutch to lean on, if thou hast a Christ 
to lean on I Abraham sent away the sons of 
the concubines with gifts, but ' he gave all 
he had to Isaac,' Gen. xxv. God may send 
away others with a little gold and silver ; but 
if he gives thee Christ, he gives thee all that 
ever he hath ; for " Christ is all, and in all." 

(7) . Christ is such a good, as without which 
nothing is good ; without Christ health is not 
good, it is fuel for lust ; riches are not good, 
they are golden snares ; ordinances are not 
good, though they are good in themselves, 
yet not good to us, — they profit not, — they 
are as breasts without milk, as bottles with- 
out wine, — nay, they are not only a dead 
letter, but a savour of death ; without Christ, 
they will damn us ; for want of Christ, mil- 
lions go loaded to hell with ordinances. 

(8) . Christ is an enduring good; other 
things are like the lamp, which while it shines 
it spends, the heavens " shall wax old like a 
garment," Ps. cii. 26. But Jesus Christ is a 
permanent good, with him are durable riches, 
Prov. viii. 18. They last as long as eternity 
itself lasts. 

(9) . Christ is a diffusive communicative 
good ; he is full, not only as a vessel, but as 
a spring, he is willing to give himself to us. 
Now then if there be all this excellency in 
Jesus Christ, it may make us ambitiously 
desirous of an interest in him. 

Quest. But how shall I get a part in 
Christ. 

Ans. 1. See your need of Christ, know 
that you are undone without him. How ob- 
noxious are you to God's eye ! how odious 
to his nature ! how obnoxious to his justice ! 
O sinner, how near is the sergeant to arrest 
thee ! The furnace of hell is heating for 
thee, and what wilt thou do without Christ ] 
It is only the Lord Jesus can stand as a 
screen to keep off the fire of God's wrath 
from burning thee. Tell me then, is there 
not need of Christ 1 

A. 2. Be importunate after Christ, " Lord, 



give me Christ, or I die !" As Achsah said 
to her father Caleb, Josh. xv. 19, " Thou 
hast given me a south land, give me also 
springs of water :" so should a poor soul 
say, " Lord, thou hast given me an estate in 
the world, but this south land will not quench 
my thirst, give me also springs of water ; 
give me those living springs which run in my 
Saviour's blood ; thou hast said, ' Let him 
that is athirst come, and whosoever will let 
him take the water of life freely,' Rev. xxii. 
17, 18. Lord, I thirst after Jesus Christ, 
nothing but Christ will satisfy me ; I am 
dead, I am damned without him, O give me 
this water of life !" 

A. 3. Be content to have Christ, as Christ 
is offered, a Prince and a Saviour, Acts v. 31. 
Be sure you do not compound or indent with 
Christ. Some would have Christ and their 
sins too. Is Christ all, and will you not part 
with something for this all 1 Christ would 
have you part with nothing but what will 
damn you, if you keep, namely, your sins. 
There are some bid fair for Christ, they will 
part with some sins, but keep a reserve. 
Doth that man think he shall have Christ's 
love that feeds sin in a corner 1 O part with 
all for him who is all ! Part with thy lusts, 
nay thy life if Christ calls. It exhorts us not 
only to get Christ, but to labour to know 
that we have Christ, John ii. 3, " Hereby ye 
do know that we know him." This reflex 
act of faith is more than the direct act. Some 
divines call it the perception, or sensible 
feeling of faith. Now concerning this know- 
ledge that Christ is ours — which is the same 
with assurance — I shall lay down these four 
corollaries or conclusions : 

First, That this knowledge is feasible,— 
it may be had, 1 John v. 13, " These things 
have I written to you that believe, that ye 
may know ye have eternal life, and that ye 
may believe on the name of the Son of 
God." 

1. Why else doth God bid us make our 
" calling and election sure," 2 Pet. i. 10, if 
assurance may not be had? and to "prove 
ourselves, whether we are in the faith," 2 Cor. 
xiii. 5, if we cannot come to this knowledge 
that Christ is ours 1 

2. What are all the signs which the scrip- 



654 



SELECT SERMONS. 



ture gives of a man in Christ but so many 
cyphers, if the knowledge of this interest may 
not be had ? 1 John iii. 14, and John iv. 13. 

3. There are some duties enjoined in 
scripture which to perform is utterly impos- 
sible, if the knowledge of an interest in Christ 
be not attainable ; we are bid ' to rejoice in 
God,' Phil. iv. 4. And ' to rejoice in tribula- 
tion,' 1 Pet. iv. 13. How can he rejoice in 
suffering, who doth not know whether Christ 
be his or not ] 

4. Why hath Christ promised to send the 
Comforter, John xiv. 16, whose very work it 
is to bring the heart to this assurance, if as- 
surance that Christ is ours may not be had ? 

5. Some of the saints have arrived at this 
certainty of knowledge ; therefore it may be 
had. Job knew that his Redeemer lived, 
Job xix. 25. And St Paul had this assur- 
ance, 2 Tim. i. 12, Gal. ii. 20. Yea, may 
some say, Paul was an eminent believer, a 
Christian of the first magnitude, no wonder 
if he had this jewel of assurance ! nay, but 
the apostle speaks of it as a case incident to 
other believers, Rom. viii. 35, " Who shall 
separate us from the love of Christ ?" He 
doth not say, " Who shall separate me ?"but 
us ! so that by all it appears that a believer 
may come to spell out his interest. 

Caution 1. Not that the saints have al- 
ways the same certainty, or that they have 
such an assurance as excludes all doubtings 
and conflicts ; there will be Sowings and 
ebbings in their comforts, as well as in their 
graces. Was it not so in David 1 Some- 
times we hear him say, God's lovingkind- 
ness was before his eyes, Ps. xxvi. 3. As it 
is a proverbial speech, " I have such a thing 
in my eye, I see it just before me." But at 
another time, " Where are thy former loving- 
kindnesses I" Ps. lxxxix. 49. These doubt- 
ings and convulsions God suffers in his chil- 
dren sometimes, that they may long the more 
for heaven, where they shall have a constant 
spring-tide of joy. 

Caution 2. Not that all believers have the 
same assurance. 1. Assurance is rather the 
fruit of faith, than faith : now as the root of 
the rose or tulip may be alive, where the 
flower is not visible, so faith may live in the 
heart, where the flower of assurance doth 



not appear. 2. Assurance is difficult to be 
obtained ; it is a rare jewel, but hard to come 
by ; not many Christians have this jewel. 
God sees it good sometimes to withdraw as- 
surance from his people, that they may walk 
humbly'. Satan doth what he can to way-lay 
and obstruct our assurance; he is called 'the 
red dragon,' Rev. xii. 3. If he cannot blot a 
Christian's evidence, yet sometimes he casts 
such a mist before his eyes, that he cannot 
read his evidence ; the devil envies that God 
should have any glory, or the soul any com- 
fort. That we want assurance, the fault for 
the most is our own ; we walk carelessly, 
neglect our spiritual watch, let go our hold 
of promises, comply with temptations ; no 
wonder then if we walk in darkness, and are 
at such a loss, that we cannot tell whether 
Christ be ours or not. Assurance is very 
sweet ; this wine of paradise cheers the heart. 

Assurance is very useful, it will put us 
upon service for Christ. (1). It will put us 
upon active obedience. Assurance will not 
— as the Papists say — breed security in the 
soul, but agility ; it will make us mount up 
with wings, as eagles, in holy duties ; faith 
makes us living, assurance makes us lively ; 
if we know that Christ is ours, we shall 
never think we can love him enough, or serve 
him enough, 2 Cor. v. 14, " The love of 
Christ constrains us." (2). Assurance will 
put us upon passive obedience, Rom. v. 3, 5, 
" We glory in tribulation, because the love 
of God is shed abroad in our hearts." Mr 
Fox speaks of a woman in Queen Mary's 
days, who when the adversaries threatened 
to take her husband from her, she answered, 
" Christ is my husband ;" when they threat- 
ened to take away her children, she answer- 
ed, " Christ is better to me than ten sons 
when they threatened to take away all from 
her, saith she, " Christ is mine, and you 
cannot take away him from me." No wonder 
St Paul was willing to be bound and die for 
Christ, Acts xxi. 13 ; when he knew that 
Christ loved him, and had given himself for 
him, Gal. iii. 20. Though I will not say, 
Paul was proud of his chain, yet he was 
glad of it, he wore it as a chain of pearl. 

Quest. But how shall I get this jewel of 
assurance ? 



SELECT SERMONS. 



655 



Ans. 1. Make duty familiar to you. When 
the spouse sought Christ diligently, she found 
him joyfully, Cant. iii. 4. 

A. 2. Preserve the virginity of conscience. 
When the glass is full you will not pour 
wine into it, but when it is empty : so when 
the soul is cleansed from the love of every 
sin, now God will pour in the sweet wine of 
assurance, Heb. x. 22, " Let us draw near in 
full assurance of faith, having our hearts 
sprinkled from an evil conscience." 

A. 3. Be much in the actings of faith ; the 
more active the child is in obedience, the 
sooner he hath his father's smile ; if faith be 
ready to die, Rev. iii. 2. If it be like armour 
hung up, or like a sleepy habit in the soul, 
never look for assurance. 

A. 4. If Christ be all, then make him so to 
you. (1). Make Christ all in your under- 
standing, be ambitious to know nothing but 
Christ, 1 Cor. ii. 2. What is it to have 
knowledge in physic 1 To be able with Es- 
culapius and Galen to discourse of the causes 
and symptoms of a disease, and what is pro- 
per to apply, and in the mean time to be igno- 
rant of the healing under Christ's wings 1 
What is it to have knowledge in astronomy, 
to discourse of the stars and planets, and to 
be ignorant of Christ, that bright morning- 
star which leads to heaven ? What is it to 
have skill in a shop, and ignorant of that 
commodity which doth both enrich and 
• crown 1 What is it to be versed in music, 
and to be ignorant of Christ, whose blood 
makes atonement in heaven, and music in the 
conscience 1 What is it to know all the stra- 
tagems of war, and to be ignorant of 'the 
Prince of peace V O make Christ all ; be 
willing to know nothing but Christ ; though 
you may know other things in their due place, 
yet know Christ in the first place ; let the 
knowledge of Jesus Christ have the pre- 
eminence ; as the sun among the lesser 
planets. This is the crowning knowledge, 
Prov. xiv. 18, " The prudent are crowned 
with knowledge." We cannot know our- 
selves unless we know Christ, he it is who 
lights us into our hearts and shows us the 
spots of our souls, whereby we abhor our- 
selves in dust and ashes. Christ shows us 
our own vacuity and indigency ; and until we 
see our own emptiness, we are not fit to be 



filled with the golden oil of mercy. We 
cannot know God, but through Christ, 2 Cor. 
iv. 6. (2). Make Christ all in your affec- 
tions. Desire nothing but Christ ; he is the 
accumulation of all good things. " Ye are 
complete in him," Col. ii. 10. Christ is the 
Christian's perfection ; what should the soul 
desire less ? What can it desire more ] Love 
nothing but Christ ; love is the choicest affec- 
tion, — it is the richest jewel the creature hath 
to bestow, — O if Christ be all, love him bet- 
ter than all ! Consider 1st, If you love other 
things, when they die, your love is lost ; but 
Christ lives for ever to requite your love. 
2d, You may love other things in the excess, 
but you cannot love Christ in the excess. 
3d, When you love other things, you love 
that which is worse than yourselves ; if you 
love a fair house, a pleasant garden, a curi- 
ous picture, these things are worse than 
yourselves ; if I would love any thing more 
intensely and ardently, it should be some- 
thing which is better than myself, and that 
is Jesus Christ. He who is all, let him have 
all : give him your love who desires it most, 
and deserves it best. 

(3) . Make Christ all in your abilities, do 
all in his strength, Eph. vi. 10, " Be strong 
in the Lord, and in the power of his might." 
When you are to resist a tentation, to mor- 
tify a corruption, do not go out in your own 
strength, but in the strength of Christ : " Be 
strong in the Lord." Some go out to duty 
in the strength of parts, and go out against 
sin in the strength of resolution, and they 
came home foiled. Alas ! What are our 
resolutions, but like the green withs which 
did bind Samson ! A sinful heart will soon 
break these ; do as David when he was to go 
up against Goliah ; saith he, " I come to thee 
in the name of the Lord." So say to thy 
Goliah lust, I come to thee in the name of 
Christ. Then we conquer, when the Lion 
of the tribe of Judah marches before us. 

(4) . Make Christ all in your aims ; do all 
to his glory, 1 Pet. iv. 11. 

(5) . Make Christ all in your affiance ; trust 
to none but Christ for salvation ; the Papists 
make Christ something but not all. And is 
there not naturally a spice of popery in our 
hearts'? We would be grafting happiness 
upon the stock of our own righteousness. 



658 



SELECT SERMONS. 



" Every man," saith Luther, " is born with a 
pope in his heart." O make Christ all in 
regard of recumbency ; let him be your city 
of refuge to flee to, and your ark. 

(6). Make Christ all in your joy. Gal. vi. 
14, " God forbid that I should glory, save in 
the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ," Luke i. 
47. O Christian, hast thou seen the Lord 
Jesus'? hath this morning-star shined into 
thy heart with its enlightening, quickening 
beams ] Then rejoice and be exceeding glad. 
Shall others rejoice in the world ; and will 
not you rejoice in Christ? How much better 
is he than all other things 1 It reflects dis- 
paragement upon Christ when his saints are 
sad and drooping. Is not Christ yours, what 
would you have more ] 

Obj. 1st, But, saith one, " I am low in the 
world, and that takes off the chariot-wheels 
of my joy, and makes me drive heavily." 

Ans. But hast thou not Christ ] And is 
Christ all? Ps. xvi. 5, 6. 

Obj. 2d, If indeed I knew Christ were 
mine, then I could rejoice ; but how shall I 
know that % 

Ans..1. Is thy soul filled with pantings 
after Christ 7 Dost thou desire as well water 
out of Christ's side to cleanse thee, as blood 
out of his side to save thee 1 These sighs 
and groans are stirred up by the Spirit of 
God ; by the beating of this pulse, judge of 
the life of faith in thee. 

A. 2. Hast thou given up thyself by a uni- 



versal subjection to Christ % this is a good 
sign that Christ is thine. ^ 

A. 3. Be thankful for Christ ; God hath 
done more for you in giving you Christ, than 
if he had set you with the princes of the earth, 
Ps. cxiii. 8, or had made you angels ; or had 
given you the whole world. In short, God 
cannot give a greater gift than Christ ; for in 
giving Christ he gives himself to us ; and all 
this calls aloud for thankfulness. 

Use ult. Here is a breast of comfort to 
every man that hath Christ, " Christ is all ;" 
it is good lying at this fountain head. When 
a Christian sees a deficiency in himself, he 
may see an all-sufficiency in his Saviour. 
"Happy is that people whose God is the 
Lord !" Ps. cxliv. ult. That servant needs 
not want who hath his master's full purse 
at command : he needs not want who hath 
Christ, for " Christ is all and in all." What 
though the fig-tree doth not flourish, if thou 
hast Christ the tree of life, and all fruit grow- 
ing there ] In the hour of death, a believer 
may rejoice ; when he leaves all, he is pos- 
sessed of all. As Ambrose said to his friend, 
" I fear not death, because I have a good 
Lord," so may a godly man say, " I fear not 
death, because I have a Christ to go to ; 
death will but carry me to that torrent of 
divine pleasure which runs at his right hand 
for evermore." I will end with that, 1 Thess. 
iv. 18, " Wherefore, comfort one another 
with these words." 



SERMON VII. 



Phil. iv. 9. "Those things which you have both learned, and received, and heard, and 
seen in me, do, and the God of peace shall be with you." 



What the particular reason of my choice 
of this scripture this day is, if you com- 
pare my present situation,* with the in- 
tent of the apostle, in these words, you 
will easily understand. These words of 
the apostle, being part of the close of his 

* This sermon was preached by Mr Watson on the 
eve of his ejectment from the rectorship of St Stephens, 
Walbrook, for nonconformity, after the restoration. 



epistle to the Philippians, are his vale- 
diction or farewell to them : it is not un- 
known to you, that I must now be parted 
from you ; and I have pitched on this scrip- 
ture, to be the close of my twenty years' 
ministry among you. God hath sent me 
among you to be a builder ; and I have 
chosen this text, to be a hammer to fasten 
and drive home those nails of instruction 



SELECT 

and consolation, which I have been so long 
endeavouring to enter into you. God hath 
sent me among you as a fisherman ; and I 
have chosen these words to be as the closing 
of the net. Behold ! once more the net is 
spread, and I am now making my last 
draught ; and O that it might have the same 
good speed as Peter's last had, Luke v. 6. It 
would then pay the charges, though the net 
brake. God hath sent me among you as a 
husbandman, to plough, and to sow ; and I am 
now come to cover what hath been sown. 
What is my aim in preaching, let it be yours 
in hearing : O that both preacher and hearers 
might heartily join in this desire ! This once 
more, God speed the plough. In this desire 
and hope I drive on. 

In the text observe, a precept — a promise, 
— an entail of the promise on the precept. 
In the precept we have, 1st, An act, " do." 
2d, An object, " The things that you have 
learned, received, heard, and seen." The 
promise is in these words, " the God of peace 
shall be with you." The entail of the pro- 
mise on the precept you have in the connec- 
tive particle " and," which knits them up 
together. Do the work, and have the reward ; 
obey the precept, and enjoy the promise ; " do 
what you have received and heard, and the 
God of peace shall be with you." Be careful 
of the former, and be not careful about the 
latter ; if the precept be performed, the pro- 
mise shall be made good. 

Doct. 1. Christians must be learners, 
before they can be doers. " What you have 
learned, that do." 

Doct. 2. He hath learned well, that hath 
learned to do well. 

Doct. 3. Christians' eyes, as well as their 
ears, may help them on in religion ; or, the 
holy examples of ministers should be living 
sermons to people. " What you have seen in 
me." Therefore the apostle exhorts, Phil. iii. 
17, " Mark them which so walk, as you have 
us for an example ;" and 1 Cor. xi. 1, " Be ye 
followers of me, as I am of Christ ;" that is, 
either, I have been a follower of Christ, be ye 
therefore followers of me ; or else, be ye fol- 
lowers of me as far forth as I have been a 
follower of Christ. Those ministers may go 
off the stage with honour and comfort, who 
4 O 



SERMONS. 657 

have left behind them the good seed of sound 
doctrine, and the good savour of a holy ex- 
ample. For my own part, what my doctrine 
and manner of life hath been among you, you 
are witnesses, and God also. And, however, 
I have great reason to judge and condemn 
myself before the Lord, and to bewail it, that 
my conversation hath been less exemplary 
and useful, than, O that it had been ! yet I go 
off from you, with this testimony upon my 
heart, that I have not been of those who bind 
heavy burthens,, and lay them on other men's 
shoulders, but will not touch them with one 
of their fingers ; but my endeavour hath been, 
to press on my own soul, and hold out in my 
own practice, that word of life which I have 
preached to you ; and therefore am bold, in 
this sense, to exhort you, in the words of the 
apostle, " Be ye followers of me," as far forth 
as you have seen me a follower of Christ. 

Doct. 4. Godly ministers, when they are 
parting from their people, would fain leave 
God behind them. Though it be not unusual, 
when the Lord sends them away, he goes 
with them ; God and his messengers, do not 
seldom take their farewell of people together ; 
yet their earnest desire is, that though they 
must away, yet the Lord would stay. 

Doct. 5. Faithful ministers would be 
messengers of peace, going, as well as com- 
ing. 

As the apostle's first words were to be, 
" Peace be unto you," so some of this apos- 
tle's last words were, "the God of peace 
shall be with you." 

Doct. 6. Whenever ministers part with 
their people, if they can but leave godliness 
in them, they shall certainly leave God with 
them. Or, those that obey the gospel, what- 
soever, or whomsoever they want, shall ever 
be in a peaceful and blessed condition. 

"These things do," that is live in the 
practice and power of that doctrine of godli- 
ness " which you have received and heard," 
and then fear not, "the God of peace shall be 
with you." 

This doctrine, T shall fully prove to you, 
after I have premised, First, that the doctrine 
which I have preached to you is the doctrine 
of godliness ; the sum whereof take in these 
four particulars : 



658 



SELECT SERMONS. 



1. That Jesus Christ, who came into the 
world to save sinners, came also to sanctify 
and purge them from their sins. 

2. That those that believe in Jesus, must 
be careful to maintain good works, or to live 
a godly life. 

3. That this godliness is not such a slight, 
and easy, and empty thing, as the mistaken 
world imagine ; but stands in an exact con- 
formity of the whole man, heart and life, to 
the whole will of God. 

4. That as whosoever believes not in Je- 
sus, so whosoever is short of this true sincere 
godliness, cannot be saved. 

This is the sum of that doctrine, which I 
have preached unto you ; which being the 
eternal truth of God, I herein embark my 
whole soul and life, desiring to be found in 
that same Jesus, and to be found walking in 
that same way of righteousness which I have 
declared unto you. 

Secondly, that my design and aim, in 
preaching this doctrine to you, hath been to 
beget in you, and through the influence and 
assistance of the eternal Spirit, to bring you 
to this true godliness. I have travailed in 
birth with you that Christ might be formed in 
you, — that I might leave you possessors and 
partakers of that grace, which accompanies 
salvation, — that your faith might stand not in 
the wisdom of men, but in the power of God, 
— that your repentance might be repentance 
unto life, not to be repented of, — that you 
might obey from the heart, that form of doc- 
trine that hath been delivered unto you, — that 
you might stand complete in all the will of 
God, — that you might be holy, and harm- 
less, the children of Go(J without rebuke, in 
the midst of a crooked generation, amongst 
whom you must shine as lights in the world, 
holding forth the word of life, — that being 
rooted and grounded in love, you might com- 
prehend with all saints, what is the height, 
and depth, and length, and breadth, and might 
know the love of Christ, which passeth know- 
ledge, and be filled with all the fulness of 
God ; to this end have I taught every one, 
and warned every one, that I might present 
you perfect in Christ Jesus. 

Thirdly, that as far forth as the success 
hath answered my design and aim upon any 



of your souls, so far forth stand you entitled 
to this glorious promise in the text, "the 
God of peace shall be with you." Look how 
many souls there are amongst you, that live 
in the power and obedience of those truths 
you have received : to so many can I, with 
confidence, give this farewell of the apostle, 
without ifs, or ands, — " the God of peace 
shall be with you." To whomsoever the Lord 
hath been a God of grace, to them will he be 
a God of peace. Whoever amongst you, 
hath this God of grace dwelling and ruling in 
you, shall certainly find this God of peace, 
dwelling and abiding with you. 

These things premised, I shall now give 
you the full proof of the doctrine, in the fol- 
lowing reasons. The doctrine you remember 
is, — those that obey the gospel, whatsoever, 
or whomsoever they want, shall ever be in 
a peaceful and blessed condition. The rea- 
sons are, 

1st, The God of peace shall be with them. 

2d, Tf God be with them, all things, what- 
soever befall them, shall make for their good. 

Reason 1st. The God of peace shall be 
with them ; these things do, live in the obe- 
dience of the holy doctrine which you have 
received, and the God of peace shall be with 
you. This glorious promise is pregnant 
with all the blessings that heaven and earth 
can afford. If you ask, why, — what is there 
in it 1 I demand of you, what is there in 
God 1 God is in the promise ; all that is in 
God is here assured to the godly. The phi- 
losophers of old attained to some glimmer- 
ings of the excellencies that are in God, by 
these three ways. 

1. Per viam negationis, conceiving of 
him as a Being removed from all things sig- 
nifying imperfection : as ignorance, impo- 
tence, iniquity, corruptibility, composition, 
alteration, or any limits or bounds of his es- 
sence, power and glory. 

2. Per viam causalitatis, conceiving of 
him as the fountain of all other beings : 
and thence concluding, that whatsoever ex- 
cellencies or perfections are scattered up 
and down in the whole creation, are all uni- 
ted in him from whom they had their ori- 
ginal. 

3. Per viam eminenticB, by way of excel- 



SELECT SERMONS. 



659 



lency : so that whatever perfection, whatever 
goodness, is to be found in any creature, 
though it be not to be found in God, formali- 
ter, yet there is that in him — he being the 
first cause of all — that doth infinitely, super- 
abundantly answer them all. Though there 
be not the same specific excellencies in him, 
nor those very pleasures and delights issuing 
from him, which the creatures yield, yet there 
are such excellencies, such perfections, as 
transcend and surpass them all. The scrip- 
tures tell us more positively and plainly, that 
God is almighty, omniscient, omnipresent, 
infinite, eternal, unchangeable, all-sufficient, 
holy, righteous, gracious, — the portion, the 
protection, the rewarder, yea, the exceeding 
great reward of them that diligently seek 
him. And this is he that is in the promise. 
God is in the promise. I must not enlarge in 
this spacious field ; I shall keep nearer the 
text, and shall confine myself to these four 
particulars : 

1. God is in the promise, as the God of 
peace, as the author and bestower of peace. 
The greatest of blessings is the blessing of 
peace ; peace hath all blessings included in it. 
It hath possession, fruition, and security ; it 
hath plenty, pleasure, and safety ; where 
there is no peace, there is no security for the 
holding, nor opportunity of enjoying what we 
have. Whatever we have, we have it as if 
we had it not. Peace is the greatest of bless- 
ings. Peace with God is the most glorious 
of peace. What is there that is excellent, 
what is there that is desirable, that is not com- 
prehended in this peace with God? Where 
there is peace, there is pardon ; guilt cannot 
consist with this peace ; " being justified by 
faith, we have peace with God." Where 
there is peace, there is grace and holiness ; 
" There is no peace, eaith my God, to the 
wicked." Where there is peace, there is love 
and good will. As love, so peace is the union 
of hearts. " The God of peace is with you," 
signifies no less than this, — the Almighty 
God bears you good will. These two, — 
peace and good will, — are twins : " on earth 
peace, good will towards men." Where 
there is peace, there is life, everlasting life ; 
internal, is the seed of eternal peace. This 
peace is a portion, — peace with God is our 



possession of the God of peace ; this peace 
is a sanctuary, — if the God of peace be with 
us, the peace of God will keep our hearts. 

Christians, in the world you must have 
trouble : suppose you have, yet in him you 
shall have peace, who hath overcome the 
world ; Isa. xxvi. 3, " Thou wilt keep him in 
perfect peace," (in peace, peace, as it is in 
the original) " whose mind is stayed on 
thee Ps. lxxxv. 8, " I will hear what the 
Lord God will speak ; he will speak peace to 
his people, and to his saints." What a clat- 
tering is there in the world ! What tumults 
and commotions are raised about the follow- 
ers of Christ, as if the world were falling 
about their ears ! The devil speaks wrath ; 
evil men speak death and bonds to them ; 
breathing out threatenings, reproaches, perse- 
cutions against them. In the midst of all this 
fearful noise, I will hearken, saith the Psalm- 
ist, what the Lord God will speak. Whatso- 
ever men or devils speak, I will hearken, if the 
Lord God speaks at the same rate. O no, he 
will speak peace to his saints ! Let the sons 
of contention do what they can, the sons of 
God shall be sons of peace ; they shall live in 
peace, they shall die in peace, they shall dwell 
in peace for ever. Isa. xxxii. 17, 18, " The 
work of righteousness shall be peace, and the 
effect of righteousness shall be quietness and 
assurance forever. And my people shall dwell 
in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwell- 
ings, and in quiet resting-places." O how 
great is the peace that they have who love thy 
law ! Christians, fear not to follow God ; let 
not that sad word, nor the fulfilling of it, scare 
you out of your duty, "All that will live godly 
in Christ Jesus, shall suffer persecution." 
What if they do ; whilst you are able to say, I 
am persecuted, but I have peace; I am poor, but 
I have peace ; in a prison, but I have peace ; 
in' a wilderness, but I have peace ; though all 
the world be against me, God is at peace, my 
soul is in peace, what discouragement should 
all that be to you 1 

2. He that is the God of peace is the God 
of power. He promises peace, and he pro- 
mises no more than he can perform. He can 
create peace, he can make their enemies to 
be at peace with them. He can make a 
league for them with the beasts of the field, 



660 



SELECT SERMONS. 



with the lions, with the wolves, with the 
most brutish among the people. He can say 
to the proud winds and waves, " Peace, be 
still," and they obey him. He can give them 
rest from the days of adversity ; he can give 
them rest in the days of adversity ; he can 
give his beloved sleep upon the points of 
swords and spears. 

3. He that is the God of peace, is the God 
of patience. This is my great fear, that 
though God gives, yet I shall break my peace. 
The God of peace with me ! O ! this is he 
whom I dishonour, and disoblige daily, by my 
distrusts, discontents, impatiences, murmur- 
ings ; and what peace to such a heart 1 what 
peace, so long as such unbelief, — so much 
iniquity as I find daily within me, remains up- 
on me ? Will he, with whom no iniquity can 
dwell, dwell in that heart, where there is so 
much iniquity, by which he is provoked every 
day] But he that is the God of peace, is 
also the God of patience : who though he 
will not bear the iniquities of his adversaries, 
yet he will bear much with the infirmities of 
his people : Ps. Ixxxix. 30, &c. " If his chil- 
dren forsake my law, and walk not in my 
judgments ; if they break my statutes, and 
keep not my commandments : then will I 
visit their transgressions with a rod, and their 
iniquities with stripes. Nevertheless, my 
loving-kindness will I not utterly take from 
him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail." 

4. He that is the God of peace, is the God 
of hope. I have no peace in possession, what- 
ever there be in the promise. I live in the fire, 
— am born a man of contention. What likeli- 
hood is there that I should ever live to see a 
good day] My comforts are broken, my es- 
tate is lost, my liberty is gone ; friends I have 
none, enemies I have many, and mighty ; I 
dwell in Mesech, I have my habitation in the 
tents of Kedar ; I am for peace, they are for 
war ; wherever I look, round about me, before 
me, behind me, on the right hand, or on the 
left, all speaks trouble and terror to me. I 
have no peace. What, nor no hope of peace, 
neither ] Where is thy God, man 1 hast thou 
a God in thee, and yet no hope in thee] 
The God of peace, and yet no peace ! the 
God of hope, and yet no hope ! " the God of 
hope will yet fill thee with joy and peace in 



believing," Rom. xv. 13. " Why art thou 
cast down, O my soul, and why art thou dis- 
quieted within me ] hope in God, for I shall 
yet praise him, who is the health of my 
countenance, and my God," Ps. xliii. 5. 
The God of hope will open a window of 
hope in the darkest times, a door of hope in 
the most desperate cases. The God of hope 
will bear up the spirits of his saints, in hope 
against hope ; and this hope will never dis- 
appoint them. It shall never be said, there 
is no peace, there is no hope, till it can be 
said there is no God in Israel. 

But how, or in what sense, is it to be un- 
derstood, that this God of peace will be with 
us 1 — I answer in three particulars : 

1. The heart of God will be with you. 
Joseph's blessing, — "the good will of him 
that dwelt in the bush," — will be thy portion, 
Deut. xxxiii. 16. What was that bush ] the 
church or Israel of God. What case was the 
bush in ] 'twas all on a light fire ; 'twas all in 
a flame. Who was it that dwelt in the bush ] 
God was in the bush ; and that kept it from 
consuming, though not from burning. The 
good will of this God shall be with thee, — 
his love, his favour, his care. " I love them 
that love me," Prov. viii. 17. " The Lord 
loveth the righteous," Ps. cxlvi. 8. The love 
of God is the womb of all good. Hence 
sprang ' the morning-star ;' from the love of 
God came the Son of God ; hence came that 
* womb of the morning,' the blessed gospel, 
which is so big with glorious grace, with 
light, life, pardon, peace, glory, immortali- 
ty ; from the love of God came the glorious 
gospel of God. 1 The upper springs,' all 
spiritual and heavenly blessings, — * the 
nether springs,' all earthly and outward 
blessings, — do all rise, and bubble up out 
of this fountain, the love of God. The pre- 
cious things of heaven, — the precious fruits 
brought forth by the sun, — the precious 
fruits put forth by the moon, — the chief 
things of the ancient mountains, — the pre- 
cious things of the lasting hills, — the pre- 
cious things of the earth, and the fulness 
thereof, — all these flow in with " the good 
will of him that dwelt in the bush." Love 
is all. The apostle tells us, our love to God 
is " the fulfilling of the law," that is, it will 



SELECT SERMONS. 



661 



bring forth all that to God, all that duty and 
obedience, which the law requires. 1 may tell 
you, that God's love to us is the fulfilling of 
the gospel, that is, it will pour down all that 
upon us, it will do all that for us, which the 
gospel promises. Look over the whole gos- 
pel, — read and study every precious leaf and 
line of that blessed book, — and if there be 
enough in all that to make thee blessed, and 
to encourage thee on in thy holy course, all 
this is thine. Thou hast that love of God with 

. thee, which will fulfil the gospel ; there shall 
not one jot or tittle fail thee of all that the 
gospel promises. " The zeal of the Lord of 
hosts will perform this," Isa. ix. 7. 

2. The help of God will be with you, the 
Lord will be your helper in the day of your 
distress. Heb. xiii. 5, 6, " He hath said, I 
will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." So 
that we may boldly say, " The Lord is my 
helper, I will not fear what man can do unto 
me." He hath said, " I will not leave thee ;" 
and therefore we may say, " I will not fear." 
He hath said, " I will be," and therefore we 
may boldly say, " the Lord is my helper." 
He hath said, He will not forsake, he will 
help ; and who is he that shall say, There is 
no help for thee in thy God. There's no man, 

\ whose case may not be so desperate as to be 
above all human help. If he should cry out, 
as the woman to the king of Israel, " Help, 
O king !" the king must answer, " If the 
Lord do not help thee, whence shall I help 
thee V If he should cry out, Help, O man 

■ of God ! the man of God must answer, " If 
the Lord do not help thee, whence shall I 
help thee V 9 If he cry out, Help, O, my 
friends ! my wit, my policy, my purse, — all 
these must answer, — " If the Lord do not 
help thee, whence shall we help thee 1" But 
what case is there, wherein a " Help, Lord .'" 
will not do ] Foolish men count their case 
desperate, when they come to their " God 
help ;" that's a usual expression to set forth 
the extremity and helplessness of any man's 
case. When we see men even lost in any 
misery, and their case even utterly hopeless, 
— then to signify our sense of such men's 
lost condition, we cry out, " God help that 
man ! God help that woman, they are lost 
creatures !" Ay, but if men did understand 



and consider what the help of the Lord is, 
they would see there could be no case so des- 
perate, but a " Help, Lord !" might recover 
all, 1 Sam. xxx. 6, When David was greatly 
distressed, and all was gone, " he encouraged 
himself in the Lord his God." Consider here 
two things : 

(1) . What his case then was. He was in 
great distress ; he had lost all that ever he 
had ; his spoils that he had taken were all 
gone, his corn, and his cattle, his wives and 
his city were all lost, — he had not a habita- 
tion in all the world, — he had nothing left him 
but a poor army, and these were worse than 
lost, — they were even ready to fall upon him. 
" The people spake of stoning him, but he 
encouraged himself in the Lord his God." 

(2) . What the event hereupon was. Why 
God helped him to all he had again ; ver. 19, 
" There was nothing lacking to them, neither 
small nor great, neither sons nor daughters ; 
neither spoil, nor any thing they had taken : 
David recovered all." Hence note, that a 
Christian when he hath lost all, hath yet a 
God to go to at last. Whilst a Christian hath 
a God to go to, his case is never desperate ; 
let him but encourage himself in his God, and 
all will be recovered. Sinners, triumph not 
over the poor people of God. When they 
are at their worst, — when they are brought 
as low as your pride and malice can lay them, 
— though they should be stript naked, and 
left destitute of all their comforts, — though 
all the world should ride on their backs, and 
tread on their necks, yet rejoice not against 
them ; though they fall they shall arise ; when 
they are at their worst, there is still help for 
them in their God. 

3. The presence of the Lord shall be with 
them. Whithersoever they may be scatter- 
ed, they shall not be scattered from their 
God. That promise made to Moses, Exod. 
xxxiii. 14, "My presence shall go with 
thee," belongs to all the Israel of God. 
" My presence ;" in the original, 'tis, " my 
face ;" in the Septuagint, " myself shall go 
with thee." 

The presence of God is either general or 
special. 

By his general presence, he is every where. 
1. Per essentiam, he fills all things. 



662 



SELECT SERMONS. 



2. Per cognitionem, he beholds all things. 

3. Per sustentationem, he upholds all 
things. 

4. Per dominium, he governs all things. 
But to let this pass, as not so proper to our 

purpose. 

2. There is his special or gracious pre- 
sence, whereby he manifests himself to be 
with his people. 

(1) . In some visible and standing tokens of 
his presence ; as in those extraordinary, the 
pillars of the cloud and of the fire ; and in 
those ordinary, the ark and the temple of old, 
and the ordinances of the gospel now. 

(2) . In some inward influences and irra- 
diations upon the heart of his people. 

(3) . In some visible and signal effects of 
his presence ; whereof there are very many. 
There are, amongst others, these two notable 
effects of God's gracious presence, which his 
people, by virtue of this promise, may with 
confidence expect, — conduction, covering. 
They shall be led in their way; and they 
shall be hid in their way. 

1st, Conduction. The Lord wiJl be with 
them, to lead them and guide them in the 
way that they should go, Ps. xxv. 9, " The 
meek will he guide in judgment, the meek 
will he teach his way." Ps. cvii. 7, " He led 
them forth by the right way, that they might 
go to a city of habitation." Ps. v. 8, " Lead 
me, O Lord, in thy righteousness, because of 
mine enemies ; make thy way straight before 
my face." The Lord leads his people in their 
way, chiefly by his word, which is a light to 
their feet, and a lantern to their paths ; and 
sometimes also by his providences, hedging 
up all by-ways, and leaving but one way open 
to them, that hath the least appearance of the 
way of God ; so ordering the matter, that any 
other way that is before them, looks with too 
foul a face to leave any doubt upon them, 
whether that be the way of God or not. It is 
never uncomfortable to the people of God, 
while they see their way before them ; doubts 
about their way, are more perplexing than 
dangers in their way. When they know 
what God would have them do, they can 
cheerfully trust him for any thing they are 
like to suffer. Dost thou meet with wolves 
or lions in thy way 1 thou mayest bless God 



it is there thou meetest them, it would be ill 
meeting them elsewhere. 

2d, Covering or protection in their way : 
Ps. xxxi. 20, " Thou shalt hide them in the 
secret of thy presence, from the pride of 
man ; thou shalt keep them secretly in a pa- 
vilion, from the strife of tongues." " Thou 
shalt hide them in thy presence," or " face ;" 
thy light shall be their dark place to cover 
them ; " thou art my hiding-place," Ps. xxxii. 
7. " In the secret of thy presence ;" the 
saint's hiding-place is a secret : such, where 
neither the pride of man can find them, nor 
can they understand what it is. Reproaches 
shall not find them, persecutions shall not 
find them, whose souls are hid in God ; they 
are not found, when they are found ; they are 
hid when they seem to lie most open, and 
most exposed to men's will and lust, Sinners 
do not understand what refuge the saints 
have in God. It is a great secret, a mystery 
to them ; as the joy of the saints, the com- 
forts of the saints, are a secret — a stranger 
shall not meddle with his joy — so is their 
safety of security ; they do not understand 
what kind, or how great security ; what sure, 
nor what sweet repose the saints find in God. 
The secret of God's presence is a sure and a 
sweet resting-place for all his saints ; but how 
sure, and how sweet, no man knows, but they 
that enjoy it. The secret intimations of the 
care of God for them, — of his everlasting 
kindness to them, — of his governing hand, in 
all that befalls them, working it to their 
greater good, — the secret supports and re- 
freshings darted in, as the beams of his coun- 
tenance, — their secret sense that their head, 
their main part is in safety, though they 
have bruises in their heel, — will yield such 
rest in the day of greatest adversity, as men 
can neither see nor take from them. The pil- 
lar of the cloud interposed, did both hinder 
the Egyptians' pursuit, and hid from their 
eyes, the comfort of that light which shined 
upon the camp of Israel. Moses knew what 
the comfort of God's presence meant, when 
he said, Exod. xxxiii. 15, " If thy presence 
go not with us, carry us not up hence." It is 
(if considered) a great word; Israel was 
then in a wilderness ; among wild beasts, — 
among briers and thorns, — in a weary pil- 



SELECT SERMONS. 



0G3 



igrimage, — but they had God among them. 
The Lord was carrying them to Canaan, the 
land of their rest, a land flowing with milk and 
iihoney ; but Moses prays, " If thy presence 
go not with us, carry us not up hence." We 
had rather be where we are, in a wilderness 
with God, than go to Canaan, and leave our 
jGod behind us. If thy presence go with us, 
we are willing to go ; when thou wilt, whither 
thou wilt, which way thou wilt ; though by 
[the tents of Edomites, Ishmaelites, Moabites, 
ilHagarenes ; though through the armies of 
Anakims, Zamzummims ; we will go any 
! where, so God go with us. The absence of 
(God makes a Canaan worse than a w'ilder- 
iness : the presence of God makes a wilder- 
jness better than a Canaan. And this pre- 
sence of God shall be the lot of all his saints. 

Reason 2d. If God be with you, all shall 
; make for you ; all providential occurren- 
ces and events whatsoever, — all difficulties, 
straits, disasters, disappointments whatso- 
ever, that may come upon you, shall make 
for your good, Rom. viii. 31, "If God be 
with us, who can be against us V Who can 
be against us? that is, none can be against 
us ; or if any be, yet those that are against 
i you shall be for you : Gen. xlii. 36, "Joseph 
is not, and Simeon is not, (said old Jacob) 
and must Benjamin away too ! all these things 
iare against me :" but yet as old as he was, 
he lived to see all making for him : Rom. viii. 
1 28, " We know all things shall work toge- 
ther for good to those that love God." This 
is such a promise, as, if it were thoroughly 
believed, would set our feet on the necks of 
all our fears and dangers : and will prove the 
truth of Samson's riddle, " Out of the eater 
came meat, and out of the strong, sweet- 
ness." Now because there is so great en- 
couragement to godliness in it, I shall spend 
the more time in enlarging upon it ; and shall 
show, 

1st, What those things are which are 
especially intended in that comprehensive 
term, " all things." 

2d, What that good is, which these things 
shall work to. 

3d, To whom these things shall work for 
good. 

4th, How these things shall work for good. 



5th, That they shall undoubtedly work for 
good to them that love God. 

1st, What those things are, which are 
especially intended, in that comprehensive 
term, " all things." Some there are, as Au- 
gustine with others, who understand it uni- 
versally, of all things whatsoever, whether 
good or evil, — extending it even to the sins 
of the saints. It is true, God doth often 
bring good out of these evils ; making use of 
former sins to be forces against future. There 
is nothing that doth make the sinner more 
weary and wary of sin, than sin itself; the 
review of what we have done, doth oftenest 
fright us from doing so any more. When you 
look back on sin and see its face — for sin 
carries its face on its back — you will fear it 
the more, whenever you meet it again. There 
is no argument doth more effectually humble 
and break the heart, and make it more fear- 
ful and watchful against sin, than the shame 
and the smart of those sins we have fallen by. 
This is true, God doth often make this use of 
sin, to be its own cure ; and therefore it is 
not seldom seen, that the chief of sinners 
have come to be the chief of saints. Yet, 
besides, that this is not the subject-matter 
that the apostle is here treating of, let those 
that bring sin within the compass of this 
promise, and make this to run into the sense 
of it, — that even all the sins of the saints 
shall work for their good, — let such tell us, 
how, or in what way it is imaginable, that the 
sinful decays of such who backslide from God, 
and never recover to their former life and 
vigour, but live and die in a languishing state 
of soul, — let them tell us, how such sins can 
be imagined to work for their good : till then, 
we must enter our dissent from this interpre- 
tation. This then is not the sense of the 
promise, that all sins shall work together for 
good. And yet if it were, it would be but a 
poor argument, to take the more liberty to 
sin, because God will turn it to good; this 
would be even as rational, as for a man to 
tear his flesh, break his bones, pluck out his 
eyes, burn his house, &c because God will 
turn all his suffering to good : he is little bet- 
ter than mad, that would not conclude such a 
man out of his wits. 

Others restrain it to the evil things that 



664 



SELECT SERMONS. 



befall the saints, — not the turpia, but the trts- 
tia, — their sufferings and afflictions ; to that 
vanity, and those vexations, they are in bond- 
age under, and under which, with the whole 
creation, they groan and travail in pain, 
waiting for their redemption, of which the 
apostle had been treating in the former part 
of the chapter. And yet while they pitch the 
sense, especially on such things as these, 
they grant it may be extended to all other 
things, sin only excepted ; ad omnes res, cre- 
aturas, eventus, turn secundos, turn adversos: 
to all things and events, whether prosperous 
or afflicting. So Parasus with others. 

And these I take to have hit the right. All 
heavy things, — all the sufferings and afflic- 
tions of the saints, — and not only these, but 
all things else whatsoever, that in the whole 
course of Providence be their lot or portion, 
— all the dealings of God with them, — all the 
dispensations of Providence towards them, 
shall all work for their good. 

2d, What is that good which these things 
work to the saints ; or in what sense all things 
may be said to work good to them. The 
sense in general is this : they shall all work 
to their welfare, — they shall all happen to 
them for the better, — there shall nothing be- 
fall them, but one time or other, they shall 
have reason to say, " It was well for me, 
that it was thus with me." The wisdom and 
goodness of God did cut out such portions 
continually for me, did lead me through such 
a series and succession of cases and events, 
which though I could not understand, yet 
now I see that every condition, every con- 
tingency and occurrence of my life, through 
which Providence led me, was useful, and 
could not well have been wanted, but it 
would have been the worse for me. Thus in 
the general. 

Particularly, for the fuller understanding 
what good it is that all things work to, con- 
sider, that there is a twofold good of the 
saints ; such as they obtain and enjoy, whilst 
they are in via, in their way or course ; or 
such as they shall obtain when they are in 
termino, when they are gotten to the end of 
their way, when they are come to their place. 
Or thus ; there is a threefold good of the 
saints, temporal, spiritual, eternal. 



1. Temporal good, or our bona corporis, 
the outward good things of this life, which 
may serve, and please, and delight us in 
these days of our pilgrimage ; which may 
abide with us, and attend us to our graves, 
but there will take their leave of us. 

2. Spiritual good, or our bona animce, and 
those are either, 1. External, as the ordinan r 
ces of God, — the light, liberties, and privi- 
leges of the gospel, — the society, and com- 
munion of the saints, and our peaceful and 
plentiful enjoying of them. 2. Internal, as 
spiritual grace, faith, love, hope, patience, &c. 

3. Eternal good, or that glory and joy,-— 
that everlasting rest and peace, — the pos- 
session of that inheritance incorruptible, and 
undefiled, that is reserved in heaven for us. 
Now here note these things. 

(1). That our bona corporis, our outward 
good things, are only good for us, as they are 
conducible ad bonum spiritualis, to the good 
of our souls. The bona vice, are only good 
in the event, when they tend to the bonum 
patrice. This world is but a nursery for eter- 
nity ; we are planted in this, in order to our 
transplanting into the other world ; and what- 
ever we have here, is either good or evil, 
according to the respect that it bears to here- 
after. As far forth as our immortal part is 
improved by these perishing things, so far 
forth only, are they good for us. He that 
hath this world's goods, and is not hereby 
made more rich towards God, — he who pros- 
pers in this world, and yet his soul doth not 
prosper, — much more, he whose worldly ful- 
ness becomes the emptiness and leanness of 
his soul, — are these good things good for him 1 ? 
Is he in prosperity upon a true account, whose 
soul prospers not 1 It is not ever good to pros- 
per in the world ; it cannot be universally said 
it is good to be rich, it is good to be in health, 
it is good to be in honour, it is good to be at 
liberty ; the contrary may sometimes be true ; 
it is good to be poor, to be sick, to be in dis- 
grace, to be in bonds ; the necessity of our 
souls doth not seldom require it ; then alone 
is it good to be full, and to abound, when our 
outward abundance furthers our spiritual 
welfare. Christians, could we receive this 
truth, that our outward good things are only 
good for us, as far forth as they conduce, 



SELECT 

to our spiritual good, — could we receive this 
truth, and live under the power of it, — what 
a different judgment should we then have of 
all these worldly matters, from what we have 1 
And how strangely would the course of the 
world be then changed] Would there then 
be such violent and eager pursuing these 

| carnal things] Would there then be such 
whining, and complaining, and murmuring at 

| every cross providence] We should then 

i say, this may be good for me ; good for my 

- soul, how sad soever it looks. 

(2) . That external spiritual good things, 
j the ministry, and ordinances of the gospel, 
\ &c. are so far good to us, as they conduce to 

our eternal spiritual good; and they being 
, ordinarily so, it must be concluded, that 
ordinarily it is good for us, that we enjoy 
them, and be not deprived of them. God 
may see the cutting Christians short of those 
privileges, and liberties, to be sometimes 
needful for them; and then even this also 
makes for their good : whereof more anon. 

(3) . That our inward spiritual good, is good 
for us, so far forth as it tends to our eternal 
good : and therefore grace is ever good for us. 
It is ever true it is good to be holy, good to 
be humble, to be in the fear of God, and to 
flourish in his grace. We may have too 
much money, too much credit, but we can 
never have too much grace. Our greatest 
flourishing and fruitfulness in grace, will 
certainly abound to our more full reward. 

(4) . Note, that this is the plain sense, and 
meaning of the promise, " all things shall 
work for good," that is, whatsoever befalls, 
shall certainly promote our internal and eter- 
nal welfare ; and as far forth as the outward 
privileges of the gospel, yea, and the good 
things of this life, conduce towards this, all 
shall work for these also. If it be good for 
us to be rich, — if it be good for us to be in 
honour,— good for us to be at liberty, — good 
for our souls, — good in reference to our eter- 
nal state, — if it be good for us that we enjoy 
the ministry of the gospel, — there shall no- 
thing befall us, that shall hinder ; there shall 
be nothing wanting to us, that might further 
this our good. 

The sum is, that all providential dispensa- 
tions shall be so ordered, that we shall want 
4P 



SERMONS. 665 

nothing but what it is better to want than 
have ; we shall suffer nothing but what we 
cannot well be without, but what the good 
of our souls requires ; and that which we do 
possess, and that which we do suffer, shall 
not fail of bringing about its end, the advanc- 
ing our eternal good. 

And if this be the meaning, what a glori- 
ous promise is this ] What can any rational 
man desire more % Nothing shall befall him 
but shall be for his good : he shall be deprived 
or kept short of nothing, but what he had 
better be without than have. He that is un- 
satisfied with this promise, it is either from 
lust or unbelief ; either he doth not believe 
that God is true and will perform this word, 
or else it is because his lust must be satisfied, 
though with the denial of his reason and in- 
terest. He that desires an estate in the world, 
ease, pleasure, liberty, or any thing else upon 
any other terms, but as they may be for his 
real good, hath as much lost his wits as his 
faith ; and he that will take upon him to know 
what is good for him, better than God, may as 
well take upon him to govern the world. You 
may with as good reason, desire a fever, or 
a dropsy, that you may have the pleasure of 
your drink ; as for the pleasures that carnal 
things would bring you in, to desire them, 
when they would be a snare to your souls. 

3d, To whom these things shall work for 
good ; to them that love God, to them that 
are called according to his purpose, — to the 
people of God who you see, are here de- 
scribed by their election and vocation, " the 
called according to his purpose," and their 
sanctification, " they that love God." Love 
God, and you will live in the obedience of his 
whole will. These are the people, to whom 
the promise is made ; prove your calling and 
election, — prove your sanctification, — and 
you may write your names in this glorious 
promise ; " all things shall work for your 
good." To those that are rebels, and repro- 
bates from God, all things shall work together 
for evil. Whilst things hurtful work together 
for good to the saints ; all good things work 
together for the hurt of sinners ; their peace 
hurts them, their plenty hurts them, their 
pleasure hurts them ; yea, both their pros- 
perity and adversity, their plenty and their 



666 



SELECT SERMONS. 



poverty, their" pleasure and their trouble, their 
honour and disgrace, every thing that befalls 
them, turns to their prejudice ; their pros- 
perity destroys them ; their table is their 
snare ; their pleasures are their plagues ; and 
their very punishments are turned into sin ; 
every thing that befalls them, heightens and 
hardens them in their wickedness, and ripens 
them for vengeance. God is not with them, 
and therefore nothing prospers with them. 
God is with his saints, and therefore nothing 
comes amiss to them, but all for their greater 
advantage. Christians, this is your portion, 
and your peculiar, wherein the men of this 
world shall neither partake with you, nor be 
ever able to deprive you of it ! 

4:th, How all things shall work for their 
good ; in special, how shall the evil things, 
the sufferings of this life be for their good ] 
How can this be ] Must we disbelieve our 
senses, lay down our reason, ere we can be- 
lieve the scriptures 1 Must we call evil good, 
and good evil] Must we count darkness 
light, and light darkness ] Is pleasure pain, 
and pain pleasure 1 Is Joss gain, and gain 
loss] Is ease torment, and torment ease? 
Doth religion make things cease to be what 
they are, and to be what they are not ] or at 
least, must we believe, that darkness is the 
mother of light, that good is the daughter of 
evil ] Can we gather grapes of thorns, or figs 
of thistles ] Can darkness give light, or death 
itself bring forth life ] Must we say, that con- 
traries no longer destroy, but produce each 
other, and that the womb brings forth its own 
destruction ] How can these things be ] 

But must God give a reason of his actions, 
or else they are not ] Though evil cannot 
bring good, — darkness cannot bring forth 
light, — yet, cannot God bring forth good out 
of evil, light out of darkness ] Though dark- 
ness cannot bring forth light, — evil cannot 
bring forth good, — by a natural causation ; 
yet, cannot God make evil an occasion of 
good ] Though it do not work efficiently, yet 
can it not work objectively neither to it] 
Though the torment the medicine puts men 
to, be not ease, yet may it not work towards 
ease ] May not the storm, though it help not, 
yet hasten the labourer on his work, the 
traveller on his way 1 May not the darkness 



of the night, make more diligent in the day ] 
May not sickness teach men more temper- 
ance, and poverty more frugality] 

But to proceed more distinctly : How can 
the saints' evil things work to their good ] 
That they do so, cannot be denied, unless we 
will deny not only scripture, but common 
sense, and experience : but how comes it to 
pass ] 

I answer, in four particulars : 

1. The afflictions and tribulations of the 
saints are the way that leads them on to the 
possession of that good which God hath in- 
tended to them ; afflictions are the way of the 
kingdom ; the cross is the way to the crown : 
Acts xiv. 22, "Through many tribulations 
we must enter into the kingdom of God." 
Ps. lxvi. 11, 12, " Thou broughtest us into 
the net ; thou hast laid affliction upon our 
loins ; thou hast caused men to ride over our 
heads ; we went through fire and water ; thou 
broughtest us into a wealthy place." Ob- 
serve it : their troubles are their way to their 
triumph, — their very falling into the net, 
their way to escape. Their enemies boast : 
" Escape ! Arise ! yes, let them free them- 
selves with such hopes while they will, we 
have them sure enough ; we have them under 
foot ; we have them in the net ; if this be 
their way, we will keep them in their way 
long enough ; now we have them down, they 
shall not be able to rise." Ay, but yet it 
appears, through all this the Lord led them 
forth into a wealthy place. The highway 
of the proud is not their more ready way 
to the dust, than the dust of saints is their 
sure way to honour. When Israel were to 
go to Canaan, they must take the brick- 
kilns, the Red Sea, the wilderness, Jordan, 
in their way : could any one have imagined, 
that the bondage, the straits they were un- 
der, the doubling their tasks, the cruelty of 
their task-masters, their enclosure at the 
Red Sea, did mean any good to them ] yet, 
how fell it out at last] their darkest dis- 
pensations had light in their latter end; 
their greatest bondage led on to their great- 
est liberty. Every cross providence, is a 
step to the accomplishment of the promise ; 
the wheel is ever moving on to its end ; it 
moves still forwards, even when it seems 



SELECT SERMONS. 



687 



to go quite backwards : as the river, by its 
many turnings and windings, forwards and 
backwards, is still in motion to the sea when 
it seems to be running quite contrary. Christ- 
ians, if ever the salvation of God seems to be 
removed farther off from you, — if the work 
of God should at any time seem to go back- 
wards, — if cross winds should turn the whole 
course, so that you appear rather to be march- 
ing back to Egypt, than on to Canaan, — yet 
be not discouraged ; though your way be an 
unlikely and unpromising way, though you be 
led about forwards and backwards, yet still 
you are making on ; though the lesser wheels 
be never so cross and contrary in their mo- 
tions, yet the great wheel is still moving 
right on to your blessed and hoped end. God 
intends your good ; your spiritual good here, 
your eternal good hereafter; and believe it 
now, for he will let you see it hereafter, that 
those very things which most threaten your 
miscarriage, and a total abortion of your 
hopes, are made all to concur to the bringing 
them about, and to your more full and speedy 
possession of them. 

Note further here two things : 
(1). All things work : not they shall work, 
de futuro, — but de presenti, they do work. 
As the apostle says, " The mystery of ini- 
quity," so we may say, the mystery of the 
saints' redemption " doth already work the 
work is already on the wheel, and every 
wheel is in its motion for you ; not only your 
brethren, the saints and angels who are all 
praying for your peace, and seeking your 
good, — but your enemies also, the dragon, 
with all his armies, — are at work for you ; 
all the councils of this world, are already 
sitting upon the very matter ; God hath call- 
ed them together for this purpose, — the pope, 
with all his conclave, — the Jesuits, priests, 
monks and friars, with all their convent, — 
yea, the devil, with all his conclave of hell, 
are all at work for the good of saints. It 
is true, they mean not, nor intend any such 
thing, their designs are against you ; they 
count they are working for themselves ; as 
it is said concerning the Assyrian, Isa. x. 6, 
7. God sent him forth upon a design of his 
own, to execute his counsel, in the punish- 
ing of hypocrites, to purge out the chaff from 
the wheat, nevertheless, he meaneth not so, 



nor doth his heart think so; the Assyrian 
minds not what God's design is, but follows 
his own design, — fights for himself, and spoils 
for himself, — but God's design is still carried 
on by him though he thinks not of it. 

All the events in the world are driving the 
same way; every disease or infirmity that 
comes upon you, — every loss that you sus- 
tain, — every scoff or reproach that you suffer, 
— the shame in your faces, the sorrow of 
your hearts, the torment in your bowels, the 
aches in your bones, — are all working your 
good. All the changes of your conditions, — 
your fair weather and your foul, — your sun- 
shine and your clouds, — your plenty and your 
wants, — your eases and your pains, — your 
liberties and your prisons, — are all making 
for you ; your good is already working by all 
these things. See, Christians, what a har- 
vest of blessedness is growing up to you, out 
of this promise. The seed is already sow- 
ing, — your good is already working, — God is 
at work, the whole creation is at work, — men 
and angels, — good men and bad men,— friends 
and enemies, — heaven, and earth, and hell, — 
are already engaged to work your good. 

(2). They work together, that is, as some 
understand it, they work together with God. 
All these second causes work together with 
the first cause ; or as others, they work to- 
gether amongst themselves. There is such 
a concatenation and concentring of all these 
second causes, in the same design, that how- 
ever they seem to thwart, and cross, and des- 
troy some of them, what the others build and 
advance, yet they are all united in their end ; 
they jointly contribute to the weal of thesaints. 
Though, if I mistake not, this latter be the 
best sense of the two : yet I know no reason, 
why both may not be understood. In the 
hand, and underthe conduction of providence, 
all these lower things concur and co-operate 
in the good of the church. By the way, ob- 
serve what a harmony there is in all the 
works of providence. The most cross and 
thwarting occurrences do all conspire, and 
go hand in hand, to bring about the same end. 
As the differing virtues of various drugs do 
all concur to make up the medicine : as the 
differing sounds of several strings or instru- 
ments, do altogether make up the melody: as 
the differing colours in a picture, the dark as 



688 



SELECT SERMONS. 



well as the brighter, do jointly contribute to i 
the beauty of the piece : no less do the most 1 
contrary, and contradictory actions and i 
events, both mate up the beauty of provi- 
dence, and jointly subserve that one end, to 
which, by an unseen hand, and an all-seeing 
eye, they are directed and intended. 

2. The evil things that befall the saints, 
come upon them to keep out worse things. 
Wherever the cross comes, if it had not 
come, something worse might. The cross 
may be a means to secure from the curse ; 
the curse was slain on the cross of Christ, 
and our cross also hath its use, to the deliver- 
ing us from it: 1 Cor. xi. 32, "We are 
chastened of the Lord, that we should not be 
condemned with the world," Perisum nisi 
periisem, — I had died, if I had not suffered. 
It is more men's cases, besides his that spake 
it ; it is no bad exchange to have a cross in- 
stead of a curse. 

3. The evil things of the saints prepare 
them for better things ; that they may work 
good for them, they are working them to good; 
working out their sin and iniquity, wearying 
them of sin, Hosea ii. 6, " I will hedge up 
her way with thorns, then shall she say, I 
will return." Sin brought in afflictions into 
the world, and afflictions help to carry sin 
out ; the cross, to which sin was once nailed, 
is now nailed to sin ; the saints can seldom 
be meddling with sin, but they find it too 
heavy for them. Our Lord beats the devil 
with his own weapons ; by those very means 
purging his saints, by which he endeavours to 
pollute them ; making those very persecu- 
tions, by which he labours to force them from 
holiness, to fix them in it. Christians, com- 
fort your hearts ; those floods that are cast 
against you, shall but wash you the whiter, 
and make you more meet to be partakers of 
the inheritance of the saints in light ; your 
purgatory prepares you for your Paradise. 
No unclean thing must enter in thither ; and 
you are not like to be made so clean, as by 
falling into the hands of the unclean. The 
saints never look so well, like sheep come 
from the washing, as when they come up 
from the pots, their very black makes them 
comely. O Christians ! what a comfort 
would it be, if your experiences might come 



in, and seal to this truth ; if you could say j 
thus it hath been with me ; " Before T was 
afflicted I went astray :" I was proud and 
vain, and wanton, and slothful, and carnal, : 
" but now have I kept thy word." 

Sinners, whatever your mind be, in per- 
secuting the saints, never think to debauch., 
them by it ; if that be your aim, you mis- 
take your course ; the living spark which 
God hath kindled in them will not be blown 
out, but be blown up, by your puffing at 
it ; the dirt you cast upon them, doth but 
scour them the brighter. You take the best 
course you can to keep them closer to the 
Lord, and his way ; the warm sun will more 
hazard the loss of their garments, than the 
blustering wind ; let them alone, the Spirit 
of the Lord within them will be too hard 
for hell, with all its black regiments, and 
will not only secure them, but advance them 
yet higher, by all their assaults. These 
stars shine the brightest, when the night 
is darkest : when you have done your worst, 
it will be the better with them ; though 
they will not thank you, yet they will 
thank God for what they have suffered by 
you. If this be your aim, to make them 
like yourselves, you may set your hearts at 
rest, and give over such a vain attempt ; 
your fury is like to do as little to force 
them, as your virtues are to invite them to 
a compliance with you. Your faces are too 
foul to draw them into your love, and yet 
not fierce enough to drive them into your 
fear. Satan, try thy utmost strength and 
skill, — and if thou losest not by thine own 
play at last, — if thou findest not the poor 
people of God gotten nearer heaven, by thy 
attempts of plucking them down to hell, — 
then let thy lies be believed before the ever- 
lasting gospel. 

Christians, make me not ashamed in this 
same confident boasting of you ; yea, con- 
tradict not your God, by suffering your- 
selves to be corrupted by evil men. The 
Lord himself hath adventured deep upon 
your integrity and steadfastness. The ho- 
nour of his truth and faithfulness lies at 
stake, he hath said, that "they shall not 
be afraid of any evil tidings, their heart is 
fixed, trusting in the Lord," Ps. cxii, 7. 



SELECT SERMONS. 



669 



He hath said, " By this shall their iniquity 
be purged, and this shall be all the fruit, to 
take away their sin." God hath said, " All 
1 things shall work together for good to them." 
They shall not be the worse, but the better, 
for all that befalls them ; they shall love me 
and my holy ways the more ; they shall cleave 
unto me the closer ; they shall be made more 
pure, and more tender, by all they suffer for 
righteousness sake ; they shall love con- 
science, and their integrity, and faithfulness 
to it, never the worse, for that it hath cost 
them so dear ; but shall prize it the more, and 
be the more wary and tender, how they pol- 
lute and turn aside from it. God hath ven- 
tured deep on you, make not him a liar ; the 
devil and his instruments will be ready to say, 
concerning you, as once he did to the Lord 
concerning his servant Job : " Put them into 
our power, let us have the handling of them 
a while, and thou shalt quickly see, what 
truth there is in them, or what trust there is 
to them ; they will curse thee to thy face, — 
they will deny thee to thy face, — they will eat 
their own words, — they will be ashamed of 
their God, their godliness and confidence." 
Let God be true, Christians, and the devil a 
liar ; be living commentaries on this blessed 
text; let the world, and their black prince 
see, that they cannot make you miserable, 
because they cannot make you sinners like 
themselves ; that you are still the more up- 
right, for falling into the hands of a crooked 
generation ; let them see, that though your 
God will not surfer you, yet you are contented 
to serve him for nothing ! That though his 
hedge be removed from you, yet your heart 
is not removed from him, be able to say, 
" Though all this be come upon us, our heart 
is not turned back ; neither have we declined 
thy way." Let your standing and increasing 
in the grace of God, and abounding in the 
works of righteousness, be a standing witness 
for God in the world, and a seal to his scrip- 
tures, and in special to the glorious truth of 
this text. 

4. The evil things of the saints, prepare 
better things for them ; their sufferings go 
into their reward: "As the sufferings of 
Christ abound in us, so our consolation also 
aboundeth by Christ." Every suffering comes 



v/ith a comfort in its belly ; and the sweet is 
so great as swallows up the bitter ; it is a 
hundred fold that the saints gain by all their 
losses in this life, but how great shall their 
reward be in heaven ! 2 Cor. iv. 17, " Our 
light affliction, which is but for a moment, 
worketh for us a far more exceeding and 
eternal weight of glory." They shall not 
only have weight for weight, — measure for 
measure, — their load of glory for their load of 
sufferings, — but they shall have over-weight, 
over-measure ; good measure, pressed down, 
heaped together, and running over, shall then 
be given unto them : according to their deep 
poverty, shall be the height of their riches ; 
according as their blackness hath been in 
their houses of bondage, shall be their bright- 
ness in the land of promise ; " for all thy 
shame thou shalt have double," — the double 
of thy reproach in renown, the double of thy 
tears in triumphs ; all thy bottled tears shall 
be returned in flagons of joy, yea, in rivers of 
eternal pleasure. 

By this time, Christians, you see what glory 
there is in this good word : " All things shall 
work together for good to them that love 
God." And that none may have the face to 
say all this is but conceit, I shall, in the next 
place, bring in clear and undeniable evidence, 
that it is certainly and unquestionably so as 
hath been said : and therefore know, 

5th, That all things do, and shall certainly 
work 1 for good to them that love God.' This 
(besides the testimony of the scripture), I 
shall make evident from these three proposi- 
tions : 

1. There is a Divine providence that go- 
verns the world. 

2. The design of providence is the accom- 
plishment of the good purpose and promise 
of God. 

3. The providence of God shall never fail 
of accomplishing its end. 

1. There is a Divine providence which 
governs the world. The Epicureans, who 
deny providence, and leave all on chance and 
fortune, may as well deny that there is a God, 
which yet they are ashamed to stand to. Of 
Epicurus himself it was said, Quern nihil 
pudendum pudet, pudct tamen Deum negare. 

It can be no way reconcileable to the in- 



I 



670 



SELECT SERMONS. 



finite wisdom of God, who made this glorious 
fabric, with the various creatures therein, 
either not to determine them to their ends, 
or else to take no care for their accomplish- 
ing those ends they are determined to. The 
whole current of scripture is so plain in these 
matters, that lie that runs may read. Let 
the following scriptures, amongst others, be 
considered : Ps. xcvii. 1, " The Lord reign- 
eth, let the earth rejoice, let the isles be glad." 
Ps. clxv. 15, 16, " The eyes of all wait upon 
thee, and thou givest them their meat in due 
season : thou openest thy hand, and satisfiest 
the desires of every living thing." Ps. xxxvi. 
6, " Thou preservest man and beast." Ps. 
lxxv. 6, 7, " Promotion cometh, neither from 
the east, nor from the west, nor from the 
south ; but God is the judge, he putteth down 
one, and setteth up another." Amos iii. 6, 
" Shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord 
hath not done it!" Ps. xvii. 13, 14, " Deliver 
my soul from the wicked, which is thy sword ; 
from men which are thy hand." The con- 
fessions of those infidels, Nebuchadnezzar 
and Darius speak the same : Dan. iv. 35, 
" All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed 
as nothing, and he doeth according to his 
will, in the army of heaven, and among the 
inhabitants of the earth ; and none can stay 
his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou ]" 
Dan. vi. 26, " I make a decree, that in every 
dominion of my kingdom, men tremble, and 
fear, before the God of Daniel ; for he is the 
living God, and steadfast for ever ; and his 
kingdom that which shall not be destroyed ; 
and his dominion shall be even to the end : 
He delivereth and rescueth, and he worketh 
signs and wonders in heaven and earth ; who 
hath delivered Daniel from the power of the 
lions." 

But more distinctly, the Lord governs all 
inanimate and sensitive creatures in their 
actions ; he orders the stars in their courses. 
The stars in their courses he made to fight 
against Sisera. He governs the winds and 
the floods ; he bringeth forth the winds out of 
his treasures, he rides upon the wings of the 
wind. He maketh the clpuds his chariots, 
he sitteth on the floods ; the thunder, and the 
hail, and the rain, and the frosts, are all at 
his command. He giveth snow like wool, 



and scattereth the hoar-frost like ashes. He I 
casteth forth the ice like morsels : he sets 
bounds to the sea, which it shall not pass ; I 
the birds of the air, the beasts of the field, 
the fishes of the sea, yea, the stones and dust j 
of the earth, are all at his beck. 

More especially, he rules and governs I 
the men of this world. He sits in all the 
councils of men, though they see him not j j 
he orders all their decrees : there is no de- 
cree can pass unless God gives his vote. 
He rules in all the actions of men ; even 
those things that are acted through our j 
improvidence come not to pass without the 
providence of God. He rules in all the j 
changes that are in the world ; he changes 
the times and the seasons ; he changes 
kingdoms and governments ; he removeth 
kings, and setteth up kings : he makes war, 
and creates peace ; he bendeth the bow, i 
and breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear 
in sunder, and burneth the chariots in the 
fire; peace and war, health and sickness, 
plenty and famine, life and death, are all the 
disposures of his hand. He orders all the 
events and causalities a of the world : even 
from the greatest to the smallest. Without 
him not a sparrow shall fall, nor a hair of ' : 
the head shall perish ; though there be to 
men, yet to the Lord there are no causalities 
or contingencies. But all things come to 
pass according as his hand and counsel had 
before determined. 

2. The design of providence — as it re- 
spects the elect — is the accomplishment of 
God's good purpose and promise. Provi- 
dence governs the world, and the purpose 
and promise governs providence. All the 
works of providence have rationem mediorum 
ad finem. God doth nothing in vain ; it is 
not consistent with the wisdom of God to 
do any thing for nothing. God would have 
his people look farther than to the things 
that are before them, because all those 
things have a farther aspect themselves. All 
the works of providence have a double as- 
pect; they look backward to the purpose 
and promise, and they look forward to the 
end for which they are ; as they look back- 
ward, so they have truth in them, exactly 
answering the purpose and promise from ! 



SELECT SERMONS. 



671 



which they have their birth. As they look 
jforward to their end, so they have good in j 
jthem, and that good — their subservience to 
their end, — is the reason of their being. 
Here note two things. 

(1) . That the subserviency of things to 
their end, is the goodness of them ; if the end 
be good, the means must — as such — be good 
also ; if what God hath purposed and pro- 
mised be good, then ail things that fall in 
between, having the respect of means to their 

j accomplishment, must upon that account be 
good. If our crosses and afflictions do sub- 
serve the bringing about of God's good will 
I and good word, we must say concerning 
them, ' good are the works of the Lord.' It 
i is not how any thing looks or feels at pre- 
sent, but what it means, and to what it tends. 
If the potion be bitter, and yet it tends to 
health, — if the messenger be ill-looked and 
ill-favoured, and yet come upon a good 
errand, — you may bid him welcome. And 
thus all the providences of God are good. If 
you should ask of any providence, Wherefore 
art thou come'? comest thou peaceably] 
comest thou for good 1 they must all answer, 
yes, peaceably ; for good, and no hurt. 'Tis 
but to help all that good into thy hand which 
hath been in the heart, and hath proceeded 
out of the mouth of thy God that loves thee. 
There is not a messenger of Satan that comes 
to buffet thee but is also a messenger from 
God that comes to thee for good. The very 
thorns in thy flesh shall serve thee for plas- 
ters, thine eye- sores shall be thine eye-salve, 
and thy very maladies thy medicines. 

(2) . That this relative goodness of all the 
works of providence, is the reason of their 
being. Therefore God doth what he doth, 
that hereby he may do what he hath said and 
intended. I do not say that the reason of 
God's taking this or that means, is always 
from any thing in itself, or for its natural 
tendency to such an end above any thing 
else ; God hath his choice of means, he can 
choose here or there at pleasure, can make 
use of what he will to serve his design ; but 
the reason why things are, is this, God in his 
wisdom, saw their ordinability to this good 
end, and thereupon in his providence, he 
orders and brings them to pass. So that 



now, whatever befalls a Christian, he hath 
this to allay and take off the grievousness 
and sharpness of it ; this had never been, but 
for the good will and good word of the Lord 
to me. The Lord God hath said he will bless 
me, and do me good ; he will heal me, and 
sanctify, and save me, and now he is about it ; 
by this, he is working that salvation for me. 
Christians, you have no reason to say, if the 
Lord be with me, why am I thus ] why so 
poor, why so pained, why so persecuted, so 
scorned and trampled upon 1 sure, if the Lord 
had meant my good, it would have been bet- 
ter than it is with me ; no, no, 'tis because 
the Lord is with thee, and means thee well, 
that he deals in this manner with thee. The 
design of his providence towards thee, is the 
accomplishment of his promise. 

3. The providence of God shall never fail 
of accomplishing its end. There is nothing 
wanting that might give us the fullest as- 
surance hereof. For, 

(1) . The providence of God hath power 
with it. He is the Almighty that hath pro- 
mised ; he that ruleth in the earth dwelleth 
in the heaven, and doth whatsoever he will. 
Our God is in heaven, and doth whatsoever 
he will. " I will work, and who shall let it V 
Isa. xliii. 13. " Who can stay his hand, or 
say to him, what doest thou ?" Were it not 
for our unbelief, our case would be still the 
same, in greatest difficulties, as when the 
coasts are most clear. We might say of dif- 
ficulties, as the Psalmist of darkness ; ' there 
is no darkness with thee, to thee the day and 
night are both alike.' Difficulties are no 
difficulties with thee, nor is there difference- 
betwixt hard and easy. He can save with 
many or with few ; and with none as well as- 
with some. We once read he had too many, 
but never that he had too few, to bring about 
his work. O how do we disparage the power 
of God, when our difficulties make us doubt? 
Is he God, and not man ? Is he spirit and 
not flesh 1 Wherefore then dost thou doubt ] 
Whatever God hath said he can do : believe 
he is a God, and thou wilt never say, how 
can these things be 1 

(2) . The providence of God hath wisdom 
with it. He is the only wise, he is the all- 
wise God. " The Lord knoweth how to de~ 



672 



SELECT SERMONS. 



liver the godly out of temptations," 2 Pet. ii. 
9. He knoweth what is good for his saints, 
and when it will be in season ; he under- 
standeth what is proper and pertinent to 
every case ; what is proper to every purpose, 
to every people, to every person, and for 
every season ; he knows when it is a season 
to abate, and when to exalt, — when to afflict, 
and when to deliver, — when to put on the 
yoke, and when to take off the yoke, — when 
to pull down, and when to build up ; every 
thing is beautiful in its season. If mercies 
come out of season, mercies would be no 
mercies ; and if troubles come in their season, 
troubles should be no troubles ; he knows the 
best method and means to his end ; the fittest 
means ; he sees sometimes, the unfittest to 
be the fittest ; the most unlikely unpromising 
means, do often best serve God's end. Chris- 
tians, if you would receive every dispensa- 
tion, as coming from the hands of the wise 
God ; you would never quarrel with your lot, 
nor say of any thing that befalls, I might be 
happy, but this stands in my way. If you 
would give God leave to be wiser than you, 
you would say wherever you are, it is good 
for me to be here, this is my way to my rest. 

(3). The providence of God hath faithful- 
ness with it, Ps. xxv. 10, "All the paths of 
the Lord are mercy and truth to them that 
keep his covenant and his testimonies," Ps. 
cxi. 8. His works are done in truth. God's 
works may be said to be done in truth in a 
double sense. In reality, in fidelity. 1st, In 
reality, not in species, or in show only, for 
God's comforts are comforts indeed ; God's 
salvation, is salvation indeed. The devil will 
come with his gifts, comforts, and deliver- 
ances, but they are for the most part but 
spectra like himself, — shows and apparitions, 
— quite another thing than that they seem to 
be ; sinners' comforts, deliverances, enjoy- 
ments, wherewith the devil feeds them, do 
leave them in as poor a case, and worse than 
they found them. You will never thank the 
devil for his kindnesses when you have proved 
them what they are. If you do not find 
yourselves as fast bound in the midst of all 
your liberties ; if you be not wrapped up in 
as many sorrows, after all the joys he hath 
procured to you ; if the glittering glories, the 



glorying pleasures he entices you by, and 
entertains you with, prove not trash and 
dirt, and mere lies in the end, then say, the 
devil hath forgotten his trade of lying ; the 
devil's works will be even like himself, false 
and deceitful. But God is true, and all his 
works are done in truth. 2d, In fidelity ; his 
works are according to his word, 1 Kings 
viii. 24, " Thou hast spoken with thy mouth, 
and hast fulfilled with thine hand," " in thy 
faithfulness thou hast afflicted me," Ps. cxix. 
75. Not only in thy faithfulness thou hast 
saved me, in thy faithfulness thou hast com- 
forted me, in thy faithfulness thou hast suc- 
coured me ; but in thy faithfulness thou hast 
afflicted me ; in thy faithfulness thou hast 
humbled, and broken me, and cast me down. 
The promise of God is, that we shall want 
nothing ; we shall neither want his staff nor 
his rod, — neither comforts nor crosses, — nei- 
ther joys nor sorrows ; we cannot well want 
either, and we shall want neither, because 
God is faithful. You may not only write 
down with the apostle, « God is faithful, and 
will not suffer you to be tempted above that 
which ye are able to bear." But you may 
write also, God is faithful, and will not suffer 
you to fall in temptation. When it is sea- 
sonable, your hearts shall be glad; and if 
need be, for a season, you shall be in heavi- 
ness. God is faithful, he will ever be true 
to himself, and therefore to you : 2 Tim. ii. 
13, f "He abideth faithful, he cannot deny 
himself." Should he be false to his people, 
he cannot be true to himself, to his purpose 
and promise ; his word is not yea and nay. 
God is not as a man, that he should lie, or 
the son of man, that he should repent, — that 
he should say, and unsay, — that he should 
say, and not do, — you may write God's name 
upon every word he hath spoken, you may 
write his name, — I AM, — upon all that he 
hath said : it shall be. 

Now Christians, put these three particu- 
lars together, and if you cannot spell out 
the conclusion out of them, the provi- 
dence of God will certainly accomplish his 
good purpose and promise concerning you, 
you are of little understanding as well as 
of little faith. If God governs the world, 
and nothing comes to pass but by his pro- 



SELECT 

vidence ; if providence governs according to 
God's purpose and promise, providence can- 
not fail of accomplishing both. If God be al- 
mighty and can, — if* God be wise and knows 
how,— if God be faithful and true, — let the 
devil if he can with all his sophistry evade the 
conclusion, that he will certainly do all that 
good for you, which he hath purposed and 
promised. If God be not able to perform, he 
is not almighty ; if he mistake his way, if he 
use impertinent, improper means, he is not 
the all-wise God. If he do not actually per- 
form what he is able, and knows how to do, 
when he hath said it, he ceases to be the 
true God : so that the matter is brought 
plainly to this issue ; if God be God, if God 
be the all-wise God, if God be the true and 
faithful God, this word which he hath spoken, 
" All things shall work together for good to 
those that love God," shall not fail of its ac- 
complishment in its season. Having thus 
proved the doctrine, I shall add a few words 
by way of caution. 

Caution 1. Limit not the Lord to your 
time and way. God will make good his word, 
but you must give him leave to take his own 
season. " He that believeth shall not make 
haste." Believe God, but do not prejudge nor 
precipitate, lest you fall into temptation. 
Put no more into the promise, neither for 
matter nor circumstance, than God hath put 
in it ; put not that into the promise, which 
God hath not put in it, lest you miss and come 
short of that which God hath put in it. Let 
other's mistakes and miscarriages be warn- 
ings to you. Till God hath manifestly said, 
do you not say, " This is the time." Build 
not your confidence on conjectures, your faith 
on the strongest presumptions, lest your faith 
prove but a fancy, and your confidence your 
confusion : make not the promise of God of 
none effect, by looking for its effect out of 
season. Believe not yourselves into infidel- 
ity. Consider, Acts i. 7, " It is not for you 
to know the times and the seasons, which 
God hath put in his own power." Study 
the word, and its commentary, the works of 
God ; but be sober in your conclusions. 

This you may safely depend upon, and this 
will be enough, if you have no more. God 
will make good his word to you, sooner or 
4Q 



SERMONS. 673 

later, — in one time or other,— in one way or 
other ; in the best time, in the best way, in 
the appointed time ; the vision shall speak, 
and shall not lie; Hab. ii. 3, "Though it 
tarry, wait for it ; because it will surely come, 
and will not tarry." At least, at the end of 
the days, when you shall stand in your lot, 
when you shall be gotten on the banks of 
Canaan, and shall thence look back on the 
promises and providences of God, you shall 
see and say, God is faithful, there hath not 
failed one word, of all that he hath promised. 
Now I understand, though once I could not, 
how every wheel was turning, every instru- 
ment was moving, every event was working 
towards my good and everlasting welfare. 

2. Let not your expectation cause an abor- 
tion. Let not your looking for mercy hinder 
the working of your affliction. It is not sel- 
dom — and the Lord grant it be not too com- 
mon a case — that our door of hope becomes 
a door of sin. We do not set ourselves with 
that seriousness to humble, to purge our- 
selves from our iniquities, as we would do, 
did we apprehend our case more desperate ; 
our fears and our sorrows have not their 
kindly work upon us, our hope hinders it. 
We might have been more broken-hearted, 
had it not been for our hopes of building up ; 
as it is with a person who conceives himself 
to be dying, he then falls to praying and re- 
penting, and setting his heart in order, be- 
cause he must die ; but upon a little hope of 
recovery, — he lays by his dying thoughts and 
preparations. 

Christians, whenever you are under afflic- 
tions, take heed that your expectation of de- 
liverance to be near put it not so much the 
farther off. Watch narrowly over yourselves, 
and look diligently to it, that your hope of 
redemption do not harden your hearts, nor 
hinder your humiliation and repentance. 
Hope in God, and wait for the promise of 
his coming ; but know, that till the rod hath 
done its work, it is not like in mercy to be 
laid by ; and it is better to be continued in 
the furnace, than to be brought forth with 
your dross unpurged away. 

By the way, learn hence two things. 

1. Rejoice in this promise of God. Hath 
the Lord put in thy name here: let thine 



674 



SELECT SERMONS. 



heart say, it is enough. Be more joyful in 
this, that God hath thus undertaken the care 
of thee, than if God had wholly put thee to 
thine own hand, — giving thee power to help, 
and liberty to choose for thyself. In what 
wilt thou rejoice, if not in this, that the 
whole creation is engaged to do thee a kind- 
ness, to help thee into the possession of thy 
God 1 Thou mayest now not only submit to, 
but thankfully embrace every providence, 
knowing upon what errand it comes to thee ; 
for good, and not for hurt. Thou mayest 
now triumph, not only in the consternations, 
but in the triumphs of thine enemies. Whe- 
ther they ride over thy back, or thou tread 
upon their neck, 'tis all one, the issue will 
be the same. Thy troubles and thy consola- 
tions differ only in their countenance : with 
whatever grim face thy afflictions look, there 
are smiles under : learn to see through them, 
and thou mayest see light on the further side. 
Believe this word, thou mayest read it writ- 
ten upon every thing that befalls thee : there's 
no messenger that comes, but brings this 
promise in his hand, 4 Even this shall work 
for good.' Read it, and rejoice. 

2. Lay thyself down quietly under it. No 
more perplexing or distracting cares, what 
shall become of thee, — no more unwarrant- 
able shifting for thyself, — let God alone. 
Shift not for thyself, lest God leave thee to 
thine own shifts. Let not the violence of 
evil men disturb thy peace, or provoke thee 
to unpeaceableness. Whatever provocations 
thou mayest have, avenge not thyself, neither 
give place unto wrath, murmuring, or fears. 
In thy patience possess thy soul, thy God, and 
his good word: thy strength is to sit still. 
Stand still and see the salvation of God ; 
thou hast nothing to do but to be holy ; Jet 
that be thine only care ; thy God will see to 
it thou shalt be happy ; he is faithful that 
hath promised. Love God, and leave thy- 
self and thy whole interest in this blessed 
word, "All things shall work to thee for 
good." 

By this time you see something of the 
riches of this promise. God is in the pro- 
mise,- — the God of peace, the God of power, 
the God of patience, the God of hope, the 
heart of God, the help of God, the presence 



of God, by virtue whereof, all that ever be- 
falls them shall work for their good. Me- 
thinks the hearing of this promise opened, 
should set your souls, and all that is within 
you a crying out, " O that this were my por- 
tion ! Wherever my lot do fall, as to out- 
ward things, though in a prison, though in a 
desert, though on a dunghill, let the lot of my 
soul lie in this promise, ' The God of peace 
shall be with you.' " Why brethren, will 
you take up with godliness'? You have 
learned, and received, and heard the word of 
the Lord, the word of faith, the word of right- 
eousness and holiness ; will you hearken to, 
will you obey these words ? " These things 
do, and the God of peace shall be with you." 
O what foolish creatures are we, that ever 
we should be afraid of religion, — afraid of ho- 
liness, — afraid to own, obey, and follow God 
and his holy ways ] What unreasonable 
fears are these, to those that believe the 
scriptures ] If the scriptures be true, this is 
the only way, this following God in holiness, 
to put yourselves out of all danger, to put 
yourselves into the heart, arms, presence and 
protection, of the Almighty God of heaven 
and earth. O that I could persuade you in 
thither, and there leave you ! If you are 
once in the Lord's arms, you are safe enough, 
into whatever hands you fall. 

Christians, my business whilst I have 
been with you, hath been to bring you to 
God, to espouse you to Christ ; and you 
that have already, or will yet, at last, be 
persuaded to give your consent, and will 
give me leave to make up the match, I can 
give you assurance that he will shortly come 
and make up the marriage ; and must say 
to you, as Naomi to Ruth, Ruth iii. 12, 
" Sit still, my daughter, till thou see how 
the matter will fall ; for the man will not 
be in rest, till he have finished the thing 
this day." Sit still, Christians, till you see 
how matters will fall; and however they 
fall, know, your Lord will not be in rest, 
till he have finished this thing, and brought 
you home, to be with him where he is. I 
am now parting from you in this confidence, 
that, however, after a few days, I shall see 
your faces no more in this world ; yet I 
shall shortly meet you in the bride-chamber 



SELECT SERMONS. 



675 



of glory, where we shall ever be with the 
Lord. 

Beloved in the Lord, I must now leave you, 
but give me leave, ere I go, to deal freely 
with you, and yet a little further, in the close 
of my day, this once more to open my heart 
to you ; and to tell you, 

I. What my parting fears. 

II. What my parting wishes for you are 
which I carry upon my spirit. 

I. My parting fears, I go off from you with, 
are especially these : 

1. I am afraid, that there are many of you, 
upon whom I have bestowed my labour in 
vain ; I am afraid that I have instructed you 
in vain, exhorted, persuaded, beseeched, and 
reproved you in vain. It was the apostle's 
case, and his fear, concerning the Galatians, 
chap. iv. 11. It is my grief, that when I 
would have no more to speak, but a healing 
word, a comforting word, I must yet drop 
down a bitter word on some of you; that 
when I would speak only from mount Geri- 
zim, I must yet again speak to some from 
mount Ebal; that when J would leave a 
blessing behind me upon you all, I am like 
to leave some bound under a curse. It is 
grievous to me thus to speak, yet for the dis- 
charge of my duty, and for your own necessi- 
ty, bear with me. I am afraid, that whilst I 
have been preaching to you, of an incorrupt- 
ible crown, of an everlasting rest, a kingdom 
of joy and glory, I am afraid there are many 
of you, that have no part nor lot in this matter, 
but are still in the gall of bitterness, and bond 
of iniquity. " If the gospel be hid, it is hid 
to them that are lost." And are there none 
among you, from whom this gospel is hid, — 
hid as to the light of it, — hid as to the saving 
power and efficacy of it 1 I am afraid there 
is many a blind eye, many a hard heart, many 
a spirit still in prison, under the power of 
their lusts and brutish sensuality : I am afraid 
there are many such among you ; and are not 
you afraid so too ? O that you were ! 

2. I have a greater fear than this ; I am 
afraid of some of you, that not only all my 
aast labours, but this last will be lost also. 
Those that stand it out to their last day, do 
usually stand it out in their last day. Blessed 
je God that there are amongst you, those 



| over whom my soul is comforted, to whom I 
can speak in the words of the apostle, Rom. 
vi. 17, " God be thanked, that ye were the 
servants of sin ; but ye have obeyed from the 
heart, that form of doctrine that hath been 
delivered unto you ; and being now made free 
from sin, you are become the servants of 
righteousness." O that I could thus speak ! 

that I could thus rejoice over you all ] But, 
as the apostle said to the Corinthians, 2 Cor. 
xii. 20, " I fear lest when I come, I shall find 
you such as I would not." So must I say, 
with a grieved heart ; I fear, that now I am 
going, I shall leave you such as I would not, 

1 would not leave one blind person, one vain 
person, one loose liver, not one unbeliever, 
or impenitent amongst you all. O what a 
good day would this day of my departure be ! 
What light would there be in this dark even- 
ing, were it thus with you ! If I might see 
you all recovered out of the snares of the de- 
vil, — every man's eyes opened, — every man's 
fetters off, — every man's prison broken, and 
his soul escaped from that deadly bondage, 
— if every poor deadly creature among you, 
who yet lies bound hand and foot in his grave- 
clothes, might now at last stand up from the 
dead, and live the life of God,— this would 
be mine and your great rejoicing ! But O I 
fear with this apostle, 2 Cor. xii. 21, " My 
God will humble me," and grieve me, and 
afflict me, to see in what a woful plight I 
must leave divers of you ! 

O ye sons of the night, — you poor, igno- 
rant, and dark souls, upon whom the light 
hath shined, but your darkness comprehend- 
eth it not, — O you poor obstinate and harden- 
ed souls, upon whom I have been ploughing 
as upon rocks, and hewing as upon adamants, 
— who still remain under as great hardness 
as if no dew nor rain had ever fallen on you, 
— O you poor, half-baked, almost Christians, 
that have taken up your stand in your present 
attainments, — my soul is under great fears, 
and must weep in secret for you, whilst my 
tongue must henceforth be silent ! O every 
soul, that is without fear of himself, my soul 
is afraid for you : the fearless soul is in a fear- 
ful state ! 

Sinners, let my fears be your fears. What, 
is there such astonishing guilt upon you, — 



676 



SELECT SERMONS. 



and yet not afraid 1 Such a dreadful roll writ 
against you, — and yet not afraid 1 So many 
sabbaths, sermons, warnings lost, and never 
to be recalled; nor any assurance left of 
one sermon, or warning more, — and yet not 
afraid 7 Such a subtle devil, such a deceitful 
heart, such a tempting world, that you have 
to deal withal : such a black and bottomless 
pit, into which you are falling, — and yet not 
afraid T O what stocks and stones hath the 
gospel to deal withal ! 

Beloved, I have laboured much with you, 
both publicly, and from house to house, to 
bring you under a due fear and jealousy of 
yourselves ; but hitherto your hearts have been 
too hard for me. O yet for trembling hearts ; 
tremble and sin not ; fear and pray, fear and 
hope, fear and repent ; " Work out your 
salvation with fear and trembling." O if my 
fears were once become your fears ; your fears 
would become my hopes ! O what a day- 
spring of hopes would arise from the shaking 
of secure hearts ! These fears would be as 
the thicker darkness, forerunners of the break 
of day. 

II. My parting wishes, and desires for you 
are, 

1. That the good seed which hath been 
sown amongst you were well-rooted in every 
heart : I wish that my twenty years' minis- 
try among you may not be lost labour to any 
one of your souls. 

2. I wish that your next seedsman may be 
more skilful and successful ; that the good 
Lord will provide you a man, that may teach 
you in wisdom, gain you in love, lead you on 
to life, by a holy example ; and if the Lord 
grant you this mercy, I wish that such a one 
may be dearly prized, and cheerfully accepted 
by you. God keep this flock from a raven- 
ing wolf, and a deceitful shepherd ! 

3. I wish that there may be no root of bit- 
terness springing up amongst you ; that there 
be no divisions or contentions, but that you 
may live in peace and love, that the God of 
peace and love may be with you. 

4. I wish that this place, where so much 
good seed hath been sown, may become a 
fruitful field ; that the fruits of faith and re- 
pentance, the fruits of righteousness and holi- 
ness may be in you and abound ; that you may 
be neither barren nor unfruitful ; that religion, 



in the power and practice of it, may so visibly 1 
flourish, in the several persons, in the several 
families of this congregation, that they that 
go by majr see and say, " This is the field 
which the Lord hath blessed." 

5. I wish, that whatever clouds may at any 
time gather over you, may not fall down in a ! 
withering storm, or a sweeping flood, but 
may pass away in a mist, or dissolve into a 
fruitful dew ; that no persecutions or tempta- 
tions may ever carry you down the stream 
with evil men, nor blight any hopeful begin- 
nings, that are budding forth in any of your j 
souls. If tribulation should be any of your 
lots, I wish it may not be to you as the hail 
of Egypt, but as the dew of Herrnon. I wish 
you a joyful harvest, that you may reap in 
eternity, what hath been sown in time ; may 
you now sow in righteousness, and hereafter 
reap in mercy ; may every one that is now 
sowing in tears, for ever reap in joy; may 
you that go on your way weeping, bearing 
precious seed, return with joy and bring your I 
sheaves with you ; may the showers of this 
day be the watering of your seed, that it may 
spring up to eternal life. 

Brethren, my heart's desire for you all is, j 
that you may be saved ; and if there be any 
persons that bear evil will to me, my par- 
ticular wish for them is, the good-will of 
him that dwelt in the bush, be those men's 
portion for ever. These are some of my 
wishes for you; will you join your wishes 
with mine ; will you turn your wishes into 
prayers, and let this be your prayer, " The 
Lord grant thee thine heart's desire, and ful- 
fil all thy mind !" 

Brethren, do I wish you any harm in all 
this ] If not, — if it be to be wished that the 
word of Christ were rooted in your hearts, 
and your souls thereby rooted in the grace 
of God, — if it be to be wished, that your 
lust were rooted out, your sins dead and 
dried up, your foot gotten out of the snare, 
your souls brought into the fold, your fruits 
of righteousness and holiness abounding 
and growing up to eternal life, — if all this 
be to be wished, then give in your votes 
with mine ; wish and pray, — pray and press 
on, — press on, and wait, — for the accom- 
plishment of this grace in you all. I tell 
you again, I wish you well ; and not only I, 



SELECT SERMONS. 



677 



but the Lord God hath sent me to you. The 
Lord Jesus wishes you well ; he wishes and 
woos, woos and weeps, weeps and dies, that 
your souls might live, and be blessed for ever. 
He hath once more sent me to you, even to 
the worst amongst you, to tell you from him, 
that he is unwilling you should perish ; that 
he hath a kindness for you in his heart, if 
you will accept it ; he hath blood and bowels 
for you, — blood to expiate your guilt, to wash 
away your filth, — and bowels to offer you the 
benefit of his blood ; with this wish, 1 O that 
it were theirs ! O that they would hearken 
and accept !' Only I must add, that the Lord 
hath two sorts of wishes concerning sinners, 
the first is, ' O that they would hearken !' O 
that they would come in, be healed, and be 
saved, Deut. v. 29. This wish is an olive 
branch that brings good tidings, and gives 
great hopes of peace and mercy. 

His last wish is, • O that they had heark- 
ened, that they had accepted !' Ps. Ixxxi. 13, 
" O that my people had hearkened to me !" 
Luke xix. 42, " If thou hadst known, even 
thou, in this thy day, the things that concern 
thy peace." This wish hath nothing but 
dread and death in it ; it is the black flag hung 
out, that proclaims eternal wars. The sense 
is, Israel had once a fair time of it, — a time 
of love, a time of grace, a time of peace, — O 
that they had hearkened then, that they had 
known the things that concern their peace ! 
But wo, wo to them, it is now too late, the 
door is shut, the season is over, the day is past ! 
" But now they are hid from thine eyes." 

There are three deadly darts in this wish, 
— "O that thou hadst!" — It includes in it 
these three cutting words, Thou hast not : 
Thou mightest : Thou shalt not for ever. 

1. There is this in it, Thou hast not. What 
have I not 1 Why, " thou hast not known the 
things that belong to thy peace." Thou hast 
had the door of glory, the gate of heaven 
open to thee, and hast been called for, and 
invited in, but thou hast lost the opportunity. 
Thou knewest not when thou wert well- 
offered, nor wouldesttake notice what a day 
was before thee, what a prize was in thine 
hand. Thy peace, the gospel of peace, the 
Prince of peace, a kingdom of peace was set 
open, offered, and brought home to thy doors. 



but thou hadst so many other matters to look 
after, that thou tookest no notice of it, but 
hast let it slip. There is one dart, * Thou 
hast not known.' There is a gospel gone, — 
there is a Christ gone, — there is a soul, a 
kingdom lost ! 

2. There is this in it, ' Thou mightest.' O 
that thou hadst ] Why, might I ? Yes thou 
mightest, if thou wouldest thou mightest. Thy 
God did not mock thee, when he preached 
peace to thee ; he was willing, and wished it 
thine ; if thou wouldest thou mightest have 
made it thine own ; but whilst he would thou 
wouldest not. There is another dart, ' I 
might have known.' I have none to thank 
but myself for the loss ; mine undoing was 
mine own doing. There are no such tor- 
ments as when the soul flies upon itself and 
takes revenge on itself. O the gashes that 
such self-reflections make ! Soul, how earnest 
thou in hither into all this misery 1 O it is of 
myself, myself, that my destruction is. The 
door was open, and I was told of it, and was 
bid come in, but I would not. That I am 
lost and undone, was not my fate, which I 
could not avoid, J>ut my fault and my folly. 
It seems to give some ease of our torment 
when we can shift off the fault. It was not 
I, but the woman, said Adam ; it was not I, 
but the serpent, said the woman. If that had 
been true, it would have given ease, as well 
as serve for an excuse. This thought (it was 
mine own doing) tears the very caul of the 
heart. O I have none to blame but myself; 
mine own foolish and froward heart. This 
is my ignorance, this is my unbelief, this is 
my wilfulness, my lust, and my pleasures, 
and my idols, that I was running after, that 
have brought me under this dreadful loss. It 
was my own doing. 

3. There is this in it, ' Thou shalt not for 
ever.' O that thou hadst ! Why, may I not 
yet ? Is there no hope of recovering the op- 
portunity ? not one word more, not one hour 
more, may not the sun go one degree back- 
ward 1 No, no, it is too late, — too late, — 
thou hast had thy day ; from henceforth no 
more for ever. There is the last dart, time 
is past ; there is the death, the hell, the an- 
guish, the worm that shall gnaw to eternity ! 
This one word, ' time is past,' sets all hell a 



678 



SELECT SERMONS. 



roaring ; and when it is once spoken to a 
sinner on earth, there is hell begun. Go thy 
way, wretch, fill up thy measure, and fall into 
thy place ! The gospel hath no more to say 
to thee, but this one word : " Because I have 
called, and thou refusedst ; I have stretched 
out my hand, and thou regardedst not ; but 
hast set at nought all my counsels, and 
wouldest none of my reproofs : I also will 
laugh at thy calamities, and mock when thy 
fear cometh ; when thy fear cometh as deso- 
lation, and thy destruction cometh as a whirl- 
wind ; when distress and anguish cometh 
upon thee. Then shalt thou call, but I will 
not answer ; thou shalt seek me early, but 
shalt not find me." 

Beloved, my hopes are — and I am not able 
to say, but that you are yet under the first 
wish — ' O that they would !' Christ is yet 
preaching you to faith, and sends his wish 
along with his word, " O that they would be- 
lieve !" Christ is yet preaching repentance 
and conversion to you, and wishes, " O that 
they would repent !" that they would be con- 
verted ; and to this wish of my Lord, my 
soul, and all that is within me, says Amen. 
Brethren, will you yet again say your Lord 
nay? Shall Christ have his wish'? shall your 
servant for Jesus's sake, shall / have my 
wish? will you now at last consent to be 
sanctified, and to be saved ? Let me have this 
wish, and I dare promise you from the Lord, 
you shall have yours, even whatever your 
soul can desire. Brethren, this once hear, 
this once be prevailed upon ; be content that 
your lusts be rooted out, and your Lord 
planted into your souls. Be content to be 
pardoned, content to be converted, content to 
be saved. This once hear, lest if you now 
refuse, ye no more be persuaded with, * O 
that they would !' but be for ever confounded 
with, 1 O that they had !' Lest all our wishes, 
and wooings of you be turned into weepings 
and mournings over you ; this once hear ; O 
that you would ! 

I heartily thank you, for your good wishes, 
and good-will towards me ; for your willing 
and cheerful entertainment of my person, and 
attendance on my ministry ; and particularly 
for your passionate desire of my longer stay 
among you. Which desire, if God had not, 



my soul could not have denied you. Though 
the Almighty — to whose pleasure it is meet 
that we all submit — hath said nay to that wish 
of yours, yet let your souls say Amen, to this 
last of mine, that the Lord God would dwell 
among you, and in you, both now and for ever. 

And having thus finished my labours among 
you, I shall now close up with this double 
account. 

1. Of my discharge of my ministry in this 
place. 

2. Of my deprival. And shall so commit 
you to God, and to the word of his grace, 
which is able to build you up, and to give 
you an inheritance amongst all them that are 
sanctified. 

1. Of my discharge of my ministry. What 
my doctrine and manner of life hath been, is 
known to you ; and what my aim and intent 
hath been, is known to God. The searcher 
of hearts, knows that it is the salvation of 
souls that hath been the mark at which I have 
levelled. My way hath been to use all plain- 
ness, that I might be made manifest in your 
consciences. Weaknesses, and infirmities, 
both natural and sinful — the Lord pardon it — 
I have had many. I am sensible that much 
more might have been done, both in public 
and in private, had it not been for a weakly 
body, and a slothful heart. I repent that I 
have had no more zeal for God, no more 
compassion to souls ; I repent that I have 
been no more constant and importunate with 
you, about the matters of eternity. O eter- 
nity, eternity ! that thou wert no more in the 
heart and lips of the preacher, in the hearts 
and ears of the hearers ! 

But while I thus judge myself for my 
failings, blessed be God, I have a witness in 
my conscience, and I hope in yours also, 
that I have not shunned to declare to you 
the whole counsel of God. Brethren, I call 
heaven and earth to witness this day, that 
I have set before you life and death, good 
and evil, and have not ceased from day to 
day, to warn you to choose life, and that 
good way that leads to it; and to escape 
for your lives from the way of sin and 
death ! O remember the many instructions 
I have given you, — the many arguments 
whereby I have striven with you, — the 



SELECT SERMONS. 



679 



many prayers that have been offered up for 
the guiding and gaining your souls into the 
path of life, and the turning your feet out of 
the way of destruction. O might I be able 
to give this testimony concerning you all at 
my departure ; " they have trodden in the 
right path ; they have chosen the good part 
that shall not be taken from them !" 

Brethren, beloved, with whom I have tra- 
vailed in birth, that Christ might be formed 
in you, I must shortly give up my account in 
a more solemn assembly, will you help me 
^to give it up with joy, by showing your souls 
before the Lord, as the seals of my ministry ) 
Every sincere convert among you will be a 
crown of rejoicing to me in that day. So 
let me rejoice, and let my joy be the joy of 
you all. 

What shall I say more ? If there be any 
consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, 
any bowels and mercy, — if the glory of 
the Eternal God, the honour of the ever- 
lasting gospel, the safety of your immortal 
souls, the incorruptible crown, the exceed- 
ing eternal weight of glory weigh any thing 
with you, — then, once more, let me beseech 
you by all this, to hearken to that word of 
the gospel, which God hath spoken to you 
by me. 

2. Of my deprival. The most glorious 
morning hath its evening ; the hour is come 
wherein the sun is setting upon not a few of 
the prophets ; the shadows of the evening 
are stretched forth upon us ; our day draws, 
our work seems to be at an end. Our pulpits 
and places must know us no more. This is 
the Lord's doing, let all the earth keep silence 
before him. 

It is not a light thing for me, brethren, to 
be laid aside from the work, and cast out of 
the vineyard of the Lord ; and it must be 
something of weight that must support under 
j so severe a doom. I know there are not a 
few that will add to the affliction of the af- 
flicted, by telling the world it is their own 
fault, they might prevent it if they would. 
Whether this be so or no, God knoweth, and 
let the Lord be judge. Blessed be God, 
whatever be, this is not laid to our charge as 
the reason of our seclusion, either insuffi- 
ciency or scandal ! 



You are not ignorant what things there 
are imposed on us, as the condition of our 
continuing our ministration ; which how law- 
ful and expedient soever they seem in the 
judgment of many, yet have the most specious 
arguments that plead for them, left me utter- 
ly dissatisfied in my conscience about them. 
I must profess before God, angels, and men, 
that my non-submission is not from any dis- 
loyalty to authority, nor from pride, humour, 
or any factious disposition, or design ; but 
because I dare not contradict my light, nor 
do any thing concerning which my heart 
tells me, the Lord says, do it not. 

After all my most impartial inquiries,—- 
after all my seeking counsel from the Lord, 
— after all my considering, and consulting 
with men of all persuasions about these mat- 
ters, — I find myself so far short of satisfac- 
tion, that I am plainly put to this choice, to 
part with my ministry or my conscience. I 
dare not lie before God and the world ; nor 
come and tell you, I approve, I allow, I hear- 
tily consent, to what I neither do nor can ; 
but must choose rather, that my ministry be 
sealed up by my sufferings, than lengthened 
out by a lie, through the grace of God, though 
men do, yet my heart shall not reproach me 
while I live. " If our heart condemn us, 
God is greater than our hearts and knoweth 
all things." But, however, though I must 
now no longer act as a minister, I shall, 
through the grace of God, endeavour peace- 
ably, and patiently, to suffer as a Christian. 
I should, to testify my obedience to authority, 
have become all things to all men, to the ut- 
termost that I could, with any clearness of 
heart : but since matters stand so, I must lose 
my place, or my peace, I cheerfully suffer 
myself to be thrust off the stage. 

And now welcome the cross of Christ, — 
welcome reproach, — welcome poverty, scorn 
and contempt, or whatever else may befall 
me on this account ! This morning I had a 
flock, and you had a pastor ; but now, behold 
a pastor without a flock, — a flock without a 
shepherd ! This morning I had a house, but 
now I have none ! This morning I had a 
living, but now I have none ! " The Lord 
hath given, and the Lord hath taken away, 
blessed be the name of the Lord." 



680 



SELECT SERMONS. 



Beloved, I am sensible of many weaknesses 
and disadvantages I am under, which may 
render a suffering state the harder to be 
borne ; help me by your prayers, and not me 
only, but all all by brethren also, with whom 
my lot must fall ; " Pray for us : for we trust 
that we have a good conscience, in all things 
willing to live honestly." Pray, 

1. That God would make our silence 
speak, and preach the same holy doctrine 
that we have preached with our lips. 

2. That he would give supports answera- 
ble to our sufferings ; that he who comforteth 
those that are cast down, will also comfort 
his servants that are cast out. 

3. That, according to our earnest expect- 



ation, and our hope, as always, so now also, 
Christ may be magnified in us, whether it be 
by life or by death. 

And thus, brethren, I bid you all farewell, 
in the words of the apostle, 2 Cor. xiii. 11, 
" Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be 
of good comfort, be of one mind, live in 
peace ; and the God of love and peace shall 
be with you." " And the God of peace, that 
brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, 
that great shepherd of the sheep, through the 
blood of the everlasting covenant, make you 
perfect in every good work to do his will, 
working in you that which is well-pleasing in 
his sight, through Jesus Christ ; to whom be 
glory, for ever and ever. Amen." 



THE ART OF DIVINE CONTENTMENT. 
Phil. iv. 11. " I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content" 



Chap. I. The introduction to the text. 

These words are brought in by way of pro- 
lepsis, to anticipate and prevent an objection. 
The apostle had, in the former verses, laid 
down many grave and heavenly exhortations ; 
among the rest, " to be careful for nothing." 
ver. 6. Not to exclude, 1. A prudential care ; 
for, he that provideth not for his own house, 
" hath denied the faith, and is worse than an 
infidel," 1 Tim. v. 8. Nor, 2. A religious 
care ; for, we must give all " diligence to 
make our calling and election sure," 2 Pet. i. 
10. But, 3. To exclude all anxious care 
about the issues and events of things ; " take 
no thought for your life, what you shall eat," 
Matt. vi. 25. And in this sense it should be 
a Christian's care not to be careful. The 
word careful in the Greek comes from a prim- 
itive, that signifies 'to cut the heart in pieces,' 
a soul-dividing care ; take heed of this. We 
are bid to " commit our way unto the Lord," 
Ps. xxxvii. 5. The Hebrew word is, ' roll 
thy way upon the Lord.' It is our work to 
cast away care, 1 Pet. v. 7. And it is God's 
work to take care. By our immoderacy we 
take his work out of his hand. Care, when 



it is eccentric, either distrustful or distract- 
ing, is very dishonourable to God ; it takes 
away his providence, as if he sat in heaven 
and minded not what became of things here 
below ; like a man that makes a clock, and 
then leaves it to go of itself. Immoderate 
care takes the heart off from better things ; 
and usually while we are thinking how we 
shall do to live, we forget how to die. Care 
is a spiritual canker that doth waste and dis- 
pirit ; we may sooner by our care add a fur- 
long to our grief than a cubit to our comfort. 
God doth threaten it as a curse, " They shall 
eat their bread with carefulness," Ezek. xii. 
19. Better fast than eat of that bread. " Be 
careful for nothing." 

Now, lest any one should say, yea Paul, thou 
preachest that to us which thou hast scarce 
learned thyself, — hast thou learned not to be 
careful ? the apostle seems tacitly to answer 
that, in the words of the text ; " I have learn- 
ed, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be 
content:" a speech worthy to be engraven 
upon our hearts, and to be written in letters of 
gold upon the crowns and diadems of princes. 

The text doth branch itself into these two 
general parts. 



SELECT SERMONS. 



681 



I. The scholar, Paul ; " I have learned." 

II. The lesson; "in every state to be 
content." 

Chap. II. The first branch of the 

TEXT, THE SCHOLAR, WITH THE FIRST 
PROPOSITION. 

I begin with the first: The scholar, and 
his proficiency, — " I have learned." Out of 
.which I shall by the by, observe two things 
by way of paraphrase. 1. The apostle doth 
i not say, I have heard, that in every estate 
I should be content: but, I have learned. 
Whence our first doctrine, that it is not 
enough for Christians to hear their duty, but 
they must learn their duty. It is one thing to 
hear, and another thing to learn ; as it is one 
thing to eat, and another thing to concoct. 
St Paul was a practitioner. Christians hear 
much, but it is to be feared, learn little. 
There were four sorts of ground in the para- 
ble, Luke viii. 5 ; and but one good ground : 
I an emblem of this truth, many hearers, but 
\ few learners. There are two things which 
! keep us from learning. 

1. Slighting what we hear. Christ is the 
\ pearl of price ; when we disesteem this pearl, 
1 we shall never learn either its value, or its 
I virtue. The gospel is a rare mystery ; in one 
I place, Acts xx. 24, it is called ' the gospel of 

grace ;' in another, 1 Cor. iv. 4, ' the gospel 
of glory ;' because in it, as in a transparent 
glass, the glory of God is resplendent. But 
i he that hath learned to contemn this mystery, 
will hardly ever learn to obey it ; he that looks 
j upon the things of heaven as things by the 
' by, and perhaps the driving of a trade, or 
carrying on some politic design to be of 
greater importance, this man is in the high 
road to damnation, and will hardly ever learn 
the things of his peace. Who will learn that 
which he thinks is scarce worth learning ] 

2. Forgetting what we hear. If a scholar 
have his rules laid before him, and he forgets 
them as fast as he reads them, he will never 
learn, James i. 25. Aristotle calls the me- 
mory the scribe of the soul ; and Bernard calls 
it the stomach of the soul, because it hath a 
retentive faculty, and turns heavenly food 
into blood and spirits ; we have great memo- 
ries in other things, we remember that which 

4R 



is vain. Cyrus could remember the name of 
every soldier in his huge army. We remem- 
ber injuries : this is to fill a precious cabinet 
with dung ; but, quam facilis ohlivio boni ? 
as Hierom saith, how soon do we forget the 
sacred truths of God ? We are apt to forget 
three things : our faults, — our friends, — our 
instructions. Many Christians are like sieves; 
put a sieve into the water, and it is full ; but 
take it forth of the water, and all runs out : 
so, while they are hearing of a sermon, they 
remember something ; but like the sieve out 
of the water, as soon as they are gone out of 
the church, all is forgotten. " Let these 
sayings, (saith Christ) sink down into your 
ears," Luke ix. 44. In the original it is, 
' put these sayings into your ears,' as a man 
that would hide a jewel from being stolen, 
locks it up safe in his chest. Let them sink : 
the word must not fall only as dew that wets 
the leaf, but as rain which soaks to the root 
of the tree, and makes it fructify. O how 
often doth Satan, that fowl of the air, pick 
up the good seed that is sown ! 

Use. Let me put you upon a serious trial. 
Some of you have heard much, — you have 
lived forty, fifty, sixty years under the blessed 
trumpet of the gospel, — what have you learn- 
ed] You may have heard a thousand ser- 
mons, and yet not learned one. Search your 
consciences. 

1. You have heard much against sin : are 
you hearers ; or are you scholars 1 How many 
sermons have you heard against covetous- 
ness, that it is the root, on which pride, 
idolatry, treason do grow ? 2 Tim. iv. 2, and 
4. One calls it a metropolitan sin ; it is a 
complex evil, it doth twist a great many sins 
in with it. There is hardly any sin, but 
covetousness is a main ingredient into it ; and 
yet are you like the two daughters of the 
horse-leech, that cry, " Give ! give !" How 
much have you heard against rash anger, that 
it is a short frenzy, — a dry drunkenness, — 
that it rests in the bosom of fools, — and upon 
the least occasion do your spirits begin to 
take fire 1 How much have you heard against 
swearing] It is Christ's express mandate, 
" swear not at all," Matt. v. 34. This sin of 
all others may be termed the unfruitful work 
of darkness, Eph. v. 11. It is neither sweet- 



682 



SELECT SERMONS. 



ened with pleasure, nor enriched with profit, 
the usual vermilion wherewith Satan doth 
paint sin. Swearing is forbidden with a sub- 
pcena. While the swearer shoots his oaths, 
like flying arrows at God to pierce his glory, 
God shoots " a flying roll" of curses against 
him, Zech. v. 2. And do you make your 
tongue a racket by which you toss oaths as 
tennis-balls 1 Do you sport yourselves with 
oaths, as the Philistines did with Samson, 
which will at last pull the house about your 
ears % Alas ! How have they learned what sin 
is, that have not learned to leave sin ! Doth 
he know what a viper is, that will play with it. 

2. You have heard much of Christ : have 
you learned Christ] The Jews, as Jerom 
saith, carried Christ in their Bibles, but not 
in their heart ; their sound " went into all the 
earth," Rom. x. 18. The prophets and apos- 
tles were as trumpets, whose sound went 
abroad into the world ; yet many thousands 
who heard the noise of these trumpets, had 
not learned Christ, " they have not all obey- 
ed," ver. 16. 

(1) . A man may know much of Christ, 
and yet not learn Christ : the devils knew 
Christ, Matt. i. 24. 

(2) . A man may preach Christ, and yet 
not learn Christ, as Judas and the pseudo- 
apostles, Phil. v. 15. 

(3) . A man may profess Christ, and yet 
not learn Christ : there are many professors 
in the world that Christ will profess against, 
Matt. vii. 22, 23. 

Quest. What is it then to learn Christ ? 

Ans. 1. To learn Christ is to be made like 
Christ, to have the divine characters of his 
holiness engraven upon our hearts. " We 
all with open face, beholding as in a glass the 
glory of the Lord, are changed into the same 
image," 2 Cor. iii. 18. There is a metamor- 
phosis made ; a sinner, viewing Christ's 
image in the glass of the gospel, is trans- 
formed into that image. Never did any man 
look upon Christ with a spiritual eye, but he 
went away quite changed. A true saint is a 
divine landscape or picture, where all the 
rare beauties of Christ are lively pour tray ed 
and drawn forth ; he hath the same spirit, the 
same judgment, the same will, with Jesus 
Christ. 



A. 2. To learn Christ, is to believe in him ; 
" My Lord, and my God," John xx. 28 : when 
we do not only credere Deum, but in Deum; 
which is the actual application of Christ to 
ourselves, and as it were the spreading of the 
sacred medicine of his blood upon our souls. 
You have heard much of Christ, and yet can- 
not with an humble adherence say, "My 
Jesus ;" be not offended if I tell you, the 
devil can say his creed as well as you. 

A. 3. To learn Christ, is to love Christ. 
When we have Bible-conversations, our life 
like rich diamonds cast a sparkling lustre in 
the church of God, Phil. i. 17, and are, in 
some sense, parallel with the life of Christ, 
as the transcript with the original. So much 
for the first notion of the word. 

Chap. III. Concerning the second pro- 
position. 

II. This word, " I have learned," is a word 
imports difficulty, — it shows how hardly the 
apostle came by contentment of mind, — it 
was not bred in nature. St Paul did not 
come naturally by it, but he had learned it. 
It cost him many a prayer and tear, it was 
taught him by the Spirit. Whence our se- 
cond, doctrine : Good things are hard to come 
by. The business of religion is not so facile 
as most do imagine. " I have learned," saith 
St Paul. Indeed you need not learn a man 
to sin, this is natural, Ps. lviii. 3, and there- 
fore facile, it comes as water out of a spring. 
It is an easy thing to be wicked ; hell will be 
taken without storm ; but matters of religion 
must be learned. To cut the flesh is easy, 
but to prick a vein, and not cut an artery is 
hard. The trade of sin needs not to be 
learned, but the art of* divine contentment 
is not achieved without holy industry: "I 
have learned." There are two pregnant 
reasons, why there must be so much study 
and exercitation : 

1. Because spiritual things are against 
nature. Every thing in religion is antipodes 
to nature. There are in religion two things, 
credenda et facienda, and both are against 
nature. — 1. Credenda, matters of faith : as, 
i for men to be justified by the righteousness 
: of another, — to become a fool that he may 
be wise, — to save all by losing all, — this is 



SELECT SERMONS. 



683 



against nature. — 2. Facienda, matters of 
practice : as, (1). Self-denial, — for a man to 
deny his own wisdom, and see himself blind, 
— his own will, and have it melted into the 
will of God, — plucking out the right eye, be- 
heading and crucifying that sin which is the 
favourite, and lies nearest to the heart, — for 
a man to be dead to the world, and in the 
midst of want to abound, — for him to take up 
the cross, and follow Christ, not only in 
golden, but in bloody paths, — to embrace re- 
ligion, when it is dressed in night-clothes, all 
the jewels of honour and preferment being 
pulled off, — this is against nature, and there- 
fore must be learned. (2). Self-examination; 
for a man to take his heart — as a watch — all 
in pieces, — to set up a spiritual inquisition, 
or court of conscience, and traverse things 
in his own soul, — to take David's candle and 
lantern, Ps. cxix. 105, and search for sin, — 
nay, as judge, to pass the sentence upon him- 
self, 2 Sam. xxxiv. 17, this is against nature, 
and will not easily be attained to without 
learning. (3). Self-reformation. To see a 
man, as Caleb, of another spirit, walking 
antipodes to himself, the current of his life 
altered, and running into the channel of re- 
ligion, — this is wholly against nature. When 
a stone ascends, it is not a natural motion, 
but a violent ; the motion of the soul heaven- 
ward is a violent motion, it must be learned; 
flesh and blood is not skilled in these things ; 
nature can no more cast out nature, than Sa- 
tan can cast out Satan. 

2. Because spiritual things are above na- 
ture. There are some things in nature that 
are .hard to find out, as the cause of things, 
which are not learned without study. Aris- 
totle, a great philosopher — whom some have 
called an eag]e fallen from the clouds — yet 
could not find out the motion of the river 
Euripus, and therefore threw himself into it ; 
what then are divine things, which are in 
sphere above nature, and beyond all human 
disquisition, — as the Trinity, — the hyposta- 
tical union, — the mystery of faith to believe 
against hope 7 Only God's Spirit can light 
our candle here. The apostle calls these 
" the deep things of God," 1 Cor. ii. 10. The 
gospel is full of jewels, but they are locked 
up from sense and reason. The angels in 



heaven are searching into these sacred 
depths, 1 Pet. i. 22. 

Use. Let us beg the Spirit of God to teach 
us ; we must be divinities edocti ; the eunuch 
could read, but he could not understand, till 
Philip joined himself to his chariot, Acts viii. 
29. God's Spirit must join himself to our 
chariot ; he must teach, or we cannot learn. 
"All thy children shall be taught of the 
Lord," Isa. liv. 13. A man may read the 
figure on the dial, but he cannot tell how the 
day goes, unless the sun shines upon the dial : 
we may read the Bible over, but we cannot 
learn to purpose, till the Spirit of God shine 
into our hearts, 2 Cor. iv. 6. O implore this 
blessed Spirit ! It is God's prerogative-royal 
to teach. " I am the Lord thy God, which 
teacheth thee to profit," Isa. xlviii. 17. Min- 
isters, may tell us our lesson, God only can 
teach us ; we have lost both our hearing and 
eye-sight, therefore are very unfit to learn. 
Ever since Eve listened to the serpent, we 
have been deaf ; and since she looked on the 
tree of knowledge we have been blind ; but 
when God comes to teach, he removes these 
impediments, Isa. xxxv. 5. We are naturally 
dead, Eph. ii. 1, who will go about to teach a 
dead man 1 Yet, behold, God undertakes to 
make dead men to understand mysteries ! 
God is the grand teacher. This is the reason 
the word preached works so differently upon 
men ; two in a pew, — the one is wrought up- 
on effectually, — the other lies at the ordinan- 
ces as a dead child at the breast, and gets 
no nourishment. What is the reason ) Be- 
cause the heavenly gale of the Spirit blows 
upon one, and not upon the other ; one hath 
the anointing of God, which teacheth him all 
things, 1 John ii. 27, the other hath it not. 
God's Spirit speaks sweetly, but irresistibly. 
In that heavenly doxology, none could sing 
the new song, but those who were sealed in 
their foreheads, Rev. xiv. 2, reprobates could 
not sing it. Those that are skilful in the 
mysteries of salvation, must have the seal of 
the Spirit upon them. Let us make this our 
prayer : Lord, breathe thy Spirit into thy 
word ; and we have a promise, which may 
add wings to prayer, Luke xi. 13, " If ye then 
being evil know how to give good gifts unto 
your children ; how much more shall your 



684 SELECT 

heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them 
that ask him ! 

And thus much of the first part of the text, 
the scholar, which I intended only as a short 
gloss or paraphrase. 

Chap. IV. The second branch of the 

TEXT, THE LESSON ITSELF, WITH THE 
PROPOSITION. 

II. I come to the second, which is the main 
thing, the lesson itself ; " in whatsoever state 
I am, therewith to be content." Here was a 
rare piece of learning indeed, and is certain- 
ly more to be wondered at in St Paul, that 
he knew how to turn himself to every condi- 
tion, than all the learning in the world be- 
sides, which hath been so applauded in former 
ages, by Julius Caesar, Ptolemy, Xenophon, 
the great admirers of learning. The text 
hath but few words in it, " in every state 
content ;" but if that be true, which once 
Fulgentius said, that the most golden sen- 
tence is ever measured by brevity and suavi- 
ty, then, this is a most accomplished speech, 
— here is magnum in parvo. The text is 
like a precious jewel, little in quantity, but 
great in worth and value. 

The main proposition I shall insist upon, 
is this, that a gracious spirit is a contented 
spirit. The doctrine of contentment is very 
superlative, and till we have learned this, we 
have not learned to be Christians. 

1. It is a hard lesson. The angels in hea- 
ven had not learned it ; they were not content- 
ed. Though their estates were very glorious, 
yet they were still soaring aloft, and aimed at 
something higher, Jude ver. 6. " The angels 
which kept not their first estate." They kept 
not their estate, because they were not con- 
tented with their estate. Our first parents, 
clothed with the white robe of innocency in 
paradise, had not learned to be content ; they 
had aspiring hearts, and thinking their human 
nature too low and home-spun, would be 
crowned with the Deity, and " be as gods," 
Gen. iii. 5. Though they had the choice of all 
the trees of the garden, yet none would con- 
tent them but the tree of knowledge, which 
they supposed would have been as eye-salve 
to have made them omniscient. O then, if 
this lesson was so hard to learn in innocency, 



SERMONS. 

how hard shall we find it, who are clogged 
with corruption ! 

2. It is of universal extent, it concerns all. 
1st, It concerns rich men. One would think 
it needless to press those to contentment 
whom God hath blessed with great estates, 
but rather persuade them to be humble and 
thankful ; nay, but I say, be content. Rich 
men have their discontents as well as others ; 
as appears, (1). When they have a great 
estate, yet they are discontented that they 
have no more ; they would make the hundred 
talents a thousand. A man in wine, the more 
he drinks, the more he thirsts : covetousness 
is a dry dropsy ; an earthly heart is like the 
grave, that is, "never satisfied," Prov. xxx. 
16. Therefore I say to you, rich men, be con- 
tent. (2). Rich men, if we may suppose them 
to be content with their estates — which is sel- 
dom — yet, though they have estate enough, 
they have not honour enough ; if their barns 
are full enough, yet their turrets are not high 
enough. They would be somebody in the 
world, as Theudas, "who boasted himself to 
be somebody," Acts v. 36. They never go so 
cheerfully as when the wind of honour and 
applause fills their sails ; if this wind be down, 
they are discontented. One would think Ha- 
inan had as much as his proud heart could 
desire ; he was set above all the princes, — 
advanced upon the pinnacle of honour, to be 
the second man in the kingdom, Esth. iii. 1, 
— yet in the midst of all his pomp, because 
Mordecai would not uncover and kneel, he is 
discontented, ver. 2, and full of wrath, ver. 5, 
and there was no way to assuage this pleuri- 
sy of revenge, but by letting all the Jews' 
blood, and offering them up in sacrifice. The 
itch of honour is seldom allayed without 
blood ; therefore I say to you rich men, be 
content. (3). Rich men, if we may suppose 
them to be content with their honour and 
magnificent titles, yet they have not always 
contentment in their relations. She that 
lies in the bosom, may sometimes blow the 
coals ; as Job's wife, who in a pet would 
have him fall out with God himself, " Curse 
God, and die." Sometimes children cause 
discontent. How often is it seen that the 
mother's milk doth nourish a viper? and 
that he that once sucked her breast, goes 



SELECT SERMONS. 



i about to suck her blood 1 Parents do often 
of grapes gather thorns, and of figs thistles. 
[ Children are sweet-briar; like the rose, which 
is a fragrant flower, but, as Basil saith, it 
hath its prickles. Our relative comforts are 
! not all pure wine, but mixed : they have in 
them more dregs than spirits, and are like 
that river Plutarch speaks of. where the wa- 
ters in the morning run sweet, but in the 
evening run bitter. We have no charter of 
exemption granted us in this life ; therefore 
rich men had need be called upon to be con- 
tent. 

2dly, The doctrine of contentment con- 
cerns poor men. You that do suck so liber- 
ally from the breasts of providence, be con- 
tent ; it is a hard lesson, therefore it had 
need be set upon the sooner. How hard is it 
when the livelihood is even gone, — a great 
estate boiled away almost to nothing, then to 
be contented. The means of subsistence is 
in scripture called our life, because it is the 
very sinews of life. The woman in the gos- 
pel spent "all her living upon the physicians," 
Luke viii. 43, — in the Greek it is, she spent 
her whole life upon the physicians, because 
she spent her means by which she should live. 
It is much when poverty hath clipped our 
wings then to be content; but, though hard, it 
is excellent; and the apostle here had " learn- 
ed in every state to be content." God had 
brought St Paul into as great variety of con- 
ditions as ever we read of any man, and yet he 
was content ; else sure he could never have 
gone through it with so much cheerfulness. 
See into what vicissitudes this blessed apostle 
was cast : " we are troubled on every side," 
2 Cor. iv. 8, there was the sadness of his 
condition ; " but not distressed," there was 
his content in that condition : " we are per- 
plexed," there is his affliction ; " but not in 
despair," there is his contentation. And, if 
we read a little further, 2 Cor. vi. 4, 5, " In 
afflictions, in necessities, in distresses, in 
stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults," &c. 
There is his trouble : and behold his content, 
ver. 10, " As having nothing, yet possessing 
all things." When the apostle was driven 
out of all, yet in regard of that sweet content- 
ment of mind — which was like music in his 
soul — he possessed all. We read a short 



685 

map or history of his sufferings, 2 Cor. xi. 23, 
24, 35, " In prisons more frequent, in deaths 
oft," &c. Yet behold the blessed frame and 
temper of his spirit, " I have learned in what- 
soever state I am, therewith to be content." 
Which way soever providence did blow, he 
had such heavenly skill and dexterity, that he 
knew how to steer his course. For his out- 
ward estate he was indifferent ; he could be 
either on the top of Jacob's ladder or the 
bottom ; he could sing either placentia or la- 
crymcB — the dirge or the anthem, — he could 
be any thing that God would have him : " I 
know how to want, and how to abound." 
Here is a rare pattern for us to imitate. Paul, 
in regard of his faith and courage, was like a 
cedar, he could not be stirred ; but for his 
outward condition, he was like a reed bend- 
ing every way with the wind of providence. 
When a prosperous gale did blow upon him, 
he could bend with that, " I know how to be 
full ;" and when a boisterous gust of affliction 
did blow, he could bend in humility with that, 
" I know how to be hungry." St Paul was — 
as Aristotle speaks, like a die that hath four 
squares, throw it which w T ay you will, it falls 
upon a bottom ; let God throw the apostle 
which way he would, he fell upon this bottom 
of contentment. A contented spirit is like a 
watch : though you carry it up and down with 
you, yet the spring of it is not shaken, nor the 
wheels out of order, but the watch keeps its 
perfect motion, so it was with St Paul, though 
God carried him into various conditions, yet 
he was not lift up with the one, nor cast down 
with the other ; the spring of his heart was 
not broken, the wheels of his affections were 
not disordered, but kept their constant mo- 
tion towards heaven still content. The ship 
that lies at anchor may sometimes be a little 
shaken, but never sinks ; flesh and blood may 
have its fears and disquiets, but grace doth 
check them ; a christian, having cast anchor 
in heaven, his heart never sinks ; a gracious 
spirit is a contented spirit. This is a rare 
art. Paul did not learn it at the feet of Ga- 
maliel. " I am instructed," ver. 11. I am 
initiated into this holy mystery ; as if he had 
said, I have gotten the divine art, — I have 
the knack of it ; God must make us right ar- 
tists. If we should put some men to an art 



686 



SELECT SERMONS. 



that they are not skilled in, how unfit would 
they be for it 1 Put an husbandman to limn- 
ing or drawing pictures, what strange work 
would he make ] This is out of his sphere. 
Take a limner that is exact in laying of co- 
lours, and put him to plough, or set him to 
planting or grafting of trees, this is not his 
art, he is not skilled in it ; bid a natural man 
live by faith, and when all things go cross, be 
contented, you bid him do what he hath no 
skill in, you may as well bid a child guide the 
stern of a ship ; to live contented upon God 
in the deficiency of outward comforts, is an 
art which " flesh and blood hath not learned:" 
nay, many of God's own children, who excel 
in some duties of religion, when they come to 
this of contentment, how do they bungle 1 
They have scarce commenced masters of this 
art. 

Chap. V. The resolving of some 

QUESTIONS. 

For the illustration of this doctrine, I shall 
propound these questions. 

Quest. 1. Whether a Christian may not 
be sensible of his condition, and yet be con- 
tented ? 

Ans. Yes ; for else he is not a saint, but a 
stoic. Rachel did well to weep for her chil- 
dren, there was nature ; but her fault was, she 
refused to be comforted, there was discon- 
tent. Christ himself was sensible, when he 
sweat great drops of blood, and said, " Father, 
if it be possible, let this cup pass from me," 
Matt. xxvi. 39, yet he was contented, and 
sweetly submitted his will : " Nevertheless, 
not as I will, but as thou wilt. " The apos- 
tle bids us humble ourselves " under the 
mighty hand of God," 1 Pet. v. 6, which we 
cannot do unless we are sensible of it. 

Quest. 2. Whether a Christian may not 
lay open his grievances to God, and yet be 
contented 1 

Ans. Yes ; " Unto thee have I opened my 
cause," Jer. xx. 12 ; and David poured out 
his complaint before the Lord, Ps. cxlii. 2. 
We may cry to God, and desire him to write 
down all our injuries. Shall not the child 
complain to his father 1 When any burden 
is upon the spirit, prayer gives vent, it easeth 
the heart. Hannah's spirit was burdened ; 



" I am," says she, "a woman of a sorrowful 
spirit," 1 Sam. i. 15. Now having prayed, 
and wept, she went away, and was no more 
sad ; only here is the difference between a 
holy complaint and a discontented complaint; 
in the one we complain to God, in the other 
we complain of God. 

Quest. 3. What is it properly that con- 
tentment doth exclude 1 

Ans. There are three things which con- 
tentment doth banish out of its diocese, and 
which can by no means consist with it. 

1. It excludes a vexatious repining : this 
is properly the daughter of discontent : "I 
mourn in my complaint," Ps. lv. 2. He doth 
not say I murmur in my complaint. Murmur- 
ing is no better than mutiny in the heart ; it 
is a rising up against God. When the sea is 
rough and unquiet, it casts forth nothing but 
foam ; when the heart is discontented, it casts 
forth the foam of anger, impatience, and 
sometimes little better than blasphemy. 
Murmuring is nothing else but the scum 
which boils off from a discontented heart. 

2. It excludes an uneven discomposure : 
when a man saith, I am in such straits, that 
I know not how to evolve or get out, I shall 
be undone, — when his head and heart are so 
taken up, that he is not fit to pray or medi- 
tate, &c. he is not himself ; just as when an 
army is routed, one man runs this way, and 
another that, — the army is put into disorder, 
— so a man's thoughts run up and down dis- 
tracted. Discontent doth dislocate and un- 
joint the soul, it pulls off the wheels. 

3. It excludes a childish despondency ; 
and this is usually consequent upon the 
other. A man being in a hurry of mind, 
not knowing which way to extricate, or 
wind himself out of the present trouble, be- 
gins succumbere oneri, to faint and sink 
under it. For care is to the mind as a bur- 
then to the back, it loads the spirits, and, 
with overloading, sinks them. A despondent 
spirit is a discontented spirit. 

Chap. VI. Showing the nature of 
contentment. 

Having answered these questions, I shall 
in the next place, come to describe this con- 
tentment. 



SELECT SERMONS. 



687 



It is a sweet temper of spirit, whereby a 
Christian carries himself in an equal poise in 
every condition. The nature of this will ap- 
pear more clear in these three aphorisms. 

1. Contentment is a divine thing, — it be- 
comes ours, not by acquisition, but infusion ; 
it is a slip taken off from the tree of life, and 
planted by the spirit of God in the soul; it is a 
fruit that grows not in the garden of philoso- 
phy, but is of a heavenly birth ; it is therefore 
very observable, that contentment is joined 
with godliness, and goes in equipage, "but 
godliness with contentment is great gain," 1 
Tim. vi. 6. Contentment being a consequent 
of godliness, or concomitant, or both, I call it 
divine, to contradistinguish it to that of con- 
tentment which a moral man may arrive at. 
Heathens have seemed to have this content- 
ment, but it was only the shadow and picture 
of it, — the beryl, not the true diamond ; theirs 
was but civil, this is sacred : theirs was only 
from principles of reason, this of religion ; 
theirs was only lighted at nature's torch, this 
at the lamp of scripture. Reason may a lit- 
tle teach contentment, as thus : whatever 
my condition be, this is that I am born to ; 
and if I meet with crosses, it is but catholic 
misery ; all have their share, why therefore 
should I be troubled 1 Reason may suggest 
this; and indeed, this may be rather constraint; 
but to live securely and cheerfully upon God 
in the abatement of creature supplies, religion 
can only bring this into the soul's exchequer. 

2. Contentment is an intrinsical thing ; it 
lies within a man ; not in the bark, but the 
root. Contentment hath both its fountain 
and stream in the soul. The beam hath not 
its light from the air ; the beams of comfort 
which a contented man hath, do not arise 
from foreign comforts, but from within. As 
sorrow is seated in the spirit, " the heart 
knoweth its own bitterness," Prov. xiv. 10 ; 
so contentment lies within the soul, and doth 
not depend upon externals. Hence I gather, 
that outward troubles cannot hinder this 
blessed contentment ; it is a spiritual thing, 
and arisethfrom spiritual grounds, viz. the ap- 
prehension of God's love. When there is a 
tempest without, there may be music within ; 
a bee may sting through the skin, but it can- 
not sting to the heart ; outward afflictions 



cannot sting to a Christian's heart, where 
contentment lies. Thieves may plunder us 
of our money and plate, but not of this pearl 
of contentment, unless we are willing to part 
with it, for it is locked up in the cabinet of 
the heart ; the soul which is possessed of 
this rich treasure of contentment, is like 
Noah in the ark, that can sing in the midst 
of a deluge. 

3. Contentment is an habitual thing, it 
shines with a fixed light in the firmament of 
the soul. Contentment doth not appear only 
now and then, as some stars which are seen 
hut seldom ; it is a settled temper of the 
heart. One action doth not denominate ; he 
is not said to be a liberal man, that gives 
alms once in his life ; a covetous man may 
do so ; but he is said to be liberal, that is, 
" given to hospitality," Rom. xii. 13, that is, 
who upon all occasions is willing to relieve 
the necessities of the poor ; so he is said to 
be a contented man that is given to content- 
ment. It is not casual but constant. Aris- 
totle, in his rhetoric, distinguisheth between 
colours in the face that arise from passion, 
and those which arise from complexion ; the 
pale face may look red when it blusheth, but 
this is only a passion ; he is said properly to 
be ruddy and sanguine, who is constantly so, 
it is his complexion. He is not a contented 
man, who is so upon an occasion, and perhaps 
when he is pleased, but who is so constantly, 
it is the habit and complexion of his soul. 

Chap. VII. Reasons pressing to holy 

CONTENTMENT. 

Having opened the nature of contentment, 
I come next to lay down some reason or ar- 
guments to contentment, which may prepon- 
derate with us. 

The first is, God's precept. It is charged 
upon us as a duty : "be content with such 
things as you have," Heb. xiii. 5. The same 
God, who hath bid us believe, hath bid us be 
content ; if we obey not, we run ourselves 
into a spiritual premunire. God's word is a 
sufficient warrant ; it hath authority in it, and 
must be a supersedeas, or sacred spell to dis- 
content. Ipse dixit was enough among Py- 
thagoras's scholars : " Be it enacted," is the 
royal style. God's word must be the star 



688 



SELECT SERMONS. 



that guides, and his will the weight that 
moves our obedience ; his will is a law, and 
hath majesty enough in it to captivate us into 
obedience ; our hearts must not be more un- 
quiet than the raging sea, which at his word 
is stilled, Matt. viii. 26. 

The second reason enforcing contentment, 
is, God's promise : for he hath said, " I will 
never leave thee, nor forsake thee," Heb. xiii. 
5. Here God hath engaged himself, under 
hand and seal for our necessary provisions. 
If a king should say to one of his subjects, I 
will take care for thee ; as long as I have any 
crown revenues, thou shalt be provided for ; 
if thou art in danger, I will secure thee, — if 
in want, I will supply thee ; would not that 
subject be content 1 Behold, God hath here 
made promise to the believer, and as it were 
entered into bond for his security, " I will 
never leave thee ;" shall not this charm down 
the devil of discontent ? " Leave thy father- 
less children with me, I will preserve them 
alive," Jer. xlix. 11. Methinks I see the god- 
ly man on his death-bed much discontented, 
and hear him complaining what will become 
of my wife and children when I am dead and 
gone 1 They may come to poverty : saith 
God, " trouble not thyself, be content, I will 
take care of thy children ; and let thy widow 
trust in me." God hath made a promise to us, 
that he will not leave us, and hath entailed the 
promise upon our wife and children; and will 
not this satisfy 1 True faith will take God's 
single bond, without calling for witnesses. 

Be content, by virtue of a decree. What- 
ever our condition be, God the umpire of the 
world hath from everlasting decreed that con- 
dition for us, and by his providence ordered 
all appertenances thereunto. Let a Christian 
often think with himself, who hath placed me 
here, whether I am in a high sphere, or in a 
lower. Not chance or fortune, as the purblind 
heathens imagined; no, it is the wise God that 
hath by his providence fixed me in this orb. 
We must act that scene which God would 
have us ; say not, such an one hath occasion- 
ed this to me ; look not too much at the un- 
der wheel. We read in Ezekiel, of " a wheel 
within a wheel," Ezek. i. 16. God's decree 
is the cause of the turning of the wheels, and 
his providence is the inner wheels that move 



all the rest. God's providence is that helm 
which turns about the whole ship of the uni- 
verse. Say then, as holy David, " I was 
dumb, I opened not my mouth, because thou, 
Lord, didst it," Ps. xxxix. 9. God's provi- 
dence—which is nothing else but the carrying 
on of his decree — should be a supersedeas 
and counterpoise against discontent ; God 
hath set us in our station, and he hath done 
it in wisdom. We fancy such a condition of 
life is good for us ; whereas if we were our 
own carvers, we should often cut the worst 
piece. Lot, being put to his choice, did 
choose Sodom, Gen. xiii. II. Which soon 
after was burned with fire. Rachel was very 
desirous of children, " Give me children, or 
I die," Gen. xxx. 1. And it cost her her life 
in bringing forth a child. Abraham was 
earnest for Ishmael, " O that Ishmael might 
live before thee !" Gen. xvii. 18. But he 
had little comfort, either of him or his seed ; 
he was born a son of strife, his hand was 
against every man, and every man's hand 
against him. The disciples wept for Christ's 
leaving the world, they chose his corporeal 
presence : whereas it was best for them that 
Christ should be gone," for else " the Com- 
forter would not come," John xvi. 7. David 
chose the life of his child, " he wept and 
fasted for it," 2 Sam. xii. 16. Whereas if 
the child had lived, it would have been a per- 
petual monument of his shame. We stand 
oft in our own light ; if we should sort, or 
parcel out our own comforts, we should hit 
upon the wrong. Is it not well for the child, 
that the parent doth choose for it 1 Were it 
left to itself, it would perhaps choose a knife 
to cut its own finger. A man in a paroxysm 
calls for wine, which if he had, it were little 
better than poison ; it is well for the patient, 
that he is at the physician's appointment. 
The consideration of a decree determining, 
and a providence disposing of all things that 
fall out, should work our hearts to holy con- 
tentment. The wise God hath ordered our 
condition ; if he sees it better for us to abound, 
we shall abound ; if he sees it better for us to 
want, we shall want ; be content to be at 
God's disposal. 

God sees, in his infinite wisdom, the same 
condition is not convenient for all; that 



SELECT SERMONS. 



689 



which is good for one, may be bad for an- 
other ; one season of weather will not serve 
all men's occasions, — one needs sunshine, 
'another rain ; one condition of life will not fit 
| every man, no more than one suit of apparel 
{ will fit every body ; prosperity is not fit for all, 
' jnor yet adversity. If one man be brought 
{low, perhaps he can bear it better ; he hath a 
■greater stock of grace, — more faith and pa- 
fllience, — he can "gather grapes of thorns," 
■pick some comfort out of the cross, — every 
J one cannot do this. Another man is seated in 
fan eminent place of dignity ; he is fitter for 
■fit ; perhaps it is a place requires more parts 
[ of judgment, which every one is not capable 
Ipf ; perhaps he can use his estate better, — he 
j hath a public heart as well as a public place. 
The wise God sees that condition to be bad 
for one, which is good for another ; hence it is 
t he placeth men in different orbs and spheres ; 
t some higher, some lower. One man desires 
health, God sees sickness is better for him ; 
God will work health out of sickness, by 
bringing the body of death into a consump- 
I tion. Another man desires liberty, God sees 
restraint better for him ; he will work his 
liberty by restraint ; when his feet are bound, 
his heart shall be most enlarged. Did we be- 
- lieve this, it would give a check to the sinful 
disputes and cavils of our hearts : shall I be 
discontented at that which is enacted by a 
decree, and ordered by a providence 1 Is this 
to be a child or a rebel ? 

Chap. VIII. Use I. Showing how a Chris- 
tian MAY MAKE HIS LIFE COMFORTABLE. 

It shows how a Christian may come to lead 
a comfortable life, even a heaven upon earth, 
be the times what they will : viz. by Christian 
contentment, Prov. xv. 13. The comfort of 
life doth not stand in having much ; it is 
Christ's maxim, " man's life consisteth not in 
! the abundance of the things which he doth 
possess," Luke xii. 15 ; but it is in being con- 
tented. Is not the bee as well contented with 
feeding on the dew, or sucking from a flower, 
as the ox that grazeth on the mountains'? 
f Contentment lies within a man, in the heart ; 
and the way to be comfortable, is not by hav- 
ing our barns filled, but our minds quiet. The 
contented man, saith Seneca, is the happy 
4S 



man ; discontent is a fretting humour, which 
dries the brains, wastes the spirits, corrodes 
and eats out the comfort of life ; discontent 
makes a man that he doth not enjoy what he 
doth possess. A drop or two of vinegar will 
sour a whole glass of wine. Let a man have 
the affluence and confluence of worldly com- 
forts, a drop or two of discontent will imbit- 
ter and poison all. Comfort depends upon 
contentment ; Jacob went halting, when the 
sinew upon the hollow of his thigh shrank : 
so, when the sinew of contentment begins to 
shrink, we go halting in our comforts. Con- 
tentation is as necessary to keep the life 
comfortable, as oil is necessary to keep the 
lamp burning ; the clouds of discontent do 
often drop the showers of tears. Would we 
have comfort in our lives 1 We may have it 
if we will. A Christian may carve out what 
condition he will to himself. Why dost thou 
complain of thy troubles 1 It is not trouble 
that troubles, but discontent ; it is not the 
water without the ship, but the water that 
gets within the leak, which drowns it ; it is 
not outward affliction that can make the 
life of a Christian sad,— a contented mind 
would sail above these waters,— but when 
there's a leak l>f discontent open, and trou- 
ble gets into the heart, then it is disquieted 
and sinks. Do therefore, as the mariners, 
pump the water out, and stop the spiritual 
leak in thy soul, and no trouble can hurt 
thee. 

Chap. IX. Use II. A check to the dis- 
contented Christian. 

Here is a just reproof to such as are discon- 
tented with their condition. This disease is 
almost epidemical. Some not content with 
the calling which God hath set them in, must 
be a step higher, from the plough to the 
throne ; who like the spider in the Proverbs, 
will "take hold with her hands, and is in 
kings' palaces," Prov. xxx. 28. Others from 
the shop to the pulpit, Numb. xii. 2. They 
would be in the temple of honour, before they 
are in the temple of virtue ; who step into 
Moses's chair, without Aaron's bells and 
pomegranates ; like apes, which do most show 
their deformity when they are climbing. Is it 
not enough that God hath bestowed gifts upon 



690 



SELECT SERMONS. 



men, in private to edify; that he hath enrich- 
ed them with many mercies 1 But, " seek ye 
the priesthood also ?" Numb. xvi. 10. What 
is this but discontent arising from high-flown 
pride 1 These do secretly tax the wisdom of 
God, that he hath not screwed them up in 
their condition a peg higher. Every man is 
complaining that his estate is no better, 
though he seldom complains that his heart is 
no better. One man commends this kind of 
life, another commends that ; one man thinks 
a country-life best, another a city-life ; the 
soldier thinks it best to be a merchant, — and 
the merchant to be a soldier. Men can be 
content to be any thing but what God would 
have them. How is it that no man is con- 
tented ] Very few Christians have learned 
St Paul's lesson : neither poor nor rich know 
how to be content, they can learn any thing 
but this. 

1. If men are poor, they learn to be, 1. en- 
vious ; they malign those that are above them. 
Another's prosperity is an eye-sore. When 
God's candle shines upon their neighbour's 
tabernacle, this light offends them. In the 
midst of wants, men can, in this sense, 
abound, viz. in envy and malice ; an envious 
eye is an evil eye. 2. They learn to be que- 
rulous, stiJl complaining, as if God had dealt 
hardly with them, — they are ever telling 
their wants, — they want this and that com- 
fort, — whereas their greatest want is a con- 
tented spirit. Those that are well enough 
content with their sin, yet are not content 
with their condition. 

2. If men are rich, they learn to be cove- 
tous ; thirsting insatiably after the world, and 
by unjust means scraping it together ; their 
" right hand is full of bribes," as the Psalmist 
expresseth it, Ps. xxvi. 10. Put a good cause 
in one scale, and a piece of gold in the other, 
and the gold weighs heaviest. There are, 
saith Solomon, four things that say, ' ' It is 
not enough," Prov. xxx. 15. I may add a 
fifth, viz. The heart of a covetous man. So 
that neither poor nor rich know how to be 
content. Never certainly since the creation, 
did this sin of discontent reign or rather 
rage more than in our times ; never was God 
more dishonoured ; you can hardly speak with 
any, but the passion of his tongue betrays 



the discontent of his heart ; every one lisps 
out his trouble, and here even the stammer- 
ing tongue speaks too freely and fluently. If 
we have not what we desire, God shall not 
have a good look from us, but presently we 
are sick of discontent, and ready to die out of 
a humour. If God will not forgive the people 
of Israel for their lusts, they bid him take 
their lives ; they must have quails to their 
manna. Ahab, though a king — and one would 
think his crown-lands had been sufficient for 
him — yet is sullen and discontented for Na- 
both's vineyard. Jonah though a good man 
and a prophet, yet ready to die in a pet, Jon. 
iv. 8. And because God killed his gourd, kill 
me too, saith he. Rachel, " give me children, 
or I die," she had many blessings, if she 
could have seen them, but wanted this con- 
tentation. God will supply our wants, but 
must he satisfy our lusts too ] Many are dis- 
contented for a very trifle ; another hath a 
better dress, a richer jewel, a newer fashion. 
Nero, not content with his empire, was trou- 
bled, that the musician had more skill in play- 
ing than he. How fantastic are some, that 
pine away in discontent for the want of those 
things, which if they had, would but render 
them more ridiculous ! 

Chap. X. Use III. A suasive to con- 
tentment. 

It exhorts us to labour for contentation ; 
this is that which doth beautify and bespangle 
a Christian, and as a spiritual embroidery, 
doth set him off in the eyes of the world. 

Obj. But methinks I hear some bitterly 
complaining, and saying to me, Alas ! how 
is it possible to be contented"! " The Lord 
hath made my chain heavy," Lam. iii. 7. 
' He hath cast me into a very sad condition.' 

Ans. There is no sin, but labours either 
to hide itself under some mask ; or, if it 
cannot be concealed, then to vindicate itself 
by some apology. This sin of discontent I 
find very witty in its apologies, which I shall 
first discover, and then make a reply. We 
must lay it down as a rule, that discon- 
tent is a sin ; so that all the pretences, and 
apologies wherewith it labours to justify it- 
self, are but the painting and dressing of a 
strumpet. 



SELECT 

The first apology which discontent makes 
is this ; I have lost a child. Paulina, upon 

: the loss of her children, was so possessed 
with a spirit of sadness, that she had like to 

; have entombed herself in her own discontent ; 

| our love to relations is oftentimes more than 
our love to religion. 

Reply 1. We must be content, not only 
when God gives mercies, but when he takes 
away. If we must " in every thing give 
thanks," 1 Thess. v. 18. Then in nothing 
be discontented. 

Reply 2. Perhaps God hath taken away 
the cistern, that he may give you the more 
of the spring ; he hath darkened the star- 
light, that you may have more sun-light. 
God intends you shall have more of himself, 
and is not he better than ten sons 1 Look not 
so much upon a temporal loss, as a spiritual 
gain ; the comforts of the world run dregs ; 
those which come out of the granary of the 
promise, are pure and sweet. 

Reply 3. Your child was not given but 
lent. "I have, saith Hannah, lent my son 
to the Lord," 1 Sam. i. 28. She lent him ! 
The Lord hath lent him to her. Mercies are 
not entailed upon us, but lent ; what a man 
lends he may call for again when he pleases. 
God hath put out a child to thee a while to 
nurse ; wilt thou be displeased if he take his 
child home again ) O be not discontented that 
a mercy is taken away from you, but rather 
be thankful that it was lent you so long. 

Reply 4. Suppose your child to be taken 
from you, either he was good or bad ; if he 
was rebellious, you have not so much parted 
with a child, as a burthen ; you grieve for 
that which might have been a greater grief 
to you ; if he was religious, then remember, 
he " is taken away from the evil to come," 
Isa. lvii. 1, and placed in his' centre of felicity. 
This lower region is full of gross and hurtful 
vapours ; how happy are those who are 
mounted into the celestial orbs ! the righ- 
teous are taken away, — in the original it is, 
he is gathered ; a wicked child is cut off, but 
the pious child is gathered. Even as we see 
men gather flowers, and candy them, and 
preserve them by them, so hath God gathered 
thy child as a sweet flower that he may candy 
it with glory, and preserve it by him for ever. 



SERMONS. 691 

Why then should a Christian be discontented 1 
Why should he weep excessively 1 " Daugh- 
ters of Jerusalem weep not for me, but weep 
for yourselves," Luke xxiii. 28. So, could 
we hear our children speaking to us out of 
heaven, they would say, Weep not for us 
who are happy ; we lie upon a soft pillow, 
even in the bosom of Christ ; the Prince of 
peace is embracing us and kissing us with 
the kisses of his lips ; be not troubled at our 
preferment, — " weep not for us," but weep 
for yourselves, who are in a sinful sorrowful 
world ; you are in the valley of tears, but we 
are on the mountain of spices ; we have got- 
ten to our harbour, but you are still tossing 
upon the waves of inconstancy. O Christian ! 
be not discontented that thou hast parted with 
such a child ; but rather rejoice that thou 
hadst such a child to part with. Break forth 
into thankfulness. What an honour it is to 
a parent to beget such a child, that while he 
lives increaseth the joy of the glorified an- 
gels, Luke xx. 10, and when he dies in- 
creaseth the number of the glorified saints. 

Reply 5. If God hath taken away one of 
your children, he hath left you more, he might 
have stripped you of all. He took away Job's 
comforts, his estate, his children ; and indeed 
his wife was left, but as a cross. Satan made 
a bow of this rib — as Chrysostom speaks — 
and shot a temptation by her at Job, thinking 
to have him shot to the heart ; " curse God 
and die ;" but Job had upon him the breast- 
plate of integrity ; and though his children 
were taken away, yet not his graces ; still he 
is content, still he blesseth God. O think 
how many mercies you still enjoy ; yet your 
base hearts are more discontented at one 
loss, than thankful for a hundred mercies ! 
God hath plucked one bunch of grapes from 
you ; but how many precious clusters are left 
behind ? 

Obj. But it was my only child, — the staffs 
of my age, — the seed of my comfort, — and 
the only blossom out of which my ancient 
family did grow. 

Ans. 1. God hath promised you — if you 
belong to him — " a name better than of sons 
and daughters," Isa. lvi. 5. Is he dead that 
should have been the monument to have kept 
up the name of a family 1 God hath given you 



692 



SELECT SERMONS. 



t a new name, he hath written your name in the 
book of life ; behold your spiritual heraldry ; 
here is a name that cannot be cut off. 

A. 2. Hath God taken away thy only 
child 1 He hath given thee his only Son : this 
is a happy exchange. What needs he com- 
plain of losses, that hath Christ 1 He is his 
Father's brightness, Heb. i. 3. His riches, 
Col. ii. 9. His delight, Ps. xlii. 1. Is there 
enough in Christ to delight the heart of God ] 
and is there not enough in him to ravish us 
with holy delight. He is wisdom to teach us, 
— righteousness to acquit us, — sanctification 
to adorn us, — he is that royal and princely 
gift, — he is the bread of angels, — the joy and 
triumph of saints, — he is all in all, Col. iii. 10. 
Why then art thou discontented ! Though 
thy child be lost, yet thou hast him for whom 
all things are loss. 

Reply 7. Let us blush to think that nature 
should outstrip grace. Pulvillus, a heathen, 
when he was about to consecrate a temple to 
Jupiter, and news was brought him of the 
death of his son, would not desist from his 
enterprize, but with much composure of 
mind gave order for decent burial. 

The second apology that, discontent makes, 
is, I have a great part of my estate strangely 
melted away, and trading begins to fail. God 
is pleased sometimes to bring his children 
very low, and cut them short in their estate ; 
it fares with them as with that widow, who 
had nothing in her house, " save a pot of oil," 
2 Kings iv. 2. But be content. 

Reply 1. God hath taken away your 
estate, but not your portion. This is a sa- 
cred paradox, honour and estate are no part 
of a Christian's jointure ; they are rather 
luxuries than essentials, and are extrinsical 
and foreign ; therefore the loss of those 
cannot denominate a man miserable, still 
the portion remains ; " the Lord is my por- 
tion, saith my soul," Lam. iii. 24. Suppose 
one were worth a million of money, and he 
should chance to lose a pin off his sleeve, 
this is no part of his estate, nor can we say 
he is undone ;' the loss of sublunary com- 
forts is not so much to a Christian's portion, 
as the loss of a pin is to a million. " These 
things shall be added to you," Matt. vi. 33. 
A djicientur, they shall be cast in as over- 



plus. When a man buys a piece of cloth he 
hath an inch or two given in to the measure ; 
now, though he lose his inch of cloth, yet 
he is not undone, for still the whole piece 
remains ; our outward estate is not so much 
in regard of the portion, as an inch of cloth 
is to the whole piece; why then should a 
Christian be discontented, when the title to 
his spiritual treasure remains 1 A thief may 
take away all the money that I have about 
me, but not my land ; still a Christian hath a 
title to the land of promise. Mary hath 
chosen the better part, which shall not be 
taken from her. 

Reply 2. Perhaps, if thy estate had not 
been lost, thy soul had been lost ; outward 
comforts do often quench inward heat. God 
can bestow a jewel upon us, but we fall so 
in love with it, that we forget him that gave 
it. What pity is it that we should commit 
idolatry with the creature ! God is forced 
sometimes to drain away an estate: the 
plate and jewels are often cast overboard to 
save the passenger. Many a man may curse 
the time that ever he had such an estate, it 
hath been an enchantment to draw away his 
heart from God. " They that will be rich, 
fall into a snare." Art thou' troubled that 
God hath prevented a snare? Riches are 
thorns, Matt. xiii. 7. Art thou angry be- 
cause God hath pulled away a thorn from 
thee? Riches are compared to "thick clay," 
Hab. ii. 6. Perhaps thy affections, which 
are the feet of the soul, might have stuck so 
fast in this golden clay, that they could not 
have ascended up to heaven. Be content ; 
if God dam up our outward comforts, it is, 
that the stream of our love may run faster 
another way. 

Reply 3. If your estate be small, yet God 
can bless a little. 'Tis not how much mo- 
ney we have, but how much blessing. He 
that often curseth the bags of gold, can 
bless the meal in the barrel, and the oil in 
the cruise. What if thou hast not the full 
flesh-pots 1 Yet thou hast a promise, " I 
will abundantly bless her provision," Ps. 
cxxxii. 15, and then a little goes a great 
way. Be content thou hast the dew of a 
blessing distilled; a dinner of green herbs, 
where love is, is sweet. ; I may add, where 



SELECT SERMONS. 



693 



the love of God is. Another may have more 
estate than you, but, more care ; more riches, 
less rest ; more revenues, but with all more 
occasions of expense ; he hath a greater 
inheritance, yet perhaps God doth not give 
" him power to eat thereof," Eccl. vi. 2. 
He hath the dominion of his estate, not the 
use ; he holds more but enjoys less ; in a 
word, thou hast less gold than he, perhaps 
less guilt. 

Reply 4. You did never so thrive in your 
spiritual trade ; your heart was never so low, 
as since your condition was low ; you were 
never so poor in spirit, never so rich in faith. 
You did never run the ways of God's com- 
mandments so fast as since some of your 
golden weights were taken off. You never 
had such trading for heaven all your life ; this 
is uberrimus questus. You did never make 
such adventures upon the promise as since 
you left off your sea-adventures. This is the 
best kind of merchandize. O Christian, thou 
never hadst such incomes of the Spirit, such 
spring-tides of joy ; and what though weak 
in estate, if strong in assurance 1 Be con- 
tent : what you have lost one way, you have 
gained another. 

Reply 5. Be your losses what they will 
in this kind, remember in every loss there 
is only a suffering, but in eveiy discontent 
there is a sin, and one sin is worse than a 
thousand sufferings. What ! Because some 
of my revenues arc gone, shall I part with 
some of my righteousness ! Shall my faith 
and patience go too ) Because I do not pos- 
sess an estate, shall I not therefore possess 
my own spirit 1 O learn to be content. 

The third apology is, it is sad with me in 
my relations : where I should find most com- 
fort, there I have most grief. This apology 
or objection brancheth itself into two par- 
ticulars, whereto I shall give a distinct reply. 

1st, My child goes on in rebellion ; I fear 
I have brought forth a child for the devil. 
It is indeed, sad to think, that hell should 
be paved with the skulls of any of our chil- 
dren ; and certainly the pangs of grief which 
the mother hath in this kind, are worse than 
her pangs of travail ; but though you ought 
to be humbled, yet not discontented : for, 
consider, 



Reply 1. You may pick something out of 
your child's undutifulness ; the child's sin is 
sometimes the parent's sermon ; the unduti- 
fulness of children to us, may be a memento 
to put us in mind of our undutifulness once 
to God. Time was when we were rebellious 
children ; how long did our heart stand out 
as garrisons against God'? How long did he 
parley with us and beseech us, ere we would 
yield ] He walked in the tenderness of his 
heart towards us, but we walked in the fro- 
wardness of our hearts towards him; and 
since grace hath been planted in our souls, 
how much of the wild olive is still in us 1 
How many motions of the Spirit do we daily 
resist 1 How many unkindnesses and affronts 
have we put upon Christ'? Let this open a 
spring of repentance ; look upon your child's 
rebellions and mourn for your own rebellion. 

Reply 2. Though to see him undutiful is 
your grief, yet not always your sin. Hath 
a parent given the child, not only the milk 
of die breast, but " the sincere milk of the 
word V s 1 Pet. ii. 2. Hast thou seasoned his 
tender years with religious education ] Thou 
canst do no more ; parents can only work 
knowledge, God must work grace ; they can 
only lay the wood together, it is God must 
make it burn ; a parent can only be a guide 
to show his child the way to heaven, the 
Spirit of God must be a loadstone to draw 
his heart into that way. "Am I in God's 
stead — saith Jacob — who hath withheld the 
fruit of the womb'?" Gen. xxx. 2. Can I 
give children 1 So, is a parent in God's stead 
to give grace 1 Who can help it, if a child 
having the light of conscience, scripture, 
education, these three torches in his hand, 
yet runs wilfully into the deep ponds of sin 1 
Weep for thy child, pray for him ; but do not 
sin for him by discontent. 

Reply 3. Say not, you have brought forth 
a child for the devil ; God can reduce him ; 
he hath promised to " turn the heart of the 
children to their fathers," Mai. iv. 6. And 
"to open springs of grace in the desert," 
Isa. xxxv. 6. When thy child is going full 
sail to the devil, God can blow with a con- 
trary wind of his Spirit, and alter his course. 
When Paul was breathing out persecution 
against the saints, and was sailing hell-ward, 



694 



SELECT SERMONS. 



God turns him another way ; before he was 
going to Damascus, God sends him to Ana- 
nias ; before a persecutor, now a preacher. 
Though our children are for the present fallen 
into the devil's pond, God can turn them from 
the power of Satan, Acts xxiv. 16, and bring 
them in the twelfth hour. Monica was weep- 
ing for her son Augustine : at last God gave 
him in upon prayer, and he became a famous 
instrument in the church of God. 

2. The second branch of the objection is, 
but my husband takes ill courses ; where T 
looked for honey, behold a sting. 

Ans. It is sad to have the living and the 
dead tied together ; yet, let not your heart 
fret with discontent ; mourn for his sins, but 
do not murmur. For, 

Reply 1. God hath placed you in your 
relation, and you cannot be discontented but 
you quarrel with God. What ! For every 
cross that befalls us, shall we call the infinite 
wisdom of God in question 1 O the blasphemy 
of our hearts ! 

Reply 2. God can make you a gainer by 
your husband's sin ; perhaps you had never 
been so good, if he had not been so bad. 
The fire burns hottest in the coldest climate. 
God often by a divine antiperistasis turns 
the sins of others to our good, and makes our 
maladies our medicines. The more profane 
the husband is, oft the more holy the wife 
grows ; the more earthly he is, the more hea- 
venly she grows ; God makes sometimes the 
husband's sin a spur to the wife's grace. His 
exorbitances are as a pair of bellows to blow 
up the flame of her zeal and devotion the 
more. Is it not thus 1 Doth not thy hus- 
band's wickedness send thee to prayer 1 ? 
Thou perhaps hadst never prayed so much, if 
he had not sinned so much. His deadness 
quickens thee the more, the stone of his 
heart is a hammer to break thy heart. The 
apostle saith, " the unbelieving wife is sanc- 
tified by the believing husband," 1 Cor. vii. 
14. But in this sense, the believing wife is 
sanctified by the unbelieving husband, — she 
grows better, — his sin is a whetstone to her 
grace, and a medicine for her security. 

The next apology that discontent makes 
is, but my friends have dealt very unkindly 
with me, and proved false. 



Ans. It is sad, when a friend proves like a 
brook in summer, Job vi. 15. The traveller 
being parched with heat, comes to the brook, 
hoping to refresh himself, — but the brook is 
dried up, — yet be content. 

Reply 1. Thou art not alone, others of the 
saints have been betrayed by friends ; and 
when they have leaned upon them, they have 
been as a foot out of joint. This was true in 
the type David, Ps. Iv. 12, 13, 14, "It was 
not an enemy reproached me, but it was 
thou, O man, my equal, my guide, and my 
acquaintance ; we took sweet counsel to- 
gether ;" and in the antitype Christ, he was 
betrayed by a friend ; and why should we 
think it strange to have the same measure 
dealt out to us as Jesus Christ had 1 "The 
servant is not above his master." 

Reply 2. A Christian may often read his 
sin in his punishment: hath not he dealt 
treacherously with God ? How oft hath he 
grieved the Comforter, broken his vows, and 
through unbelief sided with Satan against 
God 1 How oft hath he abused love, taken the 
jewels of God's mercies, and made a golden 
calf of them, serving his own lusts? How 
oft hath he made the free grace of God, 
which would have been a bolt to keep out 
sin, rather a key to open the door to itt 
These wounds hath the Lord received in'the 
house of his friends, Zech. xiii. 6. Look 
upon the unkindness of thy friend, and mourn 
for thy own unkindness against God ; shall a 
Christian condemn that in another, which he 
hath been too guilty of himself] 

Reply 3. Hath thy friend proved treach- 
erous 1 Perhaps you did repose too much 
confidence in him. If you lay more weight 
upon a house than the pillars will bear, it 
must needs break. God saith, "trust ye 
not in a friend," Mic. vii. 5. Perhaps you 
did put more trust in him, than you did 
dare to put in God. Friends are as Venice- 
glasses ; we may use them, but if we lean 
too hard upon them, they will break ; behold 
matter of humility, but not of sullenness and 
discontent. 

Reply 4. You have a frien^ in heaven 
who will never fail you ; " there is a friend 
— saith Solomon — that sticketh closer than 
a brother Prov. xviii. 24. Such a friend 



SELECT SERMONS. 



695 



is God ; he is very studious and inquisitive in 
our behalf ; he hath a debating with himself, 
— a consulting and projecting how he may do 
us good; he is the best friend which may 
give contentment in the midst of all discour- 
tesies of friends. 

Consider, 1. He is a loving friend. " God is 
love," 1 John iv. 16. Hence he is said some- 
times to engrave us on the " palm of his 
hand," Isa. xlix. 16. That we may never be 
out of his eye, and to "carry us in his bo- 
som," Isa. xl. 11. Near to his heart. There is 
no stop or stint in his love ; but as the river 
Nilus, it overflows all the banks ; his love is 
as far beyond our thoughts, as it is above our 
deserts. O the infinite love of God, in giving 
the Son of his love to be made flesh, which 
was more than if all the angels had been made 
worms ! God in giving Christ to us, gave his 
very heart to us ; here is love penciled out in 
all its glory, and engraven as with the ' point 
of a diamond.' All other love is hatred in 
comparison of the love of our Friend. 

2. He is a careful friend ; " he careth for 
you," 1 Pet. v. 7. (1). He minds and trans- 
acts our business as his own, he accounts his 
people's interests and concernments as his 
interest. (2). He provides for us, grace to 
enrich us, glory to ennoble us. It was David's 
complaint, " no man careth for my soul," Ps. 
cxlii. 4 : a Christian hath a friend that cares 
for him. 

3. He is a prudent friend, Dan. ii. 20. A 
friend may sometimes err through ignorance 
or mistake, and give his friend poison instead 
of sugar ; but " God is wise in heart," Job ix. 
4. He is skilful as well as faithful ; he knows 
what our disease is, and what physic is most 
proper to apply ; he knows what will do us 
good, and what wind will be best to carry us 
to heaven. 

4. He is a faithful friend, Deut. vii. 9, 10. 
And he is faithful, 1. In his promises, " in 
hope of eternal life which God that cannot 
lie hath promised," Tit. i. 2. God's people 
are " children that will not lie," Isa. lxiii. 8. 
But God is a God that cannot lie ; he will 
not deceive the faith of his people : nay, he 
cannot : he is called 1 the Truth,' — he can as 
well cease to be God as cease to be true. 
The Lord may sometimes change his promise 



— as when he converts a temporal promise 
into a spiritual — but he can never break his 
promise. 

5. He is a compassionate friend, hence in 
scripture we read of the yearning of his bow- 
els, Jer. xxxi. 20. God's friendship is nothing 
else but compassion ; for there is naturally 
no affection in us to desire his friendship, nor 
no goodness in us to deserve it ; the loadstone 
is in himself. When we were full of blood, 
he was full of bowels ; when we were en- 
emies, he sent an embassage of peace ; when 
our hearts were turned back from God, his 
heart was turned towards us. O the tender- 
ness and sympathy of our Friend in heaven ! 
We ourselves have some relentings of heart 
to those which are in misery ; but it is God 
who begets all the mercies and bowels that 
are in us, therefore he is called " the Father 
of mercies," 2 Cor. i. 3. 

6. He is a constant friend. " His compas- 
sions fail not," Lam. iii. 22. Friends do often 
in adversity drop off as leaves in autumn. 
Amici circa sartaginem, as Plutarch saith ; 
these are rather flatterers than friends. Joab 
was for a time faithful to king David's house ; 
he went not after Absalom's treason ; but 
within a while proved false to the crown, and 
went after the treason of Adonijah, 1 Kings 
i. 7. God is a friend for ever : " having loved 
his own which were in the world, he loved 
them to the end," John xiii. 1. What though 
I am despised 1 yet God loves me. What 
though my friends cast me off"? yet God loves 
me ; he loves to the end, and there is no end 
of that love. This methinks, in case of dis- 
courtesies and unkindnesses, is enough to 
charm down discontent. 

The next apology is, I am under great re- 
proaches. Let not this discontent : for, 

Reply 1. It is a sign there is some good in 
thee ; saith Socrates, what evil have I done, 
that this bad man commends me? The ap- 
plause of the wicked usually denotes some 
evil, and their censure imports some good, 
Ps. xxxviii. 20. David wept and fasted, and 
that was turned to his " reproach," Ps. Ixix. 
10. As we must pass to heaven through the 
pikes of suffering, so through the clouds of 
reproach. 

Reply 2. If your reproach be for God, as 



696 



SELECT SERMONS. 



David's was, " for thy sake I have borne re- 
proach," Ps. lxix. 7, then it is rather matter 
of triumph, than dejection. Christ doth not 
say, when you are reproached be discon- 
tented ; but rejoice, Matt. v. 12. Wear your 
reproach as a diadem of honour, for now a 
spirit of " glory and of God rests upon you," 
1 Pet. iv. 14. Put your reproaches into the 
inventory of your riches ; so did Moses, Heb. 
xi. 26. It should be a Christian's ambition to 
wear his Saviour's livery, though it be sprink- 
led with blood and sullied with disgrace. 

Reply 3. God will do us good by reproach : 
as David of Shimei his cursing, " it may be 
the Lord will requite me good for his cursing 
this day," 2 Sam. xvi. 12. This puts us upon 
searching our sin. A child of God labours to 
read his sin in every stone of reproach that 
is cast at him ; besides, now we have an op- 
portunity to exercise patience and humility. 

Reply 4. Jesus Christ was content to be 
reproached for us ; he despised the shame of 
the cross, Heb. xii. 2. Tt may amaze us to 
think that he who was God could endure to 
be spit upon, to be crowned with thorns, in a 
kind of jeer ; and when he was ready to bow 
his head upon the cross, to have the Jews in 
scorn, wag their heads and say, " he saved 
others, himself he cannot save." The shame 
of the cross was as much as the blood of the 
cross ; his name was crucified before his 
body. The sharp arrows of reproach that the 
world did shoot at Christ, went deeper into 
his heart than the spear ; his suffering was 
so ignominious, that as if the sun did blush to 
behold, it withdrew its bright beams, and 
masked itself with a cloud (and well it 
might when the Sun of Righteousness was in 
an eclipse) ; all this contumely and reproach 
did the God of glory endure, or rather despise 
for us. O then let us be content to have our 
names eclipsed for Christ ; let not reproach 
lie at our heart, but let us bind it as a crown 
about our head ! Alas, what is reproach 7 
This is but small shot, how will men stand at 
the mouth of a cannon 1 These who are dis- 
contented at a reproach, will be offended at 
a faggot. 

Reply 5. Is not many a man contented 
to suffer reproach for maintaining his lust 1 
And shall not we for maintaining the truth 1 



Some glory in that which is their shame, 
Phil. iii. 19. And shall we be ashamed of 
that which is our glory 1 Be not troubled at 
these petty things. He whose heart is once 
divinely touched with the loadstone of God's 
Spirit, doth account it his honour to be dis- 
honoured for Christ, Acts xv. 4. And doth 
as much despise the world's censure, as he 
doth their praise. 

Reply 6. We live in an age wherein men 
dare reproach God himself. The divinity of 
the Son of God is blasphemously reproached 
by the Socinian; the blessed Bible is re- 
proached by the Antiscripturist, as if it were 
but a legend of lies, and every man's faith a 
fable ; the justice of God is called to the bar 
of reason by the Arminians ; the wisdom of 
God in his providential actings, is taxed by 
the Atheist ; the ordinances of God are de- 
cried by the Familists, as being too heavy a 
burthen for a free-born conscience, and too 
low and carnal for a sublime seraphic spirit ; 
the ways of God, which have the majesty of 
holiness shining in them, are calumniated by 
the profane ; the mouths of men are open 
against God, as if he were a hard master, and 
the path of religion too strict and severe. If 
men cannot give God a good word, shall we 
be discontented or troubled that they speak 
hardly of us 1 Such as labour to bury the 
glory of religion, shall we wonder that " their 
throats are open sepulchres," Rom. iii. 13, 
to bury our good name 1 O let us be con- 
tented, while we are in God's scouring-house, 
to have our name sullied a little ; the blacker 
we seem to be here, the brighter shall we 
shine when God hath set us upon the celes- 
tial shelf. 

The sixth apology that discontent makes, is 
disrespect in the world. I have not that es- 
teem from men as is suitable to my quality and 
grace. And doth this trouble 1 Consider, 

Reply 1. The world is an unequal judge ; 
as it is full of change so of partiality. The 
world gives her respects, as she doth her 
places of preferment ; more by favour often, 
than desert. Hast thou the ground of real 
worth in thee 1 That is best worth, that 
is in him that hath it ; honour is in him 
that gives it ; better deserve respect, and 
not have it, than have it and not deserve it. 



SELECT SERMONS. 



697 



Reply 2. Hast thou grace 3 God respects 
thee, and his judgment is best worth prizing. 
A believer is a person of honour being born 
of God. Since thou wast precious in mine 
I eyes, "thou hast been honourable, and I have 
Joved thee," Isa. xliii. 4. Let the world 
think what they will of you ; perhaps in their 
eyes you are a cast-a-way, — -in God's eyes, a 
[dove, Cant. ii. 14, — a spouse, Cant. v. 1, — a 
[jewel, Mai. iii. 17. Others account you the 
dregs and offscouring of the world, 1 Cor. iv. 
14 ; but " God will give whole kingdoms for 
lyour ransom," Isa. xliii. 3. Let this con- 
sent : no matter with what oblique eyes I am 
looked upon in the world, if I am recta in 
curia, God thinks well of me. It is better 
that God approve, than man applaud. The 
world may put us in their rubric and God put 
us in his black book. What is a man the 
better that his fellow-prisoners commend him, 
if his judge condemn him ? O labour to keep 
in with God, — prize his love ! Let my fellow 
subjects frown, I am contented, being a fa- 
vourite of the king of heaven. 

Reply 3. If you are a child of God, you 
must look for disrespect. A believer is in 
the world, but not of the world ; we are 
here in a pilgrim condition, out of our own 
country, therefore must not look for the re- 
spects and acclamations of the world ; it is 
sufficient that we shall have honour in our 
town country, Heb. xiii. 14. It is dangerous 
to be the world's favourite. 

Reply 4. Discontent arising from disre- 
spect, savours too much of pride; an humble 
Christian hath a lower opinion of himself than 
others can have of him. He that is taken up 
about the thoughts of his sins, and how he 
hath provoked God, cries out, as Agur, " I 
am more brutish than any man," Prov. xxx. 
2. And therefore is contented, though he 
be set among "the dogs of my flock," Job 
jxxx. 1. Though he be low in the thought of 
others, yet he is thankful that he is not laid 
in "the lowest hell," Ps. lxxxvi. 13. A 
proud man sets a high value upon himself ; 
md is angry with others, because they will 
jiot come up to his price. Take heed of 
3ride ! O had others a window to look into 
heir breast — as Crates once expressed it — 
)r did thy heart stand where thy face doth, 
4 T 



thou wouldst wonder to have so much re- 
spect. 

The next apology is, I meet with very 
great sufferings for the truth. Consider, 

Reply 1. Your sufferings are not so great 
as your sins : put these two in the balanee r 
and see which weighs heaviest ; where sin- 
lies heavy, sufferings lie light. A carnal 
spirit makes more of his sufferings, and less 
of his sins ; he looks upon one at the great 
end of the perspective, but upon the other at 
the little end of the perspective. The carnal 
heart cries out, "take away the frogs :" but 
a gracious heart cries out, " take away the 
iniquity," 2 Sam. xxiv. 10. The one saith, 
never any one suffered as I have done ; but 
the other saith, never one sinned as I have 
done, Micah vii. 7. 

Reply 2. Art thou under sufferings ; thou- 
hast an opportunity to show the valour and 
constancy of thy mind. Some of God's saints 
would have accounted it a great favour to 
have been honoured with martyrdom. One 
said, "I am in prison till I be in prison." 
Thou countest that a trouble, which others 
would have borne as an ensign of their glory. 

Reply 3. Even those who have gone only 
upon moral principles, have shown much 
constancy and contentment in their suffer- 
ings. Curtius, being bravely mounted and in 
armour, threw himself into a great gulf, that 
the city of Rome might, according to the 
oracle, be delivered from the pestilence ; and 
we, having a divine oracle, "that they who 
kill the body cannot hurt the soul," shall we 
not with much constancy and patience devote 
ourselves to injuries for religion, and rather 
suffer for the truth than the truth suffer for 
us 1 The Decii among the Romans, vowed 
themselves to death, that their legions ami 
soldiers might be crowned with the honour of 
the victory. O what should we be content 
to suffer, to make the truth victorious ! Re- 
gulus having sworn that he would return to 
Carthage— though he knew there was a fur- 
nace heating for him there — yet not daring to 
infringe his oath, he did adventure to go ; we 
then who are Christians, having made a vow 
to Christ in baptism, and so often renewed in 
the blessed sacrament, should with much con- 
tentation rather choose to suffer, than violate 



SELECT SERMONS. 



698 

our sacred oath. Thus the blessed marytrs, 
with what courage and cheerfulness did they 
yield up their souls to God ] And when the 
fire was set to their bodies, yet their spirits 
were not at all fired with passion or discon- 
tent. Though others hurt the body, let them 
not the mind through discontent ; show by 
your heroic courage, that you are above those 
troubles which you cannot be without. 

The next apology is, the prosperity of the 
wicked. I confess it is so often, that the evil 
enjoy all the good, and the good endure all 
the evil ; David, though a good man, stumbled 
at this, and had like to have fallen, Ps. lxxiii. 
2. Well, be contented, for remember, 

Reply 1. These are not the only things, 
nor the best things ; they are mercies without 
the pale ; these are but acorns with which 
God feeds swine ; ye who are believers have 
more choice fruit, the olive, the pomegranate, 
—the fruit which grows on the true vine Je- 
sus Christ ; others have the fat of the earth, 
you have the dew of heaven ; they have a 
south land, you have those springs of living 
water which are clarified with Christ's blood, 
and indulcerated with his love. 

Reply 2. To see the wicked flourish is 
matter rather of pity than envy ; it is all the 
heaven they must have. " Wo to you that 
are rich, for ye have received your consola- 
tion," Luke/vi. 24. Hence it was that David 
made it his solemn prayer, " Deliver me from 
the wicked, from men of the world, which 
have their portion in this life, and whose 
belly thou fillest with thy hid treasure," Ps. 
xvii. 15. The words (methinks) are David's 
litany ; from men of the world, which have 
their portion in this life, " good Lord, deliver 
me." When the wicked have eaten of their 
dainty dishes, there comes in a sad reckon- 
ing which will spoil all. The world is first 
musical and then tragical ; if you would have 
a man to fry and blaze in hell, let him have 
enough of the fat of the earth. O remember, 
for every sand of mercy that runs out of the 
wicked, God puts a drop of wrath into his 
vial ! Therefore as that soldier said to his 
fellow, " Do you envy my grapes ? they cost 
me dear, I must die for them," so I say, Do 
you envy the wicked 1 Alas, their prosperity 
is like Haman's banquet before execution. 



If a man were to be hanged, would one envy , 
to see him walk to the gallows through plea- 
sant fields and fine galleries, or to see him 
go up the ladder in clothes of gold 1 The 
wicked may flourish in their bravery a while ; ; 
but, when they flourish as the grass, "it is, [ 
that they shall be destroyed for ever," Ps. , 
xcii. 7. The proud grass shall be mown j 
down. Whatever a sinner enjoys, he hath a 
curse with it, Mai. ii. 2, and shall we envy ? , 
What if poisoned bread be given the dogs 1 
The long farrows in the backs of the godly 
have [a seed of blessing in them, when the 
table of the wicked becomes a snare, and 
their honour their halter. 

The next apology that discontent makes 
for itself, is, the evils of the times. The 
times are full of heresy and impiety, and this 
is that which troubles me. This apology 
consists of two branches, to which I shall i 
answer in specie ; and, 

Branch 1. The times are full of heresy. 
This is indeed sad ; when the devil cannot 
by violence destroy the church, he endea- 
vours to poison it; when he cannot with 
Samson's fox-tails set the corn on fire, then 
he sows tares ; as he labours to destroy the 
peace of the church by division, so the truth 
of it by error ; we may cry out with Seneca, 
vere vivimus in temporum fecibus, we live 
in times wherein there is a sluice open to 
all novel opinions, and every man's opinion 
is his Bible. Well; this may make us mourn, 
but let us not murmur through discontent : 
consider, 

Reply 1. Error makes a discovery of men. 
Bad men ; error discovers such as are taint- 
ed and corrupt. When the leprosy brake 
forth in the forehead, then was the leper 
discovered. Error is a spiritual bastard; 
the devil is the father, and pride the mother,"; 
you never knew an erroneous man but he 
was a proud man. Now, it is good that 
such men should be laid open, to the intent, 
First, that God's righteous judgment upon 
them may be adored, 2 Thess. ii. 12. Se- 
condly, that others, who are free, be not in- 
fected. If a man have the plague, it is well 
it breaks forth ; for my part, I would avoid 
an heretic, as I would avoid the devil, for 
he is sent on his errand. I appeal unto 



SELECT SERMONS. 



699 



you ; if there were a tavern in this city, 
jwhere, under a pretence of selling wine, 
many hogsheads of poison were to be sold, 
were it not well that others should know of 
it, that they might not buy 1 It is good that 
those that have poisoned opinions should be 
known, that the people of God may not come 
near either the scent or taste of that poison. 

2. Error is a touch-stone to discover good 
men : it tries the gold. " There must be 
heresies, that they which are approved, may 
be made manifest," 1 Cor. xi. 19. Thus our 
love to Christ, and zeal for truth doth appear. 
: I God shows who are the living fish, viz. such 
i as swim against the stream; who are the 
i sound sheep, viz. such as feed in the green 
pastures of the ordinances; who are the 
I doves, viz. such as live in the best air, where 
the spirit breathes ; God sets a garland of 
honour upon these, "These are they which 
came out of great tribulation," Rev. vii. 14. 
• So these are they that have opposed the 
1 errors of the times, these are they that have 
preserved the virginity of their conscience, 
:who have kept their judgment sound and 
their heart soft. God will have a trophy of 
honour set upon some of his saints, they shall 
: be renowned for their sincerity, being like 
j the cypress, which keeps its greenness and 
! freshness in the winter-season. 

Reply 2. Be not sinfully discontented, for 
God can make the errors of the church ad- 
vantageous to truth. Thus the truths of God 
hath come to be more beaten out and con- 
firmed ; as it is in the law, one man laying a 
false title to a piece of land, the true title 
hath by this means been the more searched 
into and ratified ; some had never so studied 
to defend the truth by scripture, if others had 
not endeavoured to overthrow it by sophistry; 
all the mists and fogs of error that have risen 
out of the bottomless pit, have made the 
glorious Sun of truth to shine so much the 
brighter. Had not Arius and Sabellius 
broached their damnable error, the truth of 
those questions about the blessed Trinity 
had never been so discussed and defended by 
Athanasius, Augustine, and others ; had not 
the devil brought in so much of his princely 
darkness, the champions for truth had never 
run so fast to scripture to light their lamps. 



So that God with a wheel within a wheel, 
overrules these things wisely, and turns 
them to the best. Truth is a heavenly plant, 
that settles by shaking. 

Reply 3. God raiseth the price of his truth 
the more ; the very shreds and filings of truth 
are venerable. When there is much coun- 
terfeit metal abroad, we prize the true gold 
the more ; pure wine of truth is never more 
precious, than when unsound doctrines are 
broached and vented. 

Reply 4. Error makes us more thankful to 
God for the jewel of truth. When you see 
another infected with the plague, how thank- 
ful are you that God hath freed you from the 
infection'? When we see others have the 
leprosy in the head, how thankful are we to 
God that he hath not given us over to believe 
a lie and so be damned 1 It is a good use that 
may be made even of the error of the times 
when it makes us more humble and thankful, 
adoring the free grace of God, who hath kept 
us from drinking of that deadly poison. 

Branch 2. The second branch of the apo- 
logy that discontent makes, is, the impiety of 
the times. I live and converse among the 
profane. M O that I had wings like a dove, 
for then would I fly away and be at rest," Ps. 
Iv. 6. It is indeed sad, to be mixed with the 
wicked. David beheld "transgressors and 
was grieved," Ps. cxix. 58 ; and Lot (who was 
a bright star in a dark night) was vexed, or, 
as the word in the original may bear, wearied 
out with the unclean conversation of the 
wicked, 2 Pet. ii. 7. He made the sins of 
Sodom spears to pierce his own soul: we 
ought, if there be any spark of divine love in 
us, to be very sensible of the sins of others, 
and to have our hearts bleed for them ; yet 
let us not break forth into mourning or dis- 
content, knowing that God in his providence 
hath permitted it, and surely not without 
some reasons ; for, 

Reply 1. The Lord makes the wicked a 
hedge to defend the godly ; the wise God often 
makes those who are wicked and peaceable, 
a means to safeguard his people from those 
who are wicked and cruel. The king of 
Babylon kept Jeremiah, and gave special 
order for his looking to, that he did want 
nothing, Jer. xxxix. 11, 12. God sometimes 



700 



SELECT SERMONS. 



makes brazen sinners to be brazen walls to 
defend his people. 

Reply 2. God doth not interline and min- 
gle the wicked with the godly, that the godly 
may be a means to save the wicked ; such is 
the beauty of holiness that it hath a magneti- 
cal force in it to allure and draw even the 
wicked. Sometimes God makes a believing 
husband a means to convert an unbelieving 
wife, and e contra. " What knowest thou, 
O wife, whether thou shalt save thy husband? 
or how knowest thou, O man, whether thou 
shalt save thy wife?" 1 Cor. vii. 16. The 
godly living among the wicked, by their pru- 
dent advice and pious example, have won 
them to the embracing of religion ; if there 
were not some godly among the wicked, how 
in a probable way, without a miracle, can we 
imagine that the wicked should be converted! 
those who are now shining saints in heaven, 
sometimes served diverse lusts, Tim. iii. 3. 
Paul once a persecutor ; Augustine once a 
manichee ; Luther once a monk ; but by the 
severe and holy carriage of the godly, were 
converted to the faith. 

The next apology that discontent makes, 
is, lowness of parts and gifts ; 1 cannot (saith 
the Christian) discourse with that fluency, 
nor pray with that elegancy, as others. 

Reply 1. Grace is beyond gifts ; thou com- 
parest thy grace with another's gifts, there is 
a vast difference ; grace without gifts is in- 
finitely better than gifts without grace. In 
religion, the vitals are best ; gifts are a more 
extrinsical and common work of the Spirit, 
which is incident to reprobates ; grace is a 
more distinguishing work, and is a jewel hung 
only upon the elect. Hast thou the seed of 
God, the holy anointing ] Be content. 

1. Thou sayest, Thou canst not discourse 
with that fluency as others. 

Ans. Experiments in religion are beyond 
notions, and impressions beyond expressions. 
Judas (no doubt) could make a learned dis- 
course of Christ, but well-fared the woman 
in the gospel that felt virtue coming out of 
him, Luke viii. 47, a sanctified heart is bet- 
ter than a silver tongue. There is as much 
difference between gifts and graces, as be- 
tween a tulip painted on the wall, and one 
growing in the garden. 



2. Thou sayest, thou canst not pray with 
that elegancy as others. 

Ans. Prayer is a matter more of the heart 
than the head. In prayer it is not so much 
fluency prevails, as fervency, James v. 16 ; 
nor is God so much taken with the elegancy 
of speech, as the efficacy of the Spirit. Hu- 
mility is better than volubility; here the 
mourner is the orator ; sighs and groans are 
the best rhetoric. 

Reply 2. Be not discontented, for God 
doth usually proportion a man's parts to the 
place to which he calls him ; some are set in 
a higher sphere and function, their place re- 
quires more parts and abilities ; but the most 
inferior member is useful in its place, and 
shall have a power delegated for the dis- 
charge of its peculiar office. 

The next apology is, the troubles of the 
church. Alas, my disquiet and discontent is 
not so much for myself, as the public ! The 
church of God suffers. 

Ans. I confess it is sad, and we ought for 
this ' to hang our harps upon the willows,' Ps. 
cxxxvii. He is a wooden leg in Christ's body, 
that is not sensible of the state of the body. 
As a Christian must not be proud flesh, so 
neither dead flesh. When the church of God 
suffers, he must sympathise ; Jeremiah wept 
for the virgin daughter of Sion. We must 
feel our brethren's hard cords through our 
soft beds. In music, if one string be touched, 
ail the rest sound : when God strikes upon 
our brethren, our " bowels must sound like a 
harp," Isa. xvi. 11. Be sensible, but give 
not way to discontent. For consider, 

Reply 1. God sits at the stern of his church, 
Ps. xlvi. 5. Sometimes it is a ship tossed upon 
the waves, " O thou afflicted and tossed !" 
Isa. liv. 11. But cannot God bring this ship 
to haven, though it meet with a storm upon 
the sea 1 This ship in the gospel was tossed 
because sin was in it ; but it was not over- 
whelmed, because Christ was in it. Christ is 
in the ship of this church, fear not sinking ; 
the church's anchor is cast in heaven. Do 
not we think God loves his church, and takes 
as much care of it as we can ? The names 
of the twelve tribes were on Aaron's breast, 
signifying how near to God's heart his peo- 
ple are ; they are his portion, Deut. xxvii. 9, 



SELECT SERMONS. 



701 



and shall that be lost? His glory, Isa. xlvi. 
13, and shall that be finally eclipsed 3 No, 
certainly. God can deliver his church, not 
only from, but by opposition ; the church's 
pangs shall help forward her deliverance. 

Reply 2. God hath always propagated re- 
ligion by sufferings. The foundation of the 
church hath been laid in blood, and these san- 
guine showers have ever made it more fruit- 
ful. Cain put the knife to Abel's throat, and 
ever since the church's veins have bled : but 
she is like the vine, which by bleeding grows, 
and like the palm tree, which may have this 
motto, percussa resurgit, — the more weight 
is laid upon it, the higher it riseth. The ho- 
liness and patience of the saints, under their 
persecutions, hath much added both to the 
growth of religion, and the crown. Basil and 
Tertullian observe of the primitive martyrs, 
that divers of s the heathens seeing their zeal 
and constancy, turned Christians : religion is 
that phoenix which hath always revived and 
flourished in the ashes of holy men. Isaiah 
sawn asunder, — Peter crucified at Rome with 
his head downwards, — Cyprian, bishop of 
Carthage, and Polycarp of Smyrna, both 
martyred for religion, — yet evermore the 
truth hath been sealed by blood, and glorious- 
ly dispersed ; whereupon Julian did forbear 
to persecute, non ex dementia sed invidia ; 
not out of pity, but envy, because the church 
grew so fast, and multiplied, as Nazianzen 
well observes. 

The twelfth apology that discontent makes 
for itself, is this, it is not my trouble that 
troubles me, but it is my sins that do disquiet 
and discontent me. 

Ans. Be sure it be so ; do not prevaricate 
with God and thy own soul ; in true mourn- 
ing for sin when the present suffering is re- 
moved, yet the sorrow is not removed. But 
suppose the apology be real, that sin is the 
ground of your discontent ; yet I answer, a 
man's disquiet about sin may be beyond its 
bounds, in these three cases. 

1. When it is disheartening, that is, when* 
it sets up sin above mercy. If Israel had 
only pored upon their sting, and not looked 
up to the brazen serpent, they had never been 
healed. That sorrow for sin which drives us 
away from God, is not without sin, for there 



is more despair in it than remorse ; the soul 
hath so many tears in its eyes, that it cannot 
see Christ. Sorrow, as sorrow, doth not 
save, that were to make a Christ of our tears, 
but is useful, as it is preparatory in the soul, 
making sin vile, and Christ precious. O look 
up to the brazen serpent, the Lord Jesus ! A 
sight of his blood will revive, the plaster of 
his merits is broader than our sore. It is Sa- 
tan's policy, either to keep us from seeing our 
sins, or, if we will needs see them that we 
may be swallowed up of sorrow, 2 Cor. ii. 7, 
either he would stupify us, or affright us ; 
either keep the glass of the law from our eyes y 
or else pencil out our sins in such crimson 
colours, that we may sink in the quicksands 
of despair. 

2. When sorrow is indisposing, it untunes 
the heart for prayer, meditation, holy con- 
ference ; it cloisters up the soul. This is not 
sorrow but rather sullenness, and doth render 
a man not so much penitential as cynical. 

3. When it is out of season. God bids us 
rejoice, and we hang our harps upon the wil- 
lows ; he bids us trust, and we cast ourselves 
down, and are brought even to the margin 
of despair. If Satan cannot keep us from 
mourning, he will be sure to put us upon it 
when it is least in season. When God calls 
us in a special manner to be thankful for mer- 
cy, and put on our white robes, Satan will 
be putting us into mourning, and instead of 
a garment of praise, clothe us thus with a 
spirit of heaviness ; so God loseth the ac- 
knowledgement of mercy, and we the comfort. 
If thy sorrow hath tuned and fitted thee for 
Christ, — if it hath raised in thee high prizings 
of 'him, strong hungerings after him, sweet 
delight in him, — this is as much as God re- 
quires, and a Christian doth but sin to vex and 
torture himself further upon the rack of his 
own discontent. 

And thus I hope I have answered the 
most material objections and apologies 
which this sin of discontent doth make for 
itself. I see no reason why a Christian 
should be discontented, unless for his dis- 
content. Let me, in the next place, pro- 
pound something which may be both as 
a loadstone and a whet-stone to contenta- 
tion. 



702 



SELECT SERMONS. 



Chap. XL Divine motives to content- 
ment. 

And so I proceed to the arguments or mo- 
tives that may quicken to contentment. 

Sect. I. The first argument to conlenta- 
tion. 

I. Consider the excellency of it. Content- 
ment is a flower that doth not grow in every 
garden ; it teacheth a man how in the midst 
of want to abound. You would think it were 
excellent if I could prescribe a receipt or an- 
tidote against poverty : but behold here is 
that which is more excellent, for a man to 
want, and yet have enough, this alone con- 
tentment of spirit doth bring. Contentation 
is a remedy against all our trouble, an allevia- 
tion to all our burthens, it is the cure of care. 
Contentation, though it be not properly a 
grace (it is rather a disposition of mind,) yet 
in it there is a happy temperature and mixture 
of all the graces : it is a most precious com- 
pound, which is made up of faith, patience, 
meekness, humility, &c. which are the ingre- 
dients put into it. Now there are in species 
these seven rare excellencies in contentment. 

1st Excellency. A contented Christian 
carries heaven about him : for, what is hea- 
ven, but that sweet repose and full content- 
ment that the soul shall have in God 1 In 
contentment there is the first fruits of heaven. 
There are two things in a contented spirit, 
which make it like heaven. (1). God is 
there ; something of God is to be seen in that 
heart. A discontented Christian is like a 
rough tempestuous sea ; when the water is 
rough you can see nothing there ; but when 
it is smooth and serene, then you may behold 
your face in the water, Prov. xxvii. 19. 
When the heart rageth through discontent, 
it is like a rough sea, you can see nothing 
there, unless passion and murmuring ; there 
is nothing of God, nothing of heaven in that 
heart : but by virtue of contentment, it is 
like the sea when it is smooth and calm, 
there is a face shining there ; you may see 
something of Christ in that heart, a repre- 
sentation of all the graces. (2). Rest is there. 
O what a sabbath is kept in a contented 
heart ! What a heaven ! A contented Chris- 
tian is like Noah in the ark ; though the ark 



were tossed with waves, Noah could sit and ) 
sing in the ark, The soul that is gotten into 
the ark of contentment, sits quiet, and sails 
above all the waves of trouble ; he can sing 
in this spiritual ark ; the wheels of the chariot j 
move, but the axle-tree stirs not ; the cir- i 
cumfernece of the heavens is carried about 
the earth, but the earth moves not out of its 
centre. When we meet with motion and 
change in the creatures round about us, a 
contented spirit is not stirred nor moved 
out of its centre. The sails of a mill move 
with the wind, but the mill itself stands 
still, — an emblem of contentment; when 
our outward estate moves with the wind of 
providence, yet the heart is settled through 
holy contentment ; and when others are 
like quicksilver, shaking and trembling 
through disquiet, the contented spirit can 
say, as David, " O God my heart is fixed," i 
Ps. lvii. 7. What is this but a piece of j 
heaven 1 

2d Excellency. Whatever is defective in 
the creature is made up in contentment. A 
Christian may want the comforts that others 
have, the land, and possessions ; but God hath 
instilled into his heart that contentment which 
is far better : in this sense that is true of our 
Saviour, " he shall receive a hundred fold," 
Matt. xix. 29. Perhaps he that ventured all 
for Christ, never hath his house or land again : 
aye, but God gives him a contented spirit, 
and this breeds such joy in the soul, as is in- 
finitely sweeter than all his houses and lands 
which he left for Christ. It was sad [with 
David in regard of his outward comforts, he 
being driven — as some think — from his king- 
dom, yet in regard of that sweet content- 
ment he found in God, he had more comfort 
than men use to have in the time of harvest 
and vintage, Ps. iv. 7. One man hath house 
and lands to live upon, another hath nothing, 
only a small trade ; yet even that brings in 
a livelihood. A Christian may have little in 
the world, but he drives the trade of content- 
ment; and so he knows as well how to want, 
as to abound. O the rare art, or rather mira- 
cle of contentment ! Wicked men are often 
disquieted in the enjoyment of all things ; the 
contented Christian is well in the want of all 
things. 



SELECT SERMONS. 



703 



Quest. But how comes a Christian to be 
contented in the deficiency of outward com- 
forts ? 

, Ans. A Christian finds contentment dis- 
tilled out of the breasts of the promises. He 
is poor in purse, but rich in promise. There 
sis one promise brings much sweet content- 
ment into the soul; "They that seek the 
Lord shall not want any good thing," Ps. 
xxxiv. 10. If the thing we desire be good for 
jus, we shall have it ; if it be not good, then 
the not having is good for us. The resting 
satisfied with the promise gives contentment. 

3d Excellency. Contentment makes a man 
in tune to serve God ; it oils the wheels of 
the soul and makes it more agile and nimble ; 
it composeth the heart, and makes it fit for 
prayer, meditation, &c. How can he that 
is in a passion of grief, or discontent, " at- 
tend upon the Lord without distraction?" 1 
Cor. vii. 35. Contentment doth prepare and 
tune the heart. First you prepare the viol, 
and wind up the strings, ere you play a fit 
of music : when a Christian's heart is wound 
I up to this heavenly frame of contentment, 
then it is fit for duty. A discontented 
Christian is like Saul, when the evil spirit 
' came upon him : O what jarrings and dis- 
cords doth he make in prayer ! When an 
army is put into a disorder, then it is not fit 
■ for battle ; when the thoughts are scattered 
and distracted about the cares of this life, a 
man is not fit for devotion. Discontent takes 
the heart wholly off from God, and fixeth it 
upon the present trouble, so that a man's 
mind is not upon his prayer, but upon his 
cross. Discontent doth disjoint the soul ; and 
it is impossible now that a Christian should 
go so steadily and cheerfully in God's service. 
O how lame is his devotion ! The discon- 
tented person gives God but a half-duty, and 
his religion is nothing but bodily exercise, 
it wants a soul to animate it. David would 
not offer that to God which cost him " no- 
thing," 2 Sam. xxiv. 24. Where there is 
too much worldly care, there is too little 
spiritual cost in a duty. The discontented 
person doth his duties by halves ; he is just 
like Ephrairn— "a cake not turned," Hos. 
vii. 8. He is a cake baked on one side, — 
he gives God the outside but not the spi- 



ritual part ; his heart is not in duty, — he is 
baked on one side, but the other side dough ; 
and what profit is there of such raw indi- 
gested services'? He that gives God only the 
skin of worship, what can he expect more 
than the shell of comfort] Contentation 
brings the heart into frame, and then only do 
we give God the flower and spirits of a duty, 
when the soul is composed. Now a Chris- 
tian's heart is intent and serious. There are 
some duties which we cannot perform as we 
ought without contentment : as, (1). To re- 
joice in God. How can he rejoice that is 
discontented 1 He is fitter for repining, than 
rejoicing. (2). To be thankful for mercy. 
Can a discontented person be thankful] He 
can be fretful, not thankful. (3). To justify 
God in his proceedings, Ezra ix. 13. How 
can he do this who is discontented with his 
condition? He will sooner censure God's 
wisdom, than clear his justice. O then, how 
excellent is contentation, which doth prepare, 
and as it were, string the heart for duty ? In- 
deed contentment doth not only make our 
duties lively and agile, but acceptable. It is 
this that puts beauty and worth into them ; 
for contentment settles the soul. Now, as it 
is with milk, when it is always stirring, you 
can make nothing of it, but let it settle a 
while, and then it turns to cream : when the 
heart is over-much stirred with disquiet and 
discontent, you can make nothing of those 
duties. How thin, how fleeting and jejune 
are they ! But when the heart is once set- 
tled by holy contentment, now there is some 
worth in our duties, now they turn to cream. 

Ath Excellency. Contentment is the spi- 
ritual arch, or pillar of the soul ; it fits a 
man to bear burdens ; he whose heart is 
ready to sink under the least sin, by virtue 
of this hath a spirit invincible under suffer- 
ings. A contented Christian is like the ca- 
momile, the more it is trodden upon the 
more it grows ; as physic works diseases out 
of the body, so doth contentment work 
trouble out of the heart. Thus it argues, 
"If I am under reproach, God can vindi- 
cate me ; if I am in want, God can relieve 
me." " Ye shall not see wind, neither shall 
ye see rain, yet that valley shall be filled 
with water," 2 Kings iii. 17. Thus holy 



SERMONS. 



704 SELECT 

contentment keeps the heart from fainting. 
In the autumn, when the fruit and leaves are 
blown off, still there is sap in the root : when 
there is an autumn upon our external felicity, 
the leaves of our estate drop off, still there is 
the sap of contentment in the heart ; and a 
Christian hath life inwardly, when his out- 
ward comforts do not blossom. The content- 
ed heart is never out of heart. Contentation 
is a golden shield, that doth beat back dis- 
couragements. Humility is like the lead to 
the net which keeps the soul down when it is 
rising through passion ; and contentment is 
like the cork which keeps the heart up when 
it is sinking through discouragements. Con- 
tentment is the great under-prop ; it is like 
the beam which bears whatever weight is laid 
upon it ; nay, it is like a rock that breaks the 
waves. It is strange to observe the same 
affliction lying upon two men, how differ- 
ently they carry themselves under it. The 
contented Christian is like Samson, that car- 
ried away the gates of the city upon his back, 
Jud. xvi. 3, he can go away with his cross 
cheerfully, and makes nothing of it ; the other 
is like Issachar, couching down under his 
burden, Gen. xlix. 14. The reason is, the 
one is content, and that breeds courage ; the 
other discontented, and that breeds fainting. 
Discontent swells the grief, and grief breaks 
the heart. When this sacred sinew of con- 
tentment begins to shrink, we go limping 
under our afflictions; we know not what 
burdens God may exercise us with ; let us 
therefore preserve contentment ; as is our 
contentment, such will be our courage. David 
with his five stones and his sling defied Go- 
liah, and overcame him. Get but content- 
ment into the sling of your heart; and with 
this sacred stone you may both defy the 
world and conquer it; you may break those 
afflictions, which else would break you. 

5th Excellency. Contentment prevents 
many sins and tentations. 

First, It prevents many sins. Where 
there wants contentment, there wants no 
sin ; discontentedness with our condition is 
a sin that doth not go alone, but is like the 
first link of the chain which draws all the 
other links along with it. In particular, there 
are two sins which contentation prevents: 



(1). Impatience. Discontent and impa- 
tience are two twins : " this evil is of the ; 
Lord, why should I wait on the Lord any lon- 
ger V 2 Kings vi. 33. As if God were so tied, : 
that he must give us the mercy just when we 
desire it. Impatience is no small sin ; as will 
appear if you consider whence it ariseth.— 
1st, It is for want of faith. Faith gives a 
right notion of God ; it is an intelligent grace ; 
it believes that God's wisdom tempers, and 
his love sweetens all ingredients ; this 
works patience : " Shall I not drink the cup 
which my Father hath given me 1" Impa- 
tience is the daughter of infidelity. If a pa- 
tient have an ill opinion of the physician, and 
conceits that he comes to poison him, he will 
take none of his receipts. When we have a \ 
prejudice against God, and conceit that he 
comes to kill us, and undo us, then we storm 
and cry out, like a foolish man — it is Chrysos- • 
tom's simile — that cries out, Away with the j 
plaster ! though it be in order to a cure ; is it 
not better that the plaster smart a little, than 
the wound fester and rankle? — 2d, Impa- 
tience is for want of love to God. We will 
bear his reproofs whom we love not only pa- 
tiently, but thankfully, "Love thinketh no 
evil," 1 Cor. xiii. 5. It puts the fairest^ and 
most candid gloss upon the actions of a friend,, i 
'Love covers evil.' If it were possible for 
God in the least manner to err — which were 
blasphemy to think — love would cover that 
error; love takes every thing in the best 
sense, it makes us bear any stroke, " It en- 
dureth all things," 1 Cor. xiii. 7. Had we love 
to God, we should have patience. 3d, Impa- 
tience is for want of humility. An impatient, jj 
man was never humbled under the burden of 
sin ; he that studies his sins, — the numberless 
number of them, — how they are twisted to- 
gether, and sadly accented, — is patient and 
saith, " I will bear the indignation of the 
Lord, because I have sinned against him," 
Mic. vii. 9. The greater noise drowns the 
lesser ; when the sea roars the rivers are still ; 
he that lets his thoughts expatiate about 
sin, is both silent and amazed, he wonders 
it is no worse with him. How great then 
is this sin of impatience ! And how excel- 
lent is contentation, which is a supersedeas 
or counterpoise against this sin 1 The con- 



SELECT SERMONS. 



705 



tented Christian believing that God doth all 
in love, is patient, and hath not one word to 
say, unless to justify God, Ps. li. 4. That is 
the sin that contentation prevents. 

(2). It prevents murmuring, a sin which is 
a degree higher than the other ; murmuring is 
quarrelling with God, and inveighing against 
him, "they spake against God," Numb. xxi. 
5. The murmurer saith interpretatively, that 
God hath not dealt well with him, and he hath 
deserved better from him. The murmurer 
chargeth God with folly ; this is the language, 
or rather blasphemy of a murmuring spirit, — 
God might have been a wiser and better God. 
The murmurer is a mutineer. The Israelites 
are called in the same text murmurers and 
rebels, Numb. xvii. 10. And is not rebellion 
as the sin of witchcraft 1 Thou that art a 
murmurer art in the account of God as a 
witch, a sorcerer, as one that deals with the 
devil. This is a sin of the first magnitude. 
Murmuring oft ends in cursing: Micah's 
mother fell to cursing when the talents of 
silver were taken away, Judges xvii. 2, so 
doth the murmurer when a part of his estate 
is taken away ; our murmuring is the devil's 
music ; this is that sin which God cannot 
bear: "how long shall I bear with this evil 
congregation which murmur against me?" 
Numb. xiv. 7. It is a sin which whets the 
sword against a people. It is a land-destroy- 
ing sin; "neither murmur ye as some of 
them also murmured, and were destroyed of 
the destroyer," 1 Cor. x. 10. It is a ripen- 
ing sin this ; without mercy it will hasten 
England's funerals. O then how excellent is 
contentation, which prevents this sin ! To 
be contented, and yet murmur, is a solecism : 
a contented Christian doth acquiesce in his 
present condition, and doth not murmur, but 
admire. Herein appears the excellency of 
contentation ; it is a spiritual antidote against 
sin. 

Secondly, Contentment prevents many 
temptations ; discontent is a devil that is 
always tempting. 1st, It puts a man upon 
indirect means. He that is poor and dis- 
contented, will attempt any thing ; he will go 
to the devil for riches ; he that is proud and 
discontented, will hang himself, as Ahitho- 
phel did when his counsel was rejected. Sa- 
4U 



tan takes great advantage of our discontent; 
he loves to fish in these troubled waters. 
Discontent doth both eclipse reason and 
weaken faith ; and it is Satan's policy ; he 
doth usually break over the hedge where it is 
weakest. Discontent makes a breach in the 
soul, and usually at this breach the devil 
enters by a temptation, and storms the soul. 
How easily can the devil by his logic dispute 
a discontented Christian into sin 1 He forms 
such a syllogism as this, "He that is in 
want must study self-preservation. But you 
are now in w T ant, therefore you ought to 
study self-preservation." Hereupon, to make 
good his conclusion, he tempts to the forbid- 
den fruit, not distinguishing between what is 
needful, and what is lawful. " What ?" saith 
he, " dost thou want a livelihood 1 Never be 
such a fool as starve ; take the rising side at 
a venture, be it good or bad ; ' eat the bread 
of deceit, drink the wine of violence.' " Thus 
you see how the discontented man is a prey 
to that sad tentation, Prov. xxx. 9, to steal 
and take God's name in vain. Contentment 
is a shield against tentation ; for he that is 
contented, knows as well how to want as 
to abound. He will not sin to get a living ; 
though the bill of fare grows short, he is con- 
tent. He lives as the birds of the air upon 
God's providence, and doubts not but he shall 
have enough to pay for his passage to heaven. 
2d, Discontent tempts a man to atheism and 
apostacy. Sure there is no God to take care 
of things here below. Would he suffer them 
to be in want who " have walked mournfully 
before the Lord of hosts V 9 Mai. iii. 14, saith 
discontent. Throw off Christ's livery, desist 
from thy religion ! Thus Job's wife being dis- 
contented with her condition, saith to her 
husband, " Dost thou still retain thy integri- 
ty T Job ii. 9. As if she had said, " Dost 
thou not see, Job, what is become of all thy 
religion 1 4 Thou fearest God and eschewest 
evil,' and what art thou the better 1 See how 
God turns his hand against thee ; he hath 
smitten thee in thy body, estate, relations, 
and ' dost thou still retain thy integrity V 
What. ! still devout? Still weep and pray be- 
fore him? Thou fool, cast off religion, turn 
atheist !" Here was a sore tentation that the 
devil did hand over to Job by his discontented 



706 



SELECT SERMONS. 



wife ; only his grace, as a golden shield, did 
ward off the blow from his heart : " Thou 
speakest as one of the foolish women." 
" What profit is it," saith the discontented 
person, "to serve the Almighty 1 Those that 
never trouble themselves about religion, are 
the prosperous men, and I in the mean while 
suffer want : as good give over driving the 
trade of religion, if this be all my reward." 
This is a sore tentation, and oft it prevails ; 
atheism is the fruit that grows out of the 
blossom of discontent'. O then, behold the 
excellency of contentment ! It doth repel this 
tentation. " If God be mine," saith the con- 
tented spirit, "it is enough; though I have 
no lands or tenements, his smile makes hea- 
ven ; his loves are better than wine ; better is 
the gleaning of Ephraim than the vintage of 
Abiezer, Judges viii. 2. I have little in hand, 
but much in hope ; my livelihood is short, 
but this is his promise, " even eternal life," 
1 John ii. 25. I am persecuted by malice : 
but better is persecuted godliness, than pros- 
perous wickedness." Thus divine content- 
ment is a spiritual antidote both against sin 
and tentation. 

6th Excellency. Contentment sweetens 
every condition. Christ turned the water 
into wine ; so contentment turns the waters 
of Marah into spiritual wine. Have I but 
little 1 Yet it is more than I can deserve or 
challenge. This modicum is in mercy ; it is 
the fruit of Christ's blood, — it is the legacy 
of free grace ; a small present sent from a 
king is highly valued, — this little I have is 
with a good conscience. It is not stolen 
waters ; guilt hath not muddied or poisoned 
it ; it runs pure. This little is a pledge of 
more ; this bit of bread is an earnest of that 
bread which I shall eat in the kingdom of 
God. This little water in the cruise is an 
earnest of that heavenly nectar which shall 
be distilled from the true vine. Do I meet 
with some crosses 1 my comfort is, if they be 
heavy, I have not far to go ; I shall but carry 
my cross to Golgotha, and there I shall leave 
it ; my cross is light in regard of the weight 
of glory. Hath God taken away my com- 
forts from me ] It is well, the Comforter still 
abides. Thus contentment, as a honeycomb, 
drops sweetness into every condition. Dis- 



content is a leaven that sours every comfort ; 
it puts aloes and wormwood upon the breast 
of the creature ; it lessens every mercy, it 
trebles every cross ; but the contented spirit 
sucks sweetness from every flower of provi- 
dence ; it can make a treacle of poison. Con- 
tentation is full of consolation. 

7th Excellency. Contentment hath this 
excellency, it is the best commentator upon 
providence ; it makes a fair interpretation of 
all God's dealings. Let the providence of 
God be never so dark or bloody, content- 
ment doth construe them ever in the best 
sense. I may say of it, as the apostle of 
charity, "it thinketh no evil," 1 Cor. xiii. 5. 
Sickness (saith contentment) is God's fur- 
nace to refine his gold, and make it sparkle 
the more ; the prison is an oratory, or house 
of prayer. What if God melts away the 
creature from it 1 He saw perhaps my heart 
grew so much in love with it ; had I been 
long in that fat pasture I should have sur- 
feited, and the better my estate had been, 
the worse my soul would have been. God is 
wise ; he hath done this either to prevent 
some sin or to exercise some grace. What 
a blessed frame of heart is this ! A contented 
Christian is an advocate for God against un- 
belief and impatience ; whereas discontent 
takes every thing from God in the worst 
sense ; it doth implead and censure God : 
This evil I feel is but a symptom of greater 
evil : God is about to undo me : The Lord 
hath brought us hither into the wilderness to 
slay us, Numb. xx. 4. The contented soul 
takes all well ; and when his condition is ever 
so bad, he can say, " truly God is good," Ps. 
lxxiii. 1. 

Sect. II. The second argument to con- 
tentment. 

A Christian hath that which may make 
him content. 1. Hath not God given thee 
Christ'? In him there are "unsearchable 
riches," Eph. iii. 8. He is such a golden 
mine of wisdom and grace, that all the 
saints and angels can never dig to the bot- 
tom. As Seneca said to his friend Polybi- 
us, Never complain of thy hard fortune as 
long as Caesar is thy friend : so I say to a 
believer, Never complain as long as Christ 
is thy friend ; he is an enriching pearl, a 



SELECT SERMONS. 



707 



sparkling diamond ; the infinite lustre of his 
merits makes us shine in God's eyes, Eph. i. 
7. In him there is both fulness and sweet- 
ness ; he is unspeakably good. Screw up 
your thoughts to the highest pinnacle, — 
stretch them to the utmost period,' — let them 
expatiate to their full latitude and extent,— yet 
they fall infinitely short of these ineffable 
and inexhaustible treasures which are locked 
up in Jesus Christ : and is not here enough 
to give the soul content 1 A Christian that 
wants necessaries, yet having Christ, he 
hath the " one thing needful." 

2. Thy soul is exercised and enamelled 
with the graces of the Spirit, and is not here 
enough to give contentment 1 Grace is of a 
divine birth, — it is the new plantation, — it 
is the flower of the heavenly paradise, — it is 
the embroidery of the Spirit. It is the seed 
of God, 1 John iii. 9. It is the sacred unction, 
1 John ii. 20. It is Christ's portraiture in 
the soul ; it is the very foundation on which 
the superstructure of glory is laid. O, of 
what infinite value is grace ! What a jewel 
is faith ! Well may it be called "precious 
faith," 2 Pet. i. 1. What is love, but a divine 
sparkle in the soul 1 A soul beautified with 
grace, is like a loom richly hung with arras, 
or tapestry, or the firmament bespangled with 
glittering stars. These are the "true riches," 
Luke xvi. 11, which cannot stand with re- 
probation. And is not here enough to give 
the soul contentment 1 What are all other 
things but like wings of a butterfly, curiously 
painted 1 But they defile our fingers. Earthly 
riches, saith Augustine, are full of poverty ; 
so indeed they are. For, 1. They cannot 
enrich the soul : oftentimes under silken ap- 
parel there is a thread-bare soul. 2. These 
are corruptible : " riches are not for ever," 
as the wise man saith, Prov. xxvii. 24. 
Heaven is a place where gold and silver will 
not go ; a believer is rich towards God, Luke 
xii. 21. Why then art thou discontented 1 
Hath not God given thee that which is better 
than the world 1 What if he doth not give 
thee the box, if he gives thee the jewel] 
What if he denies thee farthings, if he pays 
thee in a better coin 1 He gives thee gold, 
viz. spiritual mercies. What if the water in 
the bottle be spent 1 Thou hast enough in 



the fountain. What need he complain of the 
world's emptiness, that hath God's fulness 1 
The Lord is my portion, saith David, Ps. xvi. 
5. Then let the lines fall where they will,— 
in a sick-bed or prison,— I will say, "the 
lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places : 
yea, I have a goodly heritage." 

3. Art thou not heir to all the promises 1 
Hast thou not a reversion of heaven ] When 
thou lettest go thy hold of natural life", art 
thou not sure of eternal life 1 Hath not God 
given .thee the earnest and first fruits of 
glory ? Is not here enough to work the heart 
to contentment ? 

Sect. III. The third argument is, 

Be content, for else we confute our own 
prayers. We pray " thy will be done :" it is 
the will of God that we should be in such a 
condition, — he hath decreed it, and he sees it 
best for us, — why then do we murmur, and 
are discontented at that which we pray for? 
Either we are not in good earnest in our 
prayer, which argues hypocrisy ; or else we 
contradict ourselves, which argues folly. 

Sect. IV. The fourth argument to con- 
tentment is, 

Because now God hath his end, and Satan 
misseth of his end. 

1. God hath his end. God's end in all his 
cross providences is to bring the heart to sub- 
mit and be content ; and indeed this pleaseth 
God much, — he loves to see his children sat- 
isfied with that portion he doth carve and 
allot them, — it contents him to see us con- 
tented ; therefore let us acquiesce in God's 
providence, now God hath his end. 

2. Satan misseth of his end. The end why 
the devil though by God's permission, did 
smite Job in his body and estate, was to per- 
plex his mind ; he did vex his body on purpose 
that he might disquiet his spirit. He hoped 
to bring Job into a fit of discontent, and then 
that he would in a passion break forth against 
God. But Job being so well-contented with 
his condition as that he falls to blessing of God, 
he did disappoint Satan of his hope, " the 
devil will cast some of you into prison," Rev. 
ii. 10. Why doth the devil throw us into 
prison 1 It is not so much the hurting our 
body, as the molesting our mind, that he aims 
at ; he would imprison our contentment, and 



708 



SELECT SERMONS. 



disturb the regular motion of our souls, this 
is his design. It is not so much the putting 
us into a prison, as the putting us into a 
passion, that he attempts ; but by holy con- 
tentation, Satan loseth his prey, he misseth 
of his end. The devil hath often deceived 
us ; the best way to deceive him, is by con- 
tentation in the midst of tentation ; our con- 
tentment will discontent Satan. O, let us not 
gratify our enemy ! Discontent is the devil's 
delight ; now it is as he would have it, he loves 
to warm himself at the fire of our passions. 
Repentance is the joy of the angels, and dis- 
content is the joy of the devils ; as the devil 
danceth at discord, so he sings at discontent. 
The fire of our passions makes the devil a 
bonfire ; it is a kind of heaven to him to see 
us torturing ourselves with our own troubles ; 
but by holy contentment, we frustrate him of 
his purpose, and do as it were put him out 
of countenance. 

Sect. V. The fifth argument is, 
By contentment a Christian gains a victory 
over himself. For a man to be able to rule 
his own spirit, this of all others is the most 
noble conquest. Passion denotes weakness ; 
to be discontented is suitable to flesh and 
blood ; but to be in every state content, — 
reproached, yet content, — imprisoned, yet 
content, — this is above nature ; this is some 
of that holy valour and chivalry which only a 
divine spirit is able to infuse. In the midst 
of the affronts of the world to be patient, and 
in the changes of the world to have the spirit 
calmed, this is a conquest worthy indeed of 
the garland of honour. Holy Job, divested 
and turned out of all, leaving his scarlet, and 
embracing the dunghill, (a sad catastrophe!) 
yet had learned contentment. It is said, " he 
fell down upon the ground and worshipped," 
Job i. 20. One would have thought he 
should have fallen upon the ground and 
blasphemed ! No, he fell and worshipped. 
He adored God's justice and holiness. Be- 
hold the strength of grace ! here was an 
humble submission, yet, a noble conquest ; 
he got the victory over himself. It is no 
great matter for a man to yield to his own 
passions, this is facile and feminine ; but to 
content himself in denying of himself, this 
is sacred. 



Sect. VI. The sixth great argument to 
work the heart to contentment, is 

The consideration that all God's provi- 
dences, how cross or bloody soever, shall do 
a believer good : " and we know that all 
things work together for good to them that 
love God," Rom. viii. 28. Not only all good 
things, but all evil things work for good ; and 
shall we be discontented at that which works 
for our good 1 Suppose our troubles are twist- 
ed together, and sadly accented : what if 
sickness, poverty, reproach, law-suits, &c do 
unite and muster their forces against us 1 
All shall work for good ; our maladies shall 
be our medicines ; and shall we repine at 
that which shall undoubtedly do us good ? 
" Unto the upright there ariseth light in dark- 
ness," Ps. cxii. 4. Affliction may be bap- 
tized Marah ; it is bitter, but physical. Be- 
cause this is so full of comfort, and may be 
a most excellent catholicon against discon- 
tent, I shall a little expatiate. 

Quest. It will be required how the evils 
of affliction work for good? 

Ans. Several ways. 

First, They are disciplinary ; they teach 
us. The psalmist having very elegantly de- 
scribed the church's trouble, Ps. Ixxiv. pre- 
fixeth this title to the psalm, Maschil, which 
signifies a psalm giving instruction ; that 
which seals up instruction works for good. 
God puts us sometimes under the black rod ; 
but it is virga disciplinaris, a rod of disci- 
pline ; " Hear ye the rod, and who hath ap- 
pointed it," Mic. vi. 9. God makes our ad- 
versity our university. Affliction is a preach- 
er ; " Blow the trumpet in Tekoa," Jer. vi. 1. 
The trumpet was to preach to the people, as 
appears ver. 8, " Be thou instructed, O Jeru- 
salem." Sometimes God speaks to the min- 
ister to lift up his voice like a trumpet, Isa. 
lviii. 1, and here he speaks to the trumpet to 
lift up its voice like a minister. Afflictions 
teach us, 1st, Humility. Commonly prosper- 
ous, and proud, corrections are God's corro- 
sives to eat out the proud flesh. Jesus Christ 
is the lily of the vallies, Cant. ii. 1. He dwells 
in an humble heart : God brings us into the 
valley of tears, that he may bring us into 
the valley of humility ; " remembering my 
affliction and my misery, the wormwood 



SELECT SERMONS. 



709 



and the gall ; my soul hath them still in re- 
membrance, and is humbled in me," Lam. iii. 
19, 20. When men are grown high, God 
hath no better way with them, than to brew 
them up a cup of wormwood. Afflictions are 
compared to thorns, Bos. ii. 6. God's thorns 
are to prick the bladder of pride : suppose a 
man run at another with a sword to kill 
him,— accidently, it only lets out his im- 
posthume, — this doth him good. God's sword 
is to let out the imposthume of pride ; and 
shall that which makes us humble, make us 
discontented 1 2d, Afflictions teach us repent- 
ance ; " thou hast chastised me, and I was 
chastised. I repented ; and after I was in- 
structed, I smote upon my thigh," &c. Jer. 
xxxi. 18, 19. Repentance is the precious 
fruit that grows upon the cross. When the 
fire is put under the still, the water drops 
from the roses ; fiery afflictions make the 
waters of repentance drop and distil from the 
eyes ; and is here any cause of discontent 1 
3d, Afflictions teach us to pray better, " they 
poured out a prayer when thy chastening 
was upon them," Isa. xxvi. 16. Before, 
they would say a prayer ; now they poured 
out a prayer. Jonah was asleep in the ship, 
but awake and at prayer in the whale's belly. 
When God puts under the fire-brands of af- 
fliction, now our hearts boil over the more ; 
God loves to have his children possessed with 
a spirit of prayer. Never did David, the 
sweet singer of Israel, tune his harp more 
melodiously, never did he pray better, than 
when he was upon the waters. Thus afflic- 
tions do in discipline ; and shall we be dis- 
content at that which is for our good ? 

Secondly, Afflictions are probatory, Ps. 
lxvi. 10, 11. Gold is not the worse for 
being tried, or corn for being fanned. Af- 
fliction is the touchstone of sincerity, — it 
tries what metal we are made of ; affliction 
is God's fan and his sieve. It is good that 
men be known ; some serve God for a live- 
ry, — they are like the fisherman, that makes 
use of the net, only to catch the fish, — so 
they go a fishing with the net of religion, 
only to catch preferment : affliction discov- 
ers these. The Donatists went to the Goths 
when the Arians prevailed : hypocrites will 
fail in the storm, — true grace holds out in the 



winter-season. That is a precious faith 
which, like the stars, shines brightest in the 
darkest night. It is good that our graces 
should be brought to trial ; thus we have the 
comfort, and the gospel the honour, and why 
then discontented'? 

Thirdly, Afflictions are expurgatory, these 
evils work for our good, because they work 
out sin, and shall I be discontented at this 1 
What if I have more trouble, if I have less 
sin ? The brightest day hath its clouds ; the 
purest gold its dross ; the most refined soul 
hath some lees of corruption. The saints lose 
nothing in the furnace but what they can well 
spare, — their dross ; is not this for our good ? 
Why then should we murmur? " I am come 
to send fire on the earth," Luke xii. 49. 
Tertullian understands it of the fire of afflic- 
tion. God makes this like the fire of the 
three children which burned only their bonds 
and set them at liberty in the furnace : so the 
fire of affliction serves to burn the bonds of 
iniquity. " By this therefore shall the ini- 
quity of Jacob be purged : and this is all the 
fruit, to take away his sin," Isa. xxvii. 9. 
When affliction or death comes to a wicked 
man, it takes away his soul ; when it comes 
to a godly man, it only takes away his sin ; is 
there any cause why we should be discontent- 
ed % God steeps us in the brinish waters of 
affliction that he may take out our spots. 
God's people are his husbandry, 1 Cor. iii. 9, 
the ploughing of the ground kills the weeds, 
and the harrowing of the earth breaks the hard 
clods : God's ploughing of us by affliction, is 
to kill the weeds of sin : his harrowing of us 
is to break the hard clods of impenitency, that 
the heart may be the fitter to receive the 
seeds of grace ; and if this be all, why should 
we be discontented 1 ? 

Fourthly, Afflictions do both exercise and 
increase our grace. 1st, They exercise grace : 
affliction doth breathe our graces ; every 
thing is most in its excellency when it is most 
in its exercise. Our grace, though it cannot 
be dead, yet it may be asleep, and hath need 
of awakening. What a dull thing is the fire 
when it is hid in the embers, or the sun when 
it is masked with a cloud 1 A sick man is liv- 
ing, but not lively ; afflictions quicken and 
excite grace. God doth not love to see grace 



710 SELECT 

in the eclipse. Now faith puts forth its pur- 
est and most noble acts in times of affliction : 
God makes the fall of the leaf the spring of 
our graces. What if we are more passive, if 
graces be more active. 2d, Afflictions do in- 
crease grace ; as the wind serves to increase 
and blow up the flame, so doth the windy 
blasts of affliction augment and blow up our 
graces ; grace spends not in the furnace, but 
it is like the widow's oil in the cruise, which 
did increase by pouring out. The torch, when 
it is beaten burns brightest, so doth grace 
when it is exercised by sufferings. Sharp 
frosts nourish the good corn, so do sharp af- 
flictions grace. Some plants grow better in 
the shade than in the sun, — as the bay and 
the cypress, — the shade of adversity is better 
for some than the sun-shine of prosperity. 
Naturalists observe that the colwort thrives 
better when it is watered with salt water than 
with fresh, so do some thrive better in the 
salt water of affliction ; and shall we be dis- 
contented at that which makes us grow and 
fructify more 1 

Fifthly, These afflictions do bring more 
of God's immediate presence into the soul. 
When we are most assaulted, we shall be most 
assisted ; " I will be with him in trouble," Ps. 
xci. 15. It cannot be ill with that man with 
whom God is, by his powerful presence in sup- 
porting, and his gracious presence in sweet- 
ening the present trial. God will be with us in 
trouble, not only to behold us, but to uphold 
us, as he was with Daniel in the lion's den, 
and the three children in the fiery furnace. 
What if we have more trouble than others, if 
we have more of God with us than others 
have 1 We never have sweeter smiles from 
God's face than when the world begins to look 
strange ; thy statutes have been my song, — 
where 1 Not when I was upon the throne, — 
but " in the house of my pilgrimage," Ps. 
cxix. 54. We read, the Lord was not in the 
wind, nor in the earthquake, nor in the fire, 
1 Kings xix. 11. But in a metaphorical and 
spiritual sense : when the wind of affliction 
blows upon a believer, God is in the wind ; 
when the fire of affliction kindles upon him, 
God is in the fire, viz. to sanctify, to support, 
to sweeten. If God be with us, the furnace 
shall be turned into a festival, the prison into 



SERMONS. 

a paradise, the earthquake into a joyful dance. 
O why should I be discontented, when I have 
more of God's company ! 

Sixthly, These evils of affliction are for 
good, as they bring with them certificates of 
God's love, and are evidences of his special 
favour. Affliction is the saints' livery ; it is 
a badge and cognizance of honour ; that the 
God of glory should look upon a worm, and 
take so much notice of him, as to afflict him 
rather than lose him, as an high act of fa- 
vour. God's rod is a sceptre of dignity. Job 
calls God's afflicting of us, his magnifying of 
us, Job vii. 17. Some men's prosperity hath 
been their shame, when others' afflictions 
have been their crown. 

Seventhly, These afflictions work for our 
good, because they work for us a far more 
exceeding weight of glory, 2 Cor. iv. 17. 
That which works for my glory in heaven, 
works for my good. We do not read in scrip- 
ture that any man's honour or riches do 
work for him a weight of glory, but afflictions 
do : and shall a man be discontented at that 
which works for his glory ] The heavier the 
weight of affliction, the heavier the weight of 
glory ; not that our sufferings do merit glory, 
(as the papists do wickedly gloss,) but 
though they are not causa, they are via, — 
they are not the cause of our crown, yet they 
are the way to it, — and God makes us, as he 
did our captain, "perfect through suffer- 
ings," Heb. ii. 10. And shall not all this 
make us contented with our condition ? O I 
beseech you, look not upon the evil of afflic- 
tion, but the good ! Afflictions in scripture 
are called ' visitations,' Job vii. 18. The 
word in the Hebrew, to visit, is taken in a 
good sense, as well as a bad : God's afflictions 
are but friendly visits. Behold here God's 
rod, like Aaron's rod blossoming ; and Jona- 
than's rod, it hath honey at the end of it. 
Poverty shall starve out our sins ; the sick- 
ness of the body cures a sin-sick soul; O 
then, instead of murmuring and being discon- 
tented, bless the Lord ! Hadst thou not met 
with such a rub in the way, thou mightest 
have gone to hell and never stopped. 

Sect. VII. The seventh argument to con- 
tentation. 

The next argument to contentment is, 



SELECT SERMONS. 



711 



consider the evil of discontent. Mal-content 
hath a mixture of grief and anger in it, and 
both these must needs raise a storm in the 
soul. Have you not seen the posture of a 
sick man 1 Sometimes he will sit up on his 
bed, by and by he will lie down, and when he 
is down he is not quiet ; first he turns on the 
I one side and then on the other ; he is rest- 
less ; this is just the emblem of a discontent- 
ed spirit. The man is not sick, yet he is 
never well ; sometimes he likes such a con- 
dition of life, but is soon weary ; and then 
another condition of life ; and when he hath 
it yet he is not pleased ; this is an evil under 
the sun. Now the evil of discontent appears 
in three things. 

Evil 1st. The sordidness of it is unworthy 
of a Christian. 

1. It is unworthy of his profession. It was 
the saying of a heathen, bear thy condition 
quietly, — nosce te esse hominem, ' know thou 
art a man :' so I say, bear thy condition con- 
tentedly, nosce te esse Christianum, — < know 
thou art a Christian.' Thou professest to 
live by faith, — what 1 and not content I Faith 
is a grace that doth substantiate things not 
seen, Heb. xi. 1. Faith looks beyond the 
creature, it feeds upon promises ; faith lives 
not by bread alone ; when the water is spent 
in the bottle, faith knows whither to have re- 
course ; now to see a Christian dejected in 
the want of visible supplies and recruits, 
where is faith ? " O," saith one, " my estate 
in the world is down." Ay, and which is 
worse, thy faith is down. Wilt thou not be 
contented unless God let down the vessel to 
thee, as he did to Peter, " wherein were all 
manner of beasts of the earth, and fowls of 
the airT' Acts x. 12. Must you have^the 
first and second course 1 This is like Thomas, 
" unless I put my finger into the print of the 
nails, I will not believe," John xx. 25 : so, un- 
less thou hast a sensible feeling of outward 
comforts, thou wilt not be content. True 
faith will trust God where it cannot trace him, 
and will adventure upon God's bond though 
it hath nothing in view. You who are dis- 
contented because you have not all you would, 
let me tell you, either your faith is a nonen- 
tity, or at best but an embryo ; it is a weak 
faith that must have stilts and crutches to 



support it. Nay, discontent is not only be- 
low faith, but below reason : why are you dis- 
contented ] Is it because you are dispossess- 
ed of such comforts? Well, and have you 
not reason to guide you ] Doth not reason 
tell you that you are but tenants at will 1 
And may not God turn you out when he 
pleases ] You hold not your estate jure, but 
gratia; not by juridicial right, but upon fa- 
vour and courtesy. 

2. It is unworthy of the relation we stand in 
to God. A Christian is invested with the title 
and privilege of sonship, Eph. i. 5. He is an 
heir of the promise. O consider the lot of 
free-grace is fallen upon thee, — thou art near- 
ly allied to Christ, and of the blood royal, — 
thou art advanced in some sense, above the 
angels ; " why art thou, being the king's son, 
lean from day to day ?" 2 Sam. xiii. 4. Why 
art thou discontented 1 O, how unworthy is 
this ! As if the heir to some great monarch 
should go pining up and down because he 
may not pick such a flower. 

Evil 2d. Consider the sinfulness of it ; 
which appears in three things, (1). The 
causes ; (2). The concomitants ; (3). The 
consequences of it. 

(1). It is sinful in the causes, which are 
these. 

1. Pride. He that thinks highly of his 
deserts, usually esteems meanly of his condi- 
tion : a discontented man is a proud man, he 
thinks himself better than others, therefore 
finds fault with the wisdom of God, that he is 
not above others. Thus the thing formed, 
saith to him that formed it, " Why hast thou 
made me thus V Rom. ix. 20. Why am I not 
higher 1 Discontents are nothing else but the 
estuations, and boilings over of pride. 

2. The second cause of discontent is, en- 
vy, which Augustine calls the sin of the 
devil. Satan envied Adam the glory of para- 
dise, and the robe of innocency : he that 
envies what his neighbour hath, is never con- 
tented with that portion which God's provi- 
dence doth parcel out to him. As envy stirs 
up strife, (this made the Plebeian faction so 
strong among the Romans) so it creates dis- 
content : the envious man looks so much upon 
the blessings which another enjoys, that he 
cannot see his own mercies, and so doth 



712 SELECT 

continually vex and torture himself. Cain 
envied that his brother's sacrifice was accept- 
ed, and his rejected ; hereupon he was dis- 
contented, and presently murderous thoughts 
began to arise in his heart. 

3. The third cause is covetousness. This 
is a radical sin. Whence are vexing law- 
suits, but from discontent ] and whence is 
discontent, but from covetousness % Covet- 
ousness and contentedness cannot dwell in 
the same heart. Avarice is a heluo, that is 
never satisfied. The covetous man is like 
Behemoth, " behold he drinketh up a river, 
he trusteth that he can draw up Jordan into 
his mouth," Job xl. 23. * There are four 
things (saith Solomon) say not, it is enough.' 
I may add a fifth, the heart of a covetous 
man ; he is still craving. Covetousness is 
like a wolf in the breast, which is ever feed- 
ing ; and because a man is not satisfied, he 
is never content. 

4. The fourth cause of discontent is, jeal- 
ousy, which is sometimes occasioned through 
melancholy, and sometimes misapprehen- 
sion. The spirit of jealousy causeth this 
evil spirit. " Jealousy is the rage of a man," 
Prov. vi. 34. And oft this is nothing but sus- 
picion and fancy : yet such as creates real 
discontent. 

5. The fifth cause of discontent is distrust, 
which is a great degree of Atheism. The 
discontented person is ever distrustful. The 
bill of provision grows low ; I am in these 
straits and exigencies, can God help mel 
" Can he prepare a table in the wilderness V 
Sure he cannot. My estate is exhausted, 
can God recruit me 1 My friends are gone, 
can God raise me up more T Sure the arm of 
his power is shrunk. I am like the dry fleece, 
can any water come upon this fleece] " If 
the Lord would make windows in heaven, 
might this thing be 1" 2 Kings vii. 2. Thus 
the anchor of hope, and the shield of faith, 
being cast away, the soul goes pining up and 
down. Discontent is nothing else but the 
echo of unbelief: and remember, distrust is 
worse than distress. 

(2). Discontent is evil in the concomitants 
of it, which are two. 

1. Discontent is joined with a sullen me- 
lancholy. A Christian of a right temper 



SERMONS. 

should be ever cheerful in God ; " serve the 
Lord with gladness," Ps. c. 2. A sign the oil 
of grace hath been poured into the heart 
when the oil of gladness shines in the coun- 
tenance. Cheerfulness credits religion ; how 
can the discontented person be cheerful 1 ? 
Discontent is a dogged, sullen humour ; be- 
cause we have not what we desire, God shall 
not have a good word or look from us ; as the 
bird in the cage, because she is pent up, and 
cannot fly in the open air, therefore beats 
herself against the cage, and is ready to kill 
herself. Thus that peevish prophet ; " I do 
well to be angry even unto death," Jonah iv. 9. 

2. Discontent is accompanied with un- 
t hankfulness ; because we have not all we 
desire, we never mind the mercies which we 
have. We deal with God as the widow of 
Sarepta did with the prophet : the prophet 
Elijah had been a means to keep her alive in 
the famine, — for it was for his sake, that her 
meal in the barrel, and her oil in the cruise 
failed not, — but as soon as ever her son dies, 
she falls into a passion, and begins to quarrel 
with the prophet : " What have I to do with 
thee, O thou man of God ] Art thou come to 
call my sin to remembrance, and slay my 
son V 1 Kings xvii. 18. So ungratefully do 
we deal with God : we cannot be content to 
receive mercies from God, but if he doth cross 
us in the least thing, then, through discon- 
tent, we grow touchy and impatient, and are 
ready to fly upon God ; thus God loseth all 
his mercies. We read in scripture of the 
thank-offering, 2 Chron. xxix. 31. The dis- 
contented person cuts God short of this ; the 
Lord loseth his thank-offering. A discon- 
tented Christian repines in the midst of 
mercies, as Adam who sinned in the midst 
of paradise. Discontent is a spider that 
sucks the poison of unthankfulness out of the 
sweetest flower of God's blessing, and is a 
devilish chymistry that extracts dross out of 
the most refined gold. The discontented 
person thinks every thing he doth for God too 
much, and every thing God doth for him too 
little. O what a sin is unthankfulness ! It is 
an accumulative sin. What Cicero said of 
parricide, I may say of ingratitude : ** there 
are many sins bound up in this one sin." 
It is a voluminous wickedness ; and how 



SELECT SERMONS. 



713 



full of this sin is discontent 1 A discontented 
Christian, because he hath not all the world, 
therefore dishonours God with the mercies 
which he hath. God made Eve out of Adam's 
rib, to be a helper — as Chrysostom saith — 
but the devil hath made an arrow of this rib, 
and shot Adam to the heart : so doth discon- 
tent take the rib of God's mercy, and un- 
gratefully shoot at him, — estate, liberty shall 
be employed against God. Thus it is often- 
times. Behold then how discontent and in- 
gratitude are interwoven and twisted one 
within the other : thus discontent is sinful in 
its concomitants. 

(3). It is sinful in its consequences, which 
are these. 

1. It makes a man very unlike the Spirit 
of God. The Spirit of God is a meek Spirit. 
The Holy Ghost descended in the likeness of 
a dove, Matt. iii. 16. A dove is the emblem 
of meekness ; a discontented spirit is not a 
meek spirit. 

2. It makes a man like the devil. The 
devil being swelled with the poison of envy 
and malice, is never content: just so is the 
mal-content. The devil is an unquiet spirit, 
he is still « walking about,' 1 Pet. v. 8. It is 
his rest to be walking. And herein is the 
discontented person like him ; for he goes up 
and down vexing himself, ' seeking rest, and 
finding none ;' he is the devil's picture. 

3. Discontent disjoints the soul, it untunes 
the heart for duty. "Is any among you 
afflicted, let him pray," Jam. v. 13. But, is 
any man discontented ? How shall he pray 1 
" Lift up holy hands without wrath," 1 Tim. 
ii. 8. Discontent is full of wrath and passion ; 
the mal-content cannot lift up pure hands ; 
he lifts up leprous hands, he poisons his 
prayers ; will God accept of a poisoned sacri- 
fice 1 Chrysostom compares prayer to a fine 
garland ; those, saith he, that make a gar- 
land, their hands had need to be clean ; prayer 
is a precious garland, the heart that makes it 
had need to be clean. Discontent throws poi- 
son into the spring, which was death among 
the Romans, discontent puts the heart into a 
disorder and mutiny, and such a one cannot 
serve the Lord ' without distraction.' 

4. Discontent sometimes unfits for the 
very use of reason. Jonah, in a passion of 

4X 



discontent, spake no better than blasphemy 
and nonsense : " I do well (said he) to be 
angry even unto death," Jonah iv. 9. What] 
To be angry with God ! And to die for an- 
ger ! Sure he did not know well what he 
said. When discontent transports, then, like 
Moses, we speak unadvisedly with our lips. 
This humour doth even suspend the very acts 
of reason. 

5. Discontent doth not only disquiet a 
man's self, but those who are near him. This 
evil spirit troubles families, parishes, &c. If 
there be but one string out of tune, it spoils 
all the music. One discontented spirit makes 
jarrings and discords among others. It is 
this ill-humour that breeds quarrels and law- 
suits. Whence are all our contentions, but 
for want of contentation 1 "From whence 
come wars and fightings among you'? Come 
they not hence, even of your lusts V.' James 
iv. 1. In particular from the lust of discon- 
tent. Why did Absalom raise a war against 
his father, and would have taken off not only 
his crown, but his head ? Was it not his dis- 
content 1 Absalom would be king. Why did 
Ahab stone Naboth? was it not discontent 
about the vineyard 1 Oh this devil of discon- 
tent ! Thus you have seen the sinfulness of it. 

Evil 3d. Consider the simplicity of it. I 
may say, as the Psalmist, " surely they are 
disquieted in vain :" Ps. xxxix. 6. Which 
appears thus, 

1. Is it not a vain simple thing to be 
troubled at the loss of that which is in its 
own nature perishing and changeable 1 God 
hath put a vicissitude into the creature ; all 
the world rings changes ; and for me to meet 
with inconstancy here, — to lose a friend, es- 
tate, — to be in a constant fluctuation, — is no 
more than to see a flower wither or a leaf 
drop off in autumn ; there is an autumn upon 
every comfort, a fall of the leaf ; now it is 
extreme folly to be discontented at the loss 
of those things which are in their own nature 
loseable. What Solomon saith of riches, is 
true of all things under the sun, 'they take 
wings.' Noah's dove brought an olive-branch 
in its mouth, but presently flew out of the 
ark, and never returned more : such a com- 
fort brings to us honey in its mouth, but it 
hath wings ; and to what purpose should we 



714 



SELECT SERMONS. 



be troubled, unless we had wings to fly after 
and overtake it ] 

2. Discontent is a heart-breaking : " By- 
sorrow of the heart, the spirit is broken," 
Prov. xv. 13. It takes away the comfort of 
life. There is none of us but may have many 
mercies if we can see them ; now because 
we have not all we desire, therefore we will 
lose the comfort of that which we have al- 
ready. Jonah having his gourd smitten — a 
withering vanity — was so discontented, that 
he never thought of his miraculous deliver- 
ance out of the whale's belly ; he takes no 
comfort of his life, but wisheth that he might 
die. What folly is this ? We must have all 
or none ; herein we are like children, that 
throw away the piece which is cut them be- 
cause they may have no bigger. Discontent 
eats out the comfort of life. Besides, it were 
well if it were seriously weighed how pre- 
judicial this is even to our health ; for discon- 
tent, as it doth discruciate the mind, so it 
doth pine the body. It frets as a moth ; and 
by wasting the spirits, weakens the vitals. 
The pleurisy of discontent brings the body 
into a consumption ; and is not this folly 1 

3. Discontent does not ease us of our 
burthen, but it makes the cross heavier. A 
contented spirit goes cheerfully under its 
affliction. Discontent makes our grief as 
unsupportable as it is unreasonable. If the 
leg be well, it can endure a fetter and not 
complain ; but if the leg be sore, then the 
fetters trouble. Discontent of mind is the 
sore that makes the fetters of affliction more 
grievous. Discontent troubles us more than 
the trouble itself, it steeps the affliction in 
wormwood. When Christ was upon the 
cross, the Jews brought him gall and vinegar 
to drink, that it might add to his sorrow. 
Discontent brings to a man in affliction, gall 
and vinegar to drink ; this is worse than the 
affliction itself. Is it not folly for a man to 
embitter his own cross 1 

4. Discontent spins out our troubles the 
longer. A Christian is discontented because 
he is in want, and therefore he is in want, be- 
cause he is discontented ; he murmurs because 
he is afflicted, and therefore he is afflicted, 
because he murmurs. Discontent doth delay 
and adjourn our mercies. God deals herein 



with us, as we use to do with our children ; 
when they are quiet and cheerful, they shall 
have any thing ; but if we see them cry and 
fret, then we withhold from them, — we get 
nothing from God by our discontent but 
blows ; the more the child struggles, the more 
it is beaten, — when we struggle with God by 
our sinful passions, he doubles and trebles 
his strokes ; God will tame our curst hearts. 
What got Israel by their peevishness 1 They 
were within eleven days' journey of Canaan ; 
and now they were discontented and began 
to murmur, God leads them a march of forty 
years long in the wilderness. Is it not folly 
for us to adjourn our own mercies 1 Thus 
you have seen the evil of discontent. I have 
been long upon this argument ; but nunquam 
nimis dicitur, quod nunquam satis dicitur. 

Sect. 8. The eighth argument to con- 
tentation. 

The next argument or motive to content- 
ment is this, why is not a man content 
with the competency which he hath? Per- 
haps if he had more he would be less con- 
tent ; covetousness is a dry drunkenness. 
The world is such that the more we have 
the more we crave ; it cannot fill the heart j 
of man. When the fire burns, how do you 
quench it 1 Not by putting oil on the flame, 
or laying on more wood, but by withdraw- 
ing the fuel. When the appetite is inflamed 
after riches, how may a man be satisfied 1 
Not by having just what he desires, but by 
withdrawing the fuel, &c. Moderating and 
lessening his desires. He that is contented 
has enough. A man in a fever or dropsy 
thirsts ; how do you satisfy him 1 Not by 
giving him liquid things, which will inflame 
his thirst the more ; but by removing the 
cause, and so curing the distemper. The 
way for a man to be contented, is not by 
raising his estate higher, but by bringing his 
heart lower. 

Sect. 9. The ninth argument to contenta- 
tion. 

The next argument to contentment is the 
shortness of life. It is 'but a vapour,' saith 
James, Jam. iv. 14. Life is a wheel ever 
running. The poets painted time with wings 
to show the volubility and swiftness of it. 
Job compares it to a swift post, Job ix. 25; — 



SELECT SERMONS. 



715 



our life rides post — and to a day, not a year. 
It is indeed like a day. Infancy is as it were 
the day-break, — youth is the sun-rising, — 
full growth is the sun in the meridian, — old 
age is sun-setting, — sickness is the evening, 
— then comes the night of death. How 
quickly is this day of life spent ! Oftentimes 
this sun goes down at noon-day ; life ends 
before the evening of old age comes. Nay, 
sometimes the sun of life sets presently after 
sun-rising. Quickly after the dawning of 
infancy the night of death approaches. O, 
how short is the life of man ! The consid- 
eration of the brevity of life may work the 
heart to contentment. Remember thou art 
to be here but a day ; thou hast but a short 
way to go, and what needs a long provision 
for a short way ? If a traveller hath but 
enough to bring him to his journey's end 
he desires no more. We have but a day to 
live, and perhaps we may be in the twelfth 
hour of the day ; why if God gives us but 
enough to bear our charges, till night, it is 
sufficient, let us be content. If a man had 
the lease of a house, or farm, but for two or 
three days, and he should fall a building and 
planting, would he not be judged very indis- 
creet ? So, when we have but a short time 
here, and death calls us presently off the 
stage, to thirst immoderately after the world, 
and pull down our souls to build up an estate, 
it is an extreme folly. Therefore, as Esau 
said once, in a profane sense, concerning his 
birth-right, " Lo, I am at the point to die, 
and what profit shall this birth-right do me V 
so let a Christian say in a religious sense, 
" Lo, I am even at the point of death, my 
grave is going to be made, and what good 
will the world do me 1 If I have but enough 
till sun-setting, I am content." 

Sect. 10. The tenth argument to conten- 
tation. 

The tenth argument or motive to content- 
ment is, consider seriously the nature of a 
prosperous condition. There are in a pros- 
perous estate three things. 

1. Plus moles tied, — more trouble. Many 
who have abundance of all things to enjoy, 
yet have not so much content and sweetness 
in their lives, as some that go to their hard 
labour. Sad, solicitous thoughts do often 



attend a prosperous condition. Care is the 
malus genius, or evil spirit which haunts the 
rich man, and will not suffer him to be quiet. 
When his chest is full of gold, his heart is 
full of care, either how to manage, or how to 
increase, or how to secure what he hath got- 
ten. O the troubles and perplexities that 
do attend prosperity ! The world's high seats 
are very uneasy ; sunshine is pleasant, but 
sometimes it scorcheth with its heat ; the 
bee gives honey, but sometimes it stings : 
prosperity hath its sweetness and also its 
sting ; ' competency with contentment is far 
more eligible/ Never did Jacob sleep better 
than when he had the heavens for his can- 
opy, and a hard stone for his pillow. A large 
voluminous estate is but like a long trailing 
garment, which is more troublesome than 
useful. 

2. In a prosperous condition there is plus 
periculi, — more danger ; and that two ways : 

First, ex parte ipsius, — in respect of a 
man's self. The rich man's table is oft his 
snare : he is ready to ingulf himself too deep 
in these sweet waters. In this sense it is 
hard to know how to abound. It must be a 
strong brain that bears heady wine ; he had 
need have much wisdom and grace, that 
knows how to bear a high condition ; either 
he is ready to kill himself with care, or to 
surfeit himself with luscious delights. O the 
hazard of honour, the damage of dignity ! 
Pride, security, rebellion, are the three worms 
that breed of plenty, Deut. xxxii. 15. The 
pastures of prosperity are rank and surfeit, 
ing. How soon are we broken upon the soft 
pillow of ease ? Prosperity is often a trum- 
pet that sounds a retreat, it calls men off 
from the pursuit of religion. The sun of 
prosperity oft dulls and puts out the fire of 
zeal ; how many souls hath the pleurisy of 
abundance killed 1 They that " will be rich, 
fall into snares," 1 Tim. vi. 9. The world is 
birdlime at our feet, it is full of golden sands, 
but they are quick-sands. Prosperity, like 
smooth Jacob, will supplant and betray ; a 
great estate without much vigilancy, will be 
a thief to rob us of heaven ; such as are upon 
the pinnacle of honour are in most danger of 
falling. 

A lower estate is less hazardous ; the little 



716 



SELECT SERMONS. 



pinnace rrdes safe by the shore, when the gal- 
lant ship advancing with its mast and top- 
sail, is cast away. Homo victus in paridiso, 
victor in stercore. Adam in paradise was 
overcome, when Job on the dunghill was a 
conqueror. Samson fell asleep in Delilah's 
lap ; some have fallen so fast asleep on the 
lap of ease and plenty, that they have never 
awaked till they have been in hell. The 
world's fawning is worse than its frowning, 
and it is more to be feared when it smiles 
than when it thunders. Prosperity, in scrip- 
ture, is compared to a candle, Job xxix. 3, 
" When his candle shined upon my head." 
How many have burnt their wings about this 
candle ! Segetem ubertas nimia sternit ; 
rami onere franguntur ; ad maturitatem 
non pervenit nimice fozcunditas, — the corn 
being over-ripe, sheds ; and fruit, when it 
mellows, begins to rot; when men do mellow 
with the sun of prosperity, commonly their 
souls begin to rot in sin. " How hardly shall 
they that have riches enter into the kingdom 
of God !" Luke xviii. 24. His golden weights 
keep him from ascending up the hill of God ; 
and shall we not be content, though we are 
placed in a lower orb 1 What if we are not 
in so much bravery and gallantry as others'? 
We are not in so much danger ; as we want 
the honour of the world, so the temptations. 
O the abundance of danger that is in abun- 
dance ! We see, by common experience, 
that lunatics, when the moon is declining, 
and in the wane, are sober enough, but when 
it is full they are wild and more exorbitant : 
when men's estates are in the wane, they 
are more serious about their souls, more hum- 
ble, but when it is the full of the moon, and 
they have abundance, then their hearts begin 
to swell with their estates, and are scarce 
themselves. Those that write concerning 
the several climates, observe, that such as 
-live in the northern parts of the world, if you 
bring them into the south part, they lose their 
stomachs, and die quickly ; but those that 
live in the more southern and hot climates, 
bring them into the north, and their stomachs 
mend, and they are long-lived ; give me leave 
to apply it. Bring a man from the cold, 
starving climate of poverty, into the hot south- 
ern climate of prosperity, and he begins to 



lose his appetite to good things, he grows 
weak, and a thousand to one if all his religion 
doth not die ; but bring a Christian from the 
south to the north, — from a rich flourishing 
estate into a jejune low condition, — let him 
come into a more cold and hungry air, — and 
then his stomach mends, he hath a better ap- 
petite after heavenly things, he hungers more 
after Christ, he thirsts more for grace, he 
eats more at one meal of the bread of life, 
than at six before ; this man is now like to 
live and hold out in his religion. Be content 
then with a modicum ; if you have but enough 
to pay for your passage to heaven, it sufficeth. 

2. A prosperous condition is dangerous in 
regard of others. A great estate, for the 
most part, draws envy to it, Gen. xxvi. 12, 
13, 14, whereas in little there is quiet. Da- 
vid a shepherd was quiet, but David a court- 
ier was pursued by his enemies ; envy can- 
not endure a superior ; an envious man 
knows not how to live but upon the ruins of 
his neighbours ; he raiseth himself higher by 
bringing others lower. Prosperity is an eye- 
sore to many. Such sheep as have most wool 
are soonest fleeced. The barren tree grows 
peaceably ; no man meddles with the ash or 
willow, but the apple-tree and the damasin 
shall have many rude suitors. O then be 
contented to carry a lesser sail ! He that 
hath less revenues hath less envy ; such as 
bear the fairest frontispiece, and make the 
greatest show in the world, are the white for 
envy and malice to shoot at. 

3. A prosperons condition hath in it a 
greater reckoning ; every man must be re- 
sponsible for his talents. Thou that hast 
great possessions in the world, dost thou 
trade thy estate for God's glory ? Art thou 
rich in good works ] Grace makes a pri r 
vate person a common good. Dost thou 
disburse thy money for public uses ? It is 
lawful, in this sense, to put out our money 
to use. O let us all remember an estate is 
a depositum, — we are but stewards ; and 
our Lord and Master will ere long say, 
" give an account of your stewardship 
the greater our estate, the greater our charge, 
the more our revenues, the more our reck- 
onings. You that have a lesser mill going 
in the world, be content ; God wiil expect 



SELECT SERMONS. 



717 



less from you, where he hath sowed more 
sparingly. 

Sect. 11. The eleventh argument to con- 
tentation. 

The eleventh argument is the example of 
those who have been eminent for contenta- 
tion. Examples are usually more forcible 
than precepts. Abraham being called out to 
hot service, and such as was against flesh 
and blood, was content. God bid him offer 
up his son Isaac, Gen. xxii. 2. This was 
great work : Isaac was films senectutis, the 
son of his old age ; filius delectionis, the son 
of his love ; filius promisi, the son of the 
promise ; Christ the Messiah was to come of 
his line, " In Isaac shall thy seed be called ;" 
so that to offer up Isaac seemed not only to 
oppose Abraham's reason, but his faith too ; 
for, if Isaac die, the world — for ought he 
knew — must be without a Mediator. Be- 
sides, if Isaac be sacrificed, was there no 
other hand to do it but Abraham's 1 Must the 
father needs be the executioner 1 Must he 
that was the instrument of giving Isaac his 
1 being, be the instrument of taking it away 1 
j Yet Abraham doth not dispute or hesitate, 
but believes ' against hope,' and is content 
with God's prescription : so, when God called 
him to leave his country, Heb. xi. 8, he was 
content. Some would have argued thus : 
" What ! Leave my friends, my native soil, 
my brave situation, and go turn pilgrim'!" 
! Abraham is content. Besides Abraham went 
blindfolds, " he knew not whither he went." 
God held him in suspense ; he must go wan- 
der he knows not where ; and when he doth 
come to the place God hath laid out for him, 
he knows not what oppositions he shall meet 
with there. The world doth seldom cast a 
favourable aspect upon strangers, Gen. xxxi. 
15. Yet he is content, and obeys, V he so- 
journed in the land of promise," Heb. xi. 9. 
Behold a little his pilgrimage. First, he goes 
to Charran, a city in Mesopotamia. When he 
had sojourned there a while, his father dies; 
Then he removed to Sichem, then to Beth- 
lehem in Canaan ; there a famine ariseth ; 
then he went down to Egypt ; after that he 
returns into Canaan. When he comes there, 
it is true he had a promise, but he found no- 
thing to answer expectation ; he had not there 



one foot of land, but was an exile. In this 
time of his sojourning he buried his wife : and 
as for his dwellings, he had no sumptuous 
buildings, but led his life in poor cottages : 
all this was enough to have broken any man's 
heart. Abraham might think thus with him- 
self: " Is this the land I must possess 1 here 
is no probability of any good ; all things are 
against me." Well, is he discontented 1 No ; 
God saith to him, " Abraham, go, leave thy 
country," and this word was enough to lead 
him all the world over ; he is presently upon 
his march. Here was a man had learned 
to be content. But let us descend a little 
lower, to heathen Zeno, of whom Seneca 
speaks, who had once been very rich, hearing 
of a shipwreck, and that all his goods were 
drowned at sea : " Fortune," saith he, (he 
spake in a heathen dialect) " hath dealt with 
me, and would have me now study philoso- 
phy." He was content to change his course 
of life, to leave off being a merchant, and turn 
a philosopher. And if a heathen said thus, 
shall not a Christian much more say, when 
the world is drained from him, Jubit Deus 
mundum derelinquere et Christum eocpeditus 
sequi, — God would have me leave off follow- 
ing the world, and study Christ more, and 
how to get to heaven ! Do I see a heathen 
contented, and a Christian disquieted ? How 
did heathens vilify those things which Chris- 
tians did magnify? Though they knew not 
God, or what true happiness meant ; yet, they 
would speak very sublimely of a numen or 
deity, and of the life to come, as Aristotle and 
Plato ; and for those elysian delights, which 
they did but fancy, they undervalued and 
contemned the things here below ! It was 
the doctrine they taught their scholars, and 
which some of them practised, that they 
should strive to be contented with a little ; 
they were willing to make an exchange, and 
have less gold, and more learning ; and shall 
not we be content then to have less of the 
world, so we may have more of Christ 1 
May not Christians blush to see the heathens 
content with a viaticum, so much as would 
recruit nature ; and to see themselves so 
transported with the love of earthly things, 
that if they begin a little to abate, and the bill 
of provision grows short, they murmur, and 



718 



SELECT SERMONS. 



are like Micah, Have ye taken away my gods, 
and do you ask me what aileth me ? Judg. 
xviii. 24. Have heathens gone so far in con- 
tentation, and is it not sad for us to come 
short of heaven % These heroes of their time, 
how did they embrace death itself! Socrates 
died in prison ; Hercules was burnt alive ; 
Cato — whom Seneca calls the lively image 
and portraiture of virtue — thrust through with 
a sword ; but how bravely, and with content- 
ment of spirit did they die? " Shall I (said 
Seneca) weep for Cato, or Regulus, or the 
rest of those worthies, that died with so much 
valour and patience V Did not cross provi- 
dence make them to alter their countenance ? 
And do I see a Christian appalled and amazed] 
Did not death affright them ? And doth it dis- 
tract us ] Did the spring-head of nature rise 
so high ? And shall not grace, like the waters 
of the sanctuary, rise higher ? We that pre- 
tend to live by faith, may we not go to school 
to them who had no other pilot but reason to 
guide them % Nay, let me come a step lower, 
to creatures void of reason ; we see every 
creature is contented with its allowance, — 
the beasts with their provender, — the birds 
with their nests, — they live only upon provi- 
dence ; and shall we make ourselves below 
them ? Let a Christian go to school to the ox 
and the ass to learn contentedness ; we think 
we never have enough, and are still laying up : 
the fowls of the air do not lay up, they reap 
not, nor gather into barns, Matt. vi. 26. It 
is an argument which Christ brings to make 
Christians contented with their condition ; 
the birds do not lay up, yet they are provided 
for, and are contented; are ye not, saith 
Christ, 'much better than they?' But if you 
are discontented, are you not much worse 
than they? Let these examples quicken us. 

Sect. 12. The twelfth argument to con- 
tentation. 

The twelfth argument to contentation is, 
whatever change of trouble a child of God 
meets with, it is all the hell he shall have. 
Whatever eclipse may be upon his name or 
estate, I may say of it, as Athanasius of his 
banishment, it is a little cloud that will soon 
be blown over, and then his gulf is shot, his 
hell is past. Death begins a wicked man's 
hell, but it puts an end to a godly man's hell. 



Think with thyself, what if I endure this ? It 
is but a temporary hell : indeed if all our hell 
be here, it is but an easy hell. What is the 
cup of affliction to the cup of damnation ? 
Lazarus could not get a crumb ; he was so 
diseased that the dogs took pity on him, and, 
as if they had been his physicians, licked his 
sores : but this was an easy hell, the angels 
quickly fetched him out of it. If all our hell 
be. in this life, in the midst of this hell we may 
have the love of God, and then it is no more 
hell but paradise. If our hell be here, we 
may see to the bottom of it ; it is but skin- 
deep, it cannot touch the soul, and we may 
see to the end of it ; it is a hell that is short- 
lived ; after a wet night of affliction, comes 
the bright morning of the resurrection ; if our 
lives are short, our trials cannot be long ; as 
our riches take wings and fly, so do our suf- 
ferings ; then let us be contented. 

Sect. 13. The thirteenth argument to con- 
tentation. 

The last argument to contentment is this, 
to have a competency, and to want content- 
ment, is a great judgment. For a man to 
have a huge stomach, that whatever meat 
you give him he is still craving and never 
satisfied, you use to say, this is a great 
judgment upon the man: thou who art a 
devourer of money, and yet never hast 
enough, but still criest, give, give, this is a 
sad judgment : " They shall eat, and not 
have enough," Hos. iv. 10. The throat of 
a malicious man is an open sepulchre, Rom. 
iii. 13. So is the heart of a covetous man. 
Covetousness is not only malum culpa, but 
malum pcence, — it is not only a sin, but the 
punishment of a sin. It is a secret curse 
upon a covetous person ; he shall thirst, and 
thirst, and never be satisfied. "He that 
loves silver shall not be satisfied with sil- 
ver," Eccl. v. 10. And is not this a curse? 
What was it but a severe judgment upon 
the people of Judah ? "Ye eat, but ye have 
not enough ; ye drink, but ye are not filled 
with drink," Hag. i. 6. O let us take heed 
of this plague ! Did Esau say to his brother, 
* I have abundance, my brother,' Genesis 
xxx vii. 9. Oi\ as we translate it, I have 
enough ; and shall not a Christian say so 
much more ? It is sad that our hearts should 



SELECT SERMONS. 



719 



be dead to heavenly things, and a spunge to 
suck in earthly. Yet all that hath been said, 
will not work our minds to heavenly conten- 
i tation. 

Chap. XII. Three things inserted by 

WAY OF CAUTION. 

In the next place, I come to lay down 
some necessary cautions. Though I say a 
man should be content in every estate, yet 
[ there are three estates in which he must not 
be contented. 

Caution 1st, He must not be contented in 
a natural estate : here we must learn not to be 
content. A sinner in his pure naturals is un- 
der the wrath of God, John iii. 16 ; and shall 
he be content when that dreadful vial is going 
to be poured out 1 Is it nothing to be under 
the scorchings of divine fury ? " Who can 
dwell with everlasting burnings'!" A sinner, 
as a sinner, is under the power of Satan, Acts 
xxvi. 18, and shall he in this estate be con- 
tented ] Who would be contented to stay in 
the enemies' quarters 1 While we sleep in 
the lap of sin, the devil doth to us as the Phi- 
listines did to Samson, cut out the lock of 
our strength, and put out our eyes. Be not 
content, O sinner, in this estate ! For a man 
to be in debt, body and soul, — in fear every 
hour to be arrested and carried prisoner to 
hell, — shall he now be content] Here I 
preach against contentation. Oh get out of 
this condition ! I would hasten you out of it 
as the angel hastened Lot out of Sodom, Gen. 
xix. 15. There is the smell of the fire and 
brimstone upon you. The longer a man stays 
in his sin, the more sin doth strengthen. It 
is hard to get out of sin, when the heart as a 
garrison is victualled and fortified. A young 
plant is easily removed, but when the tree is 
once rooted, there is no stirring of it : thou 
who art rooted in thy pride, unbelief, impeni- 
tency, it will cost thee many a sad pull ere 
thou art plucked out of thy natural estate, 
Jer. vi. 16. 'Tis a hard thing to have a 
brazen face and a broken heart ; " he tra- 
vaileth with iniquity," Ps. vii. 14 : be assur- 
ed, the longer you travail with your sins, the 
more and the sharper pangs you must expect 
in the new birth. O be not contented with 
your natural estate? David saith, "Why 



art thou cast down, O my soul V Ps. xliii. 5. 
But a sinner should say to himself, why art 
thou not disquieted, O my soul? Why is it 
that thou layest afflictions so to heart, and 
canst not lay sin to heart? It is a mercy 
when we are disquieted about sin. A man 
had better be at the trouble of setting a bone, 
than to be lame, and in pain all his life ; 
blessed is that trouble that brings the soul to 
Christ. It'is one of the worst sights to see 
a bad conscience quiet ; of the two, better is 
a fever than a lethargy. I wonder to see a 
man in his natural estate content. What ! 
content to go to hell 1 

Caution 2d, Though, in regard of exter- 
nals, a man should be in every state content, 
yet he must not be content in such a condi- 
tion wherein God is apparently dishonoured. 
If a man's trade be such that he can hardly 
use it, but he must trespass upon a command, 
and so make a trade of sin, he must not con- 
tent himself in such a condition ; God never 
called any man to such a calling as is sinful ; 
a man in this case, had better knock off and 
divert, — better lose some of his gain, so he 
may lessen some of his guilt. So, for ser- 
vants that live in a profane family — the sub- 
urbs of hell — where the name of God is not 
called upon, unless when it is taken in vain, 
they are not to content themselves in such a 
place, they are to come out of the tents of 
these sinners ; there is a double danger in 
living among the profane. 

1. Lest we come to be infected with the 
poison of their ill example. Joseph,, living 
in Pharaoh's court had learned to swear 
"by the life of Pharaoh," Gen. xlii. 15. 
We are prone to sulk in example : men 
take in deeper impressions by the eye than 
by the ear. Dives was a bad pattern, and 
he had many brethren that seeing him sin, 
trode just in his steps, therefore saith he, 
" 1 pray thee send him to my father's house : 
for I have five brethren ; that he may testify 
unto them, lest they also come into this 
place of torment," Luke xvi. 27, 28. Dives 
knew which way they went ; it is easy to 
catch a disease from another, but not to 
catch health. The bad will sooner corrupt 
the good, than the good will convert the bad. 
Take an equal quantity and proportion, so 



720 



SELECT SERMONS. 



much sweet wine with so much sour vine- 
gar ; the vinegar will sooner sour the wine 
than the wine will sweeten the vinegar. Sin 
is compared to the plague, 1 Kings viii. 37. 
And to leaven, 1 Cor. v. 7. To show of 
what a spreading nature it is. A bad master 
makes a bad servant. Jacob's cattle, by 
looking on the rods which were speckled 
and ring-straked, conceived like the rods. 
We do as we see others do before us, espe- 
cially those that are above Us. If the head 
be sick, the other parts of the body are dis- 
tempered. If the sun shines not upon the 
mountains, it must needs set in the vallies. 
We pray, "lead us not into temptation:" 
Lot was the world's miracle, who kept him- 
self fresh in Sodom's salt water. 

2. By living in an evil family, we are lia- 
ble to incur their punishment. " Pour out 
thy wrath upon the families that call not 
upon thy name," Jer. x. 25. For want of 
pouring out of prayer, the wrath of God was 
ready to be poured out. It is dangerous liv- 
ing in the tents of Kedar. When God 
sends his flying roll, written within and 
without with curses, it enters into the house 
of the thief and the perjurer, " and consumes 
the timber and the stones thereof," Zech. v. 
4. Is it not of sad consequence to live in a 
profane perjured family, when the sin of the 
governor pulls his house about his ears 1 If 
the stones and timber be destroyed, how 
shall the servant escape] And suppose God 
send not a temporal roll of curses in the 
family, there is a spiritual roll, and that is 
worse, Prov. iii. 38. Be not content to live 
where religion dies. " Salute the brethren, 
and Nymphas, and the church which is in 
his house," Col. iv. 15. The house of the 
godly is a little church, the house of the 
wicked a little hell, Prov. vii. 27. Oh, incor- 
porate yourselves into a religious family. 
The house of a good man is perfumed with 
a blessing, Prov. iii. 33. When the holy oil 
of grace is poured on the head, the savour of 
this ointment sweetly diffuseth itself, and 
the virtue of it runs down upon the skirts of 
the family. Pious examples are very mag- 
netical and forcible. Jeneca said to his 
sister, though I leave ytvi not wealth, yet I 
leave you a good example. Let us ingraft 



ourselves among the saints ; by being of* 
ten among the spices, we come to smell of 
them. 

Caution 3d, The third caution is, though 
in every condition we must be content, yet 
we are not to content ourselves with a little 
grace. Grace is the best blessing. Though 
we should be contented with a competency 
of estate, yet not with a competency of grace. 
It was the end of Christ's ascension to hea- 
ven, to give gifts ; and the end of those 
gifts " that we may grow up into him in all 
things who is the head, even Christ," Eph. 
iv. 15. Where the apostle distinguished! 
between our being in Christ, and our grow- 
ing in him, — our ingrafting and our flourish- 
ing ; be not content with a modicum in 
religion. It is not enough that there be life, 
but there must be fruit. Barrenness in the 
law was accounted a curse. The farther we 
are from fruit, the nearer we are to cursing, 
Heb. vi. 8. It is a sad thing when men are 
fruitful only in the unfruitful works of dark- 
ness. Be not content with a drachm or two 
of grace ; next to a still-born, a starveling in 
Christ is worst. O covet more grace ! Never 
think thou hast enough. We are bid to 
"covet the best things," 1 Cor. xii. 31. It is 
a heavenly ambition when we desire to be 
high in God's favour ; a blessed contention 
when all the strife is who shall be most holy. 
St Paul, though he was content with a little 
of the world, yet not a little grace: 'he 
reached forward, and pressed towards the 
mark of the high calling of God in Christ 
Jesus,' Phil. iii. 13, 14. A true Christian is 
a wonder ; he is the most contented, and yet 
the least satisfied ; he is contented with a 
morsel of bread, and a little water in the 
cruise, yet never satisfied with grace ; he 
doth pant and breathe after more ; this is his 
prayer, " Lord, more conformity to Christ, 
more communion with Christ;" he would 
fain have Christ's image more lively pictured 
upon his soul. True grace is always pro- 
gressive ; as the saints are called lamps and 
stars, in regard of their light, so trees of 
righteousness, Isa. lxi. 3, for their growth ; 
they are indeed like the tree of life, bringing 
forth several sorts of fruit. 

A true Christian grows, 1. In beauty. 



SELECT SERMONS. 



721 



Grace is the best complexion of the soul ; it 
is at the first plantation, like Rachel, fair to 
look upon ; but still the more it lives, the 
more it sends forth its rays of beauty. Abra- 
ham's faith was at first beautiful ; but at last 
did shine in its orient colours, and grew so 
illustrious, that God himself was in love with 
it, and makes his faith a pattern to all be- 
lievers. 

2. A true Christian grows in sweetness. 
A poisonous weed may grow as much as the 
hyssop or rosemary, — the poppy in the field 
as the corn, — the crab as the pearmain ; but 
the one hath a harsh sour taste, the other 
mellows as it grows : a hypocrite may grow 
in outward dimensions, as much as a child of 
God, — he may pray as much, profess as much, 
— but he grows only in magnitude, he brings 
forth only sour grapes, his duties are leaven- 
ed with pride ; the other ripens as he grows : 
he grows in love, humility, faith, which do 
mellow and sweeten his duties, and make 
them come off with a better relish. The be- 
liever grows as the flower, he casts a fragran- 
cy and perfume. 

3. A true Christian grows in strength. He 
grows still more rooted and settled. The 
more the tree grows, the more it spreads its 
root in the earth : a Christian who is a plant 
of the heavenly Jerusalem, the longer he 
grows, the more he incorporates into Christ, 
and sucks spiritual juice and sap from him ; 
he is a dwarf in regard of humility, but a 
giant in regard of strength, — he is strong to 
do duties, to bear burthens, resist tentations. 

4. He grows in the exercise of his grace ; 
he hath not only oil in his lamp, but his lamp 
is also burning and shining. Grace is agile 
and dexterous. Christ's vines do flourish, 
Cant. vi. 11. Hence we read of "a lively 
hope," 1 Pet. i. 3, and " a r fervent love," 
1 Pet. i. 22, here is the activity of grace. In- 
deed sometimes grace is a sleepy habit of the 
soul, like sap in the vine, not exerting its 
vigour, which may be occasioned through 
spiritual sloth, or by reason of falling into 
some sin : but this is only for a while : the 
spring of grace will come, — "jthe flowers 
will appear, and the fig-tree put forth her 
green figs." The fresh gales of the Spirit do 
sweetly revive and refacilitate grace. The 

4 Y 



church of Christ, whose heart was a garden, 
and her graces as precious spices, prays for 
the heavenly breathings of the Spirit, that 
her sacred spices might flow out, Cant. vi. 16. 
A true Christian grows incremento, both in 
the kind and in the degree of grace. To his 
spiritual living he gets an augmentation : he 
adds to " faith, virtue : to virtue, knowledge : 
to knowledge, temperance," &c. 2 Pet. i. 5, 6. 
Here is grace growing in its kind. And he 
goes on "from faith to faith," Rom. i. 17, 
there is grace growing in the degree : " We 
are bound to thank God always for you, 
brethren, because your faith groweth exceed- 
ingly," 2 Thess. i. 3. It increaseth over and 
above. And the apostle speaks of those 
spiritual plants which were laden with gospel- 
fruit, Phil. i. 11. A Christian is compared 
to the vine, (an emblem of fruitfulness) he 
must bear full clusters : we are bid to perfect 
that which is lacking in our faith, 1 Thess. 
iii. 10. A Christian must never be so old as 
to be past bearing ; he brings forth fruit in 
his old age, Ps. xcii. 14. A heaven-born 
plant is ever growing ; he never thinks he 
grows enough ; he is not content unless he 
add every day one cubit to his spiritual sta- 
ture. We must not be content just with so 
much grace as will keep* life and soul toge- 
ther, a drachm or two will not suffice, but we 
must be still increasing, " with the increase 
of God," Col. ii. 19. We had need renew 
our strength as the eagle, Isa. xl. 31. Our 
sins are renewed, our wants are renewed, 
our tentations are renewed, and shall not our 
strength be renewed ? O be not content with 
the first embryo of grace, — grace in its in- 
fancy and minority ! You look for degrees of 
glory, be ye Christians of degrees. Though 
a believer should be contented with a modi- 
cum in his estate, yet not with a modicum 
in religion. A Christian of the right breed 
labours still to excel himself, and come near- 
er to that holiness in God, who is the original, 
the pattern, and prototype of all holiness. 

Chap. XIII. Use IV. Showing how a 
Christian may know whether he 
hath learned this divine art. 

Thus having laid down these three cau- 
tions, I proceed, in the next place, to a use 



722 



SELECT SERMONS. 



of trial. How may a Christian know that 
he hath learned this lesson of contentment? 
I shall lay down some characters by which 
you shall know it. 

Character 1st, A contented spirit is a si- 
lent spirit; he hath not one word to say 
against God: "I was dumb and silent be- 
cause thou didst it," Ps. xxxix. 9. Content- 
ment silenceth all dispute : " He sitteth alone 
and keepeth silence," Lam. iii. 28. There is 
a sinful silence, when God is dishonoured, his 
truth wounded, and men hold their peace, — 
this silence is a loud sin ; and there is a holy 
silence, when the soul sits down quiet and 
content with its condition. When Samuel 
tells Eli that heavy message from God, that 
he would "judge his house, and that the ini- 
quity of his family should not be purged away 
with sacrifices for ever," 1 Sam. iii. 13, 14, 
doth Eli murmur or dispute ? No, he hath not 
one word to say against God : " It is the Lord, 
let him do what seemeth him good." A dis- 
contented spirit saith as Pharaoh, " Who is 
the Lord ?" Why should I suffer all this 1 
Why should I be brought into this low condi- 
tion ! " Who is the Lord ?" But a gracious 
heart saith, as Eli, " It is the Lord," let him 
do what he will with me. When Nadab and 
Abihu, the sons of Aaron, had offered up 
strange fire, and fire went from the Lord and 
devoured them, Lev. x. 1, is Aaron now in a 
passion of discontent? No, " Aaron held his 
peace." A contented spirit is never angry 
unless with himself for having hard thoughts 
of God. When Jonah said, " I do well to be 
angry," this was not a contented spirit, it did 
not become a prophet. 

Character 2d. A contented spirit is a cheer- 
ful spirit ; the Greeks call it euthema. Con- 
tentment is something more than patience, 
for patience denotes only submission, — con- 
tentment denotes cheerfulness. A contented 
Christian is more than passive ; he doth not 
only bear the cross, but take up the cross, 
Matt. vi. 24. He looks upon God as a wise 
God ; and whatever he doth, though it be not 
willingly, yet sensibly, it is in order to a cure. 
Hence the contented Christian is cheerful, 
and with the apostle, " takes pleasure in in- 
firmities, distresses," &c 2 Cor. xii. 10. He 
doth not only submit to God's dealings, but 



rejoice in them ; he doth not only say, ' Just 
is the Lord in all that hath befallen me,' but 
'good is the Lord.' This is to be contented. A 
sullen melancholy is hateful. It is said, " God 
loveth a cheerful giver," 2 Cor. ix. 7, aye, and 
God loves a cheerful liver. We are bid in 
scripture, " not to be careful," but we are not 
bid not to be cheerful. He that is contented 
with his condition, doth not abate of his spir- 
itual joy ; and indeed he hath that within him 
which is the ground of cheerfulness ; he car- 
ries a pardon sealed in his heart, Matt. ix. 2. 

Character 3d. A contented spirit is a 
thankful spirit. This is a degree above the 
other ; " In every thing giving thanks," 1 
Thess. v. 18. A gracious heart spies mercy 
in every condition, therefore hath his heart 
screwed up to thankfulness ; others will 
bless God for prosperity, he blesseth him for 
affliction. Thus he reasons with himself : 
Am I in want ? God sees it better for me to 
want than to abound ; God is now dieting 
of me, he sees it better for my spiritual 
health sometimes to be kept fasting ; there- 
fore he doth not only submit but is thankful. 
The malcontent is ever complaining of his 
condition ; the contented spirit is ever giving 
thanks. O what height of grace, is this ! A 
contented heart is a temple where the praises 
of God are sung forth, not a sepulchre 
wherein they are buried. A contented 
Christian in the greatest straits hath his 
heart enlarged and dilated in thankfulness ; 
he oft contemplates God's love in election ; 
he sees that he is a monument of mercy, 
therefore desires to be a pattern of praise. 
There is always gratulatory music in a con- 
tented soul ; the spirit of grace works in the 
heart like new wine, which under the heavi- 
est pressures of sorrow will have a vent open 
for thankfulness ; this is to be content. 

Character Ath. He that is content, no 
condition comes amiss to him ; so it is in 
the text, "in whatever state I am." A 
contented Christian can turn himself to any 
thing ; either want or abound. The people 
of Israel knew neither how to abound, nor 
yet how to want ; when they were in want 
they murmured ; " Can God prepare a table 
in the wilderness?" and when they ate, 
and were filled, then they lifted up the heel. 



SELECT SERMONS. 



723 



Paul knew how to manage every state ; he 
could be either a note higher or lower ; he 
was, in this sense, an universalist, he could 
do any thing that God would have him ; if he 
were in prosperity, he knew how to be thank- 
ful; if in adversity, he knew how to be patient; 
he was neither lifted up with the one, nor 
cast down with the other. He could carry 
a greater sail, or lesser. Thus a contented 
Christian knows how to turn himself to any 
condition. We have those who can be con- 
tented in some condition, but not in every 
estate : they can be content in a wealthy es- 
tate, when they have the streams of milk and 
honey ; while God's candle shines upon their 
head, now they are content, but if the wind 
turn and be against them, now they are dis- 
contented. While they have a silver crutch 
to lean upon, they are contented ; but if God 
breaks this crutch, now they are discontented. 
But Paul had learned in every estate to carry 
himself with an equanimity of mind. Others 
could be content with their affliction, so God 
would give them leave to pick and choose. 
They could be content to bear such a cross ; 
they could better endure sickness than pov- 
erty, or bear loss of estate than loss of chil- 
dren ; if they might have such a man's cross 
they could be content. A contented Chris- 
tian doth not go to choose his cross, but leaves 
God to choose for him ; he is content both for 
the kind and the duration. A contented 
spirit saith, " Let God apply what medicine 
he pleaseth, and let it lie on as long as it 
will ; I know when it hath done its cure, and 
eaten the venom of sin out of my heart, God 
will take it off again." In a word, a con- 
tented Christian being sweetly captivated 
under the authority of the word, desires to 
be wholly at God's disposal, and is willing to 
live in that sphere and climate where God 
has set him : and if at any time he hath been 
an instrument of doing noble and brave ser- 
vice in the public, he knows he is but a ra- 
tional tool, a servant to authority, and is 
content to return to his former condition of 
life. Cincinnatus, after he had done worthily, 
and purchased to himself great fame in his 
dictatorship, did notwithstanding, afterwards 
voluntarily return to till and manure his four 
acres of ground : thus should it be with 



Christians, professing godliness with content- 
ment, having served Mars, daring to offend 
Jupiter ; lest otherwise they discover only to 
the world a brutish valour, being so untamed 
and head-strong, that when they had con- 
quered others, yet they are not able to rule 
their own spirits. 

Character 5th. He that is contented with 
his condition, to rid himself out of trouble, 
will not turn himself into sin. I deny not 
but a Christian may lawfully seek to change 
his condition ; so far as God's providence 
doth go before, he may follow. But when 
men will not follow providence but run before 
it, as he that said, " This evil is of the Lord, 
why should I wait any longer'?" 2 Kings vi. 
33 ; if God doth not open the door of his pro- 
vidence, they will break it open, and wind 
themselves out of affliction by sin ; bringing 
their souls into trouble ; this is far from holy 
contentation, this is unbelief broken into re- 
bellion. A contented Christian is willing to 
wait God's leisure, and will not stir till God 
open a door. As Paul said in another case, 
" they have beaten us openly, uncondemned, 
being Romans, and have cast us into prison: 
and now do they thrust us out privily 1 Nay, 
verily, but let them come themselves and 
fetch us out," Acts xvi. 37. So, with rever- 
ence, saith the contented Christian, God hath 
cast me into this condition ; and though it be 
sad, and troublesome, yet I will not stir, till 
God by a clear providence fetch me out. 
Thus those brave spirited Christians, Heb. xi. 
35, " They accepted not deliverance," that 
is, upon base dishonourable terms. They 
would rather stay in prison than purchase 
their liberty by carnal compliance. Estius 
observes on the place, " they might not only 
have had their enlargements, but been raised 
to honour, and been put into offices of trust, 
yet the honour of religion was dearer to them 
than either liberty or honour." A contented 
Christian will not remove, till as the Israel- 
ites he sees a pillar of cloud and fire going 
before him. "It is good that a man should 
both hope, and quietly wait for the salvation 
of the Lord," Lam. iii. 26. It is good to stay 
God's leisure and not to extricate ourselves 
out of trouble, till we see the star of God's 
providence pointing out a way to us. 



724 



SELECT SERMONS. 



Chap. XIV. Use V. Containing a Chris- 
tian DIRECTORY, OR RULES ABOUT CON- 
TENTMENT. 

I proceed now to a use of direction, to show 
Christians how they may attain to this divine 
art of contentation. Certainly it is feasible, 
others of God's saints have reached to it. 
St Paul here had it ; and what do we think 
of those we read of in that little book of mar- 
tyrs, Heb. xi. who had trials of cruel mock- 
ings and scourgings, who wandered about in 
deserts and caves, yet were contented ; so that 
it is possible to be had. And here I shall lay 
down some rules for holy contentment. 
Rule 1. Advance faith. 
All our disquiets do issue immediately from 
unbelief. It is this that raiseth the storm of 
discontent in the heart. O set faith a-work ! 
It is the property of faith to silence our doubt- 
ings, — to scatter our fears, — to still the heart 
when the passions are up. Faith works the 
heart to a sweet serene composure ; it is not 
having food and raiment, but having faith, 
which will make us content. Faith chides 
down passion ; when reason begins to sink, 
let faith swim. 

Quest. How doth faith work contentment* 
Ans. 1. Faith shows the soul that whatever 
its trials are yet it is from the hand of a fa- 
ther ; it is indeed a bitter cup, but " shall I not 
drink the cup which my father hath given me 
to drink ?" It is in love to my soul : God cor- 
rects me with the same love he crowns me : 
God fs now training me up for heaven ; he 
carves me, to make me a polished shaft. 
These sufferings bring forth patience, hu- 
mility, even the peaceful fruits of righteous- 
ness, Heb. xii. 11. And if God can bring 
such sweet fruit out of a sour stock, let him 
graft me where he pleases. Thus faith brings 
the heart to holy contentment. 

2. Faith sucks the honey of contentment 
out of the hive of the promise. Christ is the 
vine, — the promises are the clusters of grapes 
that grow upon this vine, — and faith presseth 
the sweet wine of contentment out of these 
spiritual clusters of the promises. I will show 
you but one cluster, " the Lord will give grace 
and glory," Ps. lxxxiv. 11. Here is enough 
for faith to live upon. The promise is the 



flower out of which faith distils the spirits 
and quintessence of divine contentment. In 
a word, faith carries up the soul, and makes it 
aspire after more generous and noble delights 
than the earth affords, and to live in the world 
above the world. Would ye live contented 
lives 1 Live up to the height of your faith. 

Rule 2. Labour for assurance. 

O let us get the interest cleared between 
God and our souls ! Interest is a word much 
in use, — a pleasing word, — interest in great 
friends, — interest-money. O, if there be an 
interest worth looking after, it is an interest 
between God and the soul ! Labour to say, 
"my God." To be without money, and 
without friends, and without God' too, Eph. 

11. 12, is sad ; but he whose faith doth flourish 
into assurance, that can say, " I know whom 
I have believed," as St Paul, 2 Tim. i. 12, 
that man hath enough to give his heart con- 
tentment. When a man's debts are paid, 
and he can go abroad without fear of arrest- 
ing, what contentment is this ! O, let your 
title be cleared ! If God be ours, whatever 
we want in the creature, is infinitely made 
up in him. Do I want bread ? I have Christ 
the bread of life. Am I under defilement] 
His blood is like the trees of the sanctuary ; 
not only for meat, but medicine, Ezek. xlvii. 

12. If any thing in the world be worth 
labouring for, it is to get sound evidences 
that God is ours. If this be once cleared, 
what can come amiss] No matter what 
storms I meet with, so that I know where to 
put in for harbour. He that hath God to be 
his God, is so well contented with his con- 
dition, that he doth not much care whether 
he hath any thing else. To rest in a con- 
dition where a Christian cannot say God 
is his God, is matter of fear ; and if he can 
say so truly, and yet is not contented, it is 
matter of shame. " David encouraged him- 
self in the Lord his God," 1 Sam. xxx. 6. 
It was sad with him, Ziklag burnt, his 
wives taken captive, his all lost, and like 
to have lost his soldiers' hearts too, (for 
they spake of stoning him) yet he had the 
ground of contentment within him, viz. 
An interest in God, and this was a pillar 
of supportment to his spirit. He that 
knows God is his, and all that is in God is 



SELECT SERMONS. 



725 



for his good, if this doth not satisfy, I know 
nothing that will. 

Rule 3. Get an humble spirit. 

The humble man is the contented man ; if 
his estate be low, his heart is lower than his 
estate, therefore be content. If his esteem 
in the world be low, he that is little in his own 
eyes will not be much troubled to be little in 
the eyes of others. He hath a meaner opin- 
ion of himself, than others can have of him. 
The humble man studies his own unworthi- 
ness : he looks upon himself as " less than 
the least of God's mercies," Gen. xxxii. 10. 
And then a little will content him : he cries 
out with Paul, that he is the chief of sinners, 
1 Tim. i. 15. Therefore doth not murmur, 
but admire. He doth not say his comforts 
are small, but his sins are great. He thinks 
it a mercy he is out of hell, therefore he is 
contented. He doth not go to carve out a 
more happy condition to himself ; he knows 
the worst piece God cuts him is better than 
he deserves. A proud man is never con- 
tented ; he is one that hath a high opinion of 
himself ; therefore under small blessings is 
disdainful, under small crosses inpatient. 
The humble spirit is the contented spirit ; if 
his cross be light, he reckons it the invento- 
ry of his mercies ; if it be heavy, yet he takes 
it upon his knees, knowing that when his 
estate is worse, it is to make him the better. 
Where you lay humility for the foundation, 
contentment will be the superstructure. 

Rule 4. Keep a clear conscience. 

Contentment is the manna that is laid up 
in the ark of a good conscience : O take 
heed of indulging any sin ! 'Tis as natural 
for guilt to breed disquiet, as for putrid mat- 
ter to breed vermin. Sin lies as Jonah in the 
ship, it raiseth a tempest. If dust or motes 
be gotten into the eye, they make the eye 
water, and cause a soreness in it ; if the eye 
be clear, then it is free from that soreness ; 
if sin be gotten into the conscience, which 
is as the eye of the soul, then grief and dis- 
quiet breed there ; but keep the eye of con- 
science clear, and all is well. What Solo- 
mon saith of a good stomach, I may say of a 
good conscience, Prov. xxvii. 7, " To the 
hungry soul every bitter thing is sweet : " so 
to a good conscience every bitter thing is 



sweet ; it can pick contentment out of the 
cross. A good conscience turns the waters 
of Marah into wine. Would you have a 
quiet heart ? Get a smiling conscience. I 
wonder not to hear Paul say he was in every 
state content, when he could make that tri- 
umph, " I have lived in all good conscience 
to this day." When once a man's reckonings 
are clear, it must needs let in abundance of 
contentment into the heart. Good conscience 
can suck contentment out of the bitterest 
drug, under slanders ; " our rejoicing is this, 
the testimony of our conscience," 2 Cor. i. 12. 
In case of imprisonment, Paul had his prison 
songs, and could play the sweet lessons of 
contentment, when his feet were in the stocks, 
Acts xvi. 25. Augustine calls it ' the paradise 
of a good conscience ;' and if it be so, then 
in prison we may be in paradise. When the 
times are troublesome, a good conscience 
makes a calm. If conscience be clear, what 
though the days be cloudy ] Is it not a con- 
tentment to have a friend always by to speak 
a good word for us ? Such a friend is con- 
science. A good conscience, as David's 
harp, drives away the evil spirit of discon- 
tent. When thoughts begin to arise, and the 
heart is disquieted, conscience saith to a man, 
as the king did to Nehemiah, " Why is thy 
countenance sad V Neh. ii. 2. So saith con- 
science, hast not thou the seed of God in 
thee 1 Art not thou an heir of the promise 1 
Hast not thou a treasure that thou canst 
never be plundered of] Why is thy counte- 
nance sad 1 O keep conscience clear" and 
you shall never want contentment ! For a 
man to keep the pipes of his body, — the veins 
and arteries, — free from colds and obstruc- 
tions, is the best way to maintain health : so, 
to keep conscience clear, and to preserve it 
from the obstructions of guilt, is the best way 
to maintain contentment. First, conscience 
is pure, and then peaceable. 

Rule 5. Learn to deny yourselves. 

Look well to your affections, bridle them 
in. Do two things : (1). Mortify your de- 
sires. (2). Moderate your delights. 

1. Mortify your desires. We must not be 
of the 'dragon's temper, ,, who, they say, is 
so thirsty, that no water will quench his 
thirst : " mortify therefore your inordinate 



726 



SELECT SERMONS. 



affections," Col. iii. 5. In the Greek it is, 
your evil affections ; to show that our desires, 
when they are inordinate, are evil. Crucify 
your desires ; be as dead men ; a dead man 
hath no appetite. 

Quest. How should a Christian martyr 
his desires ? 

Ans. 1. Get a right judgment of the things 
here below ; they are mean beggarly things ; 
" wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is 
not!" Prov. xxiii. 5. The appetite must be 
guided by reason ; the affections are the feet 
of the soul ; therefore they must follow the 
judgment, not lead it. 

A. 2. Often seriously meditate of mortali- 
ty : death will soon crop these flowers which 
we delight in, and pull down the fabric of 
those bodies which we so garnish and beauti- 
fy. Think, when you are locking up your 
money in your chest, who shall shortly lock 
you up in your coffin 1 

2. Moderate your delights. Set not your 
heart too much upon any creature, Isa. lxii. 
10. What we over-love, we shall over-grieve. 
Rachel set her heart too much upon her chil- 
dren, and when she had lost them, she lost 
herself too ; such a vein of grief was opened 
as could not be staunched, " she refused to 
be comforted." Here was discontent. When 
we let any creature lie too near our heart, 
when God pulls away that comfort, a piece of 
our heart is rent away with it. Too much 
fondness ends in frowardness. Those that 
would be content in the want of mercy, must 
be moderate in the enjoyment. Jonathan dipt 
the rod in honey, he did not thrust it in. Let 
us take heed of ingulphing ourselves in plea- 
sure ; better have a spare diet, than by hav- 
ing too much, to surfeit. 

Rule 6. Get much of heaven into your 
heart. 

Spiritual things satisfy ; the more of heaven 
is in us, the less earth will content us. He 
that hath once tasted the love of God, Ps. 
lxiii. 5, his thirst is much quenched towards 
sublunary things ; the joys of God's Spirit are 
heart-filling and heart-cheering joys ; he that 
hath these, hath heaven begun in him, Rom. 
xiv. 27. And shall not we be content to be in 
heaven'? O get a sublime heart, " seek those 
things which are above," Col. iii. 1. Fly aloft 
in your affections, — thirst after the graces and 



comforts of the Spirit ; the eagle that flies 
above in the air, fears not the stinging of the 
serpent ; the serpent creeps on his belly, and 
stings only such creatures as go upon the 
earth. 

Rule 7. Look not so much on the dark 
side of your condition, as on the light. 

God doth chequer his providences, white 
and black, as the pillar of cloud had its light 
side and dark : look on the light side of thy 
estate ; who looks on the back side of a land- 
scape 1 Suppose thou art cast in a law-suit, — 
there is the dark side : yet thou hast some 
land left, — there is the light side. Thou hast 
sickness in thy body, — there is the dark side ; 
but grace in thy soul, — there is the light side. 
Thou hast a child taken away, — there is the 
dark side ; thy husband lives, — there is the 
light side. God's providences in this life are 
variously represented by those speckled 
horses among the myrtle-trees which were 
red and white, Zech. i. 1. Mercies and af- 
flictions are interwoven. God doth spec- 
kle his work. O, saith one, I want such a 
comfort ! But weigh all thy mercies in the 
balance, and that will make thee content. Tf 
a man did want a finger, would he be so dis- 
contented for the loss of that as not to be 
thankful for all the other parts and joints of 
his body? Look on the light side of your 
condition, and then all your discontents will 
easily disband ; do not pore upon your losses, 
but ponder upon your mercies. What ! 
wouldest thou have no cross at all ? Why 
should one man think to have all good things 
when himself is good but in part 1 Wouldest 
thou have no evil about thee, who has so 
much evil in thee 1 Thou art not fully sancti- 
fied in this life, how then thinkest thou to be 
fully satisfied 1 Never look for perfection of 
contentment till there be perfection of grace. 

Rule 8. Consider in what a posture we 
stand here in the world. 

1. We are in a military condition, we are 
soldiers, 2 Tim. ii. 3. Now a soldier is 
content with any thing; what though he 
hath not his stately house, his rich furni- 
ture, his soft bed, his full table, yet he doth 
not complain ; he can lie on straw as well 
as down ; he minds not his lodging, but his 
thoughts run upon dividing the spoil, and 
the garland of honour shall be set upon his 



SELECT SERMONS. 



727 



; head ; and for hope of this, is he content to 
it run any hazard, endure any hardship. Were 
!'■ it not absurd to hear him complain, that he 
I wants such provision and is fain to lie out in 
I the fields'? A Christian is a military person, 
he fights the Lord's battles, he is Christ's 
ensign-bearer. Now, what though he en- 
dures hard fate, and the bullets fly about 1 
He fights for a crown, and therefore must be 
< content. 

-2. We are in a peregrine condition, pil- 
grims and travellers. A man that is in a 
i strange country, is contented with any diet 
or usage, he is glad of any thing ; though he 
hath not that respect or attendance which he 
: looks for at home, nor is capable of the pri- 
I vileges and immunities of that place, he is 
j content ; he knows, when he comes into his 
own country, he hath lands to inherit, and 
there he shall have honour and respect ; so it 
is with a child of God, he is in a pilgrim con- 
dition ; " I am a stranger with thee, and a 
sojourner, as all my fathers were," Ps. xxxix. 
I 12. Therefore let a Christian be content, he 
; is in the world, but not of the world ; he is 
I born of God, and is a citizen of the New 
I Jerusalem, Heb. xii. 22, therefore, though 
! " he hunger and thirst, and have no certain 
: dwelling place," 1 Cor. iv. 11, yet he must 
be content ; it will be better when he comes 
into his own country. 
3. We are in a mendicant condition ; we 
j are beggars, we beg at heaven's gate, "give 
us this day our daily bread ;" we live upon 
God's alms, therefore must be content with 
anything; a beggar must not pick and choose, 
; he is contented with the refuse. Oh, why dost 
thou murmur that art a beggar, and art fed 
out of the alms-basket of God's providence. 

Rule 9. Let not your hope depend upon 
these outward things. 

Lean not upon sandy pillars ; we oft build 
our comfort upon such a friend or estate ; 
and when that prop is removed, all our joy 
I is gone, and our hearts begin either to fail 
or fret. A lame man leans on his crutches ; 
and if they break, he is undone. Let not 
thy contentment go upon crutches, which 
may soon fail ; the ground of contentment 
must be within thyself. The Greek word 
which is used for contentment signifies self- 



sufficiency. A Christian hath that from with- 
in that is able to support him ; that strength 
of faith, and good hope through grace, as 
bears up his heart in the deficiency of out- 
ward comforts. The philosophers of old, 
when their estates were gone, yet could take 
contentment in the goods of the mind, learn- 
ing and virtue ; and shall not a believer much 
more in the graces of the spirit, that rich 
enamel and embroidery of the soul? Say 
with thyself, " if friends leave me, if riches 
take wings, yet I have that within me which 
comforts me, viz. an heavenly treasure ; 
when the blossoms of my estate are blown 
off, still there is the sap of contentment in 
the root of my heart ; I have still an interest 
in God, and that interest cannot be broken 
off." O never place your felicity in these 
dull and beggarly things here below ! 

Rule 10. Let us often compare our con- 
dition. 

Quest. How should I compare ? 

Ans. Make this five-fold comparison. 

Comparison 1st. Let us compare our con- 
dition and our desert together ; if we have 
not what we desire, we have more than we 
deserve. For our mercies we have deserved 
less ; for our afflictions we have deserved 
more. 

First, In regard of our mercies, we have 
deserved less. What can we deserve 1 Can 
man be profitable to the Almighty 1 We live 
upon free grace. Alexander gave a great gift 
to one of his subjects ; the man being much 
taken with it, "This," saith he, "is more 
than I am worthy of." " I do not give thee 
this," saith the king, " because thou art 
worthy of it, but I give a gift like Alexander." 
Whatever we have is not merit, but bounty ; 
the least bit of bread is more than God owes 
us ; we can bring faggots to our own burning, 
but not one flower to the garland of our sal- 
vation ; he that hath the least mercy, will 
die in God's debt. 

Secondly, In regard of our afflictions, we 
have deserved more. " Thou hast Dunished 
us less than our iniquities deserve," Ezra ix. 
13. Is our condition sad 1 We have deserved 
it should be worse. Hath God taken away 
our estate from us 1 He might have taken 
away Christ from us. Hath he thrown us 



728 



SELECT SERMONS. 



into prison ? he might have thrown us into 
hell ; he might as well damn us, as whip us, 
this should make us contented. 

Comparison 2d. Let us compare our con- 
dition with others ; and this will make us con- 
tent. We look at them who are above us, 
let us look at them who are below us ; we 
see one in his silks, another in his sackcloth : 
one hath the waters of a full cup wrung out 
to him, another is mingling his drink with 
tears ; how many pale faces do we behold, 
whom not sickness, but want hath brought 
into a consumption ! Think of this, and be 
content. It is worse with them, who per- 
haps deserve better than we, and are higher 
in God's favour. Am I in prison ] Was not 
Daniel in a worse place, viz. the lion's den'? 
Do I live in a mean cottage 1 Look on them 
who are banished from their houses. We 
read of the primitive saints, " that they wan- 
dered in sheep's skins and goats' skins, of 
whom the world was not worthy," Heb. xi. 
37, 38. Hast thou a gentle fit of an ague ? 
Look on them who are tormented with the 
stone and gout, &c Others" of God's children 
have had greater afflictions, and have borne 
them better than we. Daniel fed upon pulse 
and drank water, yet was fairer than they 
who ate of the king's portion, Dan. i. 15. 
Some Christians who have been in a lower 
condition, that have fed upon pulse and wa- 
ter, have looked better, viz. been more patient 
and contented than we who enjoy abundance. 
Do others rejoice in affliction, and do we re- 
pine ? Can they take up their cross and walk 
cheerfully under it, and do we under a lighter 
cross murmur'? 

Comparison 2>d. Let us compare our con- 
dition with Christ's upon earth. What a 
poor, mean condition was he pleased to be 
in for us ] He was contented with anything. 
" For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus 
Christ, that though he^ was rich, yet for our 
sakes he became poor," 2 Cor. viii. 9. He 
could have brought down a house from hea- 
ven with him, or challenged the high places 
of the earth, but he was contented to be in 
the wine press, that we might be in the wine 
cellar, and to live poor that we might be rich; 
the manger was his cradle, the cobwebs his 
canopy ; he who is now preparing mansions 



for us in heaven, had none for himself on 
earth, ' he had no where to lay his head.' 
Christ came in forma pauperis ; who, " being 
in the form of God, took upon him the form of 
a servant," Phil. ii. 7. We read not of any j 
sums of money he had; when he wanted mo- | 
ney, he was fain to work a miracle for it, Matt. J 
xvii. 27. Jesus Christ was in a low condition, 
he was never high, but when he was lifted up 
upon the cross, and that was his humility : 
he was content to live poor, and. die cursed. 

compare your condition, with Christ's ! 
Comparison Mh. Let us compare our con- 

dition with what it was once, and this will 
make us content. 

First, Let us compare our spiritual estate j 
with what it was once. What were we when 
we lay in our blood 1 We were heirs appa- 
rent to hell, having no right to pluck one 
leaf from the tree of promise ; it was a Christ- 
less and hopeless condition, Eph. ii. 12. But 
now God hath cut off the entail of hell and 
damnation ; he hath taken you out of the wild 
olive of nature, and ingrafted you into Christ, 
making you living branches of that living 
vine ; he hath not only caused the light to $ 
shine upon you, but into you, 2 Cor. vi. 6, 
and hath interested you in all the privileges i 
of sonship, is not here that which may make 
the soul content. 

Secondly, Let us compare our temporal es- 
tate with what it was once. Alas ! we had 
nothing when we stepped out of the womb ; 
" For we brought nothing into this world," 

1 Tim. vi. 7. If we have not that which we | 
desire, we have more than we did bring with j 
us ; we brought nothing with us but sin ; other 
creatures bring something with them into the 
world ; the lamb brings wool, the silk-worm 
silk, &c. but we brought nothing with us. 
What if our condition at present be low 1 It 

is better than it was once ; therefore, having 
food and raiment, let us be content. What- 
ever we have, God's providence fetcheth it 1 
unto us ; and if we lose all, yet we have as 
much as we brought with us. This was 
what made Job content, "Naked came I 
out of my mother's womb," Job i. 21. As 
if he had said, though God hath taken 
away all from me, yet why should I 
murmur] I am as rich as I was when I 



SELECT 

\ came into the world 1 I have as much left as 
I brought with me ; naked came I hither ; 
j therefore blessed be the name of the Lord. 
Comparison oth. Let us compare our con- 
dition with what it shall be shortly. There 
| is a time shortly coming", when, if we had all 
j the riches of India, they would do us no 
good ; we must die, and can carry nothing 
I with us ; so saith the apostle, " It is certain 
I we can carry nothing out of the world," 1 
i Tim. vi. 7. Therefore it follows, "having 
food and raiment, let us therewith be con- 
tent." Open the rich man's grave and see 
what is there ; you may find the miser's bones, 
but not his riches, says Bede. Were we to 
live for ever here, or could we carry our 
riches into another world, then indeed we 
might be discontented, when we look upon 
our empty bags, But it is not so : God may 
presently seal a warrant for death to appre_ 
hend us : and when we die, we cannot carry 
our estate with us : honour and riches de- 
scend not into the grave, why then are we 
troubled at our outward condition ! Why do 
we disguise ourselves with discontent] O 
lay up a stock of grace ! Be rich in faith and 
good works, these riches will follow us, Rev. 
xiv. 13. No other coin but grace will pass 
current in heaven, silver and gold will not 
go there ; labour to be rich towards God, 
Luke xii. 21. And as for other things, be not 
solicitous, we shall carry nothing with us. 

Rule 11. Go not to bring your condition 
to your mind, but bring your mind to your 
condition. 

The way for a Christian to be contented, 
is not by raising his estate higher, but by 
bringing his spirit lower ; not by making his 
barns wider, but his heart narrower. One 
man, a whole lordship or manor will not con- 
tent ; another is satisfied with a few acres of 
land ; what is the difference 1 The one 
studies to satisfy curiosity, the other neces- 
| sity ; the one thinks what he may have, the 
! other what he may spare. 

Rule 12. Study the vanity of the creature. 

It matters not whether we have less or 
more of these things, they have vanity writ- 
ten upon the frontispiece of them : the world 
is like a shadow that declineth ; it is delight- 
ful, but deceitful ; it promiseth more than we 
4Z 



SERMONS. 729 

find, and it fails us when we have most need 
of it. All the world rings changes, and is 
constant only in its disappointments : what 
then, if we have less of that which is at best 
but voluble and fluid % The world is as full 
of mutation as motion ; and what if God cut 
us short in sublunaries 1 The more a man 
hath to do with the world, the more he hath 
to do with vanity. The world may be com- 
pared to ice, which is smooth, but slippery ; 
or to the Egyptian temples, without very 
beautiful and sumptuous, but within nothing 
to be seen but the image of an ape; every 
creature saith concerning satisfaction, it is 
not in me. The world is not a filling, but a 
flying comfort. It is like a game at tennis ; 
providence bandies her golden balls, first to 
one, then to another. Why are we discon- 
tented at the loss of these things, but because 
we expect that from them which is not, and 
repose that in them which we ought not] 
" Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd," 
Jonah iv. 6. What a vanity was it! It is 
much to see a withering gourd smitten] Or 
to see the moon dressing itself in a new 
shape and figure ! 

Rule 13. Get fancy regulated. 

It is the fancy which raiseth the price of 
things above their real worth. What is the 
reason one tulip is worth five pounds, ano- 
ther perhaps not worth one shilling] Fancy 
raiseth the price ; the difference is rather 
imaginary than real ; so, why it should be 
better to have thousands than hundreds, is, 
because men fancy it so ; if we could fancy 
a lower condition better, as having less 
care in it, and less account, it would be far 
more eligible. The water that springs out 
of the rock, drinks as sweet as if it came 
out of a golden chalice ; things are as we 
fancy them. Ever since the fall, the fancy 
is distempered; God saw that the imagina- 
tion of the thoughts of his heart were evil, 
Gen. vi. 5. Fancy looks through wrong 
spectacles ; pray that God will sanctify 
your fancy; a lower condition would eon- 
tent, if the mind and fancy were set right. 
Diogenes preferred his cynical life before 
Alexander's royalty : he fancied his little 
cloister best. Fabricius a poor man, yet de- 
spised the gold of king Pyrrhus. Could we 



730 



SELECT SERMONS. 



cure a distempered fancy, we might soon 
conquer a discontented heart. 

Rule 14. Consider how little will suffice 
nature. 

The body is but a small continent, and is 
easily recruited. Christ hath taught us to pray 
for our daily bread ; nature is content with a 
little. Not to thirst, not to starve, is enough, 
saith Gregory Nazianzen ; meat and drink 
are a Christian's riches, saith St Hierom ; 
and the apostle saith, " having food and rai- 
ment let us be content." The stomach is 
sooner filled than the eye ; how quickly would 
a man be content, if he would study rather to 
satisfy his hunger than his humour? 

Rule 15. Believe the present condition is 
best for us. 

Flesh and blood is not a competent judge. 
Surfeiting stomachs are for banqueting stuff, 
but a man that regards his health, is rather 
for solid food. Vain men fancy such a condi- 
tion best and would flourish in their bravery ; 
whereas a a wise Christian hath his will melt- 
ed into God's will, and thinks it best to be at 
his finding. God is wise, he knows whether 
we need food or physic ; and if we could ac- 
quiesce in providence, the quarrel would soon 
be at an end. O what a strange creature 
would man be, if he were what he could wish 
himself ! Be content to be at God's allow- 
ance ; God knows which is the fittest pasture 
to put his sheep in ; sometimes a more bar- 
ren ground doth well, whereas rank pasture 
may rot. Do I meet with such a cross 1 God 
shows me what the world is ; he hath no bet- 
ter way to wean me, than by putting me to a 
step-mother. Doth God stint me in my allow- 
ance ] He is now dieting me. Do I meet 
with losses 1 It is, that God may keep me 
from being lost. Every cross wind shall at last 
blow me to the right port. Did we believe 
that condition best which God doth parcel out 
to us, we should cheerfully submit, and say, 
" the lines are fallen in pleasant places." 

Rule 16. Do not too much indulge the 
flesh. 

We have taken an oath in baptism to for- 
sake the flesh. The flesh is a worse enemy 
than the devil, it is a bosom-traitor ; an ene- 
my within is worst. If there were no devil 
to tempt, the flesh would be another Eve, to 



tempt to the forbidden fruit. O take heed of 
giving way to it ! Whence is all our discon- 
tent but from the fleshy part 1 The flesh puts 
us upon the immoderate pursuit of the world ; 
it consults for ease and plenty, and if it be 
not satisfied, then discontents begin to arise. 
O let it not have the reins ! Martyr the 
flesh ! In spiritual things the flesh is a slug- 
gard, in secular things a horse-leech, cry- 
ing, "give, give." The flesh is an enemy to 
suffering : it will sooner make a man a cour- 
tier, than a martyr. O keep it under ! Put 
its neck under Christ's yoke, — stretch and 
nail it to his cross, — never let a Christian 
look for contentment in his spirit, till there 
be confinement in his flesh ! 

Rule 17. Meditate much on the glory 
which shall be revealed. 

There are great things laid up in heaven. 
Though it be sad for the present yet let us 
be content in that it shortly will be better ; 
it is but a while and we shall be with Christ, 
bathing ourselves in the fountain of love ; we 
shall never complain of wants and injuries 
any more ; our cross may be heavy, but one 
sight of Christ will make us forget all our 
former sorrows. There are two things should 
give contentment. 

1. That God will make us able to bear 
our troubles, 1 Cor. x. 13. God, saith Chry- 
sostom, doth like a lutanist, who will not let 
the strings of his lute be too slack lest it 
spoil the music of prayer and repentance ! 
nor yet too much adversity, " lest the spirit 
fail before me ; and the souls that I have 
made," Isa. lvii. 16. 

2. When we have suffered a while, 1 Pet. 
v. 10, we shall be perfected in glory ; the 
cross shall be our ladder by which we shall 
climb up to heaven. Be then content, and 
then the scene will alter ; God will ere long 
turn our water into wine ; the hope of this 
is enough to drive away all distempers from 
the heart. Blessed be God it will be bet- 
ter : " We have no continuing city here," 
Heb. xiii. therefore our afflictions cannot 
continue. A wise man looks still to the 
end ; " The end of the just man is peace," 
Ps. xxxvii. 37. Methinks the smoothness of 
the end should make amends for the rug- 
gedness of the way. O eternity, eternity ! 



SELECT SERMONS. 



731 



Think often of the kingdom prepared. David 
>' was advanced from the field to the throne : 
first he held his shepherd's staff, and shortly 
after the royal sceptre. God's people may 
be put to hard services here : but God hath 
chosen them to be kings, to sit upon the 
throne with the Lord Jesus. This being 
weighed in the balance of faith, would be an 
excellent means to bring the heart to con- 
tentment. 

Rule 18. Be much in prayer. 

The last rule for contentment is, be much 
in prayer. Beg of God, that he will work 
our hearts to this blessed frame. " Is any 
man afflicted, let him pray," James v. 14 : 
so, is any man discontented ? Let him pray. 
Prayer gives vent : the opening of a vein 
lets out bad blood ; when the heart is filled 
with sorrow and disquiet, prayer lets out the 
bad blood. The key of prayer oiled with 
tears, unlocks the heart of all its discontents. 
Prayer is a holy spell, or charm to drive 
away trouble ; prayer is the unbosoming of 
the soul, the unloading of all our cares in 
God's breast ; and this ushers in sweet con- 
tentment. When there is any burthen upon 
our spirits, by opening our mind to a friend 
we fine our hearts finely eased and quieted. 
It is not our strong resolutions, but our strong 
requests to God, which must give the heart 
ease in trouble ; by prayer the strength of 
Christ comes into the soul, and where that 
is, a man is able to go through any condition. 
Paul could be in every state content; but 
that you may not think he was able to do 
this himself, he tells you that though he could 
want and abound, and " do all things ;" yet 
it was through Christ strengthening him, 
Phil. iv. 13. It is the child that writes, but 
it is the scrivener guides his hand. 

Chap. XV. Use VI. Of consolation to 

THE CONTENTED CHRISTIAN. 

The last use is of comfort, or an encou- 
raging word to the contented Christian. If 
there be a heaven upon earth thou hast it. 
O Christian ! thou mayest insult over thy 
troubles, and, with the leviathan, laugh at 
the shaking of a spear, Job xli. 7. What 
shall I say ? Thou art a crown to thy pro- 



fession ; thou dost hold it out to all the world, 
that there is virtue enough in religion to 
give the soul contentment ; thou showest the 
highest of grace. When grace is crowning, 
it is not so much for us to be content ; but 
when grace is conflicting, and meets with 
crosses, temptations, agonies, — now to be 
content, this is a glorious thing indeed. To 
a contented Christian, I shall say two things 
for a farewell. 

First, God is exceedingly taken with such 
a frame of heart. God saith of a contented 
Christian, as David once said of Goliath's 
sword, " there is none like that, give it me," 
1 Sam. xxi. 9. If you would please God, 
and be men of his heart, be contented. God 
hates a froward spirit. 

Secondly, The contented Christian shall 
be no loser. What lost Job by his patience 1 
God gave him twice as much as he had be- 
fore. What lost Abraham by his content- 
ment 1 He was content to leave his country 
at God's call. The Lord makes a covenant 
with him, that he would be his God, Gen. 
xvii. He changeth his name ; no more 
Abram, but Abraham, the father of many na- 
tions. God makes his seed as the stars of 
heaven ; nay, honours him with this title, 
"the father of the faithful." Gen. xviii. 17, 
The Lord makes known his secrets to him, 
" shall I hide from Abraham the things that 
I will do V God settles a rich inheritance 
upon him, that land which was a type of 
heaven, and afterwards translated him to the 
blessed paradise. God will be sure to reward 
the contented Christian. As our Saviour 
said in another case, to Nathaniel, " because 
I said I saw thee under the fig-tree, believest 
thou] Thou shalt see greater things than 
these," John i. 50: so I say, Art thou con- 
tented (O Christian) with a little 1 Thou 
shalt see greater things than these. God 
will distil the sweet influences of his love 
into thy soul ; he will raise thee up friends ; 
he will bless the oil in the cruise ; and when 
that is done, he will crown thee with an 
eternal enjoyment of himself; he will give 
thee heaven, where thou shalt have as much 
contentment as thy soul can possibly thirst 
after. 



732 



SELECT SERMONS. 



THE PRECIOUSNESS OF THE SOUL. 



Matt. xvi. 26. " For what is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world and lose 
his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" 



Every man doth carry a treasure about with 
him, a Divine Soul ; and that this jewel 
should not be undervalued, our Saviour here 
sets a price upon it, he lays the soul in balance 
with the whole world, and being put in the 
scales, the soul weighs heaviest. " What is 
a man profited if he gain the whole world 
and lose his own soul 1" 

The world is a stately fabric, enriched with 
beauty and excellency, it is like a curious 
piece of arras, set about with divers colours ; 
it is a bright mirror and crystal, in which 
much of the wisdom and majesty of God is 
resplendent ; but as glorious as this world is, 
every man doth carry a more glorious world 
about him, a precious soul. It would bank- 
rupt the world to give half the price of a soul; 
it will undo the world to buy it, and it will 
undo him that shall sell it. If we can save 
our souls, though we lose the world, it is a 
gainful loss ; if we lose our souls, though we 
gain the world, our very gains will undo us. 
" For what is a man profited if he shall gain the 
whole world and lose his own soul] or what 
shall a man give in exchange for his soul 

The words branch themselves into these 
five parts : 

1. A supposal of a purchase, "if a man 
shall gain." The proposition is hypothetical ; 
Christ doth not say he shall gain, but puts a 
case ; it is not a certain purchase, it is only 
supposed. 

2. The purchase itself, the world. 

3. The extent of the purchase, the whole 
world, the world with all its revenues and 
perquisites. 

4. The terms of this purchase, " he shall 
lose his soul," not that his soul shall be 
annihilated (that were happy), but he shall 
lose the end of his ereation ; he shall miss of 
glory, he shall lose his soul. And the loss 
of the soul is amplified by two things : 

First, The propriety, his own soul, that 
which is nearest to him, that which is most 



himself ; the soul is the most noble part, it is 
the man of the man, he shall lose his own soul. 

Secondly, The irrecoverableness of the 
loss ; " what shall a man give in exchange for 
his soul]" The words are a miosis, there is 
less said, and more intended. What shall 
he give 1 as if Christ had said, alas ! he hath 
nothing to give ; or, if he had something to 
give, yet nothing will be taken for it ; the 
soul cannot be exchanged, there shall be no 
bail or mainprise taken for it. " What shall 
a man give in exchange for his soul." & 

5. Our Saviour's verdict upon this pur- 
chase, "for what is a man profited V as if 
Christ had said, he will have a hard bargain 
of it, he will repent him at last, it is but the 
fool's purchase: for whatisaman profited, &c. 

Doct. The observation is, that the soul of 
man is a jewel more precious than a world ; 
all souls are of one price : in this sense that 
maxim in philosophy holds true, all souls are 
alike. The soul of prince and peasant, all are 
equal ; and every soul of more value than a 
world. For the illustration of the doctrine 
there are two things to be demonstrated. 

First, That the soul is very precious. 

Secondly, That it is more precious than a 
world. 

1. That the soul is very precious. What 
Job saith of wisdom, I may fitly apply to the 
soul. " Man knows not the price thereof, it 
cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir, 
with the precious onyx, or the sapphire, the 
gold and the crystal cannot equal it ; and the 
exchange of it shall not be for jewels of fine 
gold," Job xxviii. 13, 16, 17. The soul is 
the glory of the creation ; the soul is a 
beam of God ; it is a sparkle of celestial 
brightness, as Demascen calls it ; it is, accord- 
ing to Plato, a glass of the Trinity. There 
is, in the soul, an idea and resemblance of 
God : an analogy of similitude, not propor- 
tion, as the schoolmen speak. If David did 
so admire the rare texture and workmanship 



SELECT SERMONS. 



733 



of his body, Psalm cxxxix. 13, 15. " I am 
wonderfully made, I was curiously wrought 
in the lowest parts of the earth." If the cabi- 
net be so curiously wrought, what is the je well 
how richly and gloriously is the soul embroid- 
ered! it is divinely inlaid and enamelled. 
The body is but the sheath, Dan. vii. 15, " I 
was grieved in the midst of my body ;" in the 
Chaldee it is, in the midst of my sheath. 
The most beautiful body is but like a velvet 
sheath, the soul is the blade of admirable 
metal. The soul is a sparkling diamond set 
in a ring of clay, &c. The soul is a vessel 
of honour ; God himself is served in this ves- 
sel. The soul is the bird of paradise that 
soars aloft ; it may be compared to the wings 
of the cherubims, it hath a winged swiftness 
l*Mly to heaven. The soul is capable of 
mmunion with God and angels. The soul 
God's house he hath made to dwell in, 
Heb. iii. 6. The understanding, will, and 
affections are the three stories in this house. 
What pity is it that this goodly building- 
should be let out, and the devil become te- 
nant in it. The preciousness of the soul is 
seen in two particulars. 

It hath I. An intrinsical worth. II. An 
estimative worth. 

I. The soul hath an intrinsical worth. 
Which appears in two things : 1. Spirituality. 
2. Immortality. 

1. Spirituality. The soul is a spiritual sub- 
stance. It is a saying among the ancients, our 
souls are tempered in the same mortar with 
the heavenly spirits. Now the soul is spi- 
ritual three manner of ways : in its essence, 
object, operation. 

(1). The soul is spiritual in its essence. 
God breathed it in, Gen. ii. 7. It is a sparkle 
lighted by the breath of God. The soul may 
be compared to the spirits of the wine, the 
body to the dregs : the spirits are the more 
pure refined part of the_wine, such is the 
soul; the body is more feculent, the soul is 
the more refined, sublimated part of man. 
Mistake me not, when I say the soul is spi- 
ritual, and that it is a beam of God ; I do not 
mean that it is of the same substance with 
him, as Servetus, Osiander, and others have 
held ; for when it is said God breathed into 
man the breath of life, they erroneously 



thought that the soul being infused did con- 
vey into man the spirit and substance of God, 
which opinion is absurd and sinful : for if the 
soul should be part of the Divine essence, 
then it will follow, that the essence of God 
should be subject not only to change and pas- 
sion, but which is worse, to sin, which were 
blasphemy to assert ; so that when we say 
the soul is spiritual, the meaning is, God 
hath invested it with many noble endow- 
ments, he hath made it a mirror of beauty, 
and printed upon it a surpassing excellency ; 
as the sun shining upon crystal, conveys its 
beauty, not its being. 

(2) . The soul is spiritual in its object, it 
contemplates God and heaven ; God is the 
orb and centre where the soul doth fix ; if 
you could lift up a stone into the highest re- 
gion, though it did break in a hundred pieces, 
it would fall to its centre. The soul moves 
to God, as to its rest, Psalm cxvi. 7. " Re- 
turn to thy rest, O my soul." He is the ark 
to which this dove flies ; nothing but God 
can fill a heaven-born soul ; if the earth were 
turned into a globe of gold, it could not fill 
the heart, it would still cry, Give, give. The 
soul being spiritual, God only can be the ade- 
quate object of it. 

(3) . The soul is spiritual in its operation, 
it being immaterial, doth not depend upon 
the body in its working. The senses of see- 
ing, hearing, and the rest of those organs of 
the body, cease and die with the body, be- 
cause they are parts of the body, and have 
their dependence on it ; but the soul (as 
Aristotle saith) hath a nature distinct from 
the body, it moves and operates of itself 
though the body be dead, and hath no de- 
pendence upon, or co-existence with the 
body. Thales Milesius, an ancient philoso- 
pher, calls the soul a self-moveable, it hath 
an intrinsical principle of life and motion, 
though it be separate from the body. And 
thus you have seen the soul's spirituality. 

3. The preciousness of the soul appears in 
its immortality. There are some that say 
the soul is mortal ; indeed it were well for 
those who do not live like men, if they might 
die like beasts ; but as Julius Scaliger well 
observes, it is impossible for any thing of a 
spiritual, uncompounded nature, to be sub- 



734 



SELECT SERMONS. 



ject to death and corruption : the souls of 
believers are with Christ after death, Phil. i. 
23. CEcolampadias said to his friend, who 
came to visit him on his death bed, Good 
news, I shall be shortly with Christ my Lord. 
And the devout soul shall be ever with the 
Lord, 1 Thess. iv. ult. The heathens had 
some glimmerings of the soul's immortality. 
Cicero saith that the swan was dedicated to 
Apollo, because she sings sweetly before her 
death ; by which hieroglyphic they intimated 
the joyfulness of virtuous men before their 
death, as supposing the Elysian delights, 
which they should always enjoy after this 
life. And we read it was a custom among the 
Romans, that when their great men died, 
they caused an eagle to fly aloft in the air, 
signifying hereby that the soul was immortal, 
and did not die as the body. 

The soul's immortality may be proved by 
this argument. That which is not capable of 
killing, is not capable of dying ; but the soul 
is not capable of killing ; our Saviour Christ 
proves the minor proposition, that it is not 
capable of killing. Luke xii. 4, " Fear not 
them that kill the body, and after that have no 
more that they can do." Therefore the soul 
not being capable of killing, is not in a pos- 
sibility of dying ; the essence of the soul is 
metaphysical, it hath a beginning, but no end ; 
it is eternal, a parly post. The soul doth not 
wax old, it lives for ever, which can be said of 
no sublunary created glory. Worldly things 
are as full of mutation as motion, and like Jo- 
nah's gourd, have a worm eating at the root. 

II. The soul hath an estimative worth. 

1. Jesus Christ hath set a high value and 
estimate upon the soul ; he made it, and he 
bought it, therefore he best knows the price 
of it. He did sell himself to buy the soul. 
Zech. xi. 12. " They weighed for my price 
thirty pieces of silver." Nay, he was con- 
tent not only to be sold, but to die ; this en- 
hanceth the price of the soul, it cost the 
blood of God. Acts xx. 28. 1 Pet. i. 19. 
" Ye were not redeemed with corruptible 
things as silver and gold, but with the pre- 
cious blood of Christ." God must die, that 
the soul may live ; the heir of heaven was 
mortgaged, and laid to pawn for the soul of 
man. What could Christ give more than him- 



self? what in himself dearer than his blood 1 
O precious soul, that hast the image of God to 
beautify thee, and the blood of God to redeem 
thee ! Christ was the priest, his divine nature 
the altar, his blood the sacrifice which he 
did offer up as an atonement for our souls. 
Now reckon what a drop of Christ's blood is 
worth, and then tell me what a soul is worth. 

2. Satan doth value souls, he knows their 
worth ; he saith as the king of Sodom did to 
Abraham, ' Give me the persons, and take 
the goods to thyself.' So saith Satan, ' Give 
me the persons.' He cares not how rich you 
are, he doth not strive to take away your es- 
tates, but your souls. Give me the persons, 
saith he, take you the goods ; whence are all 
his noemata, his warlike stratagems, his sub- 
tle snares, but to catch souls'? Why doth this 
lion so roar, but for his prey 1 he envies the 
soul its happiness, he lays the whole train of 
tentation to blow up the whole fort-royal of 
the soul. Why doth he lay such suitable 
baits 1 he allures the ambitious man with a 
crown, the covetous man with a golden apple ; 
the sanguine man with beauty ; why doth he 
tempt to Delilah's lap, but to keep you from 
Abraham's bosom 1 the devil is angling for 
the precious soul ; to undo souls in his pride ; 
he glories in the damnation of souls ; it is 
next to victory to die revenged. If Samson 
must die, it is some comfort that he shall 
make more die with him ; if Satan, that lion, 
must be kept in his hellish den, it is all the 
heaven he expects, to reach forth his paw, 
and pull others into the den with him. 

3. Having showed you the souls' precious- 
ness ; the next thing to be demonstrated, is, 
that the soul is more precious than a world ; 
the world is made of a more impure lump ; 
the world is of a coarser make, of an earthly 
extract ; the soul is heaven-born, of a finer 
spinning, of a more noble descent ; the world 
is a great book or volume, wherein we read 
the majesty and wisdom of him that made it ; 
but the soul is the image of God, Gen. i. 
The soul is a studied piece ; when God made 
the world, it was but fiat, let it be, and it 
was done ; but when he made the soul, all 
the persons in the Trinity sat together at the 
council table, Gen. i. 26. " Come, let us 
make man in our own likeness." The soul 



SELECT SERMONS. 



735 



is a glass wherein some rays of divine glory 
shine, much of God is to be seen in it ; though 
this glass be cracked by the fall, yet it shall 
one day be perfect ; we read of spirits of just 
men made perfect, Heb. xii. 23. The soul 
since the fall of Adam, may be compared to 
the moon in its conjunction, very much ob- 
scured by sin ; but when it is sanctified by 
the Spirit, and translated from hence, it shall 
be as the moon in the full, it shall shine forth 
in its perfect glory. 

1. If the soul be so precious, see then what 
that worship is that God doth expect and ac- 
cept ; namely, that which comes from the 

i more noble part of the soul. Ps. xxv. 1. " To 
; thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul." David 
; did not only lift up his voice, but his soul ; 
i though God will have the eye and the knee, 
I the service of the body ; yet he complains of 
them that draw near with their lips, when their 
hearts were far from him, Isa. xxix. 13. The 
soul is the jewel ; David not only put his lute 
and viol in tune, but his soul in tune to praise 
God. Ps. ciii. 1. " Bless the Lord, O my 
soul ;" his affections joining together in wor- 
ship, made up the concert. The soul is both 
altar, fire and incense ; it is the altar on which 
I we offer up our prayers, the fire which kin- 
dles our prayers, and the incense which per- 
fumes them. God's eye is chiefly upon the 
soul : bring a hundred dishes to table, he will 
carve of none but this ; this is the savoury meat 
he loves. He who is best, will be served with 
the best ; when we give him the soul in a duty, 
now we give him the flower and the cream ; 
by a holy chemistry we still out the spirits. A 
soul inflamed in service, is, " the cup of spiced 
wine, and the juice of the pomegranate," 
Cant. viii. 2, which the spouse makes Christ 
to drink of : without the worship of the soul, 
all our religion is but bodily exercise, 1 Tim. 
iv. 8, which profits nothing ; without the soul 
we give God but a carcase. What are all the 
papists' fastings, penance, pilgrimages, but 
going to hell in more pomp and state 1 What 
are the formalist's prayers, which do even 
cool between his lips, but a dead devotion ] 
It is not sacrifice but sacrilege ; he robs 
God of that which he hath a right to, his 
soul. 

2. Branch. If the soul be so precious, then 



of what precious account should ordinances 
and ministers be ] 

1. Ordinances are the golden ladder by 
which the soul climbs up to heaven, they are 
conduits of the water of life. O how precious 
should these be to us ! they that are against 
ordinances, are against being saved. 

2. Of how precious account should minis- 
ters be, whose very work is to save souls ; 
their feet should be beautiful. 

1. Their labours should be precious ; they 
are, in the Greek, sunergoi, 2 Cor. vi. 1. 
They labour with God, and they labour for 
your souls ; all their sweat, their tears, their 
prayers are for you ; they woo for your souls, 
and oftentimes spend their lives in the suit. 

2. Their liberty should be precious. Con- 
stantine was a great honourer of the minis- 
try ; if indeed you see any of them who are 
of this holy and honourable function, like that 
drug the physicians speak of, which is hot in 
the mouth, but cold in operation ; if you see 
them either idle or ravenous, if they do not 
divide the word rightly, and live uprightly, 
censure and spare not. God forbid I should 
open my mouth for such, In the law, the lips 
of the leper were to be covered ; that minis- 
ter who is by office an angel, but by his life a 
leper, ought to have his lips covered, he de- 
serves silencing. A good preacher, but a bad 
liver, is like a physician that hath the plague ; 
though his advice and receipts which he gives 
may be good, yet his plague infects the pa- 
tient : so though ministers may have good 
words, and give good receipts in the pulpit, 
yet the plague of their lives infects their peo- 
ple. If you find a Hophni and Phinehas among 
the sons of Levi, whose unholy carriage 
makes the offering of God to be abhorred, 
you will save God a labour in ejecting them ; 
but be sure you distinguish between the pre- 
cious and the vile ; while you let out the bad 
blood, have a care to preserve the heart- 
blood ; while you purge out the ill humours, 
do not destroy the spirits ; while you are tak- 
ing away the snuffs do not eclipse the lights 
of God's sanctuary ; it is a work fit for a Julian 
to suppress the orthodox ministry, and open 
the temple of the idol. The Romans sacked 
the city of Corinth, and rased it down to the 
ground for some incivility offered to their 



736 SELECT 

ambassador. God will avenge the affronts 
offered to his ministers, Ps. cv. 15. O take 
heed of this ! if souls be of such infinite value, 
how precious should their liberties be, whose 
very design and negotiation is to save souls ; 
1 Tim/iv. 16. Jude 23. 

Use 2. Exhort. Branch 1. If the soul be 
so precious, take heed of abusing your souls. 
Socrates exhorted young men that they 
should look their faces in a glass, and if they 
saw they were fair, they should do nothing 
unworthy of their beauty. Christians, God 
hath given you souls that sparkle with divine 
beauty ; O do nothing unworthy of these 
souls, do not abuse them : there are four sorts 
of persons that abuse souls. 

1. They that degrade their souls. 

(1) . That set the world above their souls ; 
" Who pant after the dust of the earth," Amos 
ii. 7. As if a man's house were on fire, and 
he should take care to preserve the lumber, 
but let his child be burnt in the fire. 

(2) . That make their souls lackeys to their 
bodies. The body is but the brutish part, the 
soul is the angelical ; the soul is the queen- 
regent, who is adorned with the jewels of 
knowledge, and sways the sceptre of liberty ; 
oh what a pity it is that this excellent soul 
shall be made a vassal, and be put to grind in 
the mill, when the body in the meantime sits 
in a chair of state ! Solomon complains of an 
evil under the sun, Eccl. x. 7. " I have seen 
servants upon horses, and princes walking as 
servants upon the earth." Is it not an evil 
under the sun to see the body riding in 
pomp and triumph, and the soul of man, 
that royal and heaven-born thing, as a lack- 
ey walking on foot. 

2. They abuse their souls that sell their 
souls. 

(1). The covetous person sells his soul for 
money ; as it is said of the lawyer, he hath a 
tongue that will be sold for a fee ; so the cov- 
etous man hath a soul that is to be set for 
money. Achan did sell his soul for a wedge of 
gold. Judas did sell his soul for silver ; Judas 
sold cheap pennyworths ; for thirty pieces of 
silver he did sell Christ, who was more worth 
than heaven ; and his own soul which was 
more worth than a world ! how many have 
damned their souls for money 1 1 Tim. vi. 9, 



SERMONS. 

10. It is observed that the eagles' quills or 
feathers mixed with hens' feathers, will in 
time consume them ; such is the world to the 
soul ; if you mix these earthly things with 
your souls, and let them lie too near you, they 
will in time consume and undo your souls. 

(2) . The ambitious person sells his soul for 
honour ; as Alexander the sixth did sell his 
soul to the devil for a popedom ; and what is 
that honour but res imaginaria? a torch 
lighted by the breath of people, with the least 
puff of censure blown out ! how many souls 
have been blown into hell with the wind of 
popular applause ! 

(3) . The voluptuous person sells his soul 
for pleasure. Heliogabalus drowned himself 
in sweet water ; so many drown their souls in 
the sweet perfumed waters of pleasure. Plato 
calls pleasure the bait that catcheth souls : 
pleasure is a silken halter, a flattering devil, 
it kills with embracing. 

(4) . They abuse their souls that poison 
their souls ; error is a sweet poison. Igna- 
tius calls it the invention of the devil. A man 
may as well damn his soul by error as vice, 
and may as soon go to hell for a drunken 
opinion as for a drunken life. 

(5) . They abuse their souls that starve their 
souls ; these are they that say they are above 
ordinances ; but sure we shall not be above or- 
dinances, till we are above sin. The apostle 
saith, that in the blessed sacrament we are to 
remember the Lord's death till he come, 1 Cor. 
xi. 26, that is, until Christ comes to judgment. 
How then can any omit sacraments without a 
contempt and affront offered to Christ him- 
self ] if St Paul and the apostles, those giants 
in grace, needed the Lord's supper to confirm 
and corroborate them, much more do we need 
such holy ordinances, who have but an infant 
faith ; but Satan likes these fasting days, he 
would have men fast from ordinances : if the 
body be kept from food, it cannot live long. 

Branch 2. If the soul be so precious a 
thing, take heed you do not lose your souls ; 
consider what a loss it is, as appears in two 
things. 

1. It is a foolish loss to lose the soul. 
" Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be re- 
quired of thee," Luke xii. 20. It is a foolish 
loss to lose the soul, in a threefold respect. 



SELECT SERMONS. 



737 



(1) . Because there is a possibility of saving 
the soul ; we have time to work in, we have 
light to work by, we have the Spirit offering 
us help. The soul is like a ship laden with 
jewels, the Spirit is a gale of wind to blow ; 
if we would but loosen anchor from sin, we 
might arrive at the port of happiness. 

(2) . It is a foolish loss, because we lose the 
soul for things of no value ; worldly things 
are infinitely below the soul, they are nonen- 
tities. Prov. xxiii. 5, " Wilt thou set thine 
eyes on that which is not ?" The world is 
but a bewitchery, these things glisten in our 
eyes ; but at death we shall say, we have set 
our eyes on that which is not : he that thinks 
to find happiness here is like Ixion, that 
hugged the cloud instead of Juno, and like 
Apollo, that embraced the laurel-tree instead 
of Daphne. Now to lose the soul for such 
poor inconsiderate things, is a foolish thing ; 
it is as if one should throw a diamond at a 
pear-tree, he loseth his diamond. 

(3) . It is a foolish loss, for a man to lose his 
soul, because he himself hath a hand in it ; 
is it not folly to give one's self poison 1 a 
sinner hath his hands imbrued in the blood 
of his own soul : " thy destruction is of thy- 
self," Hos. xiii.-9. "They lay wait for their 
own blood," Prov. i. 18. The foolish sinner 
nourisheth those lusts that kill his soul ; the 
tree breeds the worm, and the worm eats the 
tree ; were it not folly for a garrison to open 
to the enemy that besiegeth it ; the sinner 
opens to those lusts which war against his 
soul, 1 Pet. ii. 11, this is a foolish loss. 

2. It is a fatal loss to lose the soul. 

(1) . It is an unparalleled loss, because in 
losing the soul there are so many things lost 
with it; as a merchant in losing his ship, 
loseth many things with it; his money, 
plate, jewels, spices. Thus he that loseth 
his soul, he loseth Christ, he loseth the Com- 
forter, he loseth the society of angels, he 
loseth heaven. 

(2) . It is an irreparable loss : other losses 
may be made up again ; if a man lose his 



health, he may recover it again ; if he lose 
his estate, he may get it up again ; but if 
he lose his soul his loss can never be made 
up again. Are there any more saviours to 
die for the soulf as Naomi said to her 
daughters, " Are there yet any more sons in 
my womb?" Ruth i. 11. Hath God any 
more sons 1 or will he send his son any more 
into the world? Oh no, if the soul be lost! 
Christ's next coming is not to save it, but to 
judge it. Christian, rememher thou hast 
but one soul, and if that be gone, all is gone. 
God, saith Chrysostom, hath given thee two 
eyes, if thou losest one, thou hast another ; 
but thou hast but one soul, and if that perish, 
thou art quite undone. The merchant that 
ventures all in one ship, if that ship be lost, 
he is quite broken. 

(3). The loss of the soul is an eternal loss ; 
the soul once lost, is lost for ever ; the sinner 
and the furnace shall never be parted, Isa. 
xxxiii. 14. As the sinner's heart will never 
be emptied of sin, so God's vial shall never 
be emptied of wrath : it is an eternal loss. 

Branch 3. Do what you can to secure the 
main chance, to save these precious souls. 
In times of danger men call in their debts, 
and labour to secure their estates ; let me 
tell you, all you who are yet in your natural 
estate, your souls are mortgaged ; if your 
land were mortgaged, you would endeavour 
to redeem it ; your souls are mortgaged : 
sin hath mortgaged them, sin hath laid your 
souls to pawn, and where do you think your 
souls are? the pawn is in the devil's hand, 
therefore a man in the state of nature is said 
to be " under the power of Satan," Acts 
xxvi. 18. Now there are but two ways to 
fetch home the pawn ; and both are set down, 
Acts xx. 21, " Repentance towards God, and 
faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ." Un- 
ravel all your works of sin by repentance, 
honour Christ's merits by believing : divines 
call it saving faith, because upon this wing 
the soul flies to the ark Christ, and is secured 
from danger. 



5 A 



738 



SELECT SERMONS. 



THE SOUL'S MALADY AND CURE. 
Luke v. 31. " They that are whole need not a physician, but they that are sick." 



The occasion of the words is set down in 
the context ; Levi was called from the receipt 
of custom (he was a custom-house man), but 
Christ called him, and there went out power 
with the word, " he left all, rose up, and fol- 
lowed him," ver. 28. Levi did not consult with 
flesh and blood, he did not say, " What shall I 
do for the hundred talents'?" 2 Chron. xxv. 9, 
how shall I live and maintain my charge ? I 
shall lose many a sweet bit at the custom- 
house ; poverty is like to be my patrimony ; 
nay, in case I follow Christ, I must espouse 
persecution ; he doth not reason thus ; but 
having a call, he hastens away after Christ, 
" he rose up and followed him ;" and that he 
might give Christ a pledge and specimen of 
his love, he makes him a feast, ver. 29, " And 
Levi made him a great feast in his own 
house ;" a better guest he could not invite. 
Christ always came with his cost ; Levi feast- 
ed Christ with his cheer, and Christ feasted 
him with salvation. Well, Christ being at 
this feast, the Pharisees begin to murmur, ver. 
30, " Why do ye eat and drink with publi- 
cans]" The Pharisees, 1. were offended at 
him that he should go in and eat with publi- 
cans. The publicans were counted the worst of 
sinners ; sinners of the deepest dye ; yet the 
Pharisees were not so much offended at the 
sins of the publicans, as they had a mind to 
pick a quarrel with Christ. He who was the 
horn of salvation to some, was a rock of of- 
fence to these Jews ; others did feed on him, 
these did stumble at him. 2. They accused 
Christ : for these words carry in them a charge 
and accusation, " Why do ye eat with publi- 
cans and sinners V The Pharisees impeached 
Christ for eating with sinners ; malice will ne- 
ver want matter of accusation. Though the de- 
vils proclaimed Christ's holiness, Luke iv. 34, 
" Let us alone, I know thee who thou art, the 
Holy One of God." Yet the Pharisees tax him 
for a sinner : see what malice w.ili do, it will 
make a man speak that which the devil himself 
will not speak. The devils justify Christ, the 
Pharisees accuse him. And Christ, who was a 



Lamb without spot, could not escape the 
world's censures, no wonder if his people are 
loaded with the calumnies and censures of 
the wicked. 

But let us examine the matter of the 
charge they bring against Christ, and see 
how groundless it was. They indict Christ 
for going in with sinners. 

First, Christ did nothing but what was ac- 
cording to his commission ; the commission 
he received from his Father, was, that he 
should come to save sinners, 1 Tim, i. 15. 

Secondly, Christ went in with sinners, not 
to join with them in their sins, but to heal 
them of their sins ; to accuse Christ* was, as 
Austin saith, as if the physician should be 
accused, because he goes among them that 
are sick of the plague. This groundless ac- 
cusation Christ overhears, and in the text 
gives these envious Pharisees a silencing an- 
swer, " They that are whole need not a phy- 
sician, but they that are sick." As if Christ 
had said, you Pharisees think yourselves 
righteous persons, you need no Saviour ; but 
these poor publicans are sick and ready to 
die, and I come as a physician to cure them ; 
therefore be not angry at a work of mercy ; 
though you will not be healed, yet do not 
hinder me from healing others. " They that 
are whole need not a physician, but they that 
are sick." 

In the words there are two general parts : 

1. The dying patients. 

2. The healing physician. 

1. The dying patients, Them that are sick. 
Whence observe, 

Doct. 1. That sin is a soul-disease, Psalm, 
ciii. 3. Isa. liii. 4, " He hath borne our griefs," 
in the Hebrew it is our sicknesses. Man at 
first was created in a healthful temper, he 
had no sickness of soul, he ailed nothing; 
the soul, in the Greek, had its eukrasia, its 
perfect beauty and glory. The eye was 
clear, the heart pure, the affections tuned 
with the finger of God into a most sweet 
harmony. God made man upright, Eccles. 



SELECT SERMONS. 



739 



vii. 29; but Adam, by eating the apple, fell 
sick ; and had died for ever, had not God found 
out a way for his recovery. For the ampli- 
fication of the doctrine, there are three things 
to be considered. 

1. In what sense sin is resembled to sick- 
ness. 

2. What the diseases of the soul are. 

3. That sin-sickness is the worst. 

1. In what sense sin is resembled to sick- 
ness. 

1. Sin may be compared to sickness for 
the manner of catching. 

First, Sickness is caught often through 
carelessness ; some get cold by leaving off 
clothes. So when Adam grew careless of 
God's command, and left off* the garment of 
his innocency, he caught a sickness ; he could 
stay no longer in the garden, but lay bedrid ; 
his sin hath turned the world, which was a 
paradise, into a hospital. 

Secondly, Sickness is caught sometimes 
through superfluity and intemperance. Ex- 
cess produceth sickness. When our first pa- 
rents lost the golden bridle of temperance, 
and did eat of the forbidden tree, they, and 
all their posterity surfeited on it, and took a 
sickness. The tree of knowledge had sickness 
and death under the leaves ; it was fair to the 
eye, Gen. iii. 6, but poison to the taste ; we 
all grew desperately sick by eating of this 
tree. Adam's intemperance hath brought us 
to fasting and weeping ; and besides that dis- 
ease at first by propagation, we have added 
to it by actual perpetration. We have in- 
creased our sickness, therefore sinners are 
said to wax worse and worse, 2 Tim. iii. 13. 

2. Sin may be resembled to sickness for 
the nature of it. As, 1. Sickness is of a 
spreading nature, it spreads all over the body, 
it works into every part, the head, stomach, 
it disorders the whole body. So sin doth not 
rest in one part, but spreads into all the fa- 
culties of the soul, and members of the body, 
Isa. i. 5, 6. " The whole head is sick, the 
whole heart is faint ; from the sole of the 
foot, even unto the head, there is no sound- 
ness in it, but wounds and bruises, and putre- 
fying sores," &c. 

1. Sin doth corrupt the understanding, 
Gregory Nazianzene calls the understanding 



the lamp of reason, this lamp burns dim, Eph. 
iv. 18. " Having their understanding dark- 
ened ;" sin hath drawn a vail over the under- 
standing, it hath cast a mist before our eyes, 
that we neither know God nor ourselves ; 
naturally we are only wise to do evil, Jer. iv. 
21. Witty at sin, wise to damn ourselves ; 
the understanding is defiled, 1 Cor. ii. 14. 
We can no more judge of spiritual objects 
till the Spirit of God anoint our eyes, than a 
blind man can judge of colours ; our under- 
standings are subject to mistakes ; " we call 
evil good, and good evil ; we put bitter for 
sweet, and sweet for bitter," Isa. v. 20. A 
straight stick under water seems crooked ; so 
to a natural understanding the straight line 
of truth seems crooked. 

2. The memory is diseased ; the memory 
at first was like a golden cabinet in which 
divine truths were locked up safe ; but now 
it is like a colander or leaking vessel, which 
lets all that is good run out. The memory 
is like a scarcer, which sifts out the flour, 
but keeps the bran. So the memory lets 
saving truths go, and holds nothing but froth 
and vanity. Many a man can remember a 
story, when he hath forgot his creed. Thus 
the memory is diseased ; the memory is like a 
bad stomach that wants the retentive faculty, 
all the meat comes up again : so the most 
precious truths will not stay in the memory, 
but are gone again. 

3. The will is diseased; the will is the 
soul's commander-in-chief, it is the master- 
wheel ; but how irregular and eccentric is it ! 
The will in the creation was like that golden 
bridle which Minerva was said to put upon 
Pegasus to guide and rule him ; it did answer 
to God's will : this was the language of the 
will in innocency, " I delight to do thy will, 
O God," Ps. xl. 8, but now it is distempered, 
it is like an iron sinew that refuseth to yield 
and bend to God, Isa. xlviii. 4. John v. 40. 
" Ye will not come to me that ye may have 
life." Men will rather die than come to their 
physician. The Arminians talk of free will ; 
the will is sick, what freedom hath a sick 
man to walk ; the will is a rebel against God, 
Acts vii. 51. " Ye do always resist the Holy 
Ghost." The will is diseased. 

4. The affections are sick. 



740 



SELECT SERMONS. 



First, The affection of desire ; a sick man 
desires that which is hurtful for him, he calls 
for wine in a fever. So the natural man being 
sick, he desires that which is prejudicial for 
him ; he hath no desire after Christ, he doth 
not hunger and thirst after righteousness ; 
but he desires poison, he desires to take his 
rill of sin, he loves death, Prov. viii. 36. 

Secondly, The affection of grief ; a man 
grieves for the want of an estate, but not for 
the want of God's favour : he grieves to see 
the plague or cancer in his body, but not for 
the plague of his heart. 

Thirdly, The affection of joy ; many can 
rejoice in a wedge of gold, not in the cross 
of Christ. The affections are sick and dis- 
tempered. 

5. The conscience is diseased, Titus i. 15. 
«« Their mind and conscience is defiled." 
Conscience is either, 1. Erroneous, binding 
to that which is sinful, John xvi. 2. Acts xxvi. 
9. "I verily thought with myself I ought to 
do many things contrary to the name of 
Jesus." Conscience is an ignis fatuus, lead- 
ing out of the right way. Or, 2. Dumb, it 
will not tell men of sin ; it is a silenced 
preacher. Or, 3. Dead, Eph. iv. 19. Con- 
science is stupified and senseless ; the custom 
of sinning hath taken away the sense of sin- 
ning. Thus the sickness of sin hath gone over 
the whole soul, like that cloud which over- 
spread theface of the heavens, IKings xviii.45. 

2. Sickness doth debilitate and weaken the 
body ; a sick man is unfit to walk ; so this 
sickness of sin weakens the soul, Rom. v. 6. 
" When we were without strength Christ 
died." In innocency Adam was, in some 
sense, like the angels, he could serve God with 
a winged swiftness, and filial cheerfulness ; but 
sin brought sickness into the soul, and this 
sickness hath cut the lock where his strength 
lay ; he is now disarmed of all ability for ser- 
vice ; and where grace is wrought, though a 
Christian be not so heart-sick as before, yet 
he is very faint. The saints' prayers do but 
whisper in God's ears, and if Christ did not 
pray them over again, God could not hear 
them ; we sin fervently, but pray faintly ; as 
David said, 2 Sam. iii. 39. " I am this day 
weak, though anointed king;" so Christians, 
though they have the oil of grace poured upon 



them, and they are anointed spiritual kings, 
yet they are weak : sin hath enfeebled them ; 
they take their breath short, and cannot put 
forth such strong desires after God as they 
ought. When we find ourselves dead in duty, 
our holy affections languishing, think thus, 
This is my sickness, sin hath made me weak ; 
as Jephtha said to his daughter, Judg. xi. 35. 
" Alas, my daughter, thou hast brought me 
very low ;" so may the soul say, Alas, my 
sin, thou hast brought me very low, thou hast 
brought me almost to the gates of death. 

3. Sickness doth eclipse the beauty of the 
body : This I ground on that scripture, Ps. 
xxxix. 11. " When thou with rebukes dost 
correct man, thou makest his beauty to con- 
sume away like a moth." The moth con- 
sumes the beauty of the cloth ; so a fit of 
sickness consumes the beauty of the body. 
Thus sin is a soul-sickness, it hath eclipsed 
the glory and splendour of the soul, it hath 
turned ruddiness into paleness ; that beauty 
of grace which once sparkled as gold, now it 
may be said, "How is this gold become 
dim I" Lam. iv. 1. That soul which once 
had an orient brightness, in it, it was more 
ruddy than rubies, its polishing was of sap- 
phire, the understanding bespangled with 
knowledge, the will crowned with liberty, 
the affections like so many seraphim, burning 
in love to God, now the glory is departed. 
Sin hath turned beauty into deformity ; as 
some faces by sickness are so disfigured, and 
look so ghastly, they can hardly be known : 
so the soul of man is, by sin, so sadly me- 
tamorphosed (having lost the image of God) 
that it can hardly be known. Joel ii. 31. 
"The sun shall be turned into darkness." 
Sin hath turned that sun of beauty which 
shined in the soul into a Cimmerian dark- 
ness ; and where grace is begun to be 
wrought, yet the soul's beauty is not quite 
recovered, but is like the sun under a cloud. 

4. Sickness takes away the taste ; a sick 
man doth not taste that sweetness in his 
meat ; so the sinner by reason of soul-sick- 
ness, hath lost his taste to spiritual things. 
The word of God is 'pabulum animcz, it is 
bread to strengthen, wine to comfort ; but 
the sinner tastes no sweetness in the word. 
A child of God who is spiritualized by grace, 



SELECT SERMONS. 



741 



tastes a savouriness in ordinances, the pro- 
mise drops as a honeycomb, Psalm xix. 10, 
but a natural man is sick, and his taste is 
gone ; since the tasting of the forbidden tree, 
he hath lost his taste. 

5. Sickness takes away the comfort of 
life ; a sick person hath no joy of any thing, 
his life is a burden to him. So the sin-sick 
soul is void of all true comfort, and his 
laughter is but the pleasing dream of a sick 
man ; he hath no true title to comfort, his 
sin is not pardoned, he may be in hell before 
night for any thing he knows. 

6. Sickness ushers in death, it is the 
prologue to death ; sickness is as it were the 
cutting of the tree, and death is the falling 
of the tree; so this disease of sin (if not 
cured in time) brings the second death. 

2. What the diseases of the soul are. 
Adam by breaking the box of original right- 
eousness, hath filled the soul full of diseases ; 
the body is not subject to so many diseases 
as the soul : I cannot reckon them all up, 
Psalm xix. 12. " Who can understand his 
errors 2" Psalm xl. 12. Only I shall name 
some of the worst of these diseases. Pride 
is the tympany of the soul, lust is the fever, 
error the gangrene, unbelief the plague of 
the heart, hypocrisy the scurvy, hardness of 
heart the stone, anger the phrenzy, malice the 
wolf in the breast, covetousness the dropsy, 
spiritual sloth the green sickness, apostasy 
the epilepsy ; here are eleven soul-diseases, 
and when they come to the full height they are 
dangerous, and most frequently prove mortal. 

3. The third thing to be demonstrated is ; 
that sin is the worst sickness. To have a 
body full of plague sores is sad ; but to have 
the soul, which is the more noble part, 
spotted with sin, and full of the tokens, is 
far worse ; as appears : 

(1). The body may be diseased, and the 
conscience quiet. Isa. xxxiii. 24. " The 
inhabitant of the land shall not say I am 
sick." He should scarce feel his sickness, 
because sin was pardoned ; but when the 
soul is sick of any reigning lust, the con- 
science is troubled. Isa. lvii. ult. " There 
is no peace to the wicked, saith my God." 
When Spira had abjured his former faith, 
he was put IN LITTLE EASE, his con- 



science burned as hell, and no spiritual 
physic that divines did apply, could ever 
allay that inflammation. 

(2) . A man may have bodily diseases, yet 
God may love him. " Asa was diseased in 
his feet," 2 Kings xv. 23. He had the gout, 
yet a favourite with God. God's hand may 
go out against a man, yet his heart may be 
towards him ; diseases are the arrows which 
God shoots ; pestilence is called God's arrow, 
Psalm xci. 5. This arrow (as Gregory 
Nazianzene saith) may be sent from the 
hand of an indulgent father : but soul diseases 
are symptoms of God's anger, as he is a holy 
God, he cannot but hate sin, " he beholds 
the proud afar off," Psalm cxxxviii. 6. God 
hates a sinner for his plague-sores : Zech. xi. 
8. " My soul loathed them/' 

(3) . Sickness, at worst, doth but separate 
from the society of friends ; but this disease 
of sin, if not cured, separates from the society 
of God and angels. The leper was to be 
shut out of the camp ; the leprosy of sin with- 
out the interposition of mercy, shuts men out 
of the camp of heaven, Rev. xxi.8. This is the 
misery of them that die in their sins, they are 
allowed neither friend nor physician to come 
at them, they are excluded God's presence 
for ever, in whose presence is fulness of joy. 

Use 1. Information. Branch 1. See into 
what a sad condition sin hath brought us ; it 
hath made us desperately sick , nay, we die 
away in our sickness, till we are fetched 
again with the water of life. O how many 
sick bedrid souls are there in the world ! 
sick of pride, sick of lust; sin hath turned 
our houses and churches into hospitals, they 
are full of sick persons. What David's 
enemies said reproachfully of him, is true of 
every natural man, Psalm xli. 8, " An evil 
disease cleaveth fast unto him." He hath 
the " plague of the heart," 1 Kings viii. 
And even those who are regenerate are 
cured but in part, they have some grudgings 
of the disease, some ebullitions and stirrings 
of corruption ; nay, sometimes the king's 
evil breaks forth to the scandal of religion, 
and from this sin-sickness ariseth all other 
diseases, plague, gout, stone, fever, 1 Cor. 
xi. 29, 30. " He that eateth and drinketh 
unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation 



742 SELECT 

to himself ; for this cause many are weak 
and sickly among you." 

Branch 2. If sin be a soul-sickness, then 
how foolish are they that hide their sins ; it 
is folly to hide a disease ! Job xxxi. 33, 40. 
" If I covered my transgression as Adam, by 
hiding my iniquity in my bosom, let thistles 
grow instead of wheat, &c. The wicked 
take more care to have sin covered than cur- 
ed ; if they can but sin in private and not be 
suspected, they think all is well ; there is a 
curse belongs to him who puts sin in a secret 
place, Deut. xxvii. 15. The hiding and concea- 
ling a disease proves mortal. Prov. xxviii. 13. 
" He that covereth his sins, shall not prosper." 

Branch 3. If sin be a soul-sickness, then 
what need is there of the ministry? Min- 
isters are physicians under God to cure sick 
souls ; God hath set in his church pastors and 
teachers, Eph. iv. 11. The ministers are a 
college of physicians, their work is to find 
out diseases and apply medicines ; it is a 
hard work, while ministers are curing others, 
they themselves are nigh unto death, Phil, 
ii. 30. They find their people sick of several 
diseases ; some have poisoned themselves 
with error, some are surfeited with the love 
of the creature, some have stabbed them- 
selves at the heart with gross sin. O how 
hard is it to heal all these sick gangrened 
souls ! many ministers do sooner kill them- 
selves by preaching than cure their patients ; 
but though the work of the ministry be a labor- 
ious work, it is a needful work ; while there 
are sick souls, there will be need of spiritual 
physicians. How unworthy then are they 
who malign and persecute the ministers of 
God ! 1 Cor. iv. 9. O unkind world, thus 
to use thy physicians ; can there be a greater 
injury to souls 1 would it not be a piece of 
the highest cruelty and barbarism, if there 
were an act made that all physicians should 
be banished out of the land ] and is it not 
worse to see multitudes of sick souls lie 
bleeding, and to have their spiritual physi- 
cians removed from them, which should 
under God heal them 1 this is a wrath-pro- 
curing sin, 2 Chron. xxxvi. 16. " They mis- 
used his prophets, until the wrath of the 
Lord arose against his people, till there was 
no remedy." See what is inscribed in Levi's 



SERMONS. 

blessing, Deut. xxxiii. 8, 11. *' And of Levi 
he said, let thy Thummim and thy Urim be 
with thy holy one ; bless, Lord, his substance, 
and accept the work of his hands ; smite 
through the loins of them that rise against him, 
and of them that hate him, that they rise not 
again." The Lord will wither that arm 
which is stretched out against his prophets. 

Use 2. Exhort. Branch 1. If sin be a soul- 
disease, let this serve to humble us ; the 
scripture often calls upon us to humility, 
1 Pet. v. 6. " Be ye clothed with humility ;" 
if any thing will humble, this consideration 
may ; sin is a soul-disease : if a woman had a 
fair face, but a cancer in her breast, it would 
keep her from being proud of her beauty. 
So, Christian, though thou art endued with 
knowledge and morality, which are fair to 
look upon, yet remember thou aft diseased 
in thy soul, here is a cancer in the breast to 
humble thee ; this certainly is one reason 
why God leaves sin in his own children ; 
(for though sin be healed as to the guilt of 
it, yet not as to the stain of it) that the sight 
of their sores may make their plumes of 
pride fall. There are two humbling sights ; 
a sight of God's glory, and a sight of our dis- 
eases. Uzziah the king had no cause to 
be proud ; for though he had a crown of gold 
on his head, he had the leprosy in his fore- 
head, 2 Chron. xxxi. 19. Though the saints 
have their golden graces, yet they have their 
leprous spots ; seeing sin hath made us vile, 
let it make us humble ; seeing it hath taken 
away our beauty, let it take away our pride ; 
if God (saith Saint Austin) did not spare the 
proud angels, will he spare thee, who art 
but dust and rottenness ! O look upon your 
boils and ulcers, and be humble ! Christians 
are never more lovely in God's eyes, than 
when they are loathsome in their own; those 
sins which humble, shall never damn. 

Branch 2. If sin be a soul-disease, and the 
most damnable disease, let us be afraid of it. 
Had we diseases in our bodies, an ulcer in 
the lungs, or hectic fever, we would fear lest 
they should bring death ; O fear sin-sickness, 
lest it bring the second death. Thou who 
art a drunkard or a swearer, tremble at thy 
soul -maladies. I wonder to see sinners like 
the leviathan, made without fear. Why do 



SELECT SERMONS. 



743 



not men fear sin 1 why do they not shake 
with this disease 1 surely the reason is, 

1. Stupidity ; as they have the fever of sin, 
so withal a lethargy, 1 Tim. iv. 2. " Having 
their conscience seared with a hot iron." 
He that hath an unbelieving heart, and a 
seared conscience, you may ring out the 
bell ; that man's case is desperate. 

2. Presumption. Many fancy that they 
can lay a fig upon the boil ; though they be 
sick, they can make themselves well ; it is 
but saying a few prayers, it is but a sigh or 
a tear, and they shall presently recover ; but 
is it so easy to be healed of sin 1 is it easy 
to make old Adam bleed to death ] is it easy 
when the pangs of death are on thee, in an 
instant to have the pangs of the new birth 1 
O take heed of a spiritual lethargy, fear your 
disease, lest it prove mortal and damnable. 
Physicians tell of a disease that makes men 
die laughing ; so Satan tickles many with the 
pleasure of sin, and they die laughing. 

3. If sin be a soul distemper, then account 
them your best friends that would reclaim 
you from your sins. The patient is thankful 
to the physician that tells him of his disease, 
and useth means to recover him. When 
ministers tell you, in love, of your sins, and 
would reclaim you, take it in good part ; the 
worst they intend is to cure you of your sick- 
ness. David was glad of a healing reproof, 
Ps. cxli. 5. " Let the righteous smite me, it 
shall be a kindness ; and let him reprove me, 
it shall be an excellent oil which shall not 
break my head." Ministers are charged by 
virtue of their office to reprove, 2 Tim. iv. 2. 
They must as well come with corrosives as 
lenitives, Tit. i. 13. " Rebuke them sharply, 
that they may be sound in the faith." The 
Greek word is cuttingly; as a surgeon search- 
eth a wound and then lanceth, and cuts out 
the gangrened flesh ; or as a physician useth 
leeches and cupping glasses, which put the 
patient in pain, but it is to restore him to 
health ; so must the ministers of Christ re- 
buke sharply, that they may help to save their 
dying patients. Who is angry with the phy- 
sician for prescribing a bitter potion ] Why 
should any be angry with Christ's ministers 
for reproving, when, in regard of their office, 
they are physicians, and, in regard of their 



bowels, they are fathers'? But how few are 
they who will take a reproof kindly ! Amos 
v. 10. " They hate him that rebuketh in the 
gate." But why do not men love a reproof? 

(1) . Because they are in love with their 
sins ; a strange thing that any should love 
their disease, but so it is, Prov. i. 22. " How 
long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity'?" 
Sin is the poison of the soul, yet men love 
it ; and he who loves his sin, hates a reproof. 

(2) . Sin possesseth men with a lunacy, 
Luke xv. 7. People are mad in sin, Jer. 1. 
38. "THEY ARE MAD ON THEIR 
IDOLS." When sickness grows so violent 
that men lie raving, and are mad, they then 
quarrel with their physician, and say he 
comes to kill them. So when sin is grown 
to a head, the disease turned to a phrenzy, 
then men quarrel' with those that tell them 
of their sins, and are ready to offer violence 
to their physicians. It argues wisdom to 
receive a reproof. Prov. ix. 8. " Rebuke a 
wise man, and he will love thee." A wise 
man had rather drink a sharp potion, than 
die of his disease. 

Branch 4. If sin be a soul-sickness, then 
do not feed this disease ; he that is wise, will 
avoid those things which will increase his 
disease ; if he be feverish, he will avoid wine 
which would inflame the disease ; if he have 
the stone, he will avoid salt meats ; he will 
forbear a dish he loves, because it is bad for 
his disease ; why should not men be as wise 
for their souls'? Thou that hast a drunken 
lust, do not feed it with wine ; thou that hast 
a malicious lust, do not feed it with revenge ; 
thou that hast an unclean lust, make not pro- 
vision for the flesh, Rom. xiii. 14. He that 
feeds a disease, feeds an enemy. Some dis- 
eases are starved. Starve thy sins by fasting 
and humiliation. Either kill thy sin, or thy 
sin will kill thee. 

Branch 5. If sin be a soul-disease, and 
worse than any other, then labour to be sen- 
sible of this disease. There are few who 
are sensible of their soul-sickness ; they think 
they are well and ail nothing ; they are whole 
and need not a physician. It is a bad symp- 
tom to hear a sick dying man say he is well. 
The church of Laodicea was a sick patient, 
but she thought she was well, Rev. iii. 17. 



744 



SELECT SERMONS. 



" Thou sayest I am rich, and have need of 
nothing." Come to many a man and feel 
his pulse, ask him about the state of his soul, 
he will say he hath a good heart, and doubts 
not but he shall be saved. What should be 
the reason that when men are so desperately 
sick in their souls, and ready to drop into 
hell, yet they conceit themselves in a very 
good condition ] 

1. There is a spiritual cataract upon their 
eye, they see not their sores. Laodicea 
thought herself rich, because she was blind, 
Rev. iii. 17. The god of this world blinds 
men's eyes, that they can neither see their 
disease nor their physician. Many bless God 
their estate is good, not from the knowledge 
of their happiness, but from the ignorance 
of their danger ; when Haman's face was 
covered, he was near execution. Oh pray 
with David, " Lighten mine eyes, that I sleep 
not the sleep of death," Ps. xiii. 3. 

2. Men that are sick think themselves 
well, from the haughtiness of their spirits. 
Alexander thought himself a while to be the 
son of Jupiter, and no less than a god ; what 
an arrogant creature is man ! though he be 
sick unto death, he thinks it too much a dis- 
paragement to acknowledge a disease ; either 
he is not sick, or he can heal himself. If he 
be poisoned, he runs to the herb, or rather 
weed of his own righteousness to cure him. 

3. Men that are sick conceit themselves 
well, through self-love. He that loves an- 
other, will not credit any evil report of him. 
Men are self-lovers, 2 Tim. iii. 2. Every 
man is a dove in his own eye, therefore doth 
not suspect himself of any disease ; he will 
rather question the scripture's verity than his 
own malady. 

4. Self-deceit and the deceit of the heart 
appear in two things. 

(1). In hiding the disease; the heart hides 
sin as Rachel did her father's images, Gen. 
xxxi. 34. Hazael did not think he was so 
sick as he was ; he could not imagine that 
so much wickedness, like a disease, should 
lie lurking in him, 2 Kings viii. 13. " Is thy 
servant a dog, that he should do this great 
thing]" As the viper hath his teeth hid in 
his gums, so that if one should look into his 
mouth he would think it a harmless creature ; 



so though there be much corruption in the 
heart, yet the heart hides it, and draws a 
vail over, that it be not seen. 

(2). The heart holds a false glass before 
the eye, making a man appear fair, and his 
estate very good. The heart can deceive 
with counterfeit grace ; hence it is that men 
are insensible of their spiritual condition, and 
think themselves well when they are sick 
unto death. 

5. Men take up a reverend opinion of 
themselves, and fancy their spiritual estate 
better than it is, through mistake. And this 
mistake is double. 

(1) . They enjoy glorious privileges ; they 
were born within the sound of Aaron's bells, 
they were baptized with holy water, they 
have been fed with manna from heaven, 
therefore they hope they are in a good con- 
dition, Judges xvii. 13. " Then Micah said, 
Now I know the Lord will do me good, 
seeing I have a Levite to my priest." But 
alas ! this is a mistake ; outward privileges 
save not. What is any man the better for 
the ordinances, unless he be the better by 
ordinances'? A child may die with the 
breast in its mouth. Many of the Jews 
perished, though Christ himself was their 
preacher. 

(2) . The other mistake is set down by 
the apostle, 2 Cor. x. 12. " They, measur- 
ing themselves by themselves, and compar- 
ing themselves amongst themselves, are not 
wise." Here is a double error or mistake. 

First, "They measure themselves by 
themselves :" that is, they see they are not 
so bad as they were, therefore they judge 
their condition is good. A dwarf may be 
taller than he was, yet a dwarf still ; the pa- 
tient may be less sick than he was, yet far 
from well ; a man may be better than he was, 
yet not good. 

Secondly, " They compare themselves 
amongst themselves." They see they are 
not so flagitious and profane as others ; there- 
fore they think themselves well, because they 
are not so sick as others : this is a mistake ; 
one may as well die of a consumption as the 
plague. One man may not be so far off 
heaven as another, yet he may not be near 
heaven ; one line may not be so crooked as 



SELECT SERMONS. 



745 



another, yet not straight. To the law, to 
the testimony ; the word of God is the true 
standard and measure by which we are to 
judge of the state and temper of our souls. 

Oh let us take heed of this rock, the fan- 
cying of our condition better than it is ; let 
us take heed of a spiritual apoplexy, to be 
sick in our souls, yet not sensible of this sick- 
ness. What do men talk of a light within 
them 1 the light within them by nature is not 
sufficient to show them the diseases of their 
souls ; this light tells them they are whole, 
and have no need of a physician. 

Oh what infinite mercy is it for a man to be 
made sensible of sin, and seeing himself sick, 
to cry out with David, 2 Sam. xii. 13, " I have 
sinned against the Lord." Were it not a mer- 
cy for a person that is distracted, to be restor- 
ed to the use of his reason ; so for him that is 
spiritually distempered, and in a lethargy, to 
come to himself, and see both his wound and 
his remedy : till the sinner be sensible of his 
disease, the medicine of mercy doth not be- 
long to him. 

Branch 6. If sin be a soul sickness, then 
labour to get this disease healed ; if a man had 
a disease in his body, a pleurisy or cancer, he 
would use all the means for a cure ; the woman 
in the gospel- v who had a bloody issue, spent 
her whole estate upon the physicians, Luke 
viii. 43. Be more earnest to have thy soul cur- 
ed than thy body. Make David's prayer, Ps. 
xli. 4, " Heal my soul for I have sinned." 
Hast thou a consumptive body, rather pray 
God to heal the consumption in thy soul ; go to 
God first for the cure of thy soul, James v. 14, 
" Is any sick among you 1 let him call for the 
elders of the church, and let them pray over 
him ;" the apostle doth not say, let him call for 
the physician, but the elders, that is, the min- 
isters. Physicians are to be consulted in their 
due place, but not in the first place. Most men 
send first for the physician, and then for the 
minister ; which shows they are more desir- 
ous and careful for the recovery of their bodies 
than their souls ; but if soul diseases are more 
dangerous and deadly, then we should prefer 
the spiritual cure before the bodily ; " Heal 
my soul, for I have sinned ;" let us consider, 

1. Till we are cured, we are not fit to do 
God any service. A sick man cannot work ; 
5B 



while the disease of sin is violent, we are not 
fit for any heavenly employment ; we can 
neither work for God nor work out our sal- 
vation. The philosopher defines happiness 
the operation of the mind about virtue. To 
be working for God, is both the end of our 
life, and the perfection. Would we be active 
in our sphere 1 let us labour to have our souls 
cured. So long as we are diseased with sin 
we are lame and bed-rid, we are unfit for 
work. We read indeed of a sinner's works, 
but they are dead works, Heb. vi. 1. 

2. If we are not cured, we are cursed ; if 
our diseases abide on us, the wrath of God 
abides on us. 

Quest. But how shall we get this disease 
of sin cured 1 this brings to the second thing 
in the text — The healing physician ; the 
whole need not a physician. Whence ob- 
serve : 

Doct. 2. That Jesus Christ is a soul-phy- 
sician. Ministers (as was said before) are 
physicians, whom Christ doth in his name 
delegate, and send abroad into the world. 
He saith to the apostles, and in them to all 
his ministers, " Lo I am with you to the 
end of the world," Matt, xxviii. 20. That 
is, I am with you to assist and bless you, and 
to make your ministry healing ; but though 
ministers are physicians, yet but under-phy- 
sicians. Jesus Christ is the chief physician ; 
he it is that teacheth us all our receipts, and 
goes forth with our labours, else the physic 
we prescribe would never work ; all the min- 
isters under heaven would not do any cure 
without the help of this great Physician. 
For the amplification of this I shall show, 

1. That Christ is a physician. 

2. Why he is a physician. 

3. That he is the only physician. 

4. How he heals his patients. 

5. That he is the best physician. 

1. That Christ is a physician ; it is one 
of his titles, Exod. xv. 26, " I am the Lord 
that healeth thee." He is a physician for 
the body ; he " anointed the blind, cleansed 
the lepers, healed the sick, raised the dead," 
Matt. viii. 16. He it is that puts virtue into 
physic, and makes it healing ; and he is a 
physician for the soul, Ps. cxlvii. 3, "He 
healeth the broken in heart." We are all as 



746 



SELECT SERMONS. 



so many impotent, diseased persons ; one man 
hath a fever, another a dead palsy, another 
hath a bloody issue, he is under the power of 
some hereditary corruption ; now Christ is a 
soul-physician, he healeth these diseases, 
therefore in scripture, the Lord Jesus, to set 
forth his healing virtue, is resembled, 

(1) . By the brazen serpent, Numb. xxi. 9. 
Those who were stung-, were cured by look- 
ing on the brazen serpent ; so when the soul 
is stung by the old serpent, it is cured by that 
healing under Christ's wings. 

(2) . Christ is resembled by the good Sa- 
maritan, Luke x. 33, 34, "A certain man 
went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and 
fell among thieves, which stripped him of his 
raiment, and wounded him, and departed, 
leaving him half dead ; but a certain Samari- 
tan as he journeyed, came where he was, and 
when he saw him he had compassion on him, 
and went to him, and bound up his wounds, 
pouring in wine and oil," &c. We have 
wounded ourselves by sin, and the wound 
had been incurable, had not Christ, that good 
Samaritan, poured in wine and oil. 

(3) . Christ as a physician is resembled by 
the trees of the sanctuary, Ezek. xlvii. 12, 
" The fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the 
leaf thereof shall be for medicine." Thus 
the Lord Jesus, that tree of life in paradise, 
hath a sanative virtue ; he heals our pride, 
unbelief, &c. As he feeds our graces, so he 
heals our corruptions. 

2. Why Christ is a physician. 

(1) . In regard of his call ; God the Father 
called him to practise physic, he anointed him 
to the work of healing, Luke iv. 18, " The 
Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath 
anointed me to preach the gospel : he hath 
sent me to heal the broken hearted." Christ 
came into the world as into a hospital, to heal 
sin-sick souls : this, though it was a glorious 
work, yet Christ would not undertake it, till 
he was commissioned by his Father. " The 
Spirit of the Lord is upon me, he hath sent 
me." Christ was anointed and appointed to 
the work of a physician, this was for our 
imitation ; we are not to meddle many matters 
without a call ; that is acting out of our sphere. 

(2) . Jesus Christ undertook this healing 
work, because of that need we were in of a 



physician. Christ came to be our physician, 
not because we deserved him, but because we 
needed him ; not our merit, but our misery, 
drew Christ from heaven ; had he not come, 
we must of necessity have perished, and died 
of our wounds ; our disease was not ordinary, 
it had seized on every part ; it made us not 
only sick but dead ; and such receipts were 
necessary as none but Christ could give. 

(3). Christ came as a physician out of the 
sweetness of his nature ; he is like the good 
Samaritan, who had compassion on the 
wounded man, Luke x. 33. A physician 
may come to the patient only for gain ; not 
so much to help the patient as to help him- 
self : but Christ came purely out of sympathy ; 
there was nothing in us to tempt Christ to 
heal us ; for we had no desire of a physician, 
nor had we any thing to give our physician ; 
as sin made us sick, so it made us poor ; so 
that Christ came as a physician, not out of 
hope to receive any thing from us, but was 
prompted to it out of his own goodness, Hos. 
xiv. 4, "I will heal their backslidings, I will 
love them." Love set Christ a work ; not on- 
ly his Father's commission, but his own com- 
passion moved him to his spiritual physic and 
chirurgery. King David banished the blind 
and lame out of the city, 2 Sam. v. 8. Christ 
comes to the blind and lame, and cures 
them ; it is the sounding of his bowels that 
causeth the healing under his wings. 

3. The third particular is, that Christ is 
the only physician, Acts iv. 12, " Neither 
is there salvation in any other," &c. There 
is no other physician besides. The papists 
would have other healers besides Christ, they 
would make angels their physicians ; all the 
angels in heaven cannot heal one sick soul ; 
indeed they are described by their wings, 
Isa. vi. 2, but they have no healing under 
their wings. Papists would heal themselves 
by their own merits. Adam did eat that 
apple which made him and his posterity sick ; 
but he could not find any herb in paradise to 
cure him ; our merits are rather damning 
than healing ; to make use of other physicians 
and medicines, is as if the Israelites, in con- 
tempt of that brazen serpent which Moses set 
up, had erected other brazen serpents. O 
let us take heed of that turba medicorum. 



SELECT SERMONS. 



747 



Indeed in bodily sickness, it is lawful to mul- 
tiply physicians ; when the patient hath ad- 
vised with one physician, he desires to have 
others joined with him ; but the^sick soul, if 
it joins any other physician with Christ it 
surely dies. 

4. How Christ heals his patients. 
Ans. There are four things in Christ that 
are healing. 

1. His word is healing, Ps. cvii. 20, "He 
< sent his word, and healed them." His word 
in the mouth of his ministers is healing ; when 
the spirit is wounded in desertion, Christ doth 
create the lips that speak peace, Isa. lvii. 19. 
The word written is a repository in which 
, God hath laid up sovereign oils and balsams 
! to recover sick souls ; and the word preached 
is the pouring out of these oils, and applying 
them to the sick patient. " He sent his word 
and healed them." We look upon the word 
as a weak thing. What is the breath of a 
man to save a soul ? but " The power of the 
Lord is present to heal," Luke v. 17. Christ 
makes use of his word as a healing medicine ; 
the receipts which his ministers prescribe, 
he himself applies ; he makes his word con- 
vincing, converting, comforting. 

Caution, Not that the word heals all ; to 
some it is not a healing but a killing word, 
2 Cor. ii. 16, " To the one we are a savour 
of death unto death." Some die of their dis- 
ease ; two sorts of patients die. 

1. Such as sin presumptuously ; though 
they know a thing to be sin, Job xxiv. 13. 
They are of those that rebel against the 
light ; this is dangerous. David prays, Ps. 
xix. " Keep back thy servant from presump- 
tuous sins." 

2. Such as sin maliciously ; when the dis- 
ease comes to this head, the patient will die, 
Heb. x. 29. But to them who belong to the 
election of grace, the word is the healing 
medicine Christ useth, " He sent his word, 
and healed them." 

2. Christ's wounds are healing, Isa. Iv. 3, 
"with his stripes we are healed." Christ 
made a medicine of his own body and blood ; 
the physician died to cure the patient. The 
pelican when her young ones are bitten by 
serpents, feeds them with her own blood to 
recover them. Thus when we were bitten by 



the old serpent, then Jesus Christ prescribes 
a receipt of his own blood to heal and restore 
us. The blood of Christ being the blood of 
him who was God as well as man, had infi- 
nite merit to appease God, and infinite virtue 
to heal us : this, this is the- balm of Gilead, 
that recovers a soul which is sick even unto 
death. Balm, as naturalists say, is a juice 
which a little shrub, being cut with glass, doth 
weep out. This was anciently of very pre- 
cious esteem, the savour of it was odorifer- 
ous, the virtue of it sovereign ; it would cure 
ulcers, and the stinging of serpents. This 
balm may be an emblem of Christ's blood ; it 
hath a most sovereign virtue in it, it heals 
the ulcer of sin, the stinging of tentation, it 
merits for us justification, Rom. v. 9. O how 
precious is this balm of Gilead ! by this blood 
we enter into heaven. 

3. Christ's spirit is healing ; the blood of 
Christ heals the guilt of sin ; the Spirit of 
Christ heals the pollution of sin ; the Spirit 
is compared to oil, it is called the anointing 
of the Spirit, Isa. lxi. to show the healing 
virtue of the Spirit ; oil is healing. Christ 
by his Spirit heals the rebellion of the will, 
the stone of the heart ; though sin be not re- 
moved, it is subdued. 

4. Christ's rod is healing, Isa. xxvii. 9. 
Christ never wounds but to heal ; the rod of 
affliction is to recover the sick patient. Da- 
vid's bones were broken that his soul might 
be healed. God useth affliction as the sur- 
geon doth his lance, to let out the venom 
and corruption of the soul, and make way for 
a cure. 

Quest. But if Christ be a physician, why 
are not all healed ? 

Ans. 1. Because all do not know they are 
sick ; they see not the sores and ulcers of 
their souls ; and will Christ cure them who 
see no need of him 1 many ignorant people 
thank God they have good hearts ; but that 
heart can no more be good which wants 
grace, than that body can be sound which 
wants health. 

2. All are not healed, because they love 
their sickness, Ps. lii. 3, " Thou lovest evil 
many men hug their disease. Augustine 
saith, before his conversion, he prayed 
against sin, but his heart whispered, Not yet, 



748 



SELECT SERMONS. 



Lord ; he was loath to leave his sin too soon ; 
how many love their disease better than their 
physician ! while sin is loved, Christ's medi- 
cines are loathed. 

3. All are not healed, because they do not 
look out after a physician. If they have any 
bodily distemper upon them, they presently 
send to the physician ; their souls are sick, 
but mind not their physician Christ, John v. 
40, " Ye will not come unto me that ye may 
have life." Christ takes it as an undervaluing 
of him that we will nut send to him ; some 
send, for Christ when it is too late ; when 
other physicians have given them over, and 
there is no hope of life, then they cry to 
Christ to save them, but Christ refuseth 
such patients as make use of him only for a 
shift: thou that scornest Christ in time of 
health, Christ may despise thee in the time 
of sickness. 

4. All are not healed, because they would 
be self-healers ; they would make their duties 
their saviours ; the papists would be their 
own physicians ; their daily sacrifice of the 
mass is a blasphemy against Christ's priestly 
office ; but Christ will have the honour of the 
cure, or he will never heal us : not our tears, 
but his blood saves. 

5. All are not healed, because they do not 
take the physic which Christ prescribes them ; 
they would be cured, but they are loath to put 
themselves into. a course of physic. Christ 
prescribes them to drink the bitter potion of 
repentance, and to take the pill of mortifica- 
tion, but they cannot do this, they had rather 
die than take physic ; if the patient refuseth 
to take the receipts the physician prescribes, 
no wonder he is not healed. Christians, you 
have had many receipts to take, have you 
taken them? ask conscience. There are ma- 
ny hearers of the word do like foolish patients, 
who send to the doctor for physic, but when 
they have it, they let the physic stand by in 
the glass, but do not take it ; it is probable 
you have not taken the receipts which the 
gospel prescribes, because the word hath no 
operation on your hearts, you are as proud, 
as earthly, as malicious as ever. 

6. All are not healed, because they have 
not confidence in their physician ; it is ob- 
servable when Christ came to work any cure, 



he first put this question, " Believe ye that I 
am able to do this ? Matt. ix. 28. This un- 
does many ; O, saith the sinner, there is no 
mercy for me, Christ cannot heal me. Take 
heed, thy unbelief is worse than all thy other 
diseases. Did not Christ pray for them that 
crucified him? " Father, forgive them !" 
Some of those were saved that had a hand in 
shedding his blood ! Acts ii. 36, 37. Why 
then dost thou say Christ cannot heal thee 1 
unbelief dishonours Christ, it hinders from a 
cure, it closeth the orifice of Christ's wounds, 
it stauncheth his blood, Matt. xv. 58. Mil- 
lions die of their disease, because they do not 
believe in their physician. 

5. The fifth and last particular is, that 
Christ is the best physician. That I may set 
forth the praise and honour of Jesus Christ, I 
shall show you wherein he excels other phy- 
sicians ; no physician like Christ. 

1. He is the most skilful physician ; there is 
no disease too hard for him, Ps. ciii. 3, " Who 
healeth all thy diseases." The pool of Be- 
thesda might be an emblem of Christ's blood, 
John v. 5, " Whosoever first after the troub- 
ling of the water stepped in, was made whole 
of whatsoever disease he had." There are 
certain diseases physicians cannot cure ; as a 
consumption in the lungs, some kind of ob- 
structions and gangrenes. Some diseases are 
the reproach of physicians, but there is no dis- 
ease can pose Christ's skill ; he can cure the 
gangrene of sin when it is come to the heart ; 
he healed Mary Magdalene, an unchaste sin- 
ner; he healed Paul, who breathed out threat- 
enings against the church ; insomuch that 
Paul stands and wonders at the cure, 1 Tim. i. 
13, "But I obtained mercy;" I was bemer- 
cied. Christ heals head distempers and heart 
distempers, which may keep poor trembling 
souls from despair. Oh, saith the sinner, never 
was any so diseased as 1 1 but look up to thy 
physician Christ, who hath healing under his 
wings ; he can melt a heart of stone, and wash 
away black sins in the crimson of his blood ; 
there are no desperate cases with Christ ; he 
hath those salves, oils, balsams, which can 
cure the worst disease. Indeed, there is one 
disease which Christ doth not heal, namely, 
the sin against the Holy Ghost ; this is called 
" a sin unto death ;" if we knew any who 



SELECT SERMONS. 



749 



had sinned this sin, we were to shut them 
out of our prayers : " There is a sin unto 
death, I do not say that he shall pray for it," 
1 John v. 16. There is no healing of this 
disease ; not but that Christ could cure this, 
but the sinner will not be cured. The king 
could pardon a traitor, but if he will have no 
pardon he must die. The sin against the 
Holy Ghost is unpardonable, because the sin- 
ner will have no pardon ; he scorns Christ's 
blood, despites his Spirit, therefore his sin 
hath no sacrifice, Heb. x. 26, 29. 

2. Christ is the best physician, because he 
cures the better part, the soul ; other physi- 
cians can cure the liver or spleen, Christ 
cures the heart ; they can cure the blood 
when it is tainted, Christ cures the conscience 
when it is defiled, Heb. ix. 14, " How much 
more shall the blood of Christ purge your 
conscience from dead works ? Galen and 
Hippocrates might cure the stone in the 
kidneys, but Christ cures the stone in the 
heart ; he is the best physician which cures 
the most excellent part. The soul is im- 
mortal, angelical ; man was made in the im- 
age of God, Gen. i. 27. Not in regard of his 
body but his soul. Now if the soul be so 
divine and noble, then the cure of the soul 
doth far exceed the cure of the body. 

3. Christ is the best physician, for he 
causeth us to feel our disease. The disease 
of sin, though it be most damnable, yet is 
least discernible ; many a man is sin-sick, 
but the devil hath given him such stupifying 
physic, that he sleeps the sleep of death, and 
all the thunders of the word cannot awaken 
him ; but the Lord Jesus, this blessed physi- 
cian, awakens the soul out of its lethargy, and 
then it is in a hopeful way of recovery. 
The jailer was never so near a cure, as when 
he cried out, " Sirs, what must I do to be 
saved]" Acts xvi. 30. 

4. Christ shows more love to his patients 
than any physician besides ; which appears 
five ways : 

(1) . In that long journey he took from 
heaven to earth. 

(2) . In that he comes to his patients with- 
out sending for. The sick send to their 
physicians, and use many entreaties ; here 
the physician comes unsent for, Isa. lxv. 1, 



" I am found of them that sought me not." 
He doth prevent, us with mercy, he entreats 
us to be healed ; if Christ had not first come to 
us, and, with the good Samaritan, poured in 
wine and oil, we must have died of our wounds. 

(3) . The physician lets himself blood to 
cure his patient, Isa. liii. 5, " But he was 
wounded for our transgressions ;" through 
his wounds we may see his bowels. 

(4) . Our repulses and unkindnesses do 
not drive Christ away from us. Physicians, 
if provoked by their patients, go away in a 
rage, and will come no more. We abuse 
our physician, thrust him away, we bolt out 
our physician, yet Christ will not forsake us, 
but comes again, and applies his sovereign 
oils and balsams, Isa. lxv. 3, " I have spread 
out my hands all the day unto a rebellious 
people." Christ puts up wrongs and incivili- 
ties, and is resolved to go through with the 
cure. O the love of this heavenly physician ! 

(5) . Christ himself drank that bitter cup 
which we should have drunk ; and by his 
taking the potion we are healed and saved. 
Thus Christ hath shown more love than ever 
physician did to the patient. 

5. Christ is the most cheap physician : 
sickness is not only a consumption to the 
body but the purse, Luke viii. 43. Physi- 
cians' fees are chargeable, but Jesus Christ 
gives us our physic freely, he takes no fee, 
Isa. lv. 1, " Come without money and with- 
out price." He desires us to bring nothing to 
him but broken hearts ; and when he hath 
cured us he desires us to bestow nothing 
upon him but our love ; and one would think 
that were very reasonable. 

6. Christ heals with more ease than any 
other : other physicians apply pills, potions, 
bleeding ; Christ cures with more facility, 
Christ made the devil go out with a word 
speaking, Mark ix. 25. So when the soul is 
spiritually possessed, Christ can with a word 
heal, nay, he can cure with a look. When 
Peter had fallen into a relapse, Christ looked 
on Peter, and he wept. Christ's look melted 
Peter into repentance ; it was a healing look. 
If Christ doth but cast a look upon the soul, he 
can recover it. Therefore David prays to have 
a look from God, Psalm cxix. 132, " Look 
thou upon me, and be merciful unto me." 



750 



SELECT SERMONS. 



7. Christ is the most tender-hearted 
physician. He hath ended his passion, yet 
not his compassion. How doth he pity sick 
souls ! he is not more full of skill than sym- 
pathy, Hosea xi. 8, " My heart is turned 
within me." Christ shows his compassion in 
that he doth proportion his physic to the 
strength of the patient. Physic, if it be too 
sharp for the constitution, endangers the life. 
Christ gives such gentle physic as works 
kindly and savingly. Though he will bruise 
sinners, yet " he will not break the bruised 
reed." O the soundings of Christ's bowels 
to poor souls that feel themselves heart-sick 
with sin ! he holds their head and heart when 
they are fainting ; he brings the cordials of 
his promises to keep the sick patient from 
dying away. Christians, you perhaps may 
have hard thoughts of your physician Christ, 
and think he is cruel, and intends to destroy 
you ; but O the workings of his bowels to- 
wards humble broken-hearted sinners ! Psalm 
cxlvii. 3, " He heals the broken in heart, and 
bindeth up their wounds." Every groan of 
the patient goes to the heart of this physician. 

8. Physicians oft prescribe such physic as 
is prejudicial to the patient, in two cases ; 1. 
Either in case they find not out the cause of 
the disease, and then they may give that 
which is contrary, hot things instead of cool- 
ing : or, 2. In case they do find out the 
cause, they may give that which is good for 
one thing and bad for another. As it falls 
out when the liver and spleen are both dis- 
tempered, the physic which helps the liver 
may hurt the spleen. But Christ always 
prescribes that physic which is suitable, and 
withal he blesseth the physic. If the disease 
of the soul be pride, he humbles it with af- 
fliction. God turned Nebuchadnezzar to 
grass to cure him of his tympany. If the dis- 
ease of the soul be sloth, Christ applies some 
awakening scripture, Matt. xii. 11. Luke 
xiii. 24. 1 Pet. iv. 18. If the disease be the 
stone of the heart, Christ useth proper me- 
dicines ; sometimes the terrors of the law, 
sometimes mercies, sometimes he dissolves 
the stone in his own blood. If the soul be 
fainting through unbelief, Christ brings some 
scripture cordial to revive it, Matt. xii. 20, 
" A bruised reed he will not treak." Isa. lvii. 



16, " I will not contend for ever, neither will 
I be always wroth : for the spirit should fail 
before me, and the souls which I have made." 
Thus the Lord Jesus always prescribes that 
physic which is proper for the disease, and 
shall work effectually to the cure. 

9. Christ never fails of success. Physicians 
may have skill, but not always success ; pa- 
tients often die under their hands ; but Christ 
never undertakes to heal any but he makes 
a certain cure, John xvii. 12, " Those that 
thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them 
is lost." Judas was not given to Christ to be 
healed; but never any who was given to 
Christ did miscarry. 

Quest. How shall I know that I am given 
to Christ to be cured 1 

Ans. If it be with thee as with a sick pati- 
ent, who sees himself dying without a physi- 
cian. Art thou undone without Christ 1 dost 
thou perceive thyself bleeding to death with- 
out the balm of Gilead 1 then thou art one of 
Christ's sick patients, and thou shalt never 
miscarry under his hands. How can any of 
those be lost whom Christ undertakes to cure 1 
as he pours in the balsam of his blood, so he 
pours out the perfume of his prayers for them : 
John xvii. 11, " Holy Father keep through thy 
own name those whom thou hast given me." 
Satan could never upbraid Christ with this, 
that any of his sick patients were lost. 

10. Other physicians can only cure them 
that are sick, but Christ cures them that are 
dead : Ephes. ii. 1. " You hath he quickened 
who were dead in trespasses and sins." A sin- 
ner hath all the signs of death on him ; the 
pulse of his affections doth not beat,he is with- 
out breath, he breathes not after holiness, he 
is dead ; but Christ is a physician for the dead ; 
of every one whomChrist cures it may be said, 
"He was dead and is alive again," Luke xv.32. 

11. Christ cures not only our diseases, 
but our deformities. The physician can 
make the sick man well ; but if he be de- 
formed, he cannot make him fair. Christ 
gives not only health, but beauty. Sin hath 
made us ugly and misshapen ; Christ's medi- 
cines do not only take away our sickness, 
but our spots ; he doth not only make us 
whole, but fair, Hos. xiv. 4, " I will heal 
their backslidings," ver. 6, " His beauty shall 



SELECT SERMONS. 



751 



be as the olive tree." Jesus Christ never 
thinks he hath fully healed us, till he hath 
drawn his own beautiful image upon us. 
Cant. ii. 13, " Arise my fair one ;" fair with 
justification, fair with sanctification. Christ 
doth not only heal, but adorn ; he is called 
the Sun of righteousness, Mai. iv. 2. Not 
only because of the healing under his wings, 
but because of those rays of beauty which he 
puts upon the soul, Rev. xii. 1. 

12. And lastly, Christ is the most bounti- 
ful physician. Other patients do enrich their 
physicians, but here the physician doth en- 
rich the patient. Christ prefers all his pa- 
tients ; he doth not only cure them, but crown 
them, Rev. ii. 10. Christ doth not only raise 
from the bed, but to the throne ; he gives the 
sick man not only health, but heaven. 

Use 1. Good news this day, there is balm 
in Gilead ; there is a physician to heal sin- 
sick souls ; the angels that fell had no phy- 
sician sent them, we have ; there are but few 
in the world to whom Christ is revealed ; they 
that have the gold of the Indies want the 
blood of the Lamb ; but the Sun of righteous- 
ness is risen in our hemisphere, with healing 
in his wings. If a man were poisoned, what 
a comfort would it be to him to hear that 
there was an herb in the garden could heal 
him ! If he had a gangrene in his body, and 
w T ere given over by all his friends, how glad 
would he be to hear of a surgeon that could 
cure him ! O sinner, thou art full of peccant 
humours, thou hast a gangrened soul; but 
there is a physician that can recover thee. 
" There is hope in Israel concerning this ;" 
though there be an old serpent to sting us 
with his tentations, yet there is a brazen ser- 
pent to heal us with his blood. 

Use 2. If Christ be a physician, then let us 
make use of this physician for our diseased 
souls : Luke iv. 40, " When the sun was 
setting, all they that had any sick with divers 
diseases, brought them unto him, and he laid 
his hands on every one of them and healed 
them." You that have neglected a physician 
all this while, now when the sun of the gos- 
pel, and the sun of your life is even setting, 
bring your sick souls to Christ to be cured. 
Christ complains, that though men are sick 
even to death, yet they will not come or send 
to the physician ; John v. 40, " Ye will not 



come to me that ye might have life." In 
bodily diseases the physician is the first that 
is sent to ; in soul diseases the Physician is 
the last that is sent to. But here there are 
many sad objections that poor souls make 
against themselves, why they do not come to 
Christ their soul physician. 

Obj. 1. Alas, I am discouraged to go to 
Christ to cure me, because of my unworthi- 
ness ; just like the centurion, who sent to 
Christ about his sick servant, Luke viii 6, 
" Lord trouble not thyself, for I am not wor- 
thy that thou shouldest enter under my roof." 
Christ was coming to heal his servant, but 
the centurion would have staved off Christ 
from coming : " I am not worthy." So saith 
many a trembling soul, Christ is a physician, 
but who am I that Christ should come under 
my roof, or heal me? I am unworthy of mer- 
cy : as Mephibosheth said to king David, 2 
Sam. ix. 8, " What is thy servant, that thou 
shouldestlook upon such a dead dog as 1 am?" 
Now to such as have their hearts broken with 
a sense of their unworthiness, and are dis- 
couraged from coming to Christ to heal them, 
let me say these five things by way of reply. 

1. Who did Christ shed his blood for but 
such as are unworthy 1 1 Tim. i. 14, " Jesus 
Christ came into the world to save sinners." 
Christ came into the world as into a hospital, 
among a company of lame, bed-rid souls. 

2. Though we are not legally worthy, we 
may be evangelically ; it is part of our worthi- 
ness to see our unworthiness. Isa. xli. 14, 
" Fear not, thou worm Jacob." Thou mayest 
be a worm in thine own eye, yet a dove in 
God's eye. 

3. Though we are unworthy, yet Christ is 
worthy ; we do not deserve a cure, but Christ 
hath merited mercy for us ; he hath store of 
blood to supply our want of tears. 

4. Who was ever yet saved because he was 
worthy 1 'what man could ever plead this title, 
Lord Jesus heal me, because I am worthy 1 
What worthiness was in Paul before his con- 
version 1 what worthiness was there in Mary 
Magdalene, out of whom seven devils were 
cast T but free grace did pity and heal them ; 
God doth not find us worthy, but makes us 
worthy. 

5. If we never come to Christ to be healed 
I till we are worthy, we must never come ; and 



752 



SELECT SERMONS. 



let me tell you, this talking of worthiness sa- 1 
vours of pride, we would have something of 
our own ; had we such preparations and self- 
excellencies, then we think Christ would ac- 
cept of us, and we might come and be healed ; 
this is to fee our physician ; O let not the 
sense of unworthiness discourage ; go to 
Christ to be healed : "Arise, he calleth thee," 
Mark x. 49. 

Obj. 2. But I fear I am not within Christ's 
commission, I am not of the number that 
shall be saved ; and then though Christ be a 
physician, 1 shall not be healed. 

Ans. 1. We must take heed of drawing 
desperate conclusions against ourselves ; it 
is high presumption for us to make ourselves 
wiser than the angels. All the angels in hea- 
ven are not able to resolve this question, who 
are elected, and who are reprobated 1 

2. Thou that sayest thou art not within 
Christ's commission, read over Christ's com- 
mission, see who he comes to heal, Luke iv. 
18, "He hath sent me to heal the broken- 
hearted." Hath God touched thy heart with 
remorse ] dost thou lay to heart thy gospel 
unkindnesses % dost thou weep more out of 
love to Christ, than fear of helH then thou 
art a broken-hearted sinner, and art within 
Christ's commission ; a bleeding Christ will 
heal a broken heart. 

Obj. 3. But my sins are so many that sure 
I shall never be healed, I am sick of many 
diseases at once. 

Ans. Thou hast the more need of a physi- 
cian ; one would think that was a strange 
v speech of Peter to Christ, Luke v. 8, " Depart 
from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord ;" 
rather, Lord come near to me. Is it a good 
argument to say to a physician, I am diseased, 
therefore depart from me? No, therefore 
come and heal me. Our sins should serve to 
humble us, not to beat us from Christ. I tell 
you, if we had no diseases, Christ would have 
no work to do in the world. 

Obj. 4. But my disease is inflamed, and 
grown to a paroxysm ; my sin is greatly 
heightened. 

Ans. The plaster of Christ's blood is broad- 
er than thy sore, 1 John i.7, " The blood of 
Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin." The 
blood of the Lamb takes away the poison of 



the serpent : all diseases are alike to Christ's 
blood ; he can cure the greatest sin as well 
as the least. Hast thou a bloody issue of sin 
running 1 the issue of blood in Christ's side 
can heal thine. 

Obj. 5. But mine is an old inveterate dis- 
ease, and I fear it is incurable. 

Ans. Though thy disease be chronical, 
Christ can heal it. Christ doth not say, if this 
disease had been taken in time, it might have 
been cured : he is good at all sores. The 
thief on the cross had an old festering dis- 
ease, but Christ cured it ; it was well for him 
his physician was so near. Zaccheus, an 
old sinner, a custom-house man, he had 
wronged many a man in his time, but Christ 
cured him. Christ sometimes grafts his grace 
upon an old stock ; we read Christ cured at 
sunsetting, Luke iv. 40. He heals some sin- 
ners at the sunsetting of their lives. 

Obj. 6. But after I have been healed, my 
disease hath broken out again ; I have re- 
lapsed into the same sin ; therefore I fear 
there is no healing for me. 

Ans. It is rare that the Lord leaves his chil- 
dren to these relapses, though, through the 
suspension of grace, and the prevalency of 
temptation, it is possible they might fall back 
into sin ; these sins of relapse are sad. It was 
an aggravation of Solomon's offence, that he 
sinned after the Lord had appeared to him 
twice, 1 Kings xi. 9. These sins after healing, 
open the mouth of conscience to accuse, and 
stop the mouth of God's Spirit, which should 
speak peace. These sins exclude from the 
comfort of the promise ; it is as it were seques- 
trated ; but if the soul be deeply humbled, if 
the relapsing sinner be a relenting sinner, let 
him not cast away the anchor of hope, but have 
recourse to his soul-physician ; Jesus Christ 
can cure a relapse, he healed David's and 
Cranmer's relapse, 1 John ii. 1, " If any man 
sin, we have an advocate with the Father, 
Jesus Christ." Christ appears in the court as 
the advocate for the client. As he poured out 
his blood upon the brazen altar of the cross : 
so he pours out his prayers at the golden altar 
in heaven, Heb. vii. 25, " He ever liveth to 
make intercession for us." Christ, in the 
golden work of intercession, presents the 
merit of his blood to his Father, and so ob- 



SELECT SERMONS. 



753 



tains our pardon, and applies the virtue of his 
blood to us, and so works our cure ; therefore 
be not discouraged from going to thy physi- 
cian ; though thy disease hath broken out 
again, yet Christ hath fresh sprinklings of his 
blood for thee, he can cure a relapse. 

Obj. 7. But there is no healing for me, I 
fear I have sinned the sin against the Holy 
Ghost 1 

Ans. 1. The fear of sinning it, is a sign 
thou has not sinned it. 

2. Let me ask, Why dost thou think thou 
hast sinned the sin against the Holy Ghost 1 
I have grieved the Spirit of God. 

Ans. Every grieving the Spirit of God is 
not that fatal sin. We grieve the Spirit when 
we sin against the illumination of it ; the 
Spirit being grieved, may depart for a time, 
and carry away all its honey out of the hive, 
leaving the soul in darkness, Isa. 1. 10. But 
every grieving the Spirit is not the sin 
against the Holy Ghost. A child of God 
when he hath sinned, his heart smites him ; 
and he whose heart smites him for sin, hath 
not committed the unpardonable sin. A child 
of God having grieved the Spirit, doth as 
Noah when the dove did fly out of the ark, he 
opened the windows of the ark to let it in 
again. A godly man doth not shut his heart 
against the Spirit, as a wicked man doth, 
Acts vii. 51. The Spirit of God would come 
in, he keeps him out ; but a gracious soul 
opens his heart to let in the Spirit, as Noah 
opened the door of the ark to let in the dove. 
Christian, is it not so with thee 1 then be of 
good comfort, thou hast not sinned the sin 
against the Holy Ghost ; that sin is a mali- 
cious despiting of the Spirit, which thou 
tremblest to think of. 

Therefore, laying aside these arguments 
and disputes, whatever the diseases of the soul 
are, come to Christ for a cure, believe in his 
blood, and thou mayest be saved ] You see 
what a skilful and able physician Christ is, 
what sovereign oils and balsams he hath, how 
willing he is to cure sick souls ; O then what 
remains, but that you cast yourselves upon 
his merits to heal and save you ! of all sins 
unbelief is the worst, because it casts dis- 
paragement on Christ, as if he were not able 
to work a cure. O Christian, believe in thy 
5C 



physician, John iii. 15, " That whosoever 
believeth in him shall not perish." Say as 
queen Esther, Esther iv. 16, " I will go in 
unto the king, which is not according to the 
law, and if I perish, I perish." So say, The 
Lord Jesus is a physician to heal me, I will 
adventure on his blood, if I perish, I perish. 
Queen Esther ventured against the law, she 
had no promise that the king would hold out 
the golden sceptre ; but I have a promise 
which invites me to come to Christ : " He 
that comes unto me I will in no wise cast 
him out, John vi. 37. Faith is a healing 
grace : we read, when the Israelites were 
burying a man, for fear of the soldiers of the 
Moabites, they cast him for haste into the 
grave of Elisha ; now the man, as soon as 
he was down, and had touched the dead body 
of the prophet, revived, and stood up on his 
feet, 2 Kings xiii. 21. So if a man be dead 
in sin, yet let him be cast in Christ's grave, 
and by faith touch Christ, who was dead and 
buried, he will revive, and his soul will be 
healed. Remember there is no way for a 
cure but by believing ; Christ himself will 
not avail us, Rom. iii. 25, " Whom God hath 
set forth to be a propitiation through faith in 
his blood." Faith is the applying of Christ's 
merits. A plaster, though it be ever so rare 
and excellent, yet if it be not applied to the 
wound, will do no good ; though the plaster 
be made of Christ's blood, yet it will not heal, 
unless applied by faith. The brazen serpent 
was a sovereign remedy for the cure of those 
that were stung ; but if they had not looked 
upon it, they received no benefit : so though 
there be a healing virtue in Christ, yet unless 
we look upon him by the eye of faith, we can- 
not be cured. Above all things labour for 
faith ; this is the all-healing grace ; this hand 
touching Christ fetcheth virtue from him. 

Not that faith hath more worthiness than 
other graces ; but only it is influential, as it 
makes us one with Christ. If a man had a 
stone in a ring that could cure many diseases, 
we say this ring heals ; but it is not the 
ring, but the stone in that ring that doth the 
cure ; so faith saves and heals, not by its 
own virtue, but as it lays hold on Christ, and 
fetcheth down his sacred influences into the 
soul. 



754 



SELECT SERMONS. 



2. If Jesus Christ be a spiritual physician, 
let us labour to hasten the cure of our souls. 
Consider, 

(1) . What a little time we have to stay 
here, and let that hasten the cure. Solomon 
saith, " There is a time to be born, and a 
time to die," Eccles. iii. 2, but mentions no 
time of living, as if that were so short that 
it were not worth the naming : the body is 
called a vessel, 1 Thess. iv. 4. This vessel 
is filled with breath, sickness broacheth it, 
and death draws it out. O hasten thy soul's 
cure, death is upon its swift march, and if 
that surprise you suddenly, there is no cure 
to be wrought in the grave, Eccl. ix. 10. 
" There is no work, nor device, nor wisdom 
in the grave whither thou goest." 

(2) . Now is properly the time of healing, 
now is the day of grace, now Christ pours 
out his balsams, now he sends abroad his 
ministers and Spirit, 2 Cor. vi. 2, " Now is 
the accepted time." There were certain 
healing days, wherein the king healed them 
that had the evil. The day of grace is a 
healing day : if we neglect the day of grace, 
the next day will be a day of wrath, Rom. ii. 
5. O therefore hasten to the cure of thy soul ; 
rather neglect thy food than thy cure ; sin will 
not only kill, but damn. To get a cure, 

[1]. Come to the healing pool of the sanc- 
tuary ; the Spirit of God may on a sudden stir 
these waters; the next Sabbath, for ought thou 
knowest, may be a healing day to thy soul. 

[2]. Pray others to pray for you ; when 
any disease is upon your body you desire the 
prayers of others ; the prayers of the saints 
are precious balms and medicines to cure 
sick souls. 

3. Is Jesus Christ a soul physician 1 then 
let me speak to you who are in some mea- 
sure healed of your damnable disease. I have 
four things to say. 

1. Break forth into thankfulness ; though 
sin be not quite cured (there are still some 
grudgings of the disease), yet the reigning 
power of it is taken away ; you are so healed 
that you shall not die, John iii. 16 ; xi. 26, 
" Those that were cured by the brazen ser- 
pent afterwards died ; but such as are healed 
by Christ, shall never die." Sin may molest, 
it shall not damn ; O then what cause have 



you to admire and love your physician 1 The 
Lord Jesus hath taken out the core of your 
disease, and the curse ; publish your expe- 
riences, Psalm lxvi. 16, " I will tell you what 
God hath done for my soul :" as a man that 
hath been cured of an old disease, how glad 
and thankful is he f he will tell others of the 
medicine that cured him. So say, " I will 
tell you what God hath done for my soul :" 
he hath cured me of an old disease, a hard, 
unbelieving heart, a disease that hath sent 
millions to hell. Truly we may cheerfully 
bear any other sickness, if this soul-sickness 
be cured, Lord (saith Luther) strike and 
wound where thou wilt, if sin be pardoned. 
O ! " Let the high praises of God be in your 
mouth," Psalm cxlix. 6. God expects thank- 
fulness as a tribute ; he wonders men bring 
not their thank-offering, Luke xvii. 17, 
" Were there not ten cleansed, but where 
are the nine]" 

2. Are you healed 1 take heed of coming 
into infected company, lest you take the in- 
fection ; the wicked are devils to tempt to 
sin. Lot was the world's wonder that lived 
in Sodom when it was a pest-house, yet did 
not catch the disease. 

3. Take heed of relapses ; men are afraid 
of a relapse after they are cured ; beware of 
soul relapses. Hath God softened thy heart 1 
take heed of hardening it. Hath he cured 
thee in some measure of deadness 1 do not 
relapse into a drowsy security. Thou mayest 
have such an uproar and agony in thy con- 
science, as may make thee go weeping to 
thy grave. O take heed of falling sick 
affain ! " sin no more lest a worse thins come 
unto thee," John v. 14. 

4. Pity your friends that are sick unto 
death ; show your piety in your pity. Hast 
thou a child that is well and lusty, but hath 
a sick soul 1 pity him, pray for him. David 
wept and fasted for his sick child, 2 Sam. 
xii. 16. Thy child hath the plague sore of 
the heart, and thou hast conveyed the plague 
to him ; weep and fast for thy child. Hast 
thou a wife or a husband that though they 
do not keep their bed, yet the Lord knows 
they are sick, they are under the raging 
power of sin '? O let thy bowels yearn over 
them ! lift up a prayer over them ; the prayer 



SELECT SERMONS. 



755 



of faith may save a sick soul. Prayer is the 
best physic can be used in a desperate case ; 
you that have felt the disease of sin, and the 
mercy of your physician, learn to pity others. 

4. And lastly, Is Christ a soul physician 1 
then let us go to Christ to cure this sick, 
dying nation. Britain, God knows, is a sick 
patient, " The whole head is sick, the whole 
heart is faint." The body politic hath a 
cachexy, it is ill all over : magistracy, minis- 
try, commonalty are diseased ; and those who 
pretend to be our healers, are physicians of 
no value. We have spent our money upon 
these physicians, but yet our sores are not 
healed, Jer. xiv. 19, " Why hast thou smitten 
us, and there is no healing for usl" Instead 
of healing us, those who should have been 
our physicians, have increased the nation's 
malady, by giving a toleration ; this is like 
giving strong water in a fever, which doth 
more inflame the disease. Ah, sick Britain, 
because sinful Britain ! sick of error, unclean- 
ness, drunkenness ; so sick, that we may fear 
our funerals are approaching : and, which is 
the worst symptom, though balm hath been 
poured into our wounds, the precious ordi- 
nances of God have been applied, yet we are 



not healed ; a sign of bad flesh that is so ill 
to be cured. 

This sin-sickness in the land hath produced 
many direful effects ; division, oppression, 
bloodshed, the very bowels and arteries of 
the nation are almost torn asunder, so that 
now God hath fulfilled that threatening upon 
us, Mic. vi. 13, " I will make thee sick with 
smiting thee." We had made ourselves sick 
with sinning, and God hath made us sick with 
smiting. Now what remains, but that we 
should go to the great physician, whose blood 
sprinkles many nations, that he should apply 
some healing medicines to dying Britain ; 
God can with a word heal ; he can give re- 
pentance as well as deliverance ; he can put 
us in joint again. Let all the people of the 
land lie between the porch and the altar, say- 
ing, " Spare thy people, O Lord," Joel iii. 17. 
Our prayers and tears may set Christ on work 
to heal us, Ps. cvi. 23, " Therefore he said 
that he would destroy them, had not Moses 
his servant stood in the breach to turn 
away his wrath." Let us never leave im- 
ploring our heavenly physician, till he lay 
a fig on England's boil, and cause it to re- 
cover. 



THE BEAUTY OF GRACE. 

1 Pet. i. 2. Grace unto you, and peace be multiplied. 



The blessed apostle having felt the efficacy 
and sovereignty of grace, is taken up with 
the thoughts of it ; and so sweet is this wine 
of paradise, that he commends it to those dis- 
persed Christians to whom he writes, wish- 
ing them all increase. Grace unto you, and 
peace be multiplied. 

The words run in the form of a salutation, 
" grace unto you, and peace." When we sa- 
lute our friends, we cannot wish them a great- 
er blessing than grace and peace : other mer- 
cies lie without the pale, and are dispersed in 
common to men ; but grace is a special con- 
giary and gift bestowed on them who are the 
favourites of heaven. In the words observe, 

1. The connexion. 2. The order. 

1. The connexion, Grace and peace. The 



way to have peace is to have grace ; grace 
is the breeder of peace ; the one is the root, 
the other the flower ; peace is the sweet wa- 
ter that drops from the limbeck of a gracious 
heart. 

2. The order, First grace, then peace ; 
grace hath the priority ; grace and peace are 
two sisters, but grace is the eldest sister ; and 
give me leave at this time to prefer the el- 
der before the younger. " Grace unto you 
be multiplied." For the illustration, con- 
sider, 

1. What is meant by grace. 

2. The Author of it. 

3. Why it is called grace. 

4. The cogency of it. 

1. What is meant by grace. This word 



756 



SELECT SERMONS. 



grace hath various acceptations in scrip- 
ture. 

1. Grace is sometimes taken for the favour 
of God, Gen. vi. 8, "Noah found grace in 
the eyes of the Lord ;" God did cast a gra- 
cious aspect upon him. 

2. Grace is taken for beauty ; as we say 
such a thing is graceful, James i. 11, " The 
flower falleth, and the grace of the fashion of 
itperisheth." 

3. Grace is taken figuratively, and impro- 
perly, for the show of grace ; as we call that 
a face in a glass which is but the idea and re- 
semblance of a face ; so John ii. 23, " Many 
believed in his name :" that believing was but 
a show of faith, as Austin and Theophilact 
note. 

4. Grace is taken in a genuine and proper 
sense ; so in the text, " Grace be multiplied;" 
it may admit of this description ; grace is the 
infusion of a new and holy principle into the 
heart, whereby it is changed from what it was, 
and is made after God's own heart. Grace 
makes not only a civil but sacred change ; it 
biasseth the soul heaven-ward, and stamps 
upon it the image and superscription of God. 

2. The author or efficient of grace ; name- 
ly, the Spirit of God, who is therefore called 
the Spirit of grace, Zech. xii. 10. The spirit 
is the fountain from whence crystal streams 
of grace flow. Man, as Clemens Alexandrinus 
observes, is God's harp or timbrel ; the harp 
will not sound unless touched with the finger ; 
so the heart of man cannot put forth any sweet 
melody or harmony, till first it be touched 
with the finger of God's Spirit ; this blessed 
Spirit works grace in the subject, 

1. Universally. 2, Progressively. 

1. Universally; 1 Thess. v. 10, "The 
God of peace sanctify you wholly." The 
Spirit of God infuseth grace into all the fa- 
culties of the soul ; though grace be wrought 
but in part, yet in every part ; in the under- 
standing light, in the conscience tenderness, 
in the will consent, in the affections harmo- 
ny ; therefore grace is compared to leaven, 
Matt. xiii. 33, because it swells itself in the 
whole soul, and makes the conversation to 
swell and rise as high as heaven. 

2. The Spirit of God works grace progres- 
sively, he carries it on from one degree to 



another. The Pelagians hold that the begin- 
ning of grace is from God ; but the progress 
of grace is from ourselves ; so God shall be 
the author of our faith, and we the finishers. 
God shall lay the first stone, and we the su- 
perstructure ; but alas, there needs the con- 
tinual influence of the Spirit to the carrying 
on the work of grace in our hearts. Should 
God withdraw his Spirit from the most holy 
men, their grace might fail and annihilate : 
if the sun withdraw its light, though ever so 
little, there follows darkness in the air ; we 
need not only habitual grace, but assisting, 
exciting, subsequent grace. The ship needs 
not only the sails, but the winds to carry it ; 
there needs not only the sails of our abilities 
and endeavours, but the wind of the Spirit to 
blow us to the heavenly port. 

3. Why is the work of holiness in the heart 
called grace 1 

Ans. 1. Because it hath a supereminency 
above nature ; it is a flower which doth not 
grow in nature's garden ; it is of a divine ex- 
traction, James iii. 17. By reason we live the 
life of men, by grace we live the life of God. 

2. It is called grace, because it is a work of 
free grace ; every link in the golden chain of 
our salvation is wrought and enamelled with 
free grace ; that one should be sanctified, and 
not another, this is of grace ; that God should 
pass by many of the noble, rich, learned, and 
graft his heavenly endowments upon a more 
wild and luxuriant stock, a crabbed nature, 
weaker parts, well may it be called grace. 

Quest. But why is not grace bestowed 
upon all ? 

Ans. We must hold with Zanchy, there is 
always a just reason of God's will ; but in 
particular, I answer, 

1. God gives grace to one, and denies it 
to another, to show his prerogative ; God is 
not bound to give grace to all, Rom. ix. 15, 
« I will have mercy on whom I will have 
mercy." Suppose two malefactors brought 
before the king, one he will pardon, but not 
the other; if any demand the reason, he will 
answer, it is my prerogative : so God will 
give grace to one, not to another ; he will 
make one a vessel of mercy, the other a ves- 
sel of wrath, this is his prerogative. The 
apostle hath silenced all disputes of this kind, 



SELECT SERMONS. 



757 



Rom. ix. 20, 21, " Who art thou thatrepliest 
against God % hath not the potter power over 
the clay V If we could suppose a plant to 
speak, why was not I made a bird, or a beast"? 
why should not I have reason 1 just so it is 
when vain man enters into contest with God ; 
why should not I have grace as well as an- 
other'? dispute not against prerogative; let 
not the clay syllogize with the potter. 

2. I answer, God may justly deny his grace 
to any wicked man, for two reasons. 

1. Because once he had grace, and lost it; 
if a father gave his son a stock to trade with, 
and the son breaks, the father is not bound to 
set him up again. God gave Adam a stock 
of grace to begin the world with ; Adam did 
break, and make all his children bankrupts ; 
God is not tied to give him grace again. 

2. God may justly deny his grace to every 
wicked man, because he is a despiser of grace, 
he tramples this pearl under foot, Prov. i. 7. 
Is God bound to give grace to them that de- 
spise itl if a king's pardon be rejected once, 
he is not bound to tender it any more ; but I 
shall not launch forth any further into this. 

4. The cogency and necessity of grace ; it 
is most needful, because it fits us for com- 
munion with God, 2 Cor. vi. 14, " What 
communion hath light with darkness '?" God 
can no more converse with an ungracious 
soul, than a king can converse with a sow ; 
it is by grace that we keep a constant inter- 
course with heaven. 

Use 1. Exhort. Let me with the greatest 
zeal and earnestness persuade all who have 
souls to save, to endeavour after grace ; grace 
will be desirable at death ; it is as useful 
now, and more seasonable to look after, Prov. 
iv. 7, " With all thy getting, get understand- 
ing." Alexander being presented with a rich 
cabinet of king Darius, he reserved it to put 
Homer's works in, as being of great value. 
The heart is a spiritual cabinet into which the 
jewel of grace should be put ; we should de- 
sire grace above other things ; above the gifts 
of the Spirit ; nay, above the comforts of the 
Spirit. Comfort is sweet, but grace is better 
than comfort ; bread is better than honey : we 
may go to heaven without comfort, not with- 
out grace ; it is grace makes us blessed in 
life and death. I shall show you twelve rare 



excellencies in grace : I shall set this fair vir- 
gin of grace before you, hoping that you will 
be tempted- to fall in love with it. 

1. Grace hath a soul-quickening excellen- 
cy in it, Heb. x. 38, " The just shall live 
by faith." Men void of grace are dead ; 
they have breath, yet want life ; they are 
walking ghosts, Eph. ii. 1. The life of sin is 
the death of the soul : a sinner hath all the 
signs of one that is dead ; he hath no pulse ; 
the affections are the pulse of the soul ; his 
pulse doth not beat after God, he hath no 
sense, Eph. iv. 19, " Who being past feel- 
ing." Dead things have no beauty, there is 
no beauty in a dead flower ; dead things are 
not capable of privilege ; the dead heir is not 
crowned ; but grace is the vital artery of the 
soul ; it doth not only irradiate, but animate ; 
therefore it is called "the light of life," John 
viii. 12. And believers are said to have their 
grave clothes pulled off, and to be alive from 
the dead, Rom. vi. 13. By grace the soul is 
grafted into Christ the true vine, John xv. 5, 
and is made not only living but lively, 1 Pet. 
i. 3. Grace puts forth a divine energy into 
the soul. 

2. Grace hath a soul-enriching excellency, 
1 Cor. i. 5, " Ye are enriched in all know- 
ledge." As the sun enricheth the world with 
its golden beams, so doth knowledge be- 
spangle and enrich the mind. Faith is an 
enriching grace, James ii. 5, 41 Rich in 
faith ;" faith brings Christ's riches into the 
soul, it entitles to the promises ; the promises 
are full of riches, justification, adoption, glo- 
ry : faith is the key that unlocks this cabi- 
net of the promises, and empties out their 
treasure into the soul. The riches of grace 
excel all other riches. " The merchandise of 
it is better than the merchandise of silver," 
Prov. iii. 14. 

1. These riches make a man wise : wisdom 
is the best possession ; other riches cannot 
make one wise. A man may have a-full purse, 
and an empty brain. Many a rich heir, though 
he lives till he become of age, yet he never 
comes to years of discretion : but these rich- 
es of grace have power to make a man wise, 
Ps. cxi. 10, " The fear of the Lord is the 
beginning of wisdom." The saints are com- 
pared to wise virgins, Matt. xxv. Grace 



753 



SELECT SERMONS. 



makes a man wise to know Satan's devices 
and subtleties, 2 Cor. ii. 11, it makes him 
wise unto salvation, 2 Tim. iii. 15. Grace 
gives the serpent's eye in the dove's head. 

2. These spiritual riches sanctify other 
riches. Riches without grace are hurtful, 
they are golden snares ; they are the bellows 
of pride, the fuel of lust ; they set open hell 
gates for men ; they are unblest blessings ; 
but grace sanctifies our riches, it corrects the 
poison, it takes away the curse, it makes them 
beneficial to us ; riches shall be certificates 
of God's love, wings to lift us up to paradise. 
Thus grace, by a divine chemistry, extracts 
heaven out of earth, and gives us not only 
venison, but the blessing. 

3. Grace satisfies ; other riches cannot, 
Eccl. v. 10. Riches can no more fill the heart, 
than a triangle can fill a circle ; but grace fills 
up every chink and hiatus of the soul ; it di- 
lates the heart, it ravisheth the affections 
with joy, Rom. xv. 13, which joy, as Chry- 
sostom saith, is a foretaste of heaven. 

3. Excellency. Grace hath a soul-adorning 
excellency, it puts a beauty and lustre upon 
a person, 1 Pet. iii. 4, 5, " Whose adorning 
let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting 
the hair, and of wearing of gold, but let it be 
the hidden man of the heart, even the orna- 
ment of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in 
the sight of God of great price ; for after 
this manner in the old time, the holy women 
also who trusted in God adorned themselves." 
If a man hath plate and jewels, cloth of gold, 
hangings of arras, these adorn the house, not 
the man ; the glory of a man is grace, Prov. 
iv. 9, " She shall give to thine head an or- 
nament of grace." The graces are a chain ■ 
of pearl that adorns Christ's bride ; the heart 
inlaid and enamelled with grace, is like the 
" King's daughter, all glorious within," Ps. 
xlv. 13. A gracious soul is the image of 
God, curiously drawn with the pencil of the 
Holy Ghost ; a heart beautified with grace, 
is the angels' joy, Luke xv. 7, and is God's 
lesser heaven, Isa. lvii. 15 ; Eph. iii. 17. 
Reason doth not so far exceed sense, as 
grace doth reason ; grace changeth corrup- 
tion into perfection ; nothing so graceth a 
man as grace doth ; grace is the purest com- 
plexion of the soul, for it makes it like God. 



Grace is the flower of delight which Christ 
loves to smell to ; grace is to the soul, as the 
eye to the body, as the sun to the world, as 
the diamond to the ring, it doth bespangle 
and beautify. A soul decked with grace, is 
as the dove covered with silver wings, and 
golden feathers. 

4. Excellency. Grace hath a soul-cleans- 
ing excellency. By nature we are defiled ; sin 
is an impure issue, it is a befilthying thing, 
2 Cor. vii. 1. A sinner's heart is so black, 
that nothing but hell can pattern it ; but grace 
is a spiritual laver ; therefore it is called " the 
washing of regeneration," Tit. iii. 5. The 
grace of repentance cleanseth ; Mary's tears, 
as they washed his feet, so they washed her 
heart ; faith hath a cleansing virtue, Acts xv. 
9, " Having purified their hearts by faith." 
Grace lays the soul a-whitening, it takes out 
the leopard spots, and turns the cypress into 
an azure beauty. Grace is of a celestial na- 
ture ; though it doth not wholly remove sin, 
it doth subdue it ; though it doth not keep 
sin out, it keeps it under ; though sin in a gra- 
cious soul doth not die perfectly, yet it dies 
daily. Grace makes the heart a spiritual 
temple, which hath this inscription upon it, 
" Holiness to the Lord." 

5. Excellency. Grace hath a soul-strength- 
ening excellency, it enables a man to do 
that which exceeds the power of nature. 
Grace teacheth to mortify our sins, to love 
our enemies, to prefer the glory of Christ 
before our own lives. Thus the three chil- 
dren by the power of grace marched in the 
face of death; neither the sound of the' 
music could allure them, nor the heat of the 
furnace affright them, Dan. iii. 17. Grace 
is a Christian's armour of proof, which doth 
more than any other armour can ; it not only 
defends him, but puts courage into him. 
Tertullian calls Athanasius an invincible 
adamant ; grace makes us not only bear suf- 
fering, but glory in suffering, Rom. v. 3. A 
soul steeled and animated with grace, can 
tread upon the lion and adder, Ps. xciii. 13, 
and with the leviathan, can laugh at the 
shaking of a spear, Job xli. 29. Thus doth 
grace infuse a heroic spirit, and drive 
strength into a man, making him act above 
the sphere of nature. 



SELECT ! 

0. Excellency. Grace hath a soul-raising 
excellency ; it is a divine sparkle that ascends; 
when the heart is divinely touched with the 
load-stone of the Spirit, it is drawn up to 
God. Prov. xv. 24, " The way of life is 
above to the wise :" grace raiseth a man 
above others ; he lives in the altitudes, while 
others creep on the earth, and are almost 
buried in it ; a Christian by the wings of 
grace flies aloft ; the saints " mount up as 
eagles," Isa. xl. 31. A believer is a citizen 
of heaven, there he trades by faith. Grace 
shoots the heart above the world, Ps. cxxxix. 
17 ; Phil. iii. ult. Grace gives us conformity 
to Christ, and communion with Christ, 1 John 
i. 3, " Our fellowship is with the Father, 
and with his Son Jesus." A man full of 
grace, hath Christ in his heart, and the world 
under his feet ; grace humbles, yet elevates. 

7. Excellency. Grace hath a perfuming ex- 
cellency ; it makes us a sweet odour to God. 
Hence grace is compared to those spices 
which are most odoriferous and fragrant. 
" Myrrh, cinnamon, frankincense," Cant. iv. 
13. There is a double perfume that grace 
sends forth. 

1. It perfumes our names, Heb. xi. 2, 
«* By faith the elders obtained a good report." 
Grace was the spice which perfumed their 
names. How renowned was Abraham for 
his faith, Moses for his meekness, Phinehas 
for his zeal 1 what a fresh perfume do their 
names send forth to this day ! the very wicked 
cannot but see a resplendent majesty in the 
graces of the saints ; and though with their 
tongues they revile grace, yet with their 
hearts they reverence it. Thus grace is 
aromatical, it embalms the names of men ; a 
gracious person when he dies, carries a good 
conscience with him, and leaves a good 
name behind him. 

2. Grace perfumes our duties, Psalm cxli. 2, 
" Let my prayer be set forth before thee as 
incense." Noah's sacrifice was a perfume, 
Gen. vhi. 21. The Lord smelled a sweet 
savour. The sighs of a wicked man are an 
unsavoury breath, his solemn sacrifice is 
dung, Mai. ii. 3. There is such a noisome 
stench comes from a sinner's duties, that 
God will not come near, Amos v. 21, " I 
will not smell in your solemn assemblies." 



SERMONS. 759 

Who can endure the smell of a dead corpse % 
but grace gives a fragrancy and redolency to 
our holy things, Heb. xi. 4, " By faith Abel 
offered a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, 
God testifying of his gifts." Abel's sacrifice 
was better scented, God smelled a sweet 
savour of it ; for he testified of his gifts. If 
it be asked what this testimony was God 
gave of Abel's sacrifice 1 Hierom saith, God 
set his sacrifice on fire ; 1 Kings xviii. 38, 
so from heaven testifying his acceptance of 
Abel's offering ; and if grace doth so perfume 
you, wear this flower, not in your bosoms, 
but in your hearts. 

8. Excellency. Grace hath a soul-enno- 
bling excellency, it doth ennoble a man : grace 
makes us vessels of honour, it sets us above 
princes and nobles. Theodosius thought it 
more dignity to be Christ's servant, and wear 
his livery laced with the silver graces of the 
Spirit, than to be great and renowned in the 
world, Isa. lxiii. 4, " Since thou wert pre- 
cious in my sight thou hast been honourable." 
Sin doth debase a man, Christ tells wicked 
men their pedigree, John viii. 44, " Ye are 
of your father the devil :" they may put the 
cloven foot in their scutcheon ; an ungracious 
person is a vile person ; Nah. i. 14, " I will 
make thy grave, for thou art vile :" the He- 
brew word for vile signifies to be lightly es- 
teemed : there is nothing so vile but an un- 
gracious man will do ; he is ductile and facile 
to any thing, like wire, which will be bent 
awry ; he will snare his conscience, stain his 
credit, run as a lackey after the sinful injunc- 
tions of men ; but grace ennobles ; he who is di- 
vinely inspired, as he is high born,l John iii.l, 
so he acts suitably to his birth, he hates what- 
ever is disingenuous and sordid. The saints 
are called kings and priests for their dignity, 
Rev. i.6, and jewels for their value, Mai. iii. 17. 

9. Excellency. Grace hath a soul-securing 
excellency, it brings safety along with it. 
You all desire to be safe in dangerous times ; 
if sword or pestilence come, if death peep in 
at your windows, would you not now be safe ; 
nothing will secure you in times of danger 
but grace ; grace is the best life-guard ; it 
sets Christians out of gunshot, and frees them 
from the power of hell and damnation, Prov. 
x. 2, " Righteousness delivers from death." 



760 



SELECT SERMONS. 



Do not righteous men die 1 yes, but right- 
eousness delivers from the sting of the first 
death, and the fear of the second. It was 
the saying of one, " I am not afraid to die, 
but to be damned :" but here is a believer's 
comfort, the fire of God's wrath can never 
kindle upon him ; grace is God's own image 
stamped on the soul, and he will not destroy 
his own image. Xerxes, the Persian, when 
he destroyed all the temples in Greece, he 
caused the temple of Diana to be preserved 
for its beautiful structure ; that soul which 
hath the beauty of holiness shining in it shall 
be preserved for the glory of the structure ; 
God will not suffer his own temple to be des- 
troyed : would you be secured in evil times 1 
get grace and fortify this garrison ; a good 
conscience is a Christian's fort-royal. Da- 
vid's enemies lay round about him ; yet, saith 
he, " I laid me down and slept," Psalm iii. 5. 
A good conscience can sleep in the mouth of 
a cannon ; grace is a Christian's coat of mail, 
which fears not the arrow or bullet. True 
grace may be shot at, but can never be shot 
through ; grace puts the soul into Christ, and 
there it is safe, as the bee in the hive, as the 
dove in the ark, Rom. viii.l, " There is no con- 
demnation to them which are in Christ Jesus." 

10. Excellency. Grace hath a heart-esta- 
blishing excellency, Heb. xiii. 9, " It is a 
good thing that the heart be established with 
grace." Before the infusion of grace, the 
heart is like a ship without a ballast ; it wavers 
and tosseth, being ready to overturn ; there- 
fore a man void of grace is called a double- 
minded man, James i. 8. He acts for and 
against, as if he had two souls ; he is unresol- 
ved ; to-day of one mind, to-morrow of ano- 
ther ; to-day he will hear a preacher that is 
orthodox, to-morrow one that is heterodox: he 
will be as the times are, and change his reli- 
gion as fast as the chameleon doth his colour. 
Hearts unsanctified will be unsettled ; they 
will face about to the rising side ; they will 
follow not what is best, but what is safest ; 
they are not for that religion which hath the 
word to guide it, but for that which hath the 
sword to back it ; this Seneca calls a mind 
that rolls up and down, and settles no where. 

But grace doth consolidate and fix the 
heart, Psalm lvii. 7, " My heart is fixed, O 



God." Hypocrites are like meteors in the 
air ; David was a fixed star ; grace keeps the 
heart upright ; and the more sincere, the 
more steadfast; grace carries the heart to 
God as the centre, and there it rests, Psalm 
cxvi. Psalm vii. A gracious heart cleaves to 
God, and let whatever changes come, the 
soul is settled as a ship at anchor. 

11. Excellency. Grace hath a preparatory 
excellency in it ; it prepares and fits for 
glory. Glory is the highest peg of our fe- 
licity, it transcends all our thoughts ; glory 
can have no hyperbole. Now grace tunes 
and fits the soul for glory, 2 Pet. i. 3, " Who 
hath called us to glory and virtue." Virtue 
leads to glory. Frst you cleanse the vessel, 
and then pour in wine. God doth first 
cleanse us by his grace, and then pour in 
the wine of glory ; the silver link of grace 
draws the golden link of glory after it : in- 
deed grace differs little from glory ; grace is 
glory in the bud, and glory is grace in the 
flower. In short, glory is nothing else but 
grace commencing and taking its degrees. 

12. Excellency. Grace hath an abiding 
excellency ; temporal things are for a season, 
but grace hath eternity stamped upon it, it 
is called durable riches, Prov. viii. 18. 
Other riches take wings and fly from us ; 
grace takes wings and flies with us to heaven. 
Some tell us of falling away from grace ; I 
grant seeming grace may be lost ; a blazing 
comet will spend and evaporate ; nay, saving 
grace may fail in the degree, it may suffer 
an eclipse, it may lose all its sweet fruit of 
joy and peace ; but still there is sap in the 
vine, and " the seed of God remains," 1 John 
iii. 4. Grace is a blossom'' of eternity ; 1 
John ii. 27, " The anointing that abides ; 
colours laid in oil are durable ; those hearts 
which are laid in oil, and have the anointing 
of God, hold their colours, and endure for 
ever : grace is compared to a " river of the 
water of life," John vii. 38. This river can 
never be dried up, for the Spirit of God is 
the spring that feeds it. Grace is not like a 
lease which soon expires ; so the Pelagians 
would make it ; to-day a believer, to-morrow 
an unbeliever ; to-day justified, to-morrow 
unjustified ; this would be like a lease soon 
run out ; but God settles grace on the saints 



SELECT SERMONS. 



761 



as an inheritance, and he will see that the 
entail shall never be cut off. He who hath 
true grace, can no more fall away than the 
angels, which are fixed stars in their heavenly 
orbs. 

The arguments to prove the perpetuation 
of grace are : 

1. God's election ; this I ground upon Rom. 
viii. 29, 30, " Whom he did foreknow, he 
also did predestinate." Predestination is the 
grand cause of the saints' preservation ; God 
chooseth as well to salvation as to faith, 2 
Thess. ii. 13. What shall make God's elec- 
tion void 1 

2. The power of God, 1 Pet. i. 5, " We 
are kept by the power of God through faith 
unto salvation." I deny not but grace in 
itself may perish (our grace is no better coin 
than Adam's), but grace in God's keeping 
cannot ; the saints' graces of themselves may 
break as glasses, but these glasses in the 
hand of God never break. 

3. God's solemn engagement ; the Lord 
hath passed it under hand and seal ; he hath 
given bond for the saints' perseverance, Jer. 
xxxii. 40, "I will make an everlasting cove- 
nant with them, that I will not turn away 
from them, and they shall not depart from 
me." A believer's charter is confirmed un- 
der the broad seal of heaven ; and if grace 
doth not endure to eternity, it is either be- 
cause God wants power to make good what 
he hath decreed, or truth to make good what 
he hath promised ; either of which to assert 
were blasphemy. 

Besides all this, Jesus Christ our blessed 
high priest, who hath the golden plate on 
his forehead, appears in the court ; and as he 
poured out blood on the cross, so he pours 
forth prayers in heaven for the saints' perse- 
verance, Heb. vii. 25, "He ever liveth to 
make intercession for them." And Christ is 
not only a priest, but a son ; therefore likely 
to prevail ; and which puts the matter out of 
doubt, what Christ prays for as he is man, he 
hath power to give as he is God, John xvii. 
24, "Father, I will:" "Father," there he 
prays as man ; " I will," there he gives as 
God. 

So that grace is an abiding thing ; Chris- 
tians, you may lose your friends, your estates, 
5D 



your lives, but you shall never lose your 
grace. Those who hold falling away from 
grace, would make a believer wear Cain's 
mark, which was a continual shaking and 
trembling in his flesh; they would spill a 
Christian's cordial, and break a link of the 
chain of salvation. 

2. Use. Trial : let us try whether our grace 
be true ; there is something looks like grace 
which is not. Chrysostom saith the devil 
hath a counterfeit chain to all the graces, and 
he would deceive us with it. Lapidaries have 
ways to try their precious stones ; let us try 
our grace by a Scripture touchstone : the 
painted Christian shall have a painted para- 
dise. 

1. The truth of grace is seen by a displa- 
cency and antipathy against sin, Ps. cxix. 
104, "I hate every false way:" grace sets 
itself against complexion sins, Ps. xviii. 23, 
and against the sins of the times, Rev. ii. 2. 

2. Grace is known by the growth of it, 
growth evidenceth life. Dead things grow 
not ; a picture will not grow ; a hypocrite, 
who is but a picture of religion, doth not 
grow ; a good Christian grows in love to 
Christ, in humility, in good works, Psalm 
xcii. 12. Hos. xiv. 5, " He shall grow as the 
lily, his branches shall spread, and his beauty 
shall be as the olive tree, and his smell as 
Lebanon." When the Spirit of God distils 
as dew upon the soul, it makes grace flourish, 
and put forth into maturity. 

3. True grace will make us willing to 
suffer for Christ. Grace is like gold, it will 
abide the " fiery trial," 1 Pet. i. 7. And if 
upon a serious scrutiny and trial we find that 
we have the right jewel, " the grace of God 
in truth," Col. i. 6, this will be a deathbed 
cordial ; we may with Simeon, " depart in 
peace," being assured that though we can- 
not resist death, yet we shall overcome it. 

Use 3. Direction. Let me lay down two or 
three directions for the attaining of grace. 

1st Direction. If we would be enriched 
with this jewel of grace, let us take pains for 
it ; we are bid to make a hue and cry after 
knowledge, and to search for it, as a man 
that searcheth for a vein of gold, Prbv. ii. 2, 
3. Our salvation cost Christ blood, it will 
cost us sweat. 



762 



SELECT SERMONS. 



2. Let us go to God for grace ; he is called ' 
« the God of all grace," 1 Pet. v. 10. We 
could lose grace of ourselves, but we cannot 
find it of ourselves. The sheep can wander 
from the fold, but cannot return without the 
help of the shepherd ; go to the God of all 
grace ; God is the first planter, the promoter, 
the perfecter of grace ; God is the Father of 
lights, James i. 17. He must light up this 
candle of grace in the soul ; grace is in his 
gift ; it is not an impropriation, but a dona- 
tive : O then go to God in prayer, lay thy 
heart before him ; Lord, I want grace ; I 
want an humble, believing heart, and thou 
art " the God of all grace, all my springs are 
in thee." O enrich me with grace, deny 
me not this before I die : what is gold in the 
bag, if I have no oil in the lamp ] give me 
" that anointing of God." 1 read in thy 
word of " the fruits of the Spirit ;" Lord, 
my heart is a barren soil, plant some of 
these supernatural fruits in me, that I may 
be more useful and serviceable ; Lord, 1 
cannot be put off with other things. Who 
wilt thou give grace to, if not to such 
as ask, and are resolved not to give over 
asking % 

3. If you would have grace, engage the 
prayers of others in your behalf ; he is like 
to be rich, who hath several stocks going ; 
he is in the way of spiritual thriving, who 
hath several stocks of prayer going for him. 
If you had a child that were sick, you would 
beg the prayers of others ; thou hast a soul 
that is sick, sick of pride, lust, " sick unto 
death ;" O beg the prayers of godly friends, 
that God will heal thee with his grace ; a 
Moses and Jacob have much power with 
God : believers can prevail sometimes not 
only for themselves, but for their friends, 
James v. 16. A godly man's prayers may 



do you more good than if he should bestow 
upon you all his lands of inheritance. 

4. If you would have grace, frequent the 
means of grace, lie at the pool of Bethesda, 
wait at the posts of wisdom's door. Inward 
grace is wrought by outward means ; the 
preaching of the word is God's engine that 
he useth for working grace ; it is called " the 
rod of his strength," Psalm ex. 2, and "the 
breath of his lips," Isa. xi. 4. By this he 
causeth breath to enter ; out of this golden 
pipe of the sanctuary, God empties the 
golden oil of grace into the soul ; the ministry 
of the gospel is called " the ministry of the 
Spirit," 2 Cor. viii, because the Spirit of 
God ordinarily makes use of this to work 
grace ; this ministry of the Spirit is to be 
preferred before the ministry of angels. 

Quest. Why is the word preached the 
ordinary means to convey grace 1 why not 
conference or reading] 

Ans. The reason is, because God hath 
appointed it to this end, and he will grace 
his own ordinances, 1 Cor. i. 21, "it pleased 
God." What reason could be given why 
the waters of Damascus should not have as 
sovereign virtue to heal Naaman's leprosy 
as the waters of Jordan 1 only this, because 
the Lord did appoint and sanctify the one to 
this work, and not the other ; if therefore we 
would have grace, let us wait where the 
manna falls, and there expect the dew of the 
Spirit to fall with manna ; the power of God 
goes along with his word. 

How should we delight in ordinances ! 
Sleidan saith there was a church in France 
formerly, which the Protestants called Para- 
dise ; as if they thought themselves in para- 
dise while they were in the house of God ; 
those ordinances should be our paradise, 
which are "the power of God to salvation." 



THE TREES OF RIGHTEOUSNESS BLOSSOMING, AND BRING- 
ING FORTH FRUIT. 

Phil. i. 11. "Being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, 
unto the glory and praise of God." 



The blessed apostle in this chapter makes a 
solemn prayer to God for these Philippians ; 



and amongst the rest, he puts up two rare 
petitions for them. 



SELECT SERMONS. 



763 



L That they might be sincere. Verse 10. 

2. That they might be fruitful, in the words 
of the text, " Being filled with the fruits of 
righteousness," &c. Where is observable, 

1. The matter, " Being filled with fruits." 

2. The manner of production, " by Jesus 
Christ." 

3. The end, " which are to the glory and 
praise of God." 

Doctrine from whence this great truth doth 
result, " That Christians should above all 
things endeavour after fruitfulness." The 
saints are called " trees of righteousness," 
Isa. lxi. 3. These rational trees must not 
only bring forth leaves, but fruit ; " Being 
filled with the fruits of righteousness." For 
the further amplifying of this, there are two 
things to be inquired into. 

1. How a Christian brings forth fruit. 

2. What is the fruit he brings forth. 

1. How a Christian brings forth fruit. I 
answer ; he brings forth fruit " in the vine ;" 
by nature we are barren ; there is not one 
good blossom growing on us ; but when by 
faith we are ingrafted into Christ, then we 
grow and fructify, John xv. 4, " As the 
branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it 
abide in the vine, no more can ye except ye 
abide in me." Jesus Christ is that blessed 
root which shoots up that sap of grace into 
his branches. The Pelagians tell us we have 
sufficiency of ourselves to bring forth good 
fruit : but how improper is this ] doth not the 
root contribute to the branches 1 is it not of 
Christ's precious fulness that we receive 1 
John i. 16. Therefore it is observable Christ 
calls the spouse's grace his grace, Cant. v. 1, 
" I have gathered my myrrh with my spice." 
Christ saith not, thy myrrh, but my myrrh. 
If the saints bear any spiritual fruit, they are 
beholden to Christ for it, it is his myrrh, Hos. 
xiv. 8, " From me is thy fruit found." 

2. What that fruit is which a good Chris- 
tian brings forth. Answer ; it is 

1. Inward fruit. 2. Outward fruit. 3. 
Kindly fruit. 4. Seasonable fruit. 

1. A Christian brings forth inward fruit : 
" Love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, 
goodness, faith," Gal. v. 22. Thus fruit is 
sweet, and mellow, growing under the Sun 
of righteousness ; this is that ripe fruit God 
delights to taste of, Micah vii. 1. 



2. A Christian brings forth outward fruit. 

(1) . The fruit of good discourse, Prov. xv. 
4, " A wholesome tongue is a tree of life." 
Gracious speeches fall from the lips of a god- 
ly man. as fruit from a tree. 

(2) . The fruit of good works, Col. i. 10. 
God will say at the last day, show me thy 
faith by thy works, James ii. 18. A true 
saint doth all the good he can, " honouring 
the Lord with his substance ;" he knows he 
is to be in the world but a while, therefore 
lives much in a little time, and crowds up a 
great deal of work in a little room ; it was 
Christ's speech not long before his suffering, 
" I have finished the work which thou gavest 
me to do," John xvii. 4. How can they be 
said to finish their work, that never yet be- 
gan a good work 7 

3. A Christian brings forth kindly fruit. 
The godly man bringeth forth his fruit, Ps. 
i. 3. That is, he brings forth that fruit which 
is proper for him to bear. But what is this 
kindly and proper fruit 1 I answer, when we 
are good in our callings and relations : in a 
magistrate, justice is kindly fruit, Deut. xvi. 
19, in a minister, zeal, Acts xvii. 16, in a 
parent, instruction, Deut. iv. ]0, in a child, 
reverence, Eph. vi. 1, in a master, good ex- 
ample, Gen. xviii. 19, Eph. vi. 9, in a ser- 
vant, obedience, 1 Pet ii. 18, in the husband, 
love, Eph. v. 25, in the wife, submission, 
Eph. v. 22, in a tradesman, diligence, Exod. 
xx. 9, in a soldier innocence, Luke iii. 14. 
A tree of God's planting brings forth his 
fruit, that which is suitable and proper. I 
shall never believe him to be good, that 
doth not bear kindly fruit; a good Chris- 
tian but a bad master; a good Christian, 
but a bad parent, doth not sound well. 
That minister can no more be good which 
wants zeal, than that wine is good which 
wants spirits ; that magistrate can no more 
be good which wants justice, than that pillar 
is good which is not upright. ^That child can 
no more be good who doth not honour his 
parent, than a traitor can be said to be loyal. 
When Absalom did rise up in rebellion 
against his father, the mule which he rode 
upon (as if she were weary of carrying such 
a burthen) resigns up her load to the great 
thick oak, and there left him hanging by the 
head betwixt heaven and earth, as neither fit 



764 



SELECT SERMONS. 



to ascend the one, nor worthy to tread upon 
the other. 

Let Christians be persuaded to bring forth 
proper and genuine fruit, and shine forth in 
their relations : consider, 

1. He who is not good in his relations, 
goes under the just suspicion of a hypocrite ; 
let a man seem to be a penitent, or zealot, 
yet if he bear not fruit proper to his station, 
he is no tree of righteousness, but some wild 
degenerate plant. There are some will pray, 
hear sermons, discourse well ; this is good : 
but " what means the bleating of the sheep V' 
they are not good in their relations ; this 
discovers they are foundered and unsound. 
A good Christian labours to fill his relations, 
and to go through all the parts of religion, as 
the sun through all the signs of the zodiac. 
I like not those Christians, who, though they 
seem to be travelling to heaven, yet leave the 
duties of their relations as a terra incognita, 
which they never come near. 

2. The excellency of a Christian is to 
bring forth proper fruit ; wherein lies the 
goodness of a member in the body, but to 
discharge its proper office ] the eye is to see, 
the ear to hear, &c. So the excellency of a 
Christian is to bring forth that fruit which 
God hath assigned to him : what is a thing 
good for which doth not do its proper work ? 
what is a clock good for that will not strike 1 
what is a ship good for that will not sail ] 
what is a rose good for that doth not smell 1 
what is that professor good for that doth not 
send forth a sweet perfume in his relations 1 
the commendation of a thing is when it puts 
forth its proper virtue. 

3. Not to bring forth suitable fruit, spoils 
all the other fruit which we bring forth. If a 
man were to make a medicine, and should 
leave out the chief ingredient, the medicine 
would lose its virtue. If one were to draw a 
picture, and should leave out an eye, it would 
spoil the picture ; there are many to whom 
Christ will say at the day of judgment as to the 
young man, Luke xviii. 22, " Yet lackest thou 
one thing." Thou hast prayed, and fasted, and 
heard sermons, " yet lackest thou one thing," 
thou hast not been good in thy relations. 

4. Relative graces do much beautify and 
set off a Christian : it is the beauty of a star 



to shine in its proper orb ; relative grace doth 
bespangle a Christian. 

5. A good Christian brings forth seasonable 
fruit, Ps. i. 3, he that bringeth forth fruit in 
his season ; every thing is beautiful in his 
time, Eccl. iii. 11. That may be good at one 
time, which at another may be out of season. 
There is a great deal of skill in the right 
timing of a thing ; duties of religion must be 
performed in the fit juncture of time. 

1. Christian duties that relate to our neigh- 
bour must be observed in their season. 

(1) . Our reproving others must be sea- 
sonable. Reproof is a duty ; when we see 
others walk irregularly, like soldiers that 
inarch out of rank and file, we ought mildly, 
yet gravely, to tell them of their sin, Lev. 
xix. 17, but let this fruit be brought forth in 
its season. 

[1]. Do it privately ; Matt, xviii. 15, " Go 
and tell him his faults between him and thee 
alone." 

[2]. Do it when thou seest him in the best 
temper, not when his passions are up ; that 
were pouring oil on the flame ; but when 
his spirit is meekened and calmed ; you put 
the seal on the wax when it is soft and pli- 
able ; there is a time when men's spirits are 
more flexible and yielding ; now is the 
fittest time to stamp a reproof upon them, 
and it is likeliest to take impression. When 
Abigail reproved Nabal, it was in the right 
season ; not when he was in wine, but when 
he was in his wits, and was fit to hear a re- 
proof, 1 Sam. xxv. 37. 

[3]. Another season for reproof is in the 
time of affliction : affliction tames men's 
spirits, and now a word of reproof spoken 
prudentially may work with the affliction : a 
bitter potion is not refused if in case of ex- 
tremity of pain. Affliction opens the ear to 
discipline. 

(2) . Our comforting others must be sea- 
sonable ; Prov. xv. 23, " A word spoken in 
due season, how good is it 1" When we 
see one fallen into sin, and with Peter weep- 
ing bitterly, O now a word of comfort will 
do well. The incestuous Corinthian being 
deeply humbled, the apostle calls for oil and 
wine to be poured into his wounds ; 2 Cor. 
ii. 7, " Ye ought rather to comfort him," 



SELECT SERMONS. 



765 



and the reason is given, " lest perhaps such 
an one should be swallowed up of sorrow." 
When the soul is wounded for sin, now bring 
the mollifying ointment of a promise, Jer. 
iii. 1, hang out free grace's colours, display 
the glory of God's attributes, his mercy and 
truth to the sinner ; when the spirit is broken, 
a word of comfort spoken in season, is the 
putting it in joint again, this is to bring 
forth seasonable fruit, when we give wine to 
them that are of a heavy heart ; " Pleasant 
words are as a honey-comb, sweet to the 
soul." Job's friends pretended to comfort 
him, but instead of pouring oil into the 
wound, they poured in vinegar. 

2. Duties of religion that relate to God 
must be performed in their season. 

(1) . Mourning for sin is a duty ; God loves 
a contrite heart ; Psalm li. 17, how powerful 
with God is the weeping rhetoric that a poor 
sinner useth ! but yet there is a time when 
weeping may not be so seasonable ; when 
God hath given us some eminent signal de- 
liverance, and this mercy calls aloud to us to 
rejoice, but we hang our harps on the willows 
and sit weeping ; this sadness is fruit out of 
season ; there was a special time at the feast 
of tabernacles, when God called his people 
to rejoicing ; " Seven days shalt thou keep a 
solemn feast unto the Lord thy God, and 
thou shalt surely rejoice." 

Now, if the Israelites had sat heavy and 
disconsolate at that time when God called 
them to rejoicing, it had been very unsea- 
sonable, like mourning at a wedding ; when 
we are called to thanksgiving, and we mingle 
our drink with tears, is not this to be highly 
unthankful for mercy 1 God would have his 
people humble, but not ungrateful. It is the de- 
vil's policy either to keep us from duty, or else 
to put us upon it when it is least in season. 

(2) . Rejoicing is a duty ; Psalm xxxiii. 1. 
But when God by some special providence 
calls us to weeping, now joy is unseason- 
able ; this is that which God complains of, 
Isa. xxii. 12, " In that day did the Lord of 
hosts call to weeping, and behold joy and 
gladness," &c. CEcolampadius and others 
think it was in the time of king Ahaz, when 
the signs of God's anger, like a blazing star, 
did appear ; now to be given to mirth was 



very unseasonable, ver. 14, " Surely this ini- 
quity shall not be purged from you till ye 
die, saith the Lord God of hosts ;" it is a 
concise form of an oath, as if God had said, 
I swear it shall not by any prayer or sacrifice 
be expiated ; the fruit of joy must be brought 
forth in its season. To read at home, when 
the word is a-preaching, or the sacrament 
celebrating, is unseasonable, nay sinful, as 
Hushai said, 2 Sam. xvii.7, " The counsel 
is not good at this time :" one duty is to 
prepare for another, but not to jostle out 
another ; fruit must put forth seasonably. 
The great God who hath appointed the 
duties of his worship, hath appointed also 
the time. If, when public ordinances are 
administered, any person, whether out of 
pride or sloth, shall stay at home, though he 
may have his private devotions, yet he brings 
forth fruit out of season, and let that man 
know he shall bear his sin. 

Let all the trees of righteousness bring 
forth seasonable fruit; in prosperity be 
thankful, in adversity patient. " To every 
thing there is a season," Eccl. iii. 1. The 
Psalmist saith, " He appointed the moon for 
seasons," Psalm civ. 19. 

To excite to seasonable fruit, consider, 

1. The seasonableness of a thing puts a va- 
lue and preciousness upon it. Duties of reli- 
gion performed in their season are glorious. 

2. Creatures, by the instinct of nature, 
observe their season ; Jer. viii. 7, " Yea the 
stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed 
times, and the turtle," &c. and shall not 
Christians observe their seasons, when to 
mourn, when to rejoice ? 

3. Duties of religion not well timed are 
dangerous : mourning in a time of joy, pri- 
vate duties in time of public, is unseasonable, 
and will prove prejudicial. 

Use 1. Inform. It shows us who is a 
Christian in God's calendar, namely, the 
fruit-bearing Christian. As soon as the sap 
of grace is infused, it puts forth itself in 
evangelical fruit. No sooner was Paul con- 
verted, but he became a plant of renown, he 
did bring forth rare fruit, humility, faith, 
heavenly-mindedness ; he was one of the 
most fruitful trees that ever God planted in 
his vineyard. The jailer, when God had 



766 



-SELECT SERMONS. 



changed him from a wild tree, to a tree of 
righteousness, brought forth sweet and gen- 
erous fruit. How kindly did he use the apos- 
tles 1 he set meat before them, and washed 
their wounds ; he who was before their jailer, 
becomes now their nurse and physician. 

Use 2. Reproof. Here is an indictment 
against three sorts. 

Branch 1. Such as bring forth no fruit; 
Hos. x. 1, " Israel is an empty vine." O 
how many unfruitful hearers are there, who 
evaporate into nothing but froth and fume, 
being like those ears which run out all into 
straw ! they give God neither the early fruit 
nor the latter. There are many Christians 
like arbours, covered only with the leaves of 
profession ; they may be compared to the 
wood of the vine, which is good for nothing, 
Ezek. xv. 2. He who hath not the fruits of 
the Spirit, hath not the Spirit, and " he who 
hath not the Spirit is none of Christ's, Rom. 
viii. 9, and if he be not Christ's, whose is he 
then ? I fear the sin of this age is unfruit- 
fulness. Never more labouring in God's 
vineyard, and yet never less fruit ; instead of 
the fig-tree and the pomegranate, we have 
abundance of barren willows growing among 
us ; ministers say they fear they " spend 
their labour in vain ;" many are perverted, 
few converted. To the unfruitful Christian 
let me say four things. 

1. Unfruitfulness is a shame : barrenness 
of old was counted a great shame. For a 
tree in winter to be unfruitful is no great 
wonder ; but in the spring and summer, to 
be without fruit, is a reproach to the tree : 
so, in the winter of ignorance and popery, to 
have less fruit was less culpable ; but in the 
spring-time of the gospel, when the Sun of 
Righteousness hath shined so gloriously in 
our horizon, now to be without fruit is a re- 
proach not to be wiped away. 

2. What account can the unfruitful Chris- 
tian give to God 1 God will come with this 
question, Where is your fruit? a godly man 
dies full of fruit ; Job v. 26, " Thou shalt - 
come to thy grave in full age, like as a shock 
of corn," &c. The unfruitful Christian 
comes to his grave, not as a shock of corn, 
but as a bundle of straw, fit only for the 
fire ; it is good to bethink ourselves what 



answer we shall give to God for our barren- 
ness. The Lord hath planted us in a rich 
soil ; he may say to us as to his vineyard, 
Isa. v. 1, " My beloved hath a vineyard in a 
very fruitful hill, and he fenced it, and 
planted it with the choicest vine," &c. " and 
he looked that it should bring forth grapes, 
and it brought forth wild grapes," (in a hill) 
hilly places are judged the fittest for vines to 
grow in, Psalm lxxx. 10, there the sun comes 
best, and is of more force for ripening the 
grapes. 

In a fruitful hill, that is in a very fat, rich 
soil. So may God say to us, I have planted 
you in a hilly place, you have been higher 
than the nations round about you, you have 
even been lifted up to heaven with ordi- 
nances ; the sunbeams of mercy, and Sion's 
silver drops, have fallen upon you ; but where 
is your fruit 1 your enjoyments are great, 
but what are your improvements 1 whom God 
finds without fruit, he leaves without excuse. 

3. They that do not bring forth good fruit, 
shall never taste of the fruits that grow in 
heaven. Heaven is the garden of God, the 
paradise of pleasure, where the most rare 
delicious fruits grow ; there are fruits that 
the angels themselves delight to feed on : 
now, if you do not bring God your fruit, 
you shall never taste his fruit : you that do 
not bring forth the fruits of righteousness, 
shall never taste the fruits of paradise. O 
present Christ with your sweet spices, give 
him your myrrh, your spiced wine ; your 
myrrh, that is, repentance ; this, though it 
be bitter to you, is sweet to Christ. Those 
who have no myrrh or wine to give to God, 
shall never feed upon the Tree of Life, which 
bears several sorts of fruit. 

4. Think of the heavy doom which will be 
passed upon the unfruitful person, Matt, 
xxv. 30, " Cast ye the unprofitable servant 
into outer darkness." This man had not 
embezzled his talent, but because he did not 
trade with it, and bring forth fruit, he is 
therefore sentenced. 

Branch 2. It proves such as bring forth 
evil fruit. They are not the trees of the 
garden, but the wilderness ; their hearts are 
a fruitful soil for sin, they bring forth pride, 
malice, superstition, &c. 



SELECT SERMONS. 



767 



Branch 3. It reproves such as bring forth 
good fruit, but to a bad end, Hos. x. 1, " Is- 
rael is an empty vine, he bringeth forth fruit 
unto himself :" a man had as good bring forth 
no fruit, as bring forth fruit unto himself. 

Quest. What is it for one to bring forth 
fruit unto himself 7 

Ans. When all the good he doth is for the 
magnifying of himself ; the worm of pride 
gets into his fruit and spoils it. Prayer is 
good ; but when a man prays only to show his 
parts, this is to bring forth fruit unto himself : 
some pride it in their humbling confessions, 
which is as if Benhadad's servants had been 
proud when they came before the king with 
ropes upon their heads, 1 Kings xx. 31. 
Works of mercy are good, but when a man 
gives alms, not so much to feed the poor, as 
to feed his pride, now he brings forth fruit to 
himself, and this fruit is worm-eaten. God 
will say to all such self-seekers, as once he 
did to the people of the Jews, Zech. vii. 5, 
" When ye fasted and mourned, did ye at all 
fast unto me, even to me ?" Sinners, did ye 
not bring forth fruit unto yourselves 7 

Use 3. Exhort. Branch 1. Let this exhort 
all to fruitfulness. How happy were it, if it 
might be said of us as of Joseph, Gen. xlix. 
22, "Joseph is a fruitful bough ?" We love 
to see every thing fruitful : if there be a tree 
in our orchard, though with ever such fair 
leaves, we value it not unless there be fruit ; 
when you come into your garden, you com- 
plain if you see no fruit ; such a root is set, 
but it doth not grow ; we love to see fruit- 
fulness every where, and why not in our 
hearts 1 O let the precious grapes and figs 
we bear, evidence that we are trees of God's 
planting. We often plant trees to be a shade 
to the house ; God cares for no such trees as 
are only for shade, he loves fruit. Arabia is 
called Felix, because of the sweet fruits which 
grow there, frankincense, with other per- 
fumes and spices. That Christian may be 
entitled Felix, happy, that hath the sweet 
fruits of the Spirit growing in his heart ; be 
fruit-bearing trees. This is the emblem of 
a good Christian, he is never without fruit, 
either blooming in his affections, or fructify- 
ing in his conversation. 

That I may persuade Christians to fruit- 



fulness, I desire them to weigh these five 
things. 

1. Fruit is that which God expects from us, 
w r e are his plantations ; and, " Whoplanteth 
a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit there- 
of]" 1 Cor. ix. 7. Let us not be as Pharaoh's 
kine, which devoured the fat, and yet still 
were lean ; let us not be still devouring ser- 
mons, yet never the fatter. 

2. Fruitfulness is one of the most distinc- 
tive characters of a Christian ; Prov. xii. 12, 
" The root of the righteous yieldeth fruit." 
Fruitfulness differeth a saint from a hypo- 
crite ! the hypocrite is all for show and pre- 
tence, he hath fair leaves, but the " root of 
the righteous yieldeth fruit ;" fruit can no 
more be separated from faith, than moisture 
from the air, it is the very definition of a 
branch in Christ, " it bears fruit," John xv. 
2. As a man differs from a beast by reason, 
a beast differs from a plant by sense, a plant 
differs from a stone by vegetation ; so a good 
Christian differs from a hypocrite by fruit. 
Fruitfulness puts a difference between the 
sound tree and the hollow tree. 

Quest. But may not hypocrites^bring forth 
fruit ? 

Ans. 1. They do not bring .forth fruit in 
the Vine ; they bring forth in the strength of 
parts, not in the strength of Christ. 

2. Hypocrites bring forth something like 
fruit, but it is not the right fruit. 

1. The fruit they bear is not sweet. The 
crab may bear fruit as well as the pearmain ; 
but this excels in sweetness. The hypocrite 
may pray and give alms as well as a child of 
God, but there is a difference in the fruit ; 
the fruit of the regenerate is mellow, it is 
sweetened with faith, it is ripened with love. 
The hypocrite's fruit is sour and harsh ; he 
doth not bring forth pomegranates, but crabs, 
not figs, but wild grapes. 

2. The seeming fruit of hypocrites dies 
and comes to nothing, John xv. 6, " He is 
cast forth as a branch, and is withered." The 
hypocrite's fruit is like the grass upon the 
house tops, which withereth before it grow- 
eth up, Ps. cxxix. 6. Matt. xiii. 6. 

3. Fruitfulness adorns a Christian ; the 
fruit adorns the tree ; a fruit-bearing Chris- 
tian is an ornament to religion ; the more 



768 



SELECT SERMONS. 



fruitful the branch is, the more fair to look 
on. A dead tree, as it is unserviceable, so it 
is uncomely. A Christian, decked with the 
fruits of righteousness, is beautiful and glo- 
rious. 

4. Fruitfulness is a good evidence to show 
for heaven ; the fruits of love, humility, good 
works, are (as St Bernard saith) seeds of 
hope, signs of predestination, the happy 
presages of future glory. The righteousness 
of faith is always accompanied with the fruits 
of righteousness. He that can show good 
fruit, goes full sail to heaven. 

5. God delights in his fruitful trees ; when 
his garden flourisheth he will walk there ; he 
who curseth the barren tree, will taste of the 
fruitful tree, Cant. v. 1, " I am come into 
my garden, my sister, my spouse : I have 
gathered my myrrh with my spice." 

2. Branch. It exhorts them that do bear 
fruit, that they would bring forth more fruit ; 
do not think you have fruit enough, but bring 
forth further degrees of sanctity, John xv. 2, 
" Every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth 
it that it may bring forth more fruit." Grace 
is like the morning light which increaseth 
more and more to the full meridian of glory. 
Christians should be like that ground in the 
parable which brought forth "some sixty, 
some a hundred fold," Matt. xiii. 8. He who 
hath a little gold labours to increase it ; and 
is not grace more precious than gold 1 some 
Christians have a little fruit, and they think 
that is well ; like trees that have an apple or 
two growing upon them to show that they 
are of the right kind, Isa. xvii. 6, " Two or 
three berries in the top of the uppermost 
bough." They are like the church of Phila- 
delphia which had "a little strength," Rev. 
iii. 8, so they have a little faith, a spark of 
love. Christ chides a little faith, Matt. xiv. 
31. Christians should increase with the in- 
crease of God, Col. ii. 19. Christ compares 
the breasts of the spouse to clusters of grapes, 
for fruitfulness, Cant. vii. 7. O labour to be 
Christians of degrees ; the apostle prays for 
the Philippians that their love might abound 
" yet more and more," Phil. i. 9. 

Now that I may press Christians who have 
fruit, to bring forth more fruits of patience, 
humility, love, &c. Consider, 



1. This is the end why we have new cost 
laid out upon us, that we should bring forth 
more fruit. The Lord is still manuring us ; 
not a week, not a day, but he is at new cost 
with us, he rains down golden showers ; and 
why is God at all this charge with us, but 
that we may bring forth more fruit 1 

2. The fuller we are of fruit, the more we 
are like Christ, who was " full of grace and 
truth," John i. 14, he received the Spirit 
without measure," John iii. 34. This tree of 
life was ever bearing ; and he brought forth 
several sorts of fruit, wisdom, righteousness, 
sanctification, &c. The more we are filled 
with the fruits of righteousness, the more we 
resemble the Sun of Righteousness. We 
were elected to this end, to be made like 
Christ, Rom. viii. 30, and then are we most 
like this blessed Vine when we bear full 
clusters. 

3. The more fruit a Christian brings forth, 
the more will Christ love him. " Now, saith 
Leah, will my husband, be joined unto me, 
because I have born him three sons," Gen. 
xxix. 34. When we bear much fruit, now 
will Christ's heart be joined to us. Christ 
will pardon a weak faith, he will honour a 
great faith. It was not a sparkle of faith Christ 
commended in Mary Magdalene, but love 
flaming, Luke vii. 74, " she loved much." 
Christians, would you be like that beloved dis- 
ciple which " leaned on the bosom of Jesus V* 
would you have much love from Christ? let 
him have much fruit from you. 

4. Bearing much fruit will usher in abun- 
dance of comfort into the soul in these two 
exigencies. 

(1) . In the hour of tentation. Satan will 
be sure to besiege the weakest Christian ; all 
his darts fly that way, and a strong tentation 
may overcome a weak faith ; but a flourishing 
faith stands like a cedar, and is not blown 
down by the wind of tentation ; a strong faith 
can stop the mouth of the devil, that roaring 
lion, 1 Pet. v. 9. 

(2) . Store of fruit will give comfort in the 
hour of death ; a little grace will make us 
above the fear of death ; O what joy will it 
be on the deathbed, when a Christian can 
bring his sheaves full of corn ! when he can 
show his five talents that he hath gained by 



SELECT SERMONS. 



769 



trading ! when there is not only a drop or 
two of oil, but his lamp full of oil ! what 
though the devil show God our debts, if we 
can show him our fruit. O how sweet will 
death be ! it will not be a destruction, but a 
deliverance. — Death, like a whirlwind, may 
blow down the tree of the body, but it can- 
not blast the fruit of our graces. The trees 
of righteousness carry their fruit with them, 
Rev. xiv. 13, "Their works follow them." 
The Christian who abounds in holiness may 
say as Simeon, Luke ii. 29, " Lord, now let- 
test thou thy servant depart in peace." He 
who bears but a little fruit departs in safety ; 
but he who bears much fruit departs in peace. 

5. Consider what need we have to be 
putting forth still more fruit ; our graces are 
yet in their nonage ; indeed in heaven this 
dcctrine will be out of season, we shall not 
need to hear it ; then we shall have done 
growing, being arrived at our full stature ; 
then our light shall be clear, and our love 
perfect ; but while we live here, there is 
something " lacking in our faith," 1 Thess. 
iii. 10, therefore we had need increase the 
stock of grace, and bring forth more fruit. 
Our grace is eclipsed with sin, our faith is 
full of unbelief ; now as when the sun is 
eclipsed, it is by degrees getting out of the 
eclipse, and it shines brighter and brighter, 
till it recovers its perfect lustre ; so it must 
be with us, we must be getting out of the 
eclipse till once we shall arrive at our perfect 
lustre in glory. 

6. He who doth not increase to more 
fruitfulness will soon be on the losing hand ; 
he that hath not more faith will quickly have 
less ; " Thou hast left thy first love." It is 
with grace as it is with fire ; if it be not 
blown up and increased, it will soon decay. 
Such as thrive not in their spiritual estate, 
we may perceive sadly to decline. Though 
a Christian cannot lose the seed of grace, 
yet he may lose the actings of grace, and 
the comfort ; therefore bring forth more fruit : 
no sooner doth a Christian begin to stand 
still, but you may perceive him going back- 
ward. 

7. The more your fruit is increased, the 
more your glory is increased ; he whose 
pound gained ten, was made ruler over ten 

5E 



cities. If you would have your crown hung 
full of jewels, let your boughs be hung full of 
fruit. 

Use 4. Direction. The last use is of direc- 
tion. I shall lay down some means to fruit- 
fulness. 

1. Be sensible of unfruitfulness. Many 
might have been fruitful in grace, if they 
had not conceited themselves so j he that 
thinks himself fruitful enough, is barren 
enough ; be sensible of your wants ; it is 
better to complain than presume. 

2. If you would be fruitful, remove those 
things which will hinder fruitfulness. 

(1) . Cherishing any secret lust in the 
heart ; sin lived in, is like vermin to the tree, 
which destroys the fruit ; grace cannot thrive 
in a sinful heart. 

(2) . The love of riches ; " The cares of 
the world choked the seed," Matt. xiii. The 
love of sin poisons the fruit, the love of rich- 
es chokes it . 

3. The third means to fruitfulness is weep- 
ing for sin. Moisture helps germination in 
trees ; holy tears do water the trees of God, 
and make them more fruitful. Mary Magda- 
lene, a weeping plant, how fruitful was she 
in love to Christ 1 moist grounds, as your 
marshes, are most fertile : the soul that is 
moistened and steeped in tears, is mostfrugi- 
ferous : never did David's graces flourish more 
than when he watered his couch with tears. 

4. If you would be fruitful, often apply the 
blood of Christ, and the promises. 

(1) . Apply the blood of Christ. Natural- 
ists say, that blood applied to the root of 
some trees makes them bear better. Sure I 
am, the blood of Christ applied to the heart, 
makes it flourish more in holiness. None so 
fruitful as a believer ; " I know," saith St 
Paul, " whom I have believed ;" there was 
the applying blood to the root of the tree, 
and how fruitful was he in zeal, love to 
Christ, heroical courage ! He that believes 
Christ died for him, never thinks he can do 
or suffer enough for Christ. When we read 
and pray, now we do but water the branches ; 
when we believe, now we water the root of 
the tree and make it fruitful. 

(2) . Apply the promises. Husbandmen 
have an art to comfort the spirits of the root 



770 



SELECT SERMONS. 



to make the tree bear better : apply the pro- 
mises ; these are for comforting the spirits of 
a Christian, and then he puts forth fruit more 
vigorously. It is an experiment in nature, 
the root of the pine tree watered with wine 
doth cause it to flourish ; the promises are 
as wine to water the trees of righteousness, 
whereby they spread and augment more in 
grace. Ever preserve the spirits of the tree 
if you would have it bear ; a pensive dejected 
soul is less fruitful ; but when through the 
promises, a Christian's heart is cheered and 
comforted, now he is enriched with pleasant 
fruits ; he is like a tree laden with fruit. 

5. Another means to fruitfulness his humi- 
lity. The low grounds are most fruitful : 
" The valleys are covered with corn," Psalm 
lxv. 13. The humble heart is the fruitful 
heart. The largest and fairest fruits of the 
Spirit grow in a lowly Christian ; 1 Pet. v. 
5, " God gives grace to the humble." St 
Paul calls himself the least of saints, yet he 
was the chief of the apostles. The Virgin 
Mary was low in her own eyes, but this 
lowly plant did bear that blessed Vine which 
brought the fruit of salvation into the world. 

6. If you would be fruitful in grace, be 
much in good conference ; Mai. iii. 16, 
" Then they that feared the Lord spake often 
one to another." There is an observation 
some have concerning the sympathy of 
plants ; some plants will bear better near 
other trees than when they grow alone, as is 
seen in the myrtle and olive ; this holds true 
in divinity ; the trees of righteousness, when 
they associate and grow near together, thrive 
best in godliness. The communion of saints 
is an excellent means for fruitfulness. 
Christians increase one another's knowledge, 
strengthen one another's faith, clear one 
another's evidences. When the trees planted 
in God's orchard stand at a distance, and 
grow strange one to another, they are less 
fruitful. 

7. If you would be fruit-bearing trees, be 
near the water of the sanctuary ; Jer. xvii. 
8, " He shall be like a tree planted by the 
waters, and that spreadeth out the roots by 
the river ; her leaf shall be green, nor shall 
it cease from yielding fruit," The word 



preached will not only make us knowing 
Christians, but growing Christians. Minis- 
ters are compared to clouds, Isa. v. 6, their 
doctrine drops as the rain, and makes the 
trees of God fruitful. I wonder not that 
they are barren trees and nigh unto cursing, 
that are not under the droppings of the 
sanctuary ; a Christian can no more be fruit- 
ful without ordinances, than a tree without 
showers. 

8. And lastly, if you would fructify apace, 
go to God and desire him to make you 
fruitful ; God is called the husbandman, 
John xv. 1, and he hath an art above all 
other husbandmen ; they can plant and prune 
trees, but if they be dead they cannot make 
them bear. God can make the barren tree 
bear, he can put life into a dead tree, Eph. 
ii. 5. It is not Paul's planting, but the 
Spirit's watering, must give the increase. 

Pray to God to make you fruitful, though 
it be by affliction ; oftentimes God makes us 
grow in grace this way, Heb. xii. 11, " No 
chastening for the present seemeth to be 
joyous, but grievous ; nevertheless afterward 
it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteous- 
ness." The bleeding vine bears best : it is 
an observation that the pulling off some of 
the blossoms of a tree makes the fruit fairer ; 
the reason is, because the sap hath the less 
to nourish ; some writers say, they have 
known a tree by having too many blossoms, 
hath blossomed itself dead. The notion 
holds true in a spiritual sense ; God, by 
pulling off some of the blossoms of our 
comforts, makes us bring forth fairer fruit ; 
some have so blossomed in prosperity, that 
they have blossomed themselves into hell. 
It is an ancient experiment, that the planting 
some tender trees near the west sun doth 
them hurt, and parcheth the fruit, the sun 
being so extremely hot : too much prosperity, 
like the west sun, doth Christians much hurt, 
and parcheth all good affections, Jer. xxvii. 
21. O pray to God that he would make 
you fruitful, though it be by bleeding. Say, 
as Luther, Lord, wound where thou wilt, 
prune and cut me till I bleed, so that I may 
" have my fruit unto holiness, and my end 
everlasting life." Rom. vi. 22. 



AN 



ALPHABETICAL INDEX 

OF 

THE CHIEF SUBJECTS OF THIS BOOK. 



Asbtaining from external acts of sin, 

not sufficient to entitle us to salvation, 604 
Acts of sin, how we may keep from them, 596 
Adam, how long he continued in Para- 
dise before he fell, 95 
Adam's sin, how made ours, 98 
Adopted son, how free, 156 
Adoption, the instrumental cause of it, 156 
Adultery, the heinousness of it, where- 
in it appears, 318 
Afflictions of the godly, how they differ 

from those of the wicked, 232 
Affliction, what kindness there is in it, 

when God seems most unkind, 497 
Afflictions, how they contribute to our 

happiness, 502 
Afflictions, how they magnify us, 589 
Aggravations of Adam's sin, 97 
Aggravations of the loss of the kingdom 

of heaven, 455 
Angels, their society, how can it add to 
the happiness of souls, when God is 
infinite to fill the soul with delight % 439 
Anthropomorphites' objection answered, 35 
Apostacy from religion, whence it pro- 
ceeds, 451 
Appearance of evil, the mischief of it, 596 
Arguments to persuade us to seek after 

the obtaining the kingdom of heaven, 472 
Arian errors about the Holy Ghost re- 
futed, 78 
Arminians deny saints' perseverance, 

. and why, 188 
Assurance, what it is, 167 
Assurance, true, the difference between 

it and presumption, 168 
Assurance how to know if we have right 

to it, 170 
Assurance, what we must do to get it, 172 
Assurance, they that have it, how they 

must carry themselves, 172 
Atheist, the wickedest creature that is, 33 

B i 

Baptism, what it is, 362 
Believers, why they have not all the full 
enjoyment of peace, l\ 6 



Believers, privileges of, at death, 193 
Believers, how they come to have those 

privileges, 195 
Believers, how shall we know that we 

shall gain them at death ] 199 
Believers, privilege of, after death, 200 
Believers, when they enter upon posses- 
sion of glory, 202 
Benefits of believers at the resurrection, 203 
Benefits of God's children, what they 

are, 159 
Bodies, how shall we know they shall be 

raised at the resurrection, 205 
Bodies, since they must lie long in the 

grave, what shall support us till then 1 206 
Bodies of the saints shall be glorious at 

the resurrection, 206 



Cain went out from the presence of the 

Lord, what meant by it, 40 
Call, effectual, the means of it, 148 
Call, effectual, the qualifications of it, 149 
Cerinthian heretics, their error, 111 
Change in the new creature, wherein it 

consists, 625 
Charity, the excellency of it, 314 
Children, wherein they are to show their 

respect to their parents, 300 
Child of God, how it appears that he 

has worldly things in love, 389 
Christ, why called the Word, 111 
Christ, a prophet, how he teaches, 113 
Christ, what are the lessons he teaches, 113 
Christ's teaching, how it differs from 

others' teaching, 114 
Christ, what we shall do to have him for 

our teacher, 116 
Christ, the parts of his priestly office, 117 
Christ's sufferings, wherein the great- 
ness of them did appear, 117 
Christ, why he did suffer, 118 
Christ, who he intercedes for, and what 

he doeth in the work of intercession, 121 
Christ, how we may know that he inter- 
cedes for us, 125 
Christ, how he comes to be a king, 127 



772 



INDEX. 



Christ, in what sense he is a king, and 

where he rules, and what he rules by, 127 
Christ, when will he deliver his people, 128 
Christ, why born of a woman, 130 
Christ, why born of a virgin, 130 
Christ, why made flesh, 131 
Christ, how we shall know that he is 

formed in us, 134 
Christ, in what sense God exalted him, 

and how many ways, 137 
Christ's sitting at the right hand of God, 

what is meant by it, 138 
Christ, how he was made a curse for us, 241 
Christ, how he will preserve the saints' 

grace till they come to heaven, 398 
Christ's glory in heaven, how it can 

stand with it to have a fellow-feeling 

in our miseries, 573 
Christ, how he succours them that are 

tempted, 574 
Comforts of a pardoned soul, 544 
Comforts for those that bewail their want 

of growth, 434 
Commandments of God, how we must 

keep them, 265 
Convictions, what makes them prove 

abortive, 425 
Covenant, why God made one with Adam 

and his posterity, in innocency, and 

what it was, 89 
Covenant, why he gave it to Adam, since 

he saw he would transgress, 89 
Covenant of grace, what it is, 105 
Covenant ofgrace, why God would make 

such a covenant with us, 106 
Covenant of grace, how it differs from 

that made with Adam, 106 
Covenant ofgrace, if works be required 

in it, 106 
Covet, what it is, 333 
Covetousness, the danger of it, 334 
Creation, what it is, 80 
Creation and generation, difference be- 
tween them, 80 

D 

Darling-sin, otherwise called our own, 
how it may be known, 460, 595 

Day of judgment, how it appears there 
shall be one, 207 

Day of judgment, why must it be, 207 

Deceits, how many sorts there are, 604 

Decrees of God, what they are, and ex- 
ecution of them, 79 

Deliverance of the godly and wicked out 
of trouble, how they differ, 235 

Deliverances, how it may be known that 
they come out of love, 236 

Deliverances, when we are fitted for 
them, 236 

Deliverances, how we praise God in a 
right manner for them, 237 

Desires, unfeigned, how they may be 
known, 426 



Desires after heaven, wherein they come 
short, 454 

Dignity of such as have God for their 
Father, wherein it lies, 383 

Directions to obtain pardon of sin, 548 

Doing of God's will, why so requisite, 483 

Doing duty unseasonably, an effect of 
Satan's temptation, 568 

Doves, we should be like them in three 
respects, 616 

Drunkenness defaces God's image as 
much as any sin, 613 

Duty of Christians, is to be settled in the 
doctrine of faith. — Prelim. Disc. 5 

Duties of such as have their sins for- 
given, 547 

E 

Earth, wherein did it bear thorns in in- 
nocence, 82 
Elect people, how we shall know that 

we are such, 542 
Encouragements to faith in prayer, 403 
Encouragements to perseverance, 469 
End, chief of man, what it is, 8 
Enjoying of God, twofold, and what, 18 
Eternity of God, 45 
Eternity of God, comfortable to the god- 
ly, and frightening to the wicked, 45, 46 
Evidence of pardon, why it may not ap- 
pear for a time, 540 
Evil, what, we should pray to be deli- 
vered from, 584 
Examine, we must, our sins and graces, 373 



Faith, why more the condition of the 

new covenant, than any other grace, 106 
Faith, justifying, what it is, 144 
Faith, how it is wrought, 145 
Faith, the preciousness of it, wherein it 

lies, 145 
Faith, why it should justify and save 

more than any other grace, 146 
Faith, how to know if it be true, 146 
Faith, a most precious grace, and how it 

comes to be so, 350 
Faith, true, how it may be known, 352 
Fallen man could be restored no other 

way but by God's assuming flesh, 130 
False witnessing, what is condemned 

under it, 329 
Father, what meant by it in the fifth 

commandment, 296 
Father in heaven, how we show our 

honour to him, 387 
Forgiveness of sin, what it is, 525 
Forgive others, how can we, when God 

only forgives sin, 551 
Forgive, how we must, 553 



Gifts, whether sufficient for the ministe- 
rial office, 609 



INDEX. 



773 



516 
517 
518 
435 
9 
10 
11 
17 



Gifts, why itis said, give us, in the plural, 
Gifts, why they are called our bread, 
Gifts, bread, what is meant by it, 
Glory, what is comprehended in it, 
Glorify God, to, wherein it consists, 
Glorify God, why we must do it, 
God's glory, how we shall aim at it, 
God's glory, who fight against it, 
Glory of God ought to be preferred be- 
fore our personal concerns, 
God is the chief good, and how, 
God, that he is, proved, 
God is a spirit, what is meant by it, 
God, how he differs from other spirits, 
God, how we may conceive his being a 
spirit, without making an image or re- 
semblance of him, 
God, what kind of spirit he is, 
God, from what, and to what he calls 
men, 

God is a king, and how, 
God is a king, what this requires of us, 
God is a king, a comfort to the godly, 

and terror to the wicked, 
God, what it is to make him a God to us, 244 
God, what it is to have others besides the 
true God, 

[God spake all these words saying,] how 
we must understand them since he hath 
no bodily organs, 
God, how he comes to be our God, and 

what it implies, 
God, in what sense he is a Father, 
God's being Father to Christ, and to the 

elect, how differ, 
God, what makes him our Father, 
God that he is a Father, how to know it, 
God, that he is in heaven, what we may 

learn from it, 
God's name, what is meant by it, 
God's name dishonoured by all sorts of 

persons and how, 
Grace, how a Christian may be said to 

grow in it, 
Grace, why it must needs grow, 
Grace, why we should grow in it, 
Grace, how to comfort thern that do not 

grow in it, 
Grace, why called a kingdom, 
Greatness of sin, an argument for par- 
don, 



511 

20 
30 
34 
35 



36 



148 
417 
418 

419 



249 



219 

222 
382 

382 
382 
385 

402 
406 

411 

182 
183 
183 

185 
423 



538 



H 



Happiness of having God for our Father, 

wherein it lies, 391 
Hallowing of God's name, what is meant 

by it, 406 
How we may hallow God's name, 416 
Heart, how it may be bettered, 635 
Hell, how we shall know we are deliver- 
ed from it, 240 
Hell's torments consist of two parts, 590 
Holiness of God, what it is, 59 
Holiness, how we may resemble God in it, 62 



Holy Ghost, what is meant by his pow- 
er overshadowing the Virgin, 131 

Honour, what, is due to spiritual fathers, 297 

House of bondage, a type of Israel's de- 
liverance from sin, 237 

House, why it is put before the wife in 
the tenth commandment, 337 

Humiliation, wherein it comes short of 
grace, 435 

I 

Idolatrous places, a great blessing to be 

delivered from them, 228 
Idolatry, how we may be kept from, 253 
Idolatry, why we are so prone to it, 228 
Illumination, when it comes short of 

grace, 425 
Image-worship, the evil of it, 252 
Image of Christ, whether we may lawful- 
ly make it, 253 
Image, resemblance of God, if none law- 
ful, how shall we conceive of God 
aright, 253 
Indwelling presence of the Spirit, how 

to know if we have it, 171 
Infallibility and certainty of the kingdom 

of glory, wherein it appears, 444 
Infant baptism proved, 363 
Infant baptism, the benefit thereof, 363 
Intercession of Christ, what the fruits 

of it, 123 
Invocation of saints unlawful, 605 



Joys, divine, when God usually gives his 

people them, 178 
Joys, worldly and spiritual, the difference 

between them, 178 
Joy, spiritual, to be sought for, and why, 180 
Joy, spiritual, those that want it, how 

we shall comfort them, 181 
Judgment, general, when it will be, 208 
Justice of God, what it is, 63 
Justice of God, how it stands with it for 

sin committed in a moment, to punish 

it with eternal torment, 240 
Justified persons, in what sense they are 

redeemed from sin, 141 
Justification, what is meant by it, 152 
Justification, the material, meritorious, 

and efficacious cause of it, 152 
Justification, the instrument of it, 152 
Justification, the end of it, 152 
Justification, our, whether from eternity, 152 
Justification and sanctification, how 

they differ, 529 

K 

Kingdom, what is meant by it in the 
Lord's prayer, 420 

Kingdom of darkness, how many ways 
a natural man is in it, 421 

Kingdom of grace, why we should pray 
that it may come into our hearts, 423 



774 



INDEX. 



Kingdom of grace, what we shall do to 
obtain it, 431 

Kingdom of grace, when it increases in 
the soul, 432 

Kingdom of glory, what is meant by it, 441 

Kingdom of heaven, what it implies, 441 

Kingdom of heaven, wherein it excels 
all other kingdoms, 442 

Kingdom of heaven, when it shall be be- 
stowed, 444 

Kingdom of heaven, why we should so 
earnestly pray for it, 446 

Kingdom of heaven, how we shall know 
it is prepared for us, 452 

Kingdom of heaven, what we shall do 
that we may not miss it. 456 

Knowledge the chief work of conver- 
sion, 641 

Knowledge to do good, why not follow- 
ed with practice, 642 



Law, whether we may go to it for debt, 551 
Lead us not into temptation, the mean- 
ing of it, 555 
Live to God, what it is, 13 
Lord's death, how we are to remember 

it in the sacrament, 368 
Lord's Supper, what it is, 366 
Lord's Supper, whether it be oft to be 

administered, 370 
Lord's Supper, how we may receive it 

worthily, 370 
Loss will befall us, if we give oyer do- 
ing God's will, 490 
Love, what it is, 215 
Love to God, how it must be qualified, 215 

262 

Love to God, what are the visible 
signs of it, 216 

Love to God, how we may know whe- 
ther we do it, 262 

Love to God, incentive to inflame it, 264 

Loving any thing [more than God is to 
make it a God, 249 

M 

Man being in honour, abideth not ; how 
read, 95 

Mercy, how we may know if it belong 
to us, 261 

Misery of man by the fall, twofold, and 
what, 102 

Mistakes of sin being pardoned when it 
is not, 548 

Moderation, in what case it is good, 619 

Moral law, is it still in force to believ- 
ers 1 241 

Motions of the Spirit, how they may be 
known from a delusion, 467 

Motion, how to know when it comes from 
our own hearts, and when from Satan, 557 

Murder, how many ways it is committed, 307 

Murder, the heinousness of it, 308 



N 

Name of God, how we may take it in vain, 269 
Necessity why the kingdom of grace 

should be increased, 433 
Neighbour, how we may be kept from 

coveting what is his, 338 
New creature, what it is, 621 
New creature, does God give a new soul 

in it? 622 
New creature, what kind of work it is, 622 
New creature, the counterfeits of it, 623 
New creature, the necessity of being so, 628 



Obedience, how it must be qualified so 

as to be acceptable, 212 
Obedience, means in order to attain it, 214 
Obedience, perfect, to the moral law, 

cannot be given, 339 
Original sin, what names it has, 98 
Original sin has something primitive and 

positive in it, 98 
Original sin, the effects of it, 99 
Original sin, why God leaves it in us af- 
ter regeneration, 101 



Pardon of sin, why so few seek after it, 532 
Parents, how they should carry it to- 
wards their children, 305 
Participation, right of the sacrament in 

three things, 376 
Peace, the several kinds of it, 174 
Peace, whether graceless persons have it, 175 
Peace, true, the signs of it, 175 
Perseverance, by what means affected, 187 
Perseverance, motives to it, 190 
Perseverance of saints built upon three 

immoveable pillars, 469 
People of God, why so frequently in an 

afflicted state, 231 
People of God, how he delivers them out 

of trouble, 234 
Pleasing God, what it implies, 74 
Power of God, how it is seen, • 56 
Prayer, what it is, 377 
Prayer, why made to God only, 377 
Prayer, what are the parts of it, 377 
Prayers, in what order we must direct 

them to God, 382 
Praying in faith, what it implies, 403 
Pray in faith, how we may do it, 404 
Prayer a sovereign means to elude temp- 
tation, 581 
Presumptuous sin, how we may keep 

from it, 646 
Promises of God, two things in them to 

comfort us, 70 
Properties of bad debtors, wherein we 

have them, 524 
Prosperity, the danger of it, 504 
Providence of God, that and what it is, 83 
Providence of God, how exerted towards 
sin, 95 



INDEX. 



775 



Prudence and holiness, wherein a Chris- 
tian joins them together, 617 
Punishment of Sabbath-breaking, 294 

0. 

Qualifications and properties of the 

kingdom of heaven, 441 
Qualifications of God's mercy, 258 
Qualifications of our Intercessor, what 
they are, 121 



Redeemed, how we shall know that we 

are of the number, 143 
Regenerate person, what comfort he may 
have under the imperfections of his 
obedience, 341 
Repentance, the counterfeits of it, 354 
Repentance, the ingredients of it, 527 
Resignation to God's will in affliction, 

how it may be obtained, 496 
Resurrection, by what arguments it may 

be proved, 204 
Righteous, shall they only be raised ! 204 
Rocks of support for the tempted, 572 
Rule of obedience, what it is, 211 

S 

Sabbath, why God appointed it, 276 
Sabbath, why the first day of the week is 

substituted in place of it, 276 
Sabbath, how we are to sanctify it, 279 
Sacrament, what names and titles are 

given it in Scripture, 366 
Saints in glory, whether they will know 

each other, 201 
Saints, why God suffers them to be buf- 
feted by Satan's temptations, 571 
Sanctification, what it is, 161 
Sanctification, the counterfeits of it, 162 
Sanctification, its necessity, wherein it 

appears, 163 
Sanctification, what are the signs of it, 164 
Sanctification, how it may be attained, 166 
Sanctified persons, have they all assu- 
rance ? 167 
Sanctified persons, whether they have 
such an assurance as excludes all 
doubting, 167 
Sanctified persons, whether they have 

all true peace, 175 
Satan's malice in temptation, 555 
Satan's temptation, the subtilty of it, 96 
Satan's diligence and power in tempt- 
ing, 556 
Satan's subtilty in tempting, 557 
Satan comes upon us at two times in our 

weakness, 558 
Satan te'mpts five sorts of persons more 

than others, 560 
Satan, why he sets chiefly on our faith, 576 
Satan, by what methods he disturbs the 

saints' peace, 569 
Satan, in what respect he is the evil one, 602 



Scriptures, how proved to be the word 

of God, 22 
Scriptures, why called canonical, 25 
Scriptures, a complete rule, 25 
Scriptures, what is the main scope and 

end of them, 25 
Scriptures, how we should so search 

them as to find life, 28 
Seasons Satan tempts in, 557 
Seasons when God delivers his people 

out of trouble, what they are, 234 
Self-examination, what is required to it, 371 
Self-examination, what it is, 371 
Self-examination, by what rules it must 

be done, 371 
Self-examination, why it must be done 

before we approach the Lord's table, 371 
Self-murder, how many ways one may 

be guilty of it, 312 
Servant, how he must honour his mas- 
ter, 298 
Serpents, how we must be like them, 

and wherein not, 611 
Seventh-day Sabbath, why we do not 

keep it, 276 
Sin, committed in time, why it should 

be punished to eternity, 46 
Sin, the evil of it obvious in its origin 

and nature, 92 
Sin, the evil of it obvious in the price 

paid for it, and the effects of it, 93 
Sin of our first parents, what it is, 95 
Sin, why called a debt, 522 
Sin, in what sense it is the worst debt, 523 
Sin, how we may know that it is for- 
given, 541 
Sin, the evil of it, 585 
Sin, worse than affliction, 587 
Sin, how we may so reprove it as to love 

the person, 618 
Sins, how we may know they are par- 
doned, 260 
Sins of God's people more provoke him 

than those of the wicked, 599 
Sin worse than death and hell, 590 
Sin, what, we should particularly take 

heed of, 595 
Socinians' error about the second person 

of the Trinity, 78 
Soul, the excellency of it, 521 
Soul-dress, for receiving the sacrament, 

wherein it consists, 374 
Souls deserted, that want assurance, how 

they may be comforted, 171 
Soul-murder, who are guilty of it, 313 
Sorrow, what, goes before forgiveness, 527 
Spirit, how he can be said to be grieved, 92 
Spiritual, what it is to be so, 36 
State of nature is a kingdom of dark- 
ness, 421 
Submission to God's will, what it is not, 493 
Submission to God's will, what may 

stand with it, and what not, 493 
Submission to God's will, what it is, 494 



776 



INDEX. 



Submit to God's will in affliction, when 
we do not, 496 

Subtilty of Satan to make men miscarry 
in the use of means, 561 



Temptations, whence they come, 555 
Temptations of Satan, means to defeat 

them, 579 
Temptation, what good may come out of 

it, ' 583 
Tempted, two cases of them spoken 

to, 576 
Theft, whence it doth arise, 325 
Theft, how many sorts of it there are, 326 
Theft, what are the aggravations of it, 327 
Thoughts, vain, how they come in, in 

hearing the word, 286 
Thoughts, vain, how we may get help 

against them, 287 
Thoughts, vain, the evil of them, 286 
Thoughts, vain, in prayer, how we may 

cure them, 379 
Tongue, how it is evil, 630 
Tongue, evil, the several sorts of, 630 

631, 632 

Tongue, rules for governing it, 635 
Tongue sins, motives to beware of them, 636 
Trinity of persons proved, 77 
Truth of God, 69 

U 

Unchangeableness of God, 48 
Unchangeable God, how to get a part in 
him, 50 



Unpardoned soul, how miserable it is, 536 
V 

Visiting iniquity, what is meant by it, 255 
Vorstius's objection against God's ubi- 
quity answered, 



35 



W 



Ways of Satan to tempt men, 578 
Weariness in well-doing, what occa- 
sions it, 637 
Weariness in well-doing, the evil of it, 638 
Weariness in well-doing, means to keep 

us from, 640 
Will of God, what is meant by it, 482 
Will of God, how we are to do it, that 

we may find acceptance, 486 
Will of God, how we may evangelically 

do it, 487 
Will of God, how we may come to do 

it aright, 492 
Wisdom of God, wherein it appears, 52 
Wisdom and innocency, necessary qua- 
lifications of a Christian, 610 
Wisdom, wherein it chiefly consists, 610 
Word, what is meant by its effectual 

working, 357 
Word, how we may read it effectually, 357 
Word, how it may be heard effectually, 359 
World, why God made it, 81 
World, in what sense it is evil, 602 
Worship, what, is most worthy of God, 36 
Worship God in the spirit, what it is to, 36 
Wrath to come, what we shall do to es- 
cape it> 349 



THE END. 



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